Top seed Roger Federer will challenge for a ninth Halle Open title after reaching the Wimbledon warm-up event final with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over rising Russian talent Karen Khachanov on Saturday.
A first-week choke by leading woman Sam Stosur and a grudging loss by ageing men's warrior Lleyton Hewitt has generally been the blueprint for the home players at the Australian Open, but teenage talent Nick Kyrgios may be poised to buck the trend of local underachievement.
Rafael Nadal had taken anti-inflammatories and undergone intensive physiotherapy to alleviate a lower back problem and still planned to compete in Buenos Aires next month, his spokesman said on Wednesday.
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli just wants to enjoy herself and play big matches when she returns to competitive tennis in March after more than four years in retirement.
Nadal, is known to have a superior win-loss record over most top players (including Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic), but believe it or not, there are players on the circuit who have an edge over Nadal.
Federer begins the pursuit of a record eighth Wimbledon title and a record 85th match win at the grass court major; Djokovic hoping to curb dismal slide
Top seed Roger Federer reached the Halle Open semi-finals on Friday, beating defending champion Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 and edging closer to a ninth title at the Wimbledon tune-up event.
World number two Maria Sharapova, a stunning second-round loser at Wimbledon last month, has taken on eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors as her new coach.
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, on Saturday, said she has had a 'solid year already' and hopes to build on it with her new women's doubles partner - Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.
But Konta, who is playing in the Aegon Classic at Edgbaston this week, says that she will not be embracing any of the likely hype and intends to try to prepare as normal -- inside her 'bubble'.
Roger Federer was giving absolutely no guarantees about his form on Sunday, as the four-time finalist prepared for his first ATP start in more than two months at the Monte Carlo Masters. The 17-time Grand Slam winner will be starting afresh in the second round on the Monte Carlo Country Club clay after his early February knee operation. After hitting for nearly a week at the seaside venue overlooking the Mediterranean, the Swiss said that next week will be key for deciding his further schedule ahead of the French Open - the second major of the season. "I feel more rust than rest, but I am rested, mentally and physically," the 34-year-old said. "I don't think about the Roland Garros title," the 2009 Paris champion added.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last month, in 12 images.
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The duo of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis sailed into the 10th final of the year at the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) Finals after beating Chinese Taipei's Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan in straight sets, in Singapore, on Saturday.
Nick Kyrgios has hit back at Bernard Tomic after his compatriot accused him of feigning illness to skip Australia's Davis Cup match against the United States at the weekend.
Sania Mirza became the first Indian to climb to the top of the WTA doubles ranking after she teamed up with Swiss great Martina Hingis to claim the Family Circle Cup title on Sunday.
As the curtain comes down on 2014, here's a look at the five best performances over the last 12 months. And, guess what? Two Indian sportsmen figure in the list!
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
A ruthless Sorana Cirstea took full advantage of Karolina Pliskova's patchy form at the China Open on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals as she consigned the recently dethroned world number one to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat.
World number five Roger Federer delivered a tennis masterclass to beat rising star Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-3 and clinch a record ninth Halle Open title on Sunday as he lay down a marker in the lead-up to Wimbledon.
Trump said his new policy would tighten rules affecting travel and sending funds to the Caribbean island nation.
The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-120 on Monday to win their second NBA championship in three seasons and cap a near-perfect run through the playoffs.
Brazil beat Ecuador 1-0 in an international friendly in New Jersey on Tuesday with a first half goal from Willian enough to give coach Dunga his second successive victory.
World's numero uno women's doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their rampaging form and extended their monster winning streak to 20 matches in a row after reaching the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Singapore.
After a rough past couple of months that included a tight loss to Maria Sharapova at the French Open and an injury-enforced withdrawal from Wimbledon, World No 3 Victoria Azarenka enters the Southern California Open as hungry as ever.
Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi have decided to reunite for the 2014 season.
Novak Djokovic continued his awe-inspiring run of form to claim the Monte Carlo Masters.
A near flawless Novak Djokovic crushed Marin Cilic 6-0, 6-3 to set up a blockbuster Monte Carlo Masters semi-final with claycourt king Rafa Nadal, who came through a testing workout by David Ferrer on Friday.
Big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova cruised into the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian teenager Darya Kasatkina on Thursday.
An almost deathly hush descended as Serbian Novak Djokovic administered the last rites on Rafael Nadal's reign of dominance at the French Open.
Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka advanced into the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory over big-serving South African Kevin Anderson at the Aviva Centre in Toronto on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational goal and was then sent off for a combination of his provocative celebration and for diving as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in an explosive Spanish Super Cup first leg on Sunday.
The last time Martina Hingis appeared in the Fed Cup for Switzerland she was a 17-year-old four-times Grand Slam champion with the world at her feet.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Comey said from the investigations so far it is not entirely clear at this point just what terrorist group he aspired to support.
India's Sania Mirza and her partner Martina Hingis staged a superb comeback to clinch the women's doubles title after a thrilling victory against Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the final, on Saturday.
There has been many cherished moments in her eventful tennis journey during the last decade but the enormity of becoming World No 1 is such that Sania Mirza has been left with a "surreal feeling" even though she had always dreamt of achieving this feat.
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