Australian Open

Djokovic explains hiring Murray as coach: "He knows me very well"

Hiring Andy Murray as his coach came naturally for Novak Djokovic. On a trip to Argentina to play in a farewell match for Juan Martn del Potro, the Serbian explained why he chose his former rival after being without a coach for six months. Murray and Djokovic announced last week they plan to work together for the Australian Open in January. Since I was very young, I have played against him and there are not many people who have won multiple Grand Slam titles, said Djokovic in Spanish in a press conference before the match against Del Potro. Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion who has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other player in tennis history. Murray won three major trophies and two Olympic singles gold medals and finished 2016 atop the ATP rankings. He ended his playing career after the Paris Olympics in August. Both men are 37 and were born a week apart in May 1987. They started facing each other as juniors and wound up meeting 36 times as professionals, with Djokovic

Tennis stars Sabalenka, Jabeur rule out Olympics to avoid risking health

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur ruled themselves out of the Olympic Games in Paris. Both top-10 players said they didn't want to switch from grass at Wimbledon back to clay at Roland Garros for the Olympic tournament and then immediately start the hard-court season in North America. World No 3 Sabalenka from Belarus said she'd rather have a break. It's too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health, she said in Berlin, where she's warming up for Wimbledon. I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts. I'll have a good preparation before going to the hard-court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body." World No. 10 Jabeur from Tunisia wrote on X that not being able to play at a fourth consecutive Olympics was unfortunate. We (and my medical team) have decided that the quick change of surface and the body's adaptation required w

Soccer-mad Italy now obsessed with Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner

Soccer-mad Italy has a new obsession. Jannik Sinner's performance on the tennis court has captured the country's attention. And not just for the way Sinner rallied from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and win the Australian Open title on Sunday. Ever since Sinner reached the ATP Finals championship match at home in Turin and then played a leading role in leading Italy to the Davis Cup title on consecutive weeks in November, he's been taking over the headlines from soccer. "Jannik Sinner wrote a new page of history today that fills us with pride, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni wrote on Facebook. It's an achievement worthy of a real champion. The Turin final was the most watched tennis match of all time on Italian television, with 6.7 million viewers. It wouldn't be surprising if Sunday's match turns out to have an even bigger audience, even though it was shown only on Pay TV, starting at 9:30 a.m., in Sinner's home country. It's a testament to the 22-year-old Sinner's clean-c

Sinner rallies from 2 sets down to win Australian Open final vs Medvedev

Jannik Sinner rallied from two sets down to take the Australian Open final from Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday and clinch his first Grand Slam title. The 22-year-old Sinner was playing in a major final for the first time and got there by ending Novak Djokovic's long domination of the tournament in a semifinal upset. He's the first Italian to win the Australian Open title. For 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev, the loss was his fifth in six major finals. The third-seeded Medvedev set a record with his fourth five-set match of the tournament and time on court at a major in the Open era, surpassing Carlos Alcaraz's 23:40 at the 2022 U.S. Open. Medvedev lost back-to-back finals here to Djokovic in 2021 and to Rafael Nadal after holding a two-set lead the following year. He won three five-set matches to reach the championship match this time and had two comebacks from two sets down. Sinner only dropped one set through six rounds in a third-set tiebreaker against ...

Australian Open 2024: Sinner vs Medvedev live match starts at 2 PM IST

People in India can live stream the Australian Open 2024 final between Italy's Jannik Sinner and Russia's Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, January 28

Australian Open: Rohan Bopanna becomes oldest man to win Grand Slam title

Rohan Bopanna became only the third Indian to win a men's doubles Grand Slam title, taking the Australian Open crown with partner Matthew Ebden following a commanding win over Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, here on Saturday. In a high-quality game of tennis, second seeded Bopanna and Ebden won 7-6(0) 7-5 in the final that lasted one hour and 39 minutes. Only the iconic Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won Major titles for India in men's tennis while trailblazer Sania Mirza did it in women's tennis. For Bopanna it is his second Grand Slam title, having won the French Open mixed doubles with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski in 2017. At 43, Bopanna also became the oldest Grand Slam champion in men's tennis. He bettered the record of Jean-Julien Rojer who, at age of 40, had lifted the French Open men's doubles trophy in 2022 with Marcelo Arevola. It was such hard-fought battle at the Rod Laver arena that the contest featured only one break of serve when Vavassori dropped his ser

Don't write off Novak Djokovic after his Australian Open loss to Sinner

It might be tempting to see some tidy symbolism and greater significance in Novak Djokovic's loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals. The end of the thirtysomething Djokovic's 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. The end of his bid for an 11th championship there and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall. The breakthrough for the twentysomething Sinner, an up-and-coming talent who will now get to play in his first major final, against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. Then again, that was the sort of passing-of-the-torch oversimplification some folks found in Djokovic's loss to another kid, Carlos Alcaraz, in last year's Wimbledon final. And what happened a couple of months later? Djokovic claimed the US Open title as part of a 19-match unbeaten run. So don't be too quick to write off the 36-year-old from Serbia this time, either, as he essentially told the world himself after bowing out 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 against Sinner on Friday. "Doesn't necessarily mean that it's beginni

Australian Open 2024: Aryna Sabalenka clinches back-to-back titles

Aryna Sabalenka clinched back-to-back Australian Open titles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Zheng Qinwen on Saturday in a one-sided women's final. The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka broke Zheng's serve in the second game and took the first set in 33 minutes. She broke again to start the second set and maintained her dominance throughout against the No. 12-seeded Zheng. It's been an amazing couple of weeks. It's an unbelievable feeling right now," Sabalenka said in the trophy presentation. "As usual, my speech is going to be weird it's not my super power. Only two things slowed down Sabalenka's progress Saturday to her second Grand Slam singles title. In the third game of the second set, with Zheng serving, the match was interrupted after an activist started yelling out. The match continued after the man was escorted out by security. Then, when she was serving for the match, Sabalenka had three championship points at 40-0 but missed two with wide or long forehands and another with Zheng's clev

Australian Open 2024: Medvedev wins five-setter to meet Sinner in final

Jannik Sinner ended one of Novak Djokovic's perfect streaks in an Australian Open upset and then got to relax while Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev after midnight to secure the other place in the final. For a self-described tennis fan, just everything went Sinner's way in the semifinals Friday. The 22-year-old Italian broke Djokovic's serve twice in each of the first two sets in a surprisingly lopsided 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory that ended the 10-time champion's unbeaten streak in semifinals at Rod Laver Arena. Almost an hour after missing a match point in the tiebreaker, Sinner converted his second to complete his third win in four head-to-heads since losing to Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon semifinals. I learned a lot from that, he said of that Wimbledon loss and his subsequent wins. "It gives you a better feeling when you know that you can beat one player. "The confidence from the end of last year has for sure kept the belief. Third-s

Australian Open 2024: One semi-final loss not beginning of end for Djokovic

A solitary loss in 11 semi-finals at the Australian Open was nowhere near enough for Novak Djokovic to contemplate a generational change in tennis. Djokovic didn't get a look at a breakpoint during a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Jannik Sinner on Friday that ended the 10-time Australian Open champion's unbeaten streak after making the final four at Melbourne Park. He commended the 22-year-old Italian for playing flawless tennis it was Sinner's third win over Djokovic in their last four matches but rated his performance as the worst he could remember at a major. This tournament hasn't been up to my standard or criteria or the level that I would normally play or expect myself to play, Djokovic said, "but doesn't necessarily mean that it's beginning of the end, you know, as some people like to call it. Let's see what happens in the rest of the season. The 36-year-old Djokovic has been dealing with illness and a sore right wrist this month in Australia and wasn't at his peak, by hi

Jannik Sinner denies Novak Djokovic 25th Major at Australian Open 2024

Italy's Jannik Sinner won the first semifinal of the year's first Grand Slam 6- 1, 6- 2, 6-7, 6-4.

Australian Open 2024: Defending champ Sabalenka beats Gauff to reach final

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka avenged a US Open final loss to Coco Gauff and became the first woman since Serena Williams to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian Open on Thursday. Sabalenka attacked Gauff's serve throughout a 7-6 (2), 6-4 semi-final win. She will meet Zheng Qinwen or Dayana Yastremska in Saturday's championship decider. Zheng and No. 93-ranked Yastremska were playing their first-ever Grand Slam semi-final. Sabalenka is on a 13-match roll at Melbourne Park, where she made her Grand Slam breakthrough last year. Williams reached consecutive finals here in 2015, '16 and '17. Gauff went into the semifinals unbeaten in 2024 after winning a title in Auckland, New Zealand. The 19-year-old American was on a 12-match winning streak in majors and attempting to be the first player since Naomi Osaka in 2020-21 to win the US Open and Australian Open titles back to back. She'd worked out how to beat Sabalenka in New York last September to win her first major title b

Australian Open 2024: Rohan Bopanna just one win away from Grand Slam title

Rohan Bopanna earned himself one more opportunity to win a Grand Slam title by reaching the Australian Open men's doubles final with Australian partner Matthew Ebden after prevailing in a tense semifinal against Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen here Thursday. The second seeded Indo-Australian pair faced some stiff resistance from their rivals in the third set but eventually the experience of playing Super Tie Breakers helped them nail the finish with a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-7) scoreline after two hours and two minutes. A day after he was assured of becoming the world number one player, Bopanna as usual served well on big points and also manage to pull out the strokes and tricks when they needed the most. Bopanna has reached the US Open final twice (2013, 2023) but a Major trophy has eluded him in his career. Now at the fag end of his career at the age of 43, he will have the chance to tick that box on Saturday.

Zverev ousts Alcaraz to move into Australian Open semis against Medvedev

Alexander Zverev made no mistake with his second chance to close out a win over No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday night and moved into an Australian Open semifinal against two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev. The sixth-seeded Zverev was a up a break in the third set and missed a chance to serve it out but the Olympic champion didn't blink when he got another chance in the fourth, finishing off a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 victory. Alcaraz won Wimbledon last year and was the only player to beat 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam match in 2023. The 20-year-old Spaniard won't get the chance in Australia this time. It was Zverev's first win over a top-5 player at a Grand Slam, and the reward was a spot in the semis for the seventh time at a major. Medvedev, a two-time finalist in Australia, outlasted ninth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to make it to the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the third time in four years. Djokovic will play Jann

Australian Open 2024 semifinal live timing (IST), live streaming in India

Australian Open 2024 SF schedule: Men's singles - Djokovic vs Sinner & Medvedev vs Zverev. Women's singles - Sabalenka vs Gauff and DayanaYastremska vs Zheng; Bopana will be in action in men's doubles

Don't think anyone will ever come close to Djokovic: Former world no. 17

With the Australian Open currently on, defending champion Novak Djokovic has once again been dubbed as a favourite to retain the title, and former world No. 17 Bernard Tomic of Australia firmly believes there will be no one to challenge the great Serbian. Djokovic is the leading Grand Slam winner in the Open Era of tennis. He also has the chance of winning the most Grand Slam titles across eras, as another win would allow him to surpass the all-time record of Margaret Court. Djokovic is eying his 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Tomic, who has lost to Djokovic on all six instances in the ATP circuit, dubbed him a "freak" and also the "G.O.A.T", besides adding that to beat him, one has to play at the highest level at all times. "I was lucky enough to beat Djokovic at the Hopman Cup 11 years ago (chuckles). He is a freak. "You have no choice but to play at the highest level to beat him. And, if you lower your level even the slightest against him, you will lose," he told

Australian Open: Bopanna set to become oldest World No.1 in men's doubles

India's Rohan Bopanna is set to become the oldest tennis player to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in men's doubles after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open along with his partner Matthew Ebden here on Wednesday. The 43-year-old, who had entered the tournament with a career-high ranking of world no. 3, and Australian Ebden recorded a comfortable 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over sixth seeded Argentinian duo of Mximo Gonzlez and Andrs Molteni in the quarterfinals that lasted an hour and 46 minutes here. The second-seeded Indo-Australian pair will cross swords with unseeded Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang in the semi-finals. Bopanna will be crowned the new numero uno on Monday after the end of the tournament. Earlier, Rajeev Ram of the USA was the oldest player to be ranked world no. 1 when he had achieve the top ranking in October 2022 at the age of 38 for the first time in his career. Ebden, on the other hand, is set to reach the world no 2. Bopanna, who had achieved the highest r

Djokovic holds off Fritz to reach Australian Open semifinals for 11th time

Novak Djokovic held off Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 3 3/4 hours to reach the Australian Open semi-finals for the 11th time on Tuesday. When he gets through the quarterfinals in Australia, Djokovic is unbeaten. The 24-time major champion has won all 10 semifinals he's contested at Melbourne Park and all 10 finals. In his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semi-final, he'll play No. 4-seeded Jannik Sinner or No. 5 Andrey Rublev. Fritz saved the first 15 break-points he faced, an unheard-of stat against one of the best returners ever. We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world, Djokovic said. "I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality. My conversion was really poor, but in the end of the day, I managed to break him when it mattered. I upped my game midway through the third set, all the way to the end." The first game set the tone for a long, tough match. It lasted 16 minutes and contained 24 points, going to deuce nine time

Australian Open 2024: Alcaraz sets up quarterfinal clash against Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz completed a Grand Slam set by reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time, setting up a showdown against Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. The 20-year-old Wimbledon champion missed the season-opening major in 2023 because of injury but is more than making up for lost time. The No. 2-seeded Alcaraz beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in less than two hours Monday to open the night session on Rod Laver Arena. He has dropped just one set en route to the last eight. Zverev is there for the third time but is coming off some long five-set wins, including a four-hour, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) fourth-round victory over No. 19 Cameron Norrie. It was the 32nd five-set match so far at Melbourne Park, a tournament record in the Open era. Their match on Margaret Court Arena was prolonged after being delayed briefly when a protester threw anti-war pamphlets onto the back of the court in the third set. The protester was escorted out by security. No. 3 Danii

Medvedev, Noskova, Yastremska advance to Australian Open quarterfinals

Daniil Medvedev is through to the Australian Open quarterfinals along with Dayana Yastremska and Linda Noskova, the latter two players for the first time at a Grand Slam singles tournament. Medvedev beat Nuno Borges 6-3 7-6(4) 5-7 6-1 on Monday to reach the last eight. He'll play either No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz or French wild-card entry Arthur Cazaux. Yastremska beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 7-6(6) 6-4 while 18th-ranked Elina Svitolina was trailing Noskova 3-0 when Svitolina retired with a back injury. Azarenka served for the first set twice and had two set points at 6-5 but couldn't take them and Yastremska won the opening set on her second chance after 74 minutes. The Ukrainian then led 3-0 in the second set but Yastremska won six of the next seven games to clinch victory, ending with 37 winners. "I think I need to take a thousand breaths because my heart I think is going to jump out of my body," Yastremska said. "During the match, I was imagining how I lost already like