Andy Murray struggles with Melbourne heat as world No1 and fellow Briton Dan Evans clear first hurdle at Australian Open January 16, 2017 Top seed Sir Andy Murray admitted struggling with temperatures of 32C in Melbourne after he laboured to victory in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Murray, playing his first grand slam match since becoming world No1, beat Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, although the contest was more competitive than the [...]
My good form is no guarantee of going far at the Australian Open, says Britain’s Johanna Konta January 15, 2017 Britain’s Johanna Konta has played down her status as Britain’s most credible female grand slam contender since Virginia Wade as she prepares to begin her Australian Open campaign on Tuesday. Konta goes into the year’s first major tournament at a career-high ranking of ninth in the world and buoyed by a string of fine performances [...]
Australian Open prize money 2017: How much can tennis stars win in Melbourne? January 12, 2017 Tennis stars will do battle for the second largest prize money reward in the sport's history when the Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne on Monday. A men’s and women’s singles champion prize of AUS$3.7m (£2.2m) is the most generous ever offered at the tournament and second only to last year’s US Open in size. This [...]
Britons head into Australian Open on form as Johanna Konta and Dan Evans continue their march in Sydney January 12, 2017 British No1 Johanna Konta continued her encouraging preparations for next week’s Australian Open on Thursday by reaching only her third WTA Tour final at the Apia International in Sydney. Her progress capped a fine evening for British players at the tournament, after Dan Evans defeated a top-10 ranked opponent for the first time to advance [...]
Sir Andy’s pledge of allegiance to Queen’s: World No1 Murray commits to Aegon Championships for rest of his career January 11, 2017 Queen's Club has received a major boost after world No1 Sir Andy Murray committed to playing the Aegon Championships, the west London venue’s traditional Wimbledon precursor, for the rest of his career. Murray is the current champion and a five-time winner of the tournament, which he has traditionally used to acclimatise to grass courts in [...]
World No1 Sir Andy Murray makes victorious start to 2017 and extends winning run to 25 matches January 3, 2017 Britain's Sir Andy Murray won his first clash of 2017 to extend his unbeaten run to 25 matches by breezing past world No69 Jeremy Chardy in the opening round of the Qatar Open in Doha. World No1 Murray beat France’s Chardy 6-0, 7-6 (7-2), taking just 20 minutes to win the first set before his [...]
Australian Open 2017 prize money: Earnings boost to lower levels in bid to spread tennis wealth December 21, 2016 More prize money will be up for grabs than ever before at next month's Australian Open, after the Grand Slam increased its fund by 14 per cent to AUS$50m (£29.4m). The winner of the tournament, which starts on 16 January, will receive AUS$3.7m (£2.2m) — AUS$300,000 more than last year's winner Novak Djokovic was paid. The [...]
Petra Kvitova: Two-time Wimbledon champion “lucky to be alive” following knife attack during home invasion December 20, 2016 Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova says she is fortunate to be alive after a stabbing attack at her home in the Czech Republic. The 26-year-old, who won the Wimbledon women's singles title in 2012 and 2014, was severely injured on her left hand by a knife-wielding intruder during a suspected burglary on Tuesday morning. A manhunt has been [...]
Andy Murray crowned BBC Sports Personality of the year for record third time December 18, 2016 Tennis world No1 Andy Murray paid tribute to his family and support staff after becoming the first person to win the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award for a third time. Murray polled 247,419 votes – more than twice that of his nearest challenger, triathlete Alistair Brownlee. Veteran showjumper Nick Skelton was a close [...]
Britain’s Andy Murray revels in ending 2016 as world No1 after dispatching rival Noval Djokovic at London’s O2 Arena November 20, 2016 Britain's Andy Murray revelled in ending the year as the planet’s No1-ranked player after brushing aside rival Novak Djokovic in the climax of the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena. Murray made a mockery of a gruelling three-hour semi-final clash with Milos Raonic on Saturday to dispatch 12-time grand slam winner Djokovic 6-3, [...]