Australian Open 2016: Novak Djokovic’s fourth win from five grand slams leaves Serb out in front on his own January 31, 2016 World No1 Novak Djokovic insists he is resisting the temptation to conclude that his recent dominance has extinguished the era of a so-called big four in men’s tennis. Djokovic’s emphatic straight-sets dismissal of Andy Murray in yesterday’s Australian Open final brought the Serb a record-equalling sixth title in Melbourne, where he has lost just once [...]
Australian Open 2016: Andy Murray faces Milos Raonic with belief that he is back to his grand slam-winning best January 28, 2016 Britain's Andy Murray believes he is close to achieving the glory of a third grand slam title as he bids to reach the final of a tournament that has caused him more anguish than perhaps any other. Murray takes on Canadian 13th seed Milos Raonic on Friday morning in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, [...]
Australian Open 2016: Johanna Konta beaten by Angelique Kerber and insists historic run has not changed her January 28, 2016 She may have made British tennis history and secured a place in the top 30 of the women’s world rankings for the first time, but Johanna Konta insists her fairytale Australian Open has not changed her. Konta’s odds-defying run to the semi-finals ended today with a nervy 7-5, 6-2 defeat against German seventh seed Angelique Kerber, [...]
Australian Open 2016: Andy Murray’s joy – and surprise – as he and Johanna Konta make history in Melbourne January 27, 2016 World No2 Andy Murray toasted a landmark day for British tennis after he and Johanna Konta ended the country’s 39-year wait to have both men’s and women’s semi-finalists at the same grand slam. Konta penned the latest chapter of her fairytale run at the Australian Open by defeating Chinese wildcard Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-1 to [...]
Australian Open 2016: Novak Djokovic ready for latest instalment of titanic rivalry with Roger Federer after they join women’s champion Serena Williams in sweeping into the last four January 26, 2016 Defending champion Novak Djokovic is braced for another epic tussle with former world No1 Roger Federer after both men swept into the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Djokovic put an error-strewn fourth-round match behind him with a ruthless display against Kei Nishikori, beating the Japanese seventh seed 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Federer was almost [...]
Australian Open 2016: Johanna Konta becomes first Briton to reach a grand slam quarter-final for 32 years January 25, 2016 Rising star Johanna Konta insists she is no overnight success after becoming the first British woman for 32 years to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament. Konta, 24, continued her giddy ascent yesterday by beating No21 seed Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 in a titanic fourth-round slug-fest – the biggest win of her [...]
Australian Open 2016: Johanna Konta aiming to become Britain’s first woman to reach a grand slam quarter-final since Jo Durie in 1984 January 24, 2016 British No1 Johanna Konta could become the first woman from these shores to reach a grand slam quarter-final for 32 years when she meets Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open on Monday. Konta has already beaten former world No1 Venus Williams in Melbourne this month, one of the most recent highlights of the 24-year-old’s extraordinary [...]
Australian Open 2016: Andy Murray warned by Bernard Tomic to expect a fight from fourth round match January 24, 2016 No2 seed Andy Murray has been warned to expect a fight for a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals by his fourth round opponent, home crowd hope and scourge of the tennis establishment Bernard Tomic. World No17 Tomic, who was arrested for partying in Miami last year and axed from his Davis Cup team for [...]
Nigel Sears: Andy Murray’s father-in-law rushed to hospital after collapsing during Ana Ivanovic v Madison Keys January 23, 2016 The Australian Open third round match between Ana Ivanovic and Madison Keys was suspended on Saturday night after Andy Murray's father-in-law Nigel Sears collapsed in the stands. Sears, who coaches Ivanovic, was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after receiving urgent medical attention at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Serbian Ivanovic won the first [...]
Tennis match-fixing: Why sport authorities should outsource governance and regulatory work to independent bodies to avoid corruption scandals January 20, 2016 Unless governance rules within sports are drastically changed or all regulatory functions are outsourced to an independent body to oversee all sports, the current accusations of corruption engulfing tennis and athletics will continue to occur. Recent claims of suspicions of match-fixing in tennis being ignored by the sport’s authorities may well come to nothing, unlike [...]