8:00 AM ET ESPN staff The first Grand Slam event of the year has finally arrived. The 2021 Australian Open will provide a little bit of a return to normalcy, as fans will be in attendance. Despite the obstacles, from 72 players having to quarantine upon arrival and forced to train in their hotel rooms
Tennis
1:37 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Rafael Nadal said he was feeling “not great” during his Australian Open news conference Sunday due to a persistent back injury that prevented him from playing in last week’s ATP Cup. “It’s true that for the last 15 days I have been suffering with the back,” he said. “So here
1:00 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — After celebrating their ATP Cup triumph as teammates for Russia, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev will go their own ways at the Australian Open next week and might meet at Melbourne Park as rivals in the quarterfinals. Medvedev improved his winning streak to 14 matches and secured
3:05 AM ET Italian teenager Jannik Sinner saved a match point before battling past Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) in a three-hour tussle to reach the final of the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne on Saturday. The 19-year-old Sinner looked set for a straightforward win after leading by a set and a break,
3:05 AM ET Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime moved a step closer to his maiden ATP title after a 6-1, 6-2 win over Corentin Moutet in the Murray River Open semifinals in Melbourne on Saturday. Third seed Auger-Aliassime, who had saved a match point against Egor Gerasimov in the last 16 of the Australian Open warm-up event,
10:52 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com After an eventful three weeks in Melbourne, filled with hard quarantines and some creative uses of hotel rooms, the 2021 Australian Open is almost here. While players continue to comply with the strict coronavirus protocols of the local Victorian government, the tournament could still give us the closest glimpse of
3:22 PM ET Andre SnellingsESPN Welcome to ESPN’s tennis contest for the Australian Open: Tennis Major Pick’em: Melbourne! What is it? It’s a free-to-play game, where you take a few minutes to answer a series of questions related to the upcoming Australian Open tennis Grand Slam event, which starts on Monday, Feb. 8, and ends
6:17 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams withdrew from an Australian Open tuneup tournament citing a right shoulder injury on Friday within hours of setting up a semifinal match against top-ranked Ash Barty. The 23-time Grand Slam champion usually doesn’t play in a tournament in the week before a Grand Slam event,
11:01 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Bianca Andreescu pronounced herself healthy Friday and “ready to go” for the Australian Open, which would be her first tournament in 15 months. The 2019 US Open champion had pulled out of one of the half-dozen tuneup tournaments taking place this week at Melbourne Park, where the
4:44 PM ET Associated Press WIMBLEDON, England — Wimbledon organizers are planning for a reduced-capacity crowd at this year’s Grand Slam tournament, though other options remain, the All England Club said Thursday. The club previously announced that the tournament, canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, would go ahead with or without fans. The
11:10 PM ET Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said Australian Open would start as planned next Monday despite a worker at one of the Melbourne hotels used to quarantine players and their entourages testing positive for COVID-19. “We’re absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead,” he told reporters in Melbourne. “We are starting on
5:46 PM ET Nick Kyrgios refused to play for several minutes after receiving a time violation during his 6-2 7-6 (9-7) win over fellow Australian Harry Bourchier in an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne. Kyrgios fought off three set points in the second-set tiebreak before finally getting over the top of world No. 303
8:55 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE — Some players preparing for the Australian Open will have to isolate until they return a negative test for COVID-19 after a worker at one of the tournament’s quarantine hotels tested positive for the virus. Daniel Andrews, the political leader of Victoria state, called a late-night news conference Wednesday
12:50 AM ET ESPN News Services Ash Barty looked like the world No. 1 in the first set, then struggled the rest of the way against No. 52-ranked Marie Bouzkova before completing a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win in an Australian Open tuneup tournament on Wednesday. In the third set, the 2019 French Open champion exchanged
11:02 PM ET Italy is the first team through to the ATP Cup semi-finals after completing a comprehensive day-two victory over France at Melbourne Park. Fabio Fognini beat Benoit Paire 6-1, 7-6, (7-2) in Wednesday’s opening singles rubber before Matteo Berrettini sealed the tie with a 6-4, 6-2 rout of Gael Monfils. Italy remain unbeaten
9:54 AM ET Associated Press BASEL, Switzerland — Roger Federer is aiming to play his first tournament after two knee surgeries and more than one year out in Qatar next month. Federer told Swiss radio station SRF on Tuesday he has targeted the Doha Open from March 8-13. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he
4:10 AM ET Nick Kyrgios has breathed a sigh of relief after making a typically lively return to tennis following a near year-long hiatus. Kyrgios overcame a leg injury to reach the second round of an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne with a gritty 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) comeback win over the lowly-ranked Frenchman
10:44 PM ET MELBOURNE — Novak Djokovic kicked off his 2021 season in style on his favourite Rod Laver Arena court with a clinical 7-5 7-5 win over Canadian talent Denis Shapovalov in the ATP Cup on Tuesday. Leading Serbia’s title defence in the team-based event, Djokovic was thrilled with his form in the Group