Tennis

6:11 PM ET Public perception varies in the way that three athletes — Kyrie Irving, Aaron Rodgers and Novak Djokovic — have handled their decision not to be vaccinated for COVID-19 over the past several months, according to a survey conducted for ESPN. A majority of fans approve of how Irving has handled his decision,

3:03 AM ET Six weeks before the start of the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal didn’t know if he’d ever play tennis again. He’s now one win away from a record 21st men’s singles Grand Slam title. The fates of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Nadal have been intertwined for the better part of 20 years.

3:03 AM ET On Saturday night in Melbourne, No. 1-ranked Ashleigh Barty will take on Danielle Collins in the Australian Open women’s final. Barty has looked unflappable so far — can she become the first Australian to win her home Slam in 44 years? Or will Collins pull off the upset? We asked our experts:

2:09 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal is now within one victory of a record 21st Grand Slam singles title. The 35-year-old Spaniard advanced to the Australian Open final for a sixth time with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win Friday over Matteo Berrettini. Nadal arrived in Australia not knowing how long

11:10 PM ET European duo Kristina Mladenovic and Ivan Dodig have made light work of home pairing Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler to claim the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open. The French-Croatian combination, who linked up for the first time at Melbourne Park, comfortably ensured a local team lost the final for the

6:28 AM ET D’Arcy Maine Tom Hamilton Close Senior Writer • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 Ashleigh Barty walked to the microphone on the court at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday at the Australian

5:45 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Ash Barty ended a long drought by reaching the Australian Open final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded Madison Keys. She still has one to go. Barty is the first Australian woman to reach the singles final of her home Grand Slam tournament since Wendy Turnbull

3:04 AM ET ESPN News Services Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down and saved a match point before beating No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 to move into the Australian Open semifinals. The US Open champion’s bid to become the first man in the Open era to win his

9:03 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Danielle Collins has joined fellow American Madison Keys in the Australian Open semifinals. Collins swung the match in her favor with a key service break in the final game of the opening set on her way to a 7-5, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Alize Cornet on

11:37 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Danielle Collins’ trademark screams of “Come on!” and “Let’s go!” could be heard reverberating throughout the stifling hot grounds at Melbourne Park. It was reminiscent of her breakthrough run at the Australian Open three years ago, but so much else has changed since then for the 28-year-old American. Collins has

2:51 PM ET Associated Press Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up, will have arthroscopic surgery on his left hip this week and be sidelined for about six months. Nishikori posted a message Tuesday on his app saying he tried “several different rehab options” before deciding with his medical team to go ahead with the

3:03 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal stayed on track for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title with a topsy-turvy 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win over Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday at Melbourne Park. Nadal had several medical timeouts in the four-hour match, appearing

6:36 AM ET Australian Open chief Craig Tiley said the Novak Djokovic saga will not define the 2022 tournament but that he regrets how the volatile situation took the focus off the Grand Slam and players leading up to the Melbourne Park major. Djokovic, 34, was deported from Australia after an 11-day rollercoaster involving two

10:58 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys is the first player into the semifinals at Melbourne Park after defeating French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-2. Krejcikova took a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the first set from what might have been heat stress as temperatures topped 86 degrees. She

9:00 AM ET Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after a roller-coaster win over American Taylor Fritz. The world’s No. 4 player eventually won 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match in which he was hit with serve and coaching violations, and he had a won a set

1:47 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Competing in her 63rd major main draw appearance, Alize Cornet finally advanced to the first quarterfinals of her career with a 6-4, 3-6, victory over former world No. 1 Simona Halep on Monday at the Australian Open. Cornet’s streak marks the most majors played before reaching a quarterfinal in the

10:30 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Danielle Collins took advantage of Elise Mertens‘ double fault on match point to advance to the quarterfinals and join two other Americans in the final eight at Melbourne Park. Collins advanced 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will play the winner of the following match on Rod Laver

1:00 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Shooter McGavin never liked Happy Gilmore. “He’s a disgrace to the game,” he once argued. “The man is destroying golf. Kick him off the tour.” Gilmore, the flamboyant, failed hockey player turned unorthodox golf pro, a fictional character wonderfully portrayed by Adam Sandler in the 1996 film, was a