1:30 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — After fending off four set points and being unable to convert the first six of his own, Rafael Nadal finally clinched a 28-minute and 40-second tiebreaker to get himself on course to secure a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 14th time. And now, after
Tennis
9:47 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Fans at the Australian Open were asked by security to remove T-shirts featuring the slogan “Where is Peng Shuai?” which references the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Chinese former tennis player’s well-being and whereabouts. In November, Peng, the former world No. 14 singles player and part of a No. 1
3:16 PM ET Taylor Fritz looked bewildered for a second as the Australian Open umpire read out Fritz’s winning third-round score. After his two blink-and-you’ll-miss-them forehand winners, and a double fault from opponent Roberto Bautista Agut, Fritz had conquered his own double nemesis: He’d finally reached a fourth round at a Grand Slam, and he’d
5:14 AM ET Alex De Minaur has reached the Australian Open’s round of 16 for the first time, the local hope winning his ninth straight set at Melbourne Park as he pushed aside Pablo Andujar. The 32nd seed beat the Spanish veteran and regular hitting partner Andujar 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in another commanding display as
12:14 AM ET Maddison Inglis‘s breakout Australian Open campaign is over following a tough third-round loss to three-time quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi. The local wildcard took the opening set on Rod Laver Arena before succumbing 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to the Estonian veteran in sweltering heat on Saturday. Despite her departure, Inglis will pocket a career-saving cheque
8:25 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Standing on the court as her ever-so-slight lead slipped away and now just one point away from entering a third-set tiebreak, Naomi Osaka prepared for Amanda Anisimova‘s next serve during their third-round match at the Australian Open on Friday. Osaka, the tournament’s defending champ, had looked frustrated as she walked
12:55 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — World No. 77 Miomir Kecmanovic is in line to receive the biggest payday of his career, and he has compatriot and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in part to thank. When the Australian Open draw was first released, Kecmanovic was scheduled to play Djokovic in the first round. But
9:54 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com American Jessica Pegula advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Nuria Parrizas Diaz on Thursday. The tournament’s No. 21 seed recorded seven aces and 20 winners in the 91-minute clash. She’ll next face the winner of
10:23 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com There were no Americans in the quarterfinals of the singles draw at the US Open in September. No men. No women. No one. It was the first time in over a century of tournament history there had been such an absence, and it was the latest blow for the once-dominant
7:12 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — On paper, a second-round Grand Slam match featuring the highest-ranked player in the tournament and a man languishing outside the top 100 wouldn’t be one to stir even the slightest amount of interest or excitement in the average tennis fan. But when that lowly ranked player is the flamboyant
10:59 PM ET Samantha Stosur‘s decorated singles career is over after a second-round defeat in her farewell Australian Open at Melbourne Park. The 2011 US Open champion bowed out with a 6-2 6-2 loss to Russian 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Thursday. Stosur received a standing ovation from the Kia Arena crowd before departing after
1:22 AM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal moved into the third round at the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over 126th-ranked German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday. Nadal didn’t get it all his own way in an afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena, needing five match points and
6:32 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Athletes spend decades trying to trick the mind. But what happens when the mind tricks the athlete? Aryna Sabalenka arrived in Australia earlier this month with her focus set squarely on achieving her longtime dream of winning a Grand Slam. Having had a breakthrough season in 2021 in which she
10:10 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty is breezing through the Australian Open. Things could get a lot more interesting soon enough. Barty extended her streak of service holds to 48 games and moved into the third round at Melbourne Park for the sixth consecutive year by beating 142nd-ranked qualifier
7:59 AM ET Emma Raducanu got her Australian Open campaign off to a winning note as she saw off Sloane Stephens in three sets in the first round. US Open champion Raducanu ended up winning 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 in an entertaining match on day two of the first Grand Slam of the year. After Raducanu
3:07 AM ET ESPN News Services The board of Tennis Australia issued a statement two days after nine-time champion Novak Djokovic lost a legal challenge against his visa cancellation to say that the entire saga would be subject to a review after the Australian Open. “We recognise that recent events have been a significant distraction
9:28 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Garbine Muguruza extended her first-round success at Melbourne Park on Monday, and did so in straight sets. The 2020 Australian Open finalist and winner of the 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon tournaments has never lost a first-round match in 10 years of competition at the
6:57 AM ET Associated Press BEIJING — Former NBA great Yao Ming said Monday he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose disappearance after making a sexual assault allegation against a former government official raised international concern. He also said it is unfortunate that