Racquet

Agency Rafael Nadal fought back from two sets down to win a record 21st Grand Slam men's title, beating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in a classic Australian Open final. Backed by a loud Melbourne crowd, sixth seed Nadal rallied to win 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena, BBC reported. According to the news agency, US Open champion Medvedev, 25, was in command before Nadal showed all of his renowned grit and fight to earn an extraordinary win. The 35-year-old Spaniard has been at the centre of some of the sport's most incredible triumphs - but this surely goes down as the most amazing Grand Slam victory of his illustrious career. In the absence of the deported Novak Djokovic and the injured Roger Federer in Melbourne, Nadal has moved one ahead of his great rival...

Agency Ashleigh Barty defeated Danielle Collins to win the Australian Open title, ending the home nation's 44-year wait for a Grand Slam women's singles title. Top seed Barty fought back from 5-1 down in the second set to win 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to lift her third major title after the 2019 French Open and last year’s Wimbledon title.. The BBC reported that the 25-year-old Queenslander has won the title without dropping a set in Melbourne this fortnight. "This is a dream come true for me. I am so proud of being Aussie," BBC quoted the world number one Barty as saying. "As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament has been being able to share this experience with the fans. This crowd is one of the most fun I've played in front of." Addressing the crowd, she adde...

Agency Rafael Nadal moved one win away from a record 21st Grand Slam men's title after a dominant start enabled him to beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday. According to the BBC, seventh seed Berrettini eventually turned the match into a contest, but Nadal completed a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win. The 35-year-old Spaniard is level on 20 major titles with long-time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. With an eye to surpass the record, Nadal next faces Daniil Medvedev, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, in Sunday's final. Nadal's achievement in reaching a 29th Grand Slam final comes only a few months after he thought a foot injury could end his illustrious career, BBC further reported. Russian second seed Medvedev edged a high-quality ba...

Agencies American tennis player Danielle Collins showed she will be a formidable obstacle to home favourite Ashleigh Barty's hopes of winning the Australian Open with a crushing 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Poland's Iga Swiatek to reach her first Grand Slam final on Thursday. After Barty's demolition of American Madison Keys earlier, the 30th ranked Collins produced an equally dominant display to disappoint the former French Open champion Swiatek, according to Reuters. World number one Barty will be the overwhelming favourite on Saturday as she attempts to become the first local to win the Australian Open since Chris O'Neil in 1978. According to the BBC, Barty became the first home player to reach the Australian Open women's singles final in 42 years as she beat Madison Keys in stra...

Agencies Rafael Nadal stormed into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a straight-set win over Adrian Mannarino as the Spaniard continues his quest for a record-breaking 21st major title. According to the BBC, the 35-year-old Nadal edged an epic 28-minute first-set tie-break as he eventually converted his seventh set point. Mannarino struggled with injury after the tie-break, as sixth seed Nadal went on to claim a 7-6 (16-14), 6-2, 6-2 win. Nadal next plays Denis Shapovalov  after he beat third seed Alexander Zverev. Canadian 14th seed Shapovalov, 22, reached his first Australian Open quarter-final with an impressive 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory over Germany's Olympic champion. The exit of the 24-year-old Zverev, a 2020 semi-finalist, leaves Nadal as the highest...

Agencies The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has confirmed the traditional season-opening Shenzhen Open will not take place in the first half of 2022 following a conventional pattern until Wimbledon in June. According to Reuters, the WTA 250 tournament, which is usually played in the first week of the year, was held last year before events in China were wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The women's tour has suspended its tournaments in China due to concerns over the treatment of former doubles world number one Peng Shuai, who has disappeared from public view after she made allegation of sexual violence against a high-profile politician. It is unlikely the tournament would have gone ahead early this year anyway due to China's travel restrictions. Last Thursday, Be...