Tennis

9:59 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The smile on Novak Djokovic‘s face after smashing an overhead backhand volley past Daniil Medvedev to secure a record ninth Australian Open title on Sunday wasn’t one of pure joy or even contentment. It was relief. As the “Nole, Nole, Nole” chant echoed around Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic dropped

9:39 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Ahead of this year’s Australian Open final, there was a distinctly different buzz around Melbourne Park. There was a sense that, just maybe, this would be the year the King of Rod Laver Arena could be dethroned by a member of the “next generation.” World No. 1 Novak Djokovic

5:47 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic‘s Australian Open dominance is intact — nine finals, nine championships. And he keeps gaining on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam standings, now up to 18 overall, two away from the men’s record shared by his two rivals. Djokovic used superb serving

2:02 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Filip Polasek and Ivan Dodig have won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 2020 champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. Ram, a 36-year-old American who spent two weeks in hard quarantine after arriving in Australia last month, was attempting

7:15 AM ET ESPN staff MELBOURNE, Australia — All eyes will be fixed on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday when World No. 1 Novak Djokovic battles the red-hot Daniil Medvedev for the Australian Open men’s singles title (3:30 a.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App). The pair have had contrasting runs to the final at Melbourne Park. Djokovic,

4:28 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The extreme speed of Melbourne Park’s courts have been the talk of the 2021 Australian Open. Dominic Thiem, a finalist last year, called the terrain this year “the fastest Grand Slam courts I have ever played on.” Jim Courier, a two-time champion of the tournament, likened the surface here

9:40 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Naomi Osaka paused for a moment when asked about her perfect record in major finals. She had just defeated Serena Williams in the Australian Open semifinals and secured her spot in her fourth career championship match. She maintained a soft-spoken tone but her message was anything but quiet. “I have

7:07 AM ET Associated Press Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram have combined for their second Australian Open mixed doubles title in three years with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Sam Stosur and Matthew Ebden in the championship match. Krejcikova has won three in a row at Melbourne Park.

5:17 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — The trouble for Naomi Osaka at Grand Slam tournaments comes in Week 1. Get beyond that at the hard-court majors, though, and start preparing to etch her name on the trophy. Osaka won her fourth title in her past eight appearances at a Slam, emerging from what

7:40 AM ET ESPN staff After two weeks of incredible tennis, countless upsets and ever-changing coronavirus protocols, we have reached the women’s final at the 2021 Australian Open, as No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka faces No. 22 seed Jennifer Brady on Saturday (3:30 a.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App). The 23-year-old Osaka, who defeated Serena

7:43 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Jennifer Brady prepared for the Australian Open in a 355-square-foot hotel room. Following a positive test for coronavirus from a passenger on her charter flight upon arriving in Melbourne, Brady was forbidden from leaving the room and was required to self-isolate for 14 days. No access to tennis courts. No

8:52 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — While it’s not easy to fly under the radar as the fourth seed at a Grand Slam, Daniil Medvedev has managed to do exactly that at this year’s Australian Open. In a tournament beset by drama two weeks before a ball was even hit, the rangy Russian somehow avoided

6:09 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Daniil Medvedev simply does not lose right now. Not to Top 10 opponents. Not to anyone, really. Certainly not to a drained Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semifinals. Now let’s see what happens against Novak Djokovic. Medvedev made it to his second Grand Slam final as

8:20 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Open is expecting to record a loss of more than $78 million (AU$100 million) for running the tennis season’s first Grand Slam amid the COVID-19 pandemic, tournament director Craig Tiley said Friday. The government-imposed restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus meant Tennis

12:25 AM ET Excitement generated by the showdown between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Australian Open could not be overstated. The 23-year-old Osaka grew up idolizing Williams, who was trying to reach her ninth Australian final in a bid to win a record-tying 24th Grand Slam, and Osaka (the third

3:00 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com As she made her way off court Thursday at Rod Laver Arena, Serena Williams stopped for a moment as the recently returned crowd stood and showered her with applause. She raised her left arm to wave before moving her hand over her heart, as if to let them know the

11:32 PM ET ESPN News Services Naomi Osaka advanced to the Australian Open final after beating Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4. Williams was trying to reach her ninth Australian final in a bid to win a record-tying 24th Grand Slam. The 23-year-old Osaka became the third player to win each of their first two major meetings

11:43 AM ET For most of tennis’s existence, winning even a single Grand Slam tournament meant career affirmation. From 1990 to ’98, 16 different players won a major, six for the first and only time. If there was a big-picture narrative involved, it likely had to do with reaching No. 1 in the ATP rankings.