Category: Tennis
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Australian Open: Andy Murray out despite heroic effort against Bautista Agut
Andy Murray produced a performance that belied his physical limitations but ultimately lost to Roberto Bautista Agut, going down 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 6-2. The 31-year-old fought back from two sets and a break down to force a decider but Bautista Agut managed to hold his nerve to seal his spot in round two, where…
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Kerber untroubled as her Australian Open quest gets underway
Angelique Kerber brandished her credentials as a title contender at the Australian Open with a straight-forward 6-2, 6-2 victory against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog on Monday. The Wimbledon champion minimised her time under the hot sun, where temperatures surpassed 30 degrees celsius (86°F) during the day-time matches in Melbourne. She thus secured the straight sets win…
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Maria Sharapova suffers injury blow ahead of Australian Open
Former world number one Maria Sharapova’s Australian Open preparations suffered a blow after a thigh injury forced her to retire from the Shenzhen Open quarter-final clash against Aryna Sabalenka on Friday. Sharapova struggled to move on court and conceded the opening set 6-1, with Coach Thomas Hogstedt urging the Russian to take her game to…
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I’ll make history as only African woman to participate in 7 Olympics – Oshonaike
Nigerian table tennis star, Funke Oshonaike, says if she qualifies for Tokyo Olympics in 2020, she will go down in history as the only female in Africa to participate in seven Olympics. The 44-year-old table tennis star made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday on…
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Zverev stuns world number one Djokovic to win ATP finals
Alexander Zverev stunned world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the season-ending ATP Finals and earn the biggest victory of his career. Djokovic, 31, was the heavy favourite to win a sixth finals title but was outclassed 6-4 6-3 by the German. Zverev, the third seed, broke Djokovic for a 5-4 lead…
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ATP: Novak Djokovic returns to world number one
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic snatched the top spot of the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals world singles rankings released on Monday from Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, now World No. 2. The Serb lost in the final of the Paris Masters to Karen Khachanov on Sunday but regained number one spot for the first time since…
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Roger Federer seals 99th tournament victory
Roger Federer sealed the Swiss Indoors title for the ninth time with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over Marius Copil and is now one short of 100 tournament wins. The 37-year-old world number three, who first won the Swiss title in 2006, was a break down in each set to Romanian Copil, seeking his first…
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Sloane Stephens beats Osaka at WTA Finals
American Sloane Stephens produced a dominant final set to beat US Open champion Naomi Osaka at the WTA Finals. The pair traded several breaks of serve in the first set but Stephens, 25, edged it 7-5 in 52 minutes. Osaka, 21, rallied and closed out a 55-minute second set 6-4. Japan’s Osaka had a break…
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Serena coach pleads for honest, open on-court coaching
Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach whose attempts to guide Serena Williams mid-match during this year’s U.S. Open final, has called for on-court coaching to be permitted. His attempts led to the player’s explosive row with the umpire and a code violation en route to defeat. But Mouratoglou has now admitted gesturing to Williams from the stands…