Grand Slam

LONDON: Former champions Venus Williams and Andy Murray were named in Wimbledon's initial list of wild cards on Wednesday (Jun 16) for this month's grass court Grand Slam. American Williams, who will turn 41 on Thursday, won five out of her seven Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon, but has slipped to 103rd in the women's world rankings. She has not made it past the opening round at any tournament since reaching the second round of the Australian Open in February. Britain's Murray

SHANGHAI: A decade ago, more than 110 million people tuned in from China to watch Li Na become the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title. But now she is rarely seen on TV or in the country's media. Her big breakthrough for Chinese and Asian tennis at the 2011 French Open was followed by a second major at the Australian Open in 2014 before Li tearfully called it quits later that year. Now 39, Li is only seen fleetingly

PARIS: Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday (May 27). The three most successful players in the history of the men's game have won 17 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles between them and Federer and Djokovic are on a quarter-final collision course. Title holder Nadal, who starts against Australian Alexei Popyrin, could face Italian prospect Jannik Sinner, the 18th

PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will set their sights on more Grand Slam history at Roland Garros as the French Open embraces a new and eerily empty era of night time tennis. A 14th title in Paris for Nadal would take him to a record-setting 21st major, surpassing the mark he shares with Roger Federer who has already written off his hopes of adding to his lone success in the French capital back in 2009. Djokovic, the champion in 2016, can move

LONDON: The Wimbledon Championships will become a 14-day tournament from 2022, with matches set to be played on Middle Sunday, traditionally a day off at the grasscourt Grand Slam, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said on Tuesday. The first Sunday of Wimbledon is normally a rest day, on which tournament organisers work to get the courts back into top shape for the latter rounds, resulting in a packed "Manic Monday" schedule. "From 2022, to coincide with the centenary of centre court,

Roger Federer's decision to make his long-awaited Grand Slam return on his least favourite surface at next month's French Open is part of a grand plan to peak in time for his beloved Wimbledon, according to ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe. Federer, who due to injury or schedule preference has not competed on the clay courts at Roland Garros in four of the last five years, returned to competition last month after sitting out more than a year following two knee operations. "He wouldn't

Defending champion Novak Djokovic blasted past Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in emphatic fashion Monday to ominously kick off his bid for an unprecedented ninth Australian Open title. Defending champion Novak Djokovic blasted past Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in emphatic fashion Monday to ominously kick off his bid for an unprecedented ninth Australian Open title. The Serbian world number one, who clinched his 17th Grand Slam in last year's gripping final at Melbourne Park against Dominic Thiem, wasted little energy in the 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 romp in just 91 minutes

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley says he is "absolutely confident" the Grand Slam will start as planned on Monday, despite 160 players waiting for the outcome of coronavirus tests. A total of 507 people connected to the event were told to isolate by Melbourne health officials on Wednesday after a hotel worker tested positive. Play at six warm-up events and the Slam draws were postponed on Thursday. "We fully expect to keep the original schedule after today," said Tiley. The warm-up events, which are all