Tennis

The 20-times Grand Slam champion had match point in the third set but Basilashvili held on for a deserved victory Roger Federer’s hopes of a fairytale title on his return from injury were cut down by the big-hitting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili as the world No 42 came from behind to beat the 20-times Grand Slam champion 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the ATP event in Doha on Thursday. The 39-year-old, who played superbly to beat British world No 28 Dan Evans

Roger Federer is targeting a third Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games this year after missing out in 2016 due to injury as he looks to gain momentum when he returns to the court this week after 13 months on the sidelines with a knee problem. Federer, 39, is making his long-awaited comeback at the Qatar Open - where he plays Britain's Dan Evans in the second round on Wednesday (March 10) - after two knee surgeries ended his season last year. The

Roger Federer says he never seriously considered retirement in his 14 months away from tennis, and is returning as he feels "the story's not over yet". The 20-time Grand Slam champion is competing at this week's Qatar Open. It will be his first tour appearance since losing to Novak Djokovic in last year's Australian Open semi-finals. "I know it's on the rare side for almost a 40-year-old to come back after a year being out. What's important is I'm injury and pain-free," he

Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer’s all-time record for most weeks as ATP world No 1 on Monday. He has now held the top spot for the 310 weeks. Djokovic’s ninth Australian Open title last month guaranteed that he will surpass Federer’s record on 8 March. Having reached another milestone in his illustrious career, Djokovic has said he will adjust his playing calendar and make overhauling Federer and Rafael Nadal’s joint-record of 20 men’s grand slam titles his top priority. “Now, after achieving the historic No 1

No.4 seed Petra Kvitova came through a stellar hard-hitting clash 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 over Anett Kontaveit to reach her third Qatar Total Open semifinal in one hour and 46 minutes. In the last four, the 2018 champion will face qualifier Jessica Pegula, who needed just 57 minutes to upset No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1. WTA's official website said that Both players have been in top form this week, reaching the quarterfinals without dropping more than five games in any match, and were

HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended Monday part of the opening day of the 19th Qatar Total Open 2021 for women's tennis held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. HH the Amir followed the match between Spain's Garbine Muguruza (the world no. 15) and Russia's Veronika Kudermetova (world no. 26) in the third round. The Spaniard won the match 6-2 and 7-6. The match was attended by a number of their excellencies guests of the competitions and tennis

MELBOURNE: Confidence is king and Daniil Medvedev has plenty of it, with the affable Russian morphing into not just one of tennis's best players and premier athletes, but among the smartest. Standing at a lanky 6 ft 6 in and pencil-thin, he has emerged at the forefront of the next wave looking to smash the 'Big Three' monopoly of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. After reaching the 2019 US Open final, where he lost to Nadal, he has worked hard on

Naomi Osaka ended Serena Williams’ bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title with an imperious 6-3 6-4 win on Thursday, a victory that booked her spot in her second Australian Open final and left the American great in tears. In a rematch of their tumultuous 2018 U.S. Open decider, Osaka underlined her status as the new queen of women’s tennis and soaked up the cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd as fans returned to the Grand Slam after a five-day lockdown.

Novak Djokovic beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev  6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 53 minutes to reach his ninth final in of the Australian Open. He will now face the winner of the second men's singles semi-final between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev. Through the tournament, Djokovic has spoken about the abdominal injury that has hampered his movement but the Serb looked his best so far in the tournament and played an incredibly consistent game to get this easy victory. Karatsev made history by becoming the

In the middle of the first set, sensing her peril, Serena Williams bent at the waist and screamed to herself. “Make a shot,” she yelled. “Make a shot.” If only it was that easy. Unlike most of her matches during her legendary, two-decade-plus career, the Australian Open semifinals wasn’t so much about what Serena could do, but what her opponent could do … only better. Williams’ latest quest for her 24th Grand Slam championship ran into the buzzsaw known as Naomi Osaka in

Karolina Muchova staged a stunning comeback Thursday to upset Ashleigh Barty and storm into the Australian Open semi-finals. Karolina Muchova staged a stunning comeback Thursday to upset Ashleigh Barty and storm into the Australian Open semi-finals, rallying from a set down to shatter the world number one's dreams. The Czech 25th seed looked on her way out after Barty raced through the opening set, but after a medical timeout Muchova returned a different player to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena

Rafael Nadal looks to be peaking at the right time after brushing aside Fabio Fognini to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The second seed came into the tournament with serious concerns over a back problem but revealed after beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the third round that it had finally started to improve. Fognini came from two sets down to beat Nadal at the US Open in 2015 but, after failing to convert a lead in the second set, he swiftly succumbed to a 6-3, 6-4,

The Scot, now ranked 125th, lost 6-2, 6-4 to 33-year-old Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, who is ranked 212th, in the hard-court event. Rome: Former world number one Andy Murray, forced to miss the Australian Open by a positive COVID-19 test, lost the final of the Biella Challenger event in Italy on Sunday. The Scot, now ranked 125th, lost 6-2, 6-4 to 33-year-old Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, who is ranked 212th, in the hard-court event. The indoor event in the foothills of the Italian Alps carried a modest overall

Karolina Pliskova said she never got into her comfort zone on Saturday as the sixth seed exited the Australian Open following a 7-5 7-5 third-round defeat by Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova at Rod Laver Arena. Pliskova's frustrations boiled over in the first set as she received a code violation for racket abuse and was then handed a point deduction for smashing another racket in the tunnel between sets. Pliskova told a news conference she had been a little bit surprised at the second

Serena Williams debuted a striking single-legged leotard in her first match in the Australian Open on Monday, paying homage to the Olympic track champion Florence Griffith Joyner, known for her long, colourful fingernails and flamboyant outfits. After wearing the black, red and pink catsuit to dispatch Germany’s Laura Siegemund, Williams credited Nike for coming up with the idea to channel FloJo, as the athlete was popularly known, and spoke of her admiration for the late athlete. “I was inspired by FloJo, who was

With most of the world still living under strict coronavirus restrictions, there is some light relief for tennis fans in the form of a very different Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year does take place in Melbourne as planned, although it starts three weeks later than usual on 8 February. Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal - who is aiming to win a 21st major title and move clear of Roger Federer - lead the men's

More than 500 tennis players and officials were ordered into isolation in the Australian city of Melbourne on Thursday as authorities reintroduced coronavirus restrictions after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the virus. The city reimposed an order for masks indoors and a limit on gatherings of 15 people after the state's run of 28 days with no new local cases came to an end. Melbourne, Australia's second-biggest city, is preparing to host the Australian Open tennis tournament from Monday

Barty will play American Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic and could potentially face Serena Williams in the semifinals. Williams was playing Tsvetana Pironkova in a night match on Margaret Court Arena. Ash Barty looked like the world No. 1 in the first set, then struggled the rest of the way against No. 52-ranked Marie Bouzkova before completing a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win in an Australian Open tuneup tournament on Wednesday. In the third set, the 2019 French Open

Rafa Nadal brushed aside questions about the Australian Open quarantine on Sunday and said it was time to get down to the business of playing tennis and entertaining fans around the world. The 34-year-old, who secured his 20th Grand Slam title at last year’s delayed French Open, completed his two weeks of isolation in Adelaide on Friday before playing an exhibition match and then heading to Melbourne. “When we arrived here, we have this quarantine. But I think that’s over. It’s the moment

Spain’s tennis player was diagnosed with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma and went through chemotherapy. Former world number six female tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro says she dreams of a return to competitive action following cancer treatment and this year’s postponed Tokyo Olympics would be the perfect stage to call time on her career. Spaniard Suarez Navarro said in September she was diagnosed with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer, and would need to go through six months of chemotherapy.