Tennis News

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva came back from a set down to beat Italian pair Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci and take the Australian Open doubles title in Melbourne on Friday.

It’s hard to be the greatest player of all time, when you’re not the greatest player of your time.

It’s the Australian Open so the complaints have started up again - and always just about the women.

Roger Federer fans across the Western Hemisphere are blearily thinking one thing this morning: I skipped a night of sleep for this ? The Australian Open semifinal between Federer and Rafael Nadal proved thumpingly familiar, with Nadal storming from behind to win in four sets, ending perhaps the last best hope his rival had for another major title.

At the age of 24, Andy Murray holds career statistics that would make most other players’ eyes water.

WHILE Andy Murray had a nasty first-round match against a talented youngster that lasted more than three hours in the furnace of Hisense Arena, Novak Djokovic spent less than half that time on centre court in a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 stroll against a 30-year-old straggler who played only five matches on the ATP last year.

Serbian Djokovic, who won the trophy in Melbourne 12 months ago at the start of a remarkable year which also saw him emerge victorious at Wimbledon and the US Open, made a convincing start to his title defence against Paolo Lorenzi, winning 6-2 6-0 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena.

Alicia Molik has become a mother for the first time. The 30-year-old Australian tennis champion and former world number eight, who is married to Tim Sullivan , gave birth to son Yannik Jude in Perth last week.

Former players and pundits have lined up to praise Andy Murray for appointing Ivan Lendl as his new coach, regarding the move as a potential masterstroke that could fill the missing piece in the Briton’s grand slam jigsaw.

How appropriate the pair of Czech Frantisek Cermak and Slovak Filip Polasek were wearing black and blue in the Heineken Open doubles final yesterday in Auckland.

Andy Murray Saturday tempered hopes his new partnership with tennis great Ivan Lendl would reap immediate dividends at the Australian Open, where he will resume his quest for a maiden grand slam.

New Zealand’s Dan King-Turner and Michael Venus are into the semi-finals of the doubles at the Heineken Open after accounting for the No 4 seeds today.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in action during his Heineken Open day three tennis second round match against Ryan Harrison of the USA.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in action during his Heineken Open day three tennis second round match against Ryan Harrison of the USA.

Eighth seed Radek Stepanek won his Apia International Sydney opener on Tuesday, defeating Xavier Malisse 6-7 , 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 29 minutes.

Alejandro Falla overcame a slow start to beat Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 Monday, knocking the seventh-seeded American out of the Heineken Open in the first round.

Roger Federer said his sore back has not improved since he beat Andreas Seppi in three sets Thursday in Qatar.

One of the biggest stories going into the 2012 season was that Andy Murray has finally ended his search for a coach.

GLOBAL: Pernod Ricard partners Jacob’s Creek with Andre Agassi Pernod Ricard has secured the services of former tennis player Andre Agassi to promote its Jacob’s Creek wine brand globally.

Lucas Glover might not be able to start his season at the Tournament of Champions after injuring his right knee while paddle boarding.

BRISBANE, Australia - Top-seeded Andy Murray beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semifinals in the Brisbane International, his only tuneup tournament for the Australian Open.

Defending champion Roger Federer extended his winning streak to 20 straight matches despite being stretched to three sets Thursday in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Andreas Seppi of Italy in the Qatar Open quarterfinals.

Defending champion Roger Federer won a 20th straight match on Thursday by beating Andreas Seppi 6-3 5-7 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open to set up a final four meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The scoreboard showed Roger Federer soaring above the Khalifa Tennis Complex, as highlights of his greatest hits accompanied his entrance on court for today’s Doha quarterfinal.

In his much acclaimed autobiography Open , Andre Agassi discusses the “finish line at the end of a match.” He explains that this “finish line” is a paradox, which contains “twin forces” and “contradictory energies.” Agassi writes that one force is “pulling you” and “you can use it to get across” , and that the other is “equally strong, pushing you … (more)

It’s rare that the top eight seeds reach the quarterfinals at any tournament, even small ones.

Andy Murray and Marcos Baghdatis were knocked out of the men’s doubles at the ATP Brisbane International in the second round.

Three of the big four are in action this week and so far they are all undefeated in 2012.

BRISBANE: The top seed Andy Murray battled back from the brink for the second night in a row as he beat Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller in the second round of the Brisbane International on Wednesday.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns the ball to Grega Zemlja of Slovenia during the Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday Jan.