5:14 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPNW Writer MELBOURNE, Australia — The headline on the front of a local newspaper’s sports page loomed everywhere at Melbourne Park on Thursday. “Halep lurks dangerously on Barty’s horizon,” it proclaimed, with an image of a victorious Simona Halep celebrating her win over Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals of the Australian
Tennis
6:59 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPNW Writer MELBOURNE, Australia — For two hard-fought sets during her Australian Open quarterfinal match against Ons Jabeur on Tuesday, Sofia Kenin looked distraught. But looks can be deceiving when it comes to the 14th-seeded American. The tenacious 21-year-old threw up her arms in frustration, yelled at herself and her box
11:00 AM ET The men’s semifinals are set for the 2020 Australian Open. It will be old-school on one side of the draw, with 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer taking on Big Three rival Novak Djokovic, who sits at 16 Slam wins, seven of which have come in Melbourne. On the other side, you’ve
9:54 AM ET Simon Cambers MELBOURNE, Australia — Even for legends of the game, there are times when they just have to say: “Too good.” It took a barrage of brutal hitting from Dominic Thiem to end Rafael Nadal‘s title hopes at the Australian Open on Wednesday night, as the Austrian survived a nerve-addled finale
3:59 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — At the beginning of the fortnight in Melbourne, there wouldn’t have been too many Australian tennis fans rooting for Alexander Zverev. It’s not to say the seventh seed is someone who’s not worth rooting for, but the German simply pales in comparison to the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael
1:31 AM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Alexander Zverev began 2020 with three consecutive losses, which meant he had plenty of problems — and plenty of time on his hands ahead of the Australian Open. He showed up early and got to work, spending up to seven hours per day practicing in the
4:30 PM ET Associated Press WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Teenager Coco Gauff was included on the U.S. Fed Cup team for the first time on Tuesday, joining Serena Williams and others for a qualifying series against Latvia next week. Gauff, 15, is set to become the second-youngest American to play in the competition behind Jennifer
9:48 AM ET Simon Cambers MELBOURNE, Australia — There are no pictures on the scorecard, as they say in golf, no description of how the score came about, just the result. And after Tuesday’s action at the Australian Open, it’s a phrase that Roger Federer would probably agree with. Whereas Novak Djokovic cruised through his
3:34 PM ET Simon Cambers MELBOURNE, Australia — When Novak Djokovic is done with tennis, they will probably erect a statue of him at Melbourne Park, the place where things began for him in 2008 and where he has enjoyed most success. The Serb kick-started his Grand Slam career by winning title No. 1 in
9:16 AM ET Simon Cambers MELBOURNE, Australia — If respect has to be earned, then Nick Kyrgios has earned it. From Rafael Nadal, whom he pushed almost to the limit in a brilliant fourth-round battle at the Australian Open on Monday; from the Australian public, whom he thrilled and took on a crazy journey from