Dimitrov seeing only positives in Australian Open loss

Grigor Dimitrov may have come up agonizingly short of making his first Grand Slam final, but he’s looking at the bright side. At 25, he’s reached the second major semifinal of his career, and he took Rafael Nadal to five sets – in nearly five hours – before finally losing 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 , 6-7 , 6-4 at the Australian Open.

Dimitrov seeing only positives in Australian Open loss

Grigor Dimitrov may have come up agonizingly short of making his first Grand Slam final, but he’s looking at the bright side. At 25, he’s reached the second major semifinal of his career, and he took Rafael Nadal to five sets – in nearly five hours – before finally losing 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 , 6-7 , 6-4 at the Australian Open.

The Latest: Consistent Nishikori into 4th round in Melbourne

Kei Nishikori advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open for the sixth straight year with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Lukas Lacko, a qualifier ranked 121st. The 2014 U.S. Open finalist has not lost to a player ranked outside the top 100 since he was beaten by 179th-ranked qualifier Daniel Evans in the first round at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Go West, young man, Nishikori tells Asian talent

Kei Nishikori urged Asia’s young tennis players to head to Europe or the United States to realize their potential after he reached the third round in Melbourne.The Japanese fifth seed, who toiled for more than 3 1/2 hours in a first-round five-setter with Andrey Kuznetsov, won 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours against 72nd-ranked Jeremy Chardy.Nishikori’s fourth successive victory over the Fren… Kei Nishikori urged Asia’s young tennis players to head to Europe or the United States to realize their potential after he reached the third round in Melbourne.

Murray, Kerber win their 1st major matches as top seeds

Shelby Rogers of the United States celebrates her win over Romania’s Simona Halep in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. Romania’s Simona Halep raise her arms after missing a shot while playing Shelby Rogers of the United States during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.

Wawrinka not focused on potential Kyrgios clash

The 2014 Australian Open champion is likely to have a straightforward path through the opening rounds in his quest to add a fourth grand slam tournament title to his collection. But he could face a major challenge from Kyrgios, who has already beaten him twice and is likely to await him in the round of 16 should he overcome the knee injury that has troubled him in the lead-up.

Murray enhances rankings position

Andy Murray has enhanced his position as world No 1 despite losing for the first time in 29 tournament matches at the weekend. Andy Murray was runner-up in Doha but that has still enabled him to improve his hold on the world No 1 spot Murray was beaten for the first time since Kei Nishikori defeated him in the quarter-finals of the US Open in September when Novak Djokovic won Sunday’s Qatar Open final in three sets.

Dimitrov vs Nishikori in Brisbane; Murray-Djokovic face off in Doha

IMAGE: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov reacts after winning his match against Canada’s Milos Raonic at the Brisbane International semi-final at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane on Saturday. Photograph: Steve Holland/Reuters ulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori Beats Wawrinka, Reaches First Brisbane Final

Kei Nishikori corrected his bad record in Brisbane International semifinals by beating U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 , 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final for the first time at the season-opening tournament. Wawrinka, who won the Chennai tournament in India in the first week of the season for the three previous years, had treatment on his lower left leg at the end of the first set tiebreaker and twice again in the second set.

Raonic beats Nadal, keeps Brisbane title defense on track

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning a point in his quarterfinal match against Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning a point in his quarterfinal match against Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.