Murray confidence sky high despite final hurdle failures

Losing five Melbourne Park finals would leave many believing they were destined to never win the Australian Open title but world number one Andy Murray remains confident that this could be the year he lays his demons to rest. Murray after all, has solid form on the blue hardcourts in Melbourne, where he is arguably the second-most consistent man at the tournament this decade — after six-times champion Novak Djokovic.

Johanna Konta: Can back up Sydney win in Melbourne

It’s a while since we’ve had a 16/5 favourite for the women’s singles at a Grand Slam and that being the case at the Australian Open suggests it’s a pretty open field. Serena Williams still holds that favourite position but the 35-year-old is clearly someone the layers are prepared to take on to a certain extent.

Best day ever: Destanee hits with Serena, her inspiration

United States’ Serena Williams, left, talks with Australian player Destanee Aiava during a promotional event on Margaret Court Arena ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Aiava will be the first player born this century to play in the main draw match at a tennis major.

Bouchard advances to Sydney quarter-finals

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard continued her resurgent run heading into the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals at the Sydney International. Bouchard improved her career record to 4-1 against Cibulkova, who was ranked No.

Wild-card entry Bouchard wins 1st-round match at Sydney

Eugenie Bouchard made the most of her wild-card entry to the Sydney International, beating Zhang Shuai of China 7-6 , 6-2 on Sunday in a first-round match. Bouchard, a 22-year-old former Wimbledon finalist, was beaten in the first round of the Brisbane International last week in her first warmup tournament for the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 16 and where she was a surprise semifinalist in 2014.

Will Serena Williams Return As the No. 1 Player in 2017?

Serena Williams lost a second-round match at the ASB Classic on Wednesday, but it will only awaken the American superstar to find her form before the Australian Open draw on Jan. 13. After not playing competitive tour tennis since the U.S. Open and all but relinquishing her No. 1 ranking to Angelique Kerber, Serena is putting on her game face.

Judy Murray believes ‘it would be hard to top this year’ after sons …

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Serena wins at love again; says a yesa to engagement in poem

The tennis great announced her engagement to Alexis Ohanian on Thursday, posting a poem on Reddit that she accepted the proposal of the social news website’s co-founder. “I came home/A little late/Someone had a bag packed for me/And a carriage awaited/Destination: Rome/To escort me to my very own “charming”/Back to where our stars first collided/And now it was full circle/At the same table we first met by chance/This time he made it not by chance/But by choice/Down on one knee/He said 4 words/And I said yes.”

Andy Murray is a five-time runner up at the Australian Open

World number one Andy Murray returns to the court in Abu Dhabi on Friday hoping a change of preparations can help deliver an elusive Australian Open title next month. The Scot ended the 2016 tour at the top of the ATP Rankings after claiming both the Wimbledon and Olympic crowns, and defeating previous top seed Novak Djokovic to win the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.