Tennis

11:43 AM ET For most of tennis’s existence, winning even a single Grand Slam tournament meant career affirmation. From 1990 to ’98, 16 different players won a major, six for the first and only time. If there was a big-picture narrative involved, it likely had to do with reaching No. 1 in the ATP rankings.

9:38 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Top-ranked Ash Barty built a big lead in her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open before her opponent took an injury timeout and left the court. More than an hour later, it was Barty heading abruptly out the exit. She was upset Wednesday by Karolina Muchova 1-6,

11:31 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Jessica Pegula surprised even her coaches with her quarterfinal run. It was the 2005 Eddie Herr International Junior Championship and the 12-and-under field included Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Ajla Tomljanovic and Eugenie Bouchard. Pegula hadn’t played in many tournaments, so no one knew how she would handle the pressure competing

10:55 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com When Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka met at the 2018 US Open final, Arthur Ashe Stadium descended into chaos. Williams was given three highly controversial code violations — with the last resulting in a game penalty to give Osaka a 5-3 lead in the second set. The crowd booed throughout

10:08 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Naomi Osaka advanced Tuesday to a potential semifinal showdown against Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Osaka earned her 19th victory in a row by overpowering Su-Wei Hsieh 6-2, 6-2, and will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal match Tuesday night between Williams and No.

1:12 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The grimace on Novak Djokovic‘s face after slipping on the white “MELBOURNE” lettering behind the baseline at Rod Laver Arena was enough to suggest the world No. 1’s chances of defending his Australian Open title had just taken a serious hit. In the third round at Melbourne Park on

12:00 PM ET When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady walloped the Kansas City Chiefs to earn Brady his seventh Super Bowl ring, it prompted a series of “Is Brady the GOAT of all GOATs?” conversations. Most of those greatest-of-all-time discussions ended, or should have, upon remembrance that Serena Williams exists. Like Brady, Williams

9:32 PM ET Associated Press Jessica Pegula has reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open by earning her first victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 10. The 61st-ranked American, whose parents own Buffalo’s NFL and NHL franchises, beat No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Rod

8:50 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic beat Milos Raonic in four sets to advance to the quarterfinals and register his 300th win in a Grand Slam match. Top-ranked Djokovic is just the second player to reach the 300-win milestone after Roger Federer. Djokovic hurt a stomach muscle

5:00 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com As a smiling Serena Williams made her way to the net after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three hard-fought sets Sunday in the fourth round of the 2021 Australian Open, 18-time major champion Chris Evert seemed in awe over what she had just seen. “Is this the next level of women’s

9:17 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — So good for so long lately, Naomi Osaka was just one point from the end of her lengthy winning streak, one point from leaving the Australian Open with a loss to Garbine Muguruza. Bleak as things looked for her late in a big-hitting matchup of Grand Slam

7:56 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Upon advancing to her first major fourth round on Saturday, Jessica Pegula grabbed the blue marker to write on the on-court camera lens, as is customary for winners at the Australian Open. She could have written anything. Before saying hi to her sister, she wrote: “Let’s go Jen Brady!” 🇺🇸

1:14 AM ET ESPN News Services Daniil Medvedev finally worked out how to a win a five-setter. All by himself. The fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev was 0-6 in five-setters, and his match against No. 28-seeded Filip Krajinovic looked like it was going all the way in the third round of the Australian Open. After some angry

10:38 PM ET Jake Michaels Close ESPN Associate Editor Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He joined ESPN in June, 2013 and works as an Associate Editor, covering sport in Australia and around the world. Matt Walsh Close Assistant Editor Matt Walsh

12:40 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The scene at John Cain Arena was electric until the final moments Friday night. As the clock counted down on fans’ final seconds of freedom before a mandatory minimum five-day lockdown, as well as on Nick Kyrgios‘ run in the 2021 Australian Open, those in attendance only grew louder with

9:00 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — If Friday night turns out to be the last we see of fans at the Australian Open in 2021, Nick Kyrgios and world No. 3 Dominic Thiem didn’t disappoint, treating the vocal John Cain Arena crowd to a memorable evening of Grand Slam tennis, one which featured multiple code

4:46 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Nick Kyrgios says he’s starting to feel like an old soul. Ahead of his Friday night (AEDT) third-round showdown with US Open champion Dominic Thiem, he’s used the term “veteran” despite being just 25 years of age, and even admitted to craving a glass of red wine following his

8:35 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Sofia Kenin, looking to defend her Australian Open singles title, was in tears after losing in straight sets to Kaia Kanepi in the second round on Thursday. “I feel like everyone was always asking me, ‘Would you want to [defend the title]?” she said about the overwhelming pressure she had