Tennis

Alcaraz said he never imagined his title defense would find him ducking for cover amid a swarm of bees.

Bhambri and his Dutch partner Hasse got the beating of Britain’s Murray and New Zealand’s Venus 6-4, 7-6(1) to set up a final-four clash against Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the USA.

Paolini was a set and 1-3 down, and also trailed 1-3 in the decider, against Kalinskaya but was at her grittiest best to ensure she became the second Italian woman to triumph in Dubai, following in the footsteps of Sara Errani.

The 17th-ranked Russian won 7-6 (14/12), 6-4 to claim a sixth career title against 18-year-old Mensik, the youngest finalist at a tour event since Carlos Alcaraz at Umag in 2021.

In a slew of Instagram Stories shared earlier this week before her departure, the tennis star harshly critiqued Indian food, hygiene, and traffic sense after a three-week stay in the country.

Ben Shelton saved three break points in the clinching game after doing the same when serving for the second set in a match that didn't even have a break point until the 19th game.

Sahaja Yamalapalli and Rutuja Bhosale went down fighting in their pre-quarter-final matches of the Mumbai Open.

Rohan Bopanna said he does not get to eat sambar, idli, rasam or mysore pak as he is mostly away from Bangalore but indulges himself when he returns from tour.

“We would have made it a grand show for the Indian contingent but are forced to keep it as a low-key affair,” a key PTF official told when asked why the buzz is missing. .

The sporting world as a whole, with athletes from all walks of sport alike, came together to shower their praise on the timeless Rohan Bopanna for his crowing achievement.

Medvedev weathered a two-set deficit to come back from the dead and clinch the win 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a battle that lasted 4 hours and 18 minutes.

Alexander Zverev defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 to book his place in the semi-final of the Australian Open.

The Ukraine Tennis Federation called it an "unpleasant incident", reiterating its position that "Ukrainian tennis players not hold handshakes with representatives of aggressor countries".

Rohan Bopanna admits it's been a long time since India has had a player performing and winning titles at international level and hops his feat at such a ripe age could help end the drought.

The German sixth seed won 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10/3) in a match lasting more than four hours against the top rated British Norrie to set up a quarterfinal clash against Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic was seen as a rather high-headed maverick early on in his career but has seemed to have mellowed down with each passing year and every title he has claimed in his decorated career.