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Her next challenge comes at the Australian Open, which starts Monday with Williams seeking her 18th Grand Slam title — an accomplishment that would match Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. "It would mean a lot to be on the same level as such great players," Williams said in a pre-tournament news conference Saturday, quickly adding a dash of humility. "I still have a lot of work to do. I obviously want to reach that level, but I'm not there yet....

The men’s draw features defending champ Roger Federer, 2017 runner-up Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. The women’s draw features 2017 runner-up Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, and Karolina Pliskova. MORE: Federer questions whether a 36-year-old should be favorite | Fashion at the Open However, the women’s defending champion Serena Williams will not participate in the Aussie Open this year after announcing her decision to withdraw as she prepares for her return to tennis after giving birth to her daughter....

We can now look forward to their second round matches that will take place on what is a jam-packed Day 3: Roger Federer vs Filip Krajinovic The first round matches of Federer and Filip Krajinovic were quite different, to say the least. Federer was flawless in his encounter with Steve Johnson, defeating the American in less than 90 minutes, whereas Krajinovic was pushed to five sets by Quentin Halys in a match that lasted just shy of four hours....

The draw, however, has not been very kind to Sharapova as she is set to play the dynamic 19th seed Donna Vekic in the first round itself. While not the most overwhelming presence in the women’s draw, the 23-year-old Vekic is still a formidable opponent. And Sharapova has first-hand experience of what’s it’s like to play her. The two women locked horns at the 2018 French Open, with Sharapova coming out on top in two tight sets....

Sixth seed Tsitsipas was scheduled to face Kohlschreiber on Wednesday, however, the German veteran succumbed to a muscle strain. Greek star Tsitsipas - last year’s semi-finalist - will face either 32nd seed Milos Raonic or Cristian Garin for a spot in the fourth round at Melbourne Park. Tsitsipas announced himself after stunning Roger Federer en route to the Australian Open semis in 2019, the 21-year-old’s run ended by 19-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal....

The duo of Djokovic and Federer have racked up 13 of the last 16 Australian Open titles on offer, the others being Marat Safin (2005), Rafael Nadal (2009) and Stan Wawrinka (2014). Not suprisingly, Federer (97) and Djokovic (68) have the most match wins of any player at the tournament, and are the only players to appear in 7 title matches. You may also like: Federer’s 5 unique records at the Australian Open Since the 2017 Australian Open, the Big 3 of Federer (3), Djokovic (4) and Nadal (5) have swept all 12 Grand Slam titles on offer....

Date: 9 February 2021 Tournament: Australian Open 2021 Round: First round (Round of 128) Venue: Melbourne, Australia Category: Grand Slam Surface: Outdoor hardcourt Prize money: AUD $80,000,000 Match timing: Not before 12 pm local time, 6:30 am IST Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport 1 | India - Sony Six Andrey Rublev vs Yannick Hanfmann preview Coming off a breakout 2020 season, seventh seed Andrey Rublev will be looking to make a statement at the Australian Open this year as he takes on Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in his opener on Tuesday....

Maintaining its status as the first tennis Grand Slam tournament of the new calendar year, the event started on Monday, January 16 and will run until Sunday, January 29. The Sporting News takes a look at all the key ticket information for this year’s Australian Open. How to buy Australian Open 2023 tickets Tickets for the 2023 edition of the Australian Open are available exclusively via Ticketek. Fans are able to filter by price, dates, session times, arenas, and experience types....

Avatar: The Last Airbender fans recreate environments from the show in Unreal Engine and in their own artwork almost daily. The show is loved by millions of people around the world, and now fans have a new game based on the series to play. RELATED: Genshin Impact Fan Recreates Avatar: The Last Airbender Opening in the Game Square Enix London Mobile in partnership with Paramount Consumer Products today announced that Avatar: Generations is heading into soft launch in select territories this August....

An idea of what Avatar: Reckoning came from developer Archosaur Games’ past work. The Chinese mobile game developer’s most recent release is Noah’s Heart, an open-world fantasy MMORPG. It features full character creation, a story campaign, and action gameplay. Avatar: Reckoning will be trading the action combat for third-person shooting and there’s no indication it’s open-world, but it does show that Archosaur is a veteran team with mobile MMORPG experience....

The highs are accompanied by the fourth consecutive month of a slowed sales pace as car buyers have faced limited inventory, high prices and historically low incentives. Total July sales numbered just 1,092,302, which is among the lowest monthly total in a decade. “The automotive industry is still reeling from the extraordinary circumstances of the last year and a half, setting new records seemingly left and right,” said Kayla Reynolds, analyst for Cox Automotive....

There are some good reasons, however, that the opening of Avowed should have more similarities with the opening of Skyrim than the opening of Obsidian’s last major first-person RPG, The Outer Worlds. Here’s a breakdown of why Skyrim and other games have such good introductions for their open-world RPG goals, where The Outer Worlds’ opening falls short, and what Avowed needs to do to make sure its intro sticks the landing....

Arsenal fans panic over smiling Alexis The Gunners have been found wanting in crunch games against their main rivals over the years, leaving many supporters to question whether Arsene Wenger is the right man to lead the club. And fans will be reeling from that same old feeling once again as Arsenal served up a disappointing display on the road against fellow top-four contenders Liverpool. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane fired Liverpool into a two-goal lead in the first half as Arsenal’s star man Alexis Sanchez watched on from the bench....

A video game trailer needs to be exciting and informative to retain the attention of the viewer. If it seems bland or unfinished, the same can be assumed for the full title upon release. There are few things in the video game industry more surprising than a terrible trailer leading to the release of a fantastic video game, but it is more common than one would initially think. 10 Brutal Legend The trailer for Brutal Legend is incredible regarding the game it is intending to sell....

“There were only a handful of spectators watching but someone from the crowd sensed something special was happening and managed to record Aled’s fifth and sixth wickets,” John Ogilvie, secretary of Golden Point, told BBC Sport. “We’ve got the ball in the safe and we will make a trophy to present to Aled at our awards night in April to celebrate his feat. “Aled has been at Golden Point for many years and says the club is part of his family,” he continued....

Match of the tournament: Novak Djokovic vs Stanislas Wawrinka (Men’s Quarterfinal) It was a match of epic proportions. The final scoreline read 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7(5) 12-10, but what it did not tell was the almost superhuman level of tennis played and the athleticism on display. In a match that lasted a little over five hours, the Swiss and the Serb were locked in a battle from the baseline. Wawrinka played out of his skin but when it came to delivering the final punch, he took his foot off the accelerator and Djokovic has played too many of these matches now to know that you cannot afford to do that....

Mirza and Dodig struggle on break points This was, without a doubt, a tough opening round for the second-seeded Mirza and Dodig. The 2016 French Open runners-up naturally did not have a smooth sailing throughout this match and could only convert five out of their 17 break points. The Indo-Croatian pair made in-roads into their opponents’ serves early and went up 2-0. But the German-Croatian duo refused to bow down and came storming back to level the set at 4-4....

Williams - stuck on 23 major championships since winning the Australian Open in 2017 - trails Margaret Court’s 24-trophy tally. It has been a long time coming for Williams as the anticipation builds at Melbourne Park, where the 38-year-old American superstar is yet to drop a set this week. We take a closer look at Williams’ form ahead of the seven-time Australian Open champion’s meeting with Wang. Form and results...

Gauff produced one of 2019’s most remarkable results when she beat five-time Wimbledon champion Williams in the first round at the All England club, and the 15-year-old will again face her compatriot in the opening round of 2020’s first major. Serena Williams starts her latest quest for a 24th grand slam singles title against another teenager, Anastasia Potapova, and she could be on for a quarter-final against defending champion Naomi Osaka, who plays Marie Bouzkova in round one....