Tennis

In the world of Tennis, the rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is one for the ages. The two greats have encountered at many venues and tournaments but the lesser known fact about them is that they were never really friends. In a recent interaction, the 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed his equation with Federer and said they were never friends and most likely never will be. Djoker’s words were shared by The Tennis Letter on their Twitter account. The post read,

Roger Federer said he hopes Rafa Nadal will recover in time for the French Open and that it would be a "brutal" blow for tennis if the 14-time Roland Garros champion is absent this year. Nadal has been dealing with a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January, and fears that the Spaniard may miss the Paris Grand Slam grew after he pulled out of this week's Italian Open. Nadal skipped last week's Madrid Open and also missed tournaments at

On Tuesday, Sania Mirza bid adieu to the game that has meant everything to her and her partner for more than 20 glorious years at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. The American Madison Keys and the former No. 1 in the world in doubles lost to Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-0. Certainly, everyone succumbs to the effects of aging, even legendary actors who play physically demanding parts like Sania. Sania, a permanent resident of Dubai, had decided that it was the perfect

One of the finest sporting personalities in India, Sania Mirza brought an end to her illustrious Grand Slam journey on Friday as she lost the Australian Open Mixed Doubles final. The Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos emerged triumphant, beating the Indian duo of Sania and Rohan Bopanna 7-6, 6-2 in the final. The Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos emerged triumphant, beating the Indian duo of Sania and Rohan Bopanna 7-6, 6-2 in the final, securing their maiden

France's Caroline Garcia scored the biggest victory of her career with a straight-sets defeat of Aryna Sabalenka to win the season-ending WTA Finals on Monday. Garcia relied on a superb service game to overpower her Belarusian opponent 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 at Fort Worth, Texas. The 29-year-old from Lyon is only the second French player to win the WTA title after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005. "It's definitely a lot of giant happiness," Garcia said after a win that will see her pocket $1.57 million

Spain reigns at the summit of men's tennis with Carlos Alcaraz holding world number one spot in the ATP rankings released on Monday with compatriot Rafael Nadal moving back up to second. Nadal, 36, benefited from Casper Ruud's quarter-final exit in Seoul where he was top seed, to move ahead of the Norwegian. Novak Djokovic, winner of his third tournament this season in Tel Aviv, stays seventh but scores 250 precious points in the race for the ATP Finals in Turin, his end-of-season

Emma Raducanu is through to the second round of the Slovenia Open after winning her first match since her unsuccessful US Open title defence. British number one Raducanu was leading 6-2 5-3 when her opponent Dayana Yastremska was forced to retire. The 22-year-old Ukrainian, who is 89th in the world, injured her wrist while 30-0 down serving to stay in the match. Raducanu, 19, went into the WTA 250 hard-court event as top seed but having slid from 11th to 83rd in the

Serena Williams has confirmed that she will hang up her racket following the US Open Tournament, bringing to an end an amazing tennis career. After claiming her first victory in 340 days since last year's French Open at the National Bank Open on Monday, the American tennis great hinted at retirement by telling reporters: "I love playing, though… but, you know, I can't do this forever. Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments, and do the best that

Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have both been fined for their conduct during their fiery Wimbledon encounter. Kyrgios must pay $4,000 (£3,300) for an audible obscenity while Tsitsipas was given a $10,000 (£8,250) fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. Tsitsipas received two warnings for hitting a ball into the Court One crowd during his third-round defeat. Kyrgios appealed incessantly to umpire Damien Dumusois for the Greek player to be defaulted for his first offence. It is the second fine of this year's Championships for the

Coco Gauff made sure she was not thrown off course by the noisy racket created by Nick Kyrgios in a nearby court or by the fact she managed to convert only four of 25 break points as she reached the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday. With Australian hot-head Kyrgios up to his usual antics, yelling at the umpire and involved in heated exchanges with other officials during his first-round match, the commotion from Court Three might have distracted Gauff as she lost the

Nick Kyrgios was involved in a heated altercation with the umpire over a time violation before composing himself to down world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas 5-7 6-2 6-4 and advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 Halle Open on Wednesday. The volatile Australian was given a warning for taking too long to return Tsitsipas's serve while leading 2-0 in the second set and then proceeded to summon the supervisor to express his displeasure. "He said I was playing too slow - statistically

Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men's all-time list of Grand Slam winners. Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005. There was a

Norway's Casper Ruud and Denmark's Holger Rune led a Viking charge into the last 16 of the French Open with impressive wins at Roland Garros on Saturday. Eighth seed Ruud battled back to beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego to take his place in the fourth round in Paris for the first time having reached round three for the past three years. A little later, Danish 19-year-old Rune continued his sensational progress as he trounced France's Hugo Gaston. Things looked bad for Ruud when a

World number two Daniil Medvedev has downplayed his chances of mounting a serious challenge at the French Open after the Russian went down to Richard Gasquet at the Geneva Open on Tuesday in his first match back since hernia surgery. The U.S. Open champion, who last played at the Miami Open at the end of March, was beaten 6-2 7-6(5) by Gasquet at the ATP 250 claycourt event. "I don't play my best tennis on clay courts," he told reporters. "I know that

World number two Daniil Medvedev has not given up hope of competing at Wimbledon next month even though tournament organisers have banned Russians and Belarusians from playing at the grasscourt Grand Slam due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The decision was swiftly condemned by the men's and women's tours and a number of players, with Rafa Nadal calling the ruling "unfair". Over the past week, there have also been suggestions that Wimbledon could be stripped of its ranking points by the two tours

Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for a sixth Italian Open title and the defence of his world number one ranking with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Aslan Karatsev in the second round on Tuesday. Top seed Djokovic, who received a bye into the second round, is still seeking his first title of the year. If Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals in Rome, he will surrender top spot in the rankings to Russian Daniil Medvedev for a second time this year. The

David Goffin was impressive in his 6-4 6-2 win against Botic van de Zandschulp - earning a third round fixture against Rafael Nadal on the clay courts of the Madrid Open. The Belgian was stronger both on serve and in the return game, winning 66 per cent of his service points compared to Van de Zandschulp's 53 per cent, and 47 per cent of his return points to the Dutchman's 34 per cent. Goffin will face Nadal next for a place in the

Rafa Nadal returned from an injury layoff to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1 7-6(4) on Wednesday and reach the last 16 in the Madrid Open claycourt tournament. Nadal, competing in his first match since March following a rib injury, quickly found his rhythm in a strong start against Serbian Kecmanovic. Rain suspended play early in the second set and 21-times Grand Slam champion Nadal lost momentum. The 35-year-old Spaniard, hitting with explosive power, recovered from failing to serve out the match at 6-5 in

World number one Novak Djokovic began his quest for a fourth Madrid Open title with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday, improving his unbeaten record to 18-0 against the Frenchman. The result ensures Djokovic remains at the top of the rankings while it earned Monfils the ignominy of having the worst record against a single opponent without winning in the Open era. "I would probably rate it as the best performance of the year," Djokovic told reporters. "I felt very

Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal will make his return from a month-long absence due to injury at this week's ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open that begins later this week, the Spaniard announced on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who last played in the final of Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz on March 20, suffered a stress fracture in his rib during the tournament, forcing him to miss claycourt events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. "Despite arriving just before the tournament and preparation being difficult, I