Jannik Sinner has sprinted past opponents at the Australian Open in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam but could end up running a marathon in the final against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, when Melbourne Park will crown a new king.
The on and off-field issues going on in the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, India making England taste their 'Bazball' tonic, an inexperienced West Indies making their presence felt at the Gabba, Liverpool having to look at life after Jurgen Klopp and the Australian Open awaiting a new Men's singles champion -- there are events aplenty for fans to dive into. Here, in this episode of The Daily Star's multimedia show, 'Pitch Perfect', we try to discuss briefly the current sporting scenario.
An authoritative Aryna Sabalenka blew China's Zheng Qinwen off court on Saturday to successfully defend her Australian Open title -- the first woman to do so in more than a decade.
Aryna Sabalenka has blown all-comers off court on her march to the final of the Australian Open and China's Zheng Qinwen will need to produce something extraordinary to deprive her of back-to-back titles on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
Jannik Sinner ended defending champion Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday, snapping the Serb's astonishing 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park to reach his first major final.
Djokovic is determined to keep intact his unbeaten streak at Melbourne Park.
She is the first Chinese player since 2014 to reach the final at Melbourne Park.
The German sixth seed eventually prevailed 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena to make the last four at a Grand Slam for the seventh time.
The handshake defied an unwritten rule among her fellow Ukrainians to not congratulate their Russian and Belarusian opponents as war rages in their homeland.
Fourth seed Gauff, attempting to become the first woman to back up a US Open title with a Grand Slam win in Australia since Naomi Osaka in 2018-19, has been almost as impressive.
Down 5-1 in the deciding set, Andreeva reeled off five games in a row.
Sabalenka ruthlessly handed 28th seed Tsurenko the dreaded "double bagel" in 52 minutes.
A change of racket helped Daniil Medvedev come from two sets down and prevail over Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori at the Australian Open on Thursday in a battle that stretched four hours and 21 minutes.
Unseeded Russian Anna Blinkova dumped world number three Elena Rybakina out of the Australian Open on Thursday, squandering multiple match points in a final-set tie-break lasting more than 31 minutes before sealing victory.
The world number one, who swears by a plant-based diet, extols the virtues of meditation and has previously used a spiritual guru, has never been shy of talking about his eccentricities.
"Really happy, it's not easy to play the first match, especially the first Grand Slam of the season," said Swiatek, who owns three Roland Garros crowns and another at the US Open.
The 36-year-old put up stiff resistance in a 61-minute first set against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, but the 30th seed slowly ground him down to win 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
"The conditions were brutal," said Medvedev. "The more he (Atmane) plays this intensity, the better he will be prepared."
Fourth seed Gauff said ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park that she wanted to win "multiple" major titles after her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows.