After a harrowing Wednesday night in Melbourne where he very nearly lost to Tim Smyczek as his body was failing him, Rafael Nadal looked more himself in a routine win over Dudi Sela. After Nadal said he was feeling much better.

“Yesterday was okay,” Nadal said. “Seriously I feel that I was in terms of legs I wake up in the morning better than what I thought. In terms of, you …

The twirl controversy has taken on a life of its own. It started when an Australian Open presented asked Genie Bouchard to do a “twirl” during a post-match on court interview.

Some thought the request would sexist – would anyone ever ask Novak Djokovic to do that? Many, like me, don’t care.

But Genie found a cartoon that summed it up.

It could have been worse

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Andy Murray gave his support to his fallen rival Roger Federer who was stunned today in four sets by Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open. Murray, who’s lost to Federer in the final and in the quarterfinals last year, says he thinks the Swiss even at 33 can win Grand Slams.

“If I had to bet, I would probably bet that he would win another one,” …

Nick Kyrgios is having another excellent Grand Slam run. Last year he shocked the tennis world beating Rafael Nadal en route to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. This week in his home country he’s again lighting things up. Today he advanced to the fourth round after dismissing Malek Jaziri in straight sets.

A victory today figured to put him up against Roger Federer in a Sunday blockbuster, but the Swiss was stunned in …

Andreas Seppi pulled the upset of the tournament beating Roger Federer today in four sets in the third round at the Australian Open. And the Italian, who had never beaten Federer (0-10), did it in style with this incredible shot on matchpoint.

“Was for sure a strange shot,” said Seppi. “At the beginning I thought I couldn’t even reach the ball. Then, yeah, when I hit it, I didn’t saw it …

Four-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer suffered his earliest defeat at the event in 14 years falling to Andreas Seppi 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5) in the third round Friday.

Federer, who had won all 10 matches against the 46th-ranked Italian, actually won more points than Seppi, but as the Swiss acknowledged he just won the wrong ones.

Federer also led 4-1 and 5-3 in the second set tiebreaker but was unable to …

After four days of uneven, sometimes exciting tennis, here’s what we know. No one has looked better in the men’s draw than Novak Djokovic. And then it’s Andy Murray.

That said, both guys (and good friends) have crushed absolute tomato cans. Djokovic’s two wins came over a qualifier named Aljaz Bedene and yesterday he whipped an overmatched Andrei Kuznetsov. And tomorrow he gets Fernando Verdasco. Fernando is a former Australian Open …

Benjamin Becker did it again. The man who ended Andre Agassi’s career nine years ago on his home court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2006 US Open may have done it agains Thursday at the Australian Open stunning Lleyton Hewitt from two sets down.

Hewitt was playing in his 19th Australian Open, and at 33 with so many health problems the last few years and a sliding ranking, the …

World No. 1 Serena Williams struggled with an old nemesis for a set on Thursday at the Australian Open, then introduced 2015 to the Russian veteran by dropping the hammer to move into the third round in Melbourne.

Facing Vera Zvonareva, the oft-tearful Russian who has beaten her twice in her career, the younger Williams sister was forced to fight to a 7-5 first set win before baking a bagel in …

Serena Williams won the last ten games of her second round match against Vera Zvonareva at the Australian Open, then she met the press and spoke highly of elder sisters Venus who had won a short while earlier.

“She came in as a new face, a black woman that was shaking up the world,” Serena said of Venus’s arrival on the tennis scene 16 years ago. “She had all the pressure …

Andy Murray took a shot at journalists who criticize his on-court antics while at the same time they praise other player.

‘When I cramped and won in the us open last year I was a “drama Queen, unfit, needs to see a shrink, faker” weird…’ Murray wrote on twitter earlier today.

When I cramped and won in the us open last year I was a "drama Queen, unfit, needs to

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This poor ballboy at the Australian Open is the star of this viral video. The ballboy carried on unlike Adrian Mannarino who retired putting Feliciano Lopez into the third round.

Update:

No hard feelings. @feliciano_lopez apologises to Sam the ballkid for 'that serve' http://t.co/vpg8e93Sb1 #ausopen pic.twitter.com/eHIrx44MUV

— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2015

It was a thriller for international and Aussie tennis fans alike on Day 3 at the Australian Open where world No. 3 Rafael Nadal and homecountry hope Bernard Tomic pulled out late five-set wins to move into the third round in Melbourne.

The No. 3-seeded Nadal suffered physically and mentally in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-5 marathon win over American Tim Smyczek. The Spaniard said that after losing the third …

Playing his first 5 set match in 1.5 years, Rafael Nadal had to fight not only his pesky opponent, Tim Smyczek, but also his body before prevailing 62, 36, 67(2), 63, 75.

Nadal looked well in control of the match at the start, but then in the second began to appear in distress. He left the court at the end of the set and then was visited by trainers and was …

In one of the best matches he’s ever played, American Tim Smyczek nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament, but fell in five close sets to Rafael Nadal 62, 36, 67(2), 63, 75 in the Australian Open second round earlier today.

The 27-year-old from Milwaukee led a visibly ailing Nadal by two sets to one, but the Spaniard roared back to deny the 112th ranked Smyczek.

Smyczek, who let Nadal have …