Melbourne Park

Maria Sharapova is back into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time since she won the title at Melbourne Park in 2008. The No. 4-ranked Sharapova had a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 14 Sabine Lisicki at Rod Laver Arena on Monday night and will meet fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the next stage. No. 56-ranked Makarova staged the biggest upset of the Open so far when she beat five-time champion Serena Williams in straight sets earlier Monday to reach the quarterfinals of a major for the first time.

The status quo has been maintained at the top of the men's rankings after Novak Djokovic's dramatic win over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, unlike the situation on the women's tour. Official rankings to be released Monday show Djokovic maintaining the No. 1 spot on the ATP Tour after winning his third major in a row. Djokovic's 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory in 5 hours, 53 minutes was the longest Grand Slam final in professional tennis. Victoria Azarenka moved to No. 1 on the women's tour with her first Grand Slam title, an emphatic win over Maria Sharapova on...

Two-time runner-up Andy Murray has moved into the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori on Wednesday. Murray will next meet either defending champion Novak Djokovic or No. 5 David Ferrer. No. 4-ranked Murray has lost back-to-back finals at Melbourne Park. He is on a 10-match winning streak after his victory in a tune-up tournament at Brisbane this month.

Novak Djokovic has that unbeatable feeling. And well he should. The Serb outlasted Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and become the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic now has the French Open — the one major to elude him — in his sights. He won't even rule out the ultimate: the Grand Slam. "One player (Rod Laver) has done it, so it is possible," he said after the traditional post-victory photo shoot in a downtown Melbourne park on Monday.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic beat fifth-ranked David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Wednesday night to complete an Australian Open semifinal lineup featuring the top four men in tennis. No. 1 Djokovic appeared to be ailing in the second set against Ferrer but held it together to set up a semifinal against No. 4 Andy Murray on Friday, a rematch of the 2011 Australian final. On Thursday, No. 2 Rafael Nadal will play No. 3 Roger Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki made light of concerns over a wrist injury to beat Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Wozniacki hurt her left wrist in a quarterfinal loss at the Sydney International last week, but the injury didn't appear to trouble her against Rodionova. Wozniacki is seeking her first Grand Slam title and must reach at least the fourth round at Melbourne Park to hold on to her top ranking.

Mardy Fish beat Austria's Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 on Friday to move into the final of the Kooyong invitational tournament against Australian teenager Bernard Tomic. Fish has won twice at the exhibition tournament that is a traditional warmup for the Australian Open, which begins Monday at Melbourne Park. The 19-year-old Tomic, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist last year, beat Frenchman Gael Monfils to reach the final. Andy Roddick finished the tournament with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Japan's Kei Nishikori, his second defeat in three matches.

Rafael Nadal will meet Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals after coming back to beat No. 7 Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday night. No. 2-ranked Nadal and No. 3-ranked Federer are on the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005. Federer beat U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro earlier in three sets to advance to the Australian Open semis for the ninth consecutive year. He has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park.

Rafael Nadal has beaten Roger Federer to reach the Australian Open final, extending his command in the personal duel between two of the best tennis players of all time. No. 2-ranked Nadal won their semifinal 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 Thursday to improve his record to 8-2 in Grand Slam head-to-heads against Federer. It was the first time the pair has met in major semifinal since the 2005 French Open. Nadal will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between defending champion Novak Djokovic and two-time finalist Andy Murray.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 today night to win the Australian Open and take over the women's No. 1 ranking. Azarenka, playing in her first final in 25 Grand Slam tournaments, had her serve broken in the opening game of the match and trailed 2-0 after a nervous start before winning 12 of the next 13 games to take the match away from Sharapova, a three-time major winner and the 2008 Australian champion. She became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first Grand Slam title.Azarenka has been a...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 today night to win the Australian Open and take over the women's No. 1 ranking. Azarenka, playing in her first final in 25 Grand Slam tournaments, had her serve broken in the opening game of the match and trailed 2-0 after a nervous start before winning 12 of the next 13 games to take the match away from Sharapova, a three-time major winner and the 2008 Australian champion. She became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first Grand Slam title.Azarenka has been a distinctive...

MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal outlasted Roger Federer 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in an Australian Open semifinal on Thursday night, the longtime rivals playing with the intensity normally displayed when meeting in a Grand Slam final. The stars who met in eight Grand Slam finals were on the same side of the draw for the first time at a major since 2005. Two weeks ago, Nadal injured his right knee and wasn't sure he'd be able to start the tournament. Now, he can barely believe he's in the final.

Rafael Nadal has beaten Roger Federer to reach the Australian Open final, extending his command in the personal duel between two of the best tennis players of all time. No. 2-ranked Nadal won their semifinal 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 Thursday to improve his record to 8-2 in Grand Slam head-to-heads against Federer. It was the first time the pair has met in major semifinal since the 2005 French Open. Nadal will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between defending champion Novak Djokovic and two-time finalist Andy Murray.

Two-time runner-up Andy Murray has moved into the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori on Wednesday. Murray will next meet either defending champion Novak Djokovic or No. 5 David Ferrer. No. 4-ranked Murray has lost back-to-back finals at Melbourne Park. He is on a 10-match winning streak after his victory in a tune-up tournament at Brisbane this month.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic beat fifth-ranked David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Wednesday night to complete an Australian Open semifinal lineup featuring the top four men in tennis. No. 1 Djokovic appeared to be ailing in the second set against Ferrer but held it together to set up a semifinal against No. 4 Andy Murray on Friday, a rematch of the 2011 Australian final. On Thursday, No. 2 Rafael Nadal will play No. 3 Roger Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park.

MELBOURNE - The intensity was vintage Rafael Nadal. On the stroke of midnight, he thrust his arms up and punched the air, sealing the victory that sets up the most anticipated semifinal at the Australian Open in quite some time. Roger Federer did his part to put this in place. In the previous match on Rod Laver Arena, he beat 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in a quarterfinal marking his 1,000th tour-level match. A Federer-Nadal semifinal had been looming since the draw for the season's first major - the first time the pair have been in the...

MELBOURNE -- When athletes talk about revenge, it's usually meant for an opponent to atone for an earlier loss. In tomorrow's Australian Open title match against Amelie Mauresmo of France, Justine Henin-Hardenne will be looking for restitution for the knee and hamstring injuries that forced her off the circuit for about 18 months in the past two years. With it would come the Belgian's fifth Grand Slam singles victory. "It's been tough for me to be injured for such a long time," said Henin-Hardenne, who was forced to miss last year's Australian Open, preventing her from defending the title she won...

With Novak Djokovic clutching his leg and struggling to breathe, it looked like the "Big 4" semifinal lineup at the Australian Open might not come together. Then Djokovic's championship instincts kicked in. The top-ranked Serb held off No. 5 David Ferrer in a second-set tiebreaker Wednesday night and then raced through the third set for a 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win, setting up a rematch of last year's final against fourth-ranked Andy Murray. Order was restored. For 10 days, nearly everyone at Melbourne Park has talked about the top four players and how they are on a...