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MELBOURNE, Australia -- It felt in some ways like a discordant, minor-key finish to a major. But the trophy is just as shiny.
World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka walked into Rod Laver Arena to defend her Australian Open title knowing the best she could expect from the crowd was ambivalence, thanks to the controversial medical timeout she took at a critical juncture in her semifinal against surging young American Sloane Stephens. Azarenka took a thrashing in social media and in the mainstream media as her motives were widely second-guessed.
Fans cheered her missed shots and double faults and greeted her winners tepidly while urging on underdog Li Na of China, who likely would have been their darling anyway thanks to the impressive game and improvisational...
Novak Djokovic, two matches after being pushed to the limit by Stanislas Wawrinka in a five-set thriller, looked unbeatable in the first Australian Open men’s semifinal on Thursday. He lost just five games and didn’t face a... more »
Technically, choking is only an injury, or medical emergency, if something is stuck in your throat. So the No. 1 women’s tennis player, Victoria Azarenka, on the verge of choking away her match Thursday, resorted to a... more »
Five thoughts on the women's semifinals at the Australian Open, where Victoria Azarenka (6-1, 6-4 over Sloane Stephens) nd Li Na (6-2, 6-2 over Maria Sharapova) advanced to Saturday's final. ... 1. Azarenka's antics. First, a... more »
Ever since Roger Federer reached his 30th birthday, that terrifying age when professional tennis players start rapidly falling apart, everyone has been searching for the next great rivalry. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal looked... more »
FORGET the result for a minute. The greatest example of how things have changed in men's tennis over the past six months was evident about 40 minutes before Andy Murray pumped his fist to claim last night's epic... more »
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