World number five Venus Williams and US Open champion Sloane Stephens were high-profile casualties on day one of the Australian Open Monday, but Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko survived. Williams, who lost in the final to sister Serena last year, was stunned by Swiss star Belinda Bencic, fresh from winning the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal has been seeded top in next week’s Australian Open in Melbourne, with six-time champion, Novak Djokovic seeded 14th, organisers said on Thursday. Defending champion Roger Federer is seeded No 2; with Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki seeded one and two in the women’s competition.
Former world number one Serena Williams has withdrawn from this year’s month’s Australian Open in Melbourne. Williams, who recently gave birth, said on Friday that she needed more time to be ready to defend her title. She said while she was close to regaining full fitness after giving birth to her first child in September, she was not fully ready to defend her title.
Three-time Grand Slam champion, Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to an ongoing hip problem. The five-time finalist is set to fly back to the United Kingdom having said he would "assess all the options" on the injury after floating the possibility of surgery earlier this week.
Roger Federer, is currently taking part in the international team tournament, the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, which is a valuable warm-up event for the season ahead. The Swiss maestro is back for the second year in a row as it was viewed as a catalyst for his superb 2017 campaign.
Andy Murray is the latest high-profile withdrawal from the Brisbane International, joining Rafael Nadal and top women's seed Garbine Muguruza on the sidelines, according to reports. The 30-year-old has been troubled by an ongoing hip complaint. The three-time grand slam winner made the decision to withdraw from the tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
