Tennis

Grand slam favourites Rafael Nadal (ATP world number 5) and Iga Swiatek (WTA world number 1, following Ashleigh Barty's surprise retirement) have now booked a spot in their respective penultimate game for records and titles. Nadal defeated World number 1, Novak Djokovic with a 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (7-4) in the quarter-final on Tuesday night, and will be chasing his 22nd grand slam when he faces German third seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Thursday for a place in Sunday’s final.

Andrey Rublev has won his third tour-level title of the season after denying World No. 1 Novak Djokovic his first title of the year on Sunday. The Serb suffered a surprise defeat at home as Second-seeded Rublev won the tie 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0. The 24-year-old saved five set points in the second set to force a tie-break and while he was unable to prevent Djokovic from levelling the match, Rublev regrouped in the decider as he looked the fitter of the two to triumph after two hours and 29 minutes.

After announcing her retirement in 2014 and returning in 2016, Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world number one Ashleigh Barty stunned the tennis world Wednesday by announcing her early retirement from the sport at the age of 25. The reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion dropped the news via her social media handle weeks after becoming the first home-grown champion of the Australian Open in 44 years.

The 20-time grand slam Tennis Champion, Novak Djokovic has Wednesday announced that he has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open due to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 travel regulations. Djokovic made the announcement on Twitter, citing the US CDC's COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreign visitors as the reason for his withdrawal from the events, saying "While I was automatically listed in the [BNP Paribas Open] and [the Miami Open], I knew it would be unlikely I'd be able to travel,"

Rafael Nadal has now become the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles after defeating Daniil Medvedev in five-set and has now moved one ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, each of whom has captured 20 major singles titles.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, World No1 and defending Australian champion Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia after his visa was cancelled by border force officials at Melbourne airport. Djokovic was granted a controversial exemption to enter Australia and compete in the Australian Open, but was held up at Melbourne airport by authorities for several hours before his visa was cancelled. Djokovic, who has publicly criticised mandatory vaccines, has refused to disclose his inoculation status and said he had been granted a medical exemption to compete in Australia.