Frances Tiafoe just kept shaking his head and calling the whole thing “crazy” and “unbelievable.” Which it all kind of is.
In her first match at the Australian Open since winning the 2017 title while pregnant — and her first official match anywhere since a loss in the chaotic U.S. Open final last September — Williams looked to be at her dominant best, overpowering Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-2 in the first round Tuesday.
Serena Williams has been fined a total of $17,000 for three code violations during the U.S. Open final.
Naomi Osaka walked to the net, the excitement of being a Grand Slam champion mixed with a bit of sadness.
Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly up at the net, grabbing 12 of 13 games to beat No. 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 36th at all Grand Slam tournaments.
The 14th-seeded American used her big-strike game built on serves and forehands to overpower No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday night.
Way behind in a match he soon would lose, Alexander Zverev leaned forward in his Australian Open sideline seat to repeatedly, and violently, crack his racket against the court with a reverberating THWACK - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times in all, before throwing down the offending, and now-mangled, piece of equipment.
One contentious point, after five hours and five sets, had Pablo Carreno Busta screaming at the umpire and gave Kei Nishikori the shift in momentum he needed to clinch his place in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
A quick look at the Australian Open:
Serena Williams beats top-ranked Simona Halep to reach Australian Open quarterfinals.
Naomi Osaka said she's just returned from Haiti where some people struggle to get clean drinking water. This makes her appreciate even more getting into the Australian Open quarterfinals - and her own good life.
The Latest on Monday at the Australian Open (all times local):
As Serena Williams made her way out to the Australian Open's main court during pre-match introductions, the voice booming over the stadium's speakers implored spectators to welcome "the world's No. 1 player - from Romania, Simona Halep."
Li Na already was the first tennis player born in Asia to win a Grand Slam singles title. Now she will be the first enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Even as his uninterrupted dominance of yore dissipated, even as he took the occasional break, Roger Federer always mattered more often than not in the closing days of Grand Slam tournaments.
Roger Federer's bid for a third consecutive Australian Open title ended in a surprising 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, the first player from Greece to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Two-time defending champion Roger Federer loses to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Australian Open's 4th round.
Ash Barty didn't want to play tennis. Didn't want to watch tennis, or even talk about the sport. She took a break from the tour after the 2014 U.S. Open to explore another career - in cricket.
Anyone unfamiliar with Danielle Collins - and that could be forgiven, really, considering her 0-5 mark at majors until this Australian Open - got a sense of what she's all about during her surprisingly easy upset of former No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
A quick look at the Australian Open:
The Latest on Sunday from the Australian Open (all times local):
Julia Mancuso knows what Lindsey Vonn is going through. She understands Andy Murray's pain, too.
So far the older guys are holding court against the new generation at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka had the umpire warning her for spiking her racket in the first set, and checking on her welfare when she tumbled near the baseline in the next.
A quick look at the Australian Open:
