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[ad_1] CNN  —  Novak Djokovic is the odds on favorite for the men’s title at the Australian Open this year and he will begin the tournament against Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena, seeking a record-equaling 22nd grand slam and 10th Australian title. Meanwhile, women’s world No. 2 Ons Jabeur is in action in the match beforehand, as she aims to better the two grand slam finals she reached last season, while USA’s Sloane Stephens takes on Russia’s Anna Potapova on Court 7. From 7pm ET Aryna Sabalenka (5) vs. Tereza Martincova Katherine Sebov vs. Caroline Garcia (4) Matteo Berrettini (13) vs. Andy Murray From 3am ET Tamara Zidansek vs. Ons Jabeur (2) Roberto Carballés Baena vs. Novak Djokovic (4) From 7pm ET Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Elise Mertens (26) Xiyu Wang vs. Karo...

[ad_1] CNN  —  The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced Tuesday that it will return to hosting tournaments in China in 2023 after previously suspending all events in the country, including Hong Kong, last November due to the uncertainty over tennis player Peng Shuai’s safety . Peng was feared to be held incommunicado by the Chinese government after she accused retired Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her into sex during a years-long on-off relationship. The immediate response from Chinese authorities was to censor any mention of the accusation online and block Peng’s Weibo account from search results. Peng disappeared from public view for more than two weeks, prompting the world’s biggest tennis stars and the United Nations to demand answers as to her whereabouts – as well as a full investigation into her allegations against Zhang. Peng, a three-tim...

[ad_1] CNN  —  Jessica Pegula , the daughter of the owners of the Buffalo Bills, showed her support for Damar Hamlin during her straight sets win in the second round of the Australian Open . The world No. 3 wore Hamlin’s number three on her shorts during her 6-2 7-6(5) victory over Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich. “I definitely wanted to do something,” Pegula said after her win when asked about paying tribute to Hamlin. “We were kind of figuring out what the Bills and the Sabres were doing, just as far as what was the message. I knew they would probably do something and what message were they trying to send. It ended up being kind of the ‘3’ was the symbol.” Hamlin was hospitalized in Cincinnati when his heart suddenly stopped after a tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2. The 24-year-old Bills safety was discharged after more than a week ...

[ad_1] CNN  —  Matt Fitzpatrick conquered reigning champion Jordan Spieth in a playoff to seal an emotional RBC Heritage victory at Hilton Head on Sunday. With the duo unable to be separated at 17-under par after an enthralling final day battle, the Englishman broke the deadlock in stunning fashion on the third playoff hole, punching his approach shot to within inches of the cup before tapping home for birdie to clinch his second PGA Tour title. His first had come after a similarly close-fought final round at the US Open in Brookline last year. There had been a late scare then when his last tee shot found the bunker, and the 28-year-old’s heart rate will have been just as high when both of Spieth’s putts for birdie across the first two playoff holes looked destined to settle in the cup. Yet once again, Fitzpatrick endured, weathering the storm to become only the second Engli...

[ad_1] CNN  —  Tiger Woods played his best golf since the car crash in February 2021 that threatened to end his career to finish tied-45th at the Genesis Invitational, as Jon Rahm walked away with his third PGA Tour win of 2023 to regain the world No. 1 spot. It was Woods’ first competitive outing since The Open Championship in July 2022 and his first non-major appearance since October 2020. The 15-time major winner has played sparingly since sustaining serious leg injuries in the crash in Southern California, but shot his lowest single round score – 67 on Saturday – since the crash en route to finishing one-under-par for the tournament. Following his final round, Woods said his goal from now on is to play the four majors every year, but he doesn’t expect “to play too much more than that.” “My body and my leg and my back just won’t allow me to play much mo...

[ad_1] CNN  —  American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin has equaled Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup wins with victory in the giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist is now the joint record holder for the most World Cup wins by a female skier, and by an American. After taking a 0.24-second lead in the first run, Shiffrin finished 0.20-second ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, who finished third overall, and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova in her second run. Italy’s Federica Brignone placed second overall. “I was so nervous this run,” Shiffrin said after the victory. “I don’t know why maybe a little bit was because of 82. I really wanted to ski it well and I did, can’t believe it.” Shiffrin is now four wins away from tying the overall record for World Cup wins, cur...

[ad_1] CNN  —  Venus Williams rolled back the years with a vintage performance to secure her first win against a top-20 player in four years. The 43-year-old Williams defeated Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Monday. Kudermetova is seeded 16th in the tournament and would have been expected to ease her way past Williams, but the seven-time grand slam winner had other ideas. “Definitely satisfaction from today is (from) all the work that goes into just being here at all,” the veteran American said after the win. “I did my best to be here as soon as possible in the best form possible I could bring in that amount of time. So that makes it satisfying, to be able to get a win with very little time to prepare.” In both sets, Williams found...