Novak Djokovic

MELBOURNE, Australia - Novak Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles when he beat Britain's Andy Murray, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2, in Sunday's final. Little wonder the 25-year-old Serb loves Rod Laver Arena. "It's definitely my favorite Grand Slam," Djokovic said. "It's an incredible feeling winning this trophy once more. I love this court. " Djokovic has won four of his six major titles at Melbourne Park, where he is now unbeaten in 21 matches.

Defending champions Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus are the top-seeded players for the Australian Open announced Monday. The year's first Grand Slam tournament starts next week. Djokovic is followed by Roger Federer of Switzerland, U.S. Open champion Andy Murray of Britain, and David Ferrer . He replaces fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal , who withdrew because of a stomach ailment. On the women's side, French Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia is seeded second.

MELBOURNE, Australia - Andy Murray was sucking in deep breaths, trying to recover from his exhausting win over Roger Federer. Pain was very much on his mind. The U.S. Open champion defeated Federer, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2, in a four-hour Australian Open semifinal Friday. It was Murray's first victory against the 17-time major winner at a Grand Slam event. But with the clock about to strike midnight, Murray was already thinking about Sunday's final against two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic, who is on a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.

PARIS - Rafael Nadal was worried. A guy so unflinching, so nearly unbeatable, while sliding and grinding and pounding his way past opponent after opponent at the French Open, got a real case of nerves during the 18 hours he and Novak Djokovic waited for the restart of their rain-interrupted final at Roland Garros. Instead of focusing on how close he was to winning a record seventh French Open championship, Nadal grew increasingly wary of the other possible outcome: a loss in a fourth consecutive Grand Slam final against Djokovic, who was trying to become the first man since 1969 to collect four straight major titles.

NEW YORK - His considerable lead, and a chance at history, slipping away, Andy Murray dug deep for stamina and mental strength, outlasting Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set U.S. Open final Monday. It had been 76 years since a British man won a Grand Slam singles championship and, at least as far as Murray was concerned, it was well worth the wait. Ending a nation's long drought, and snapping his own four-final skid in majors, Murray finally pulled through with everything at stake on a Grand Slam stage, shrugging off defending champion Djokovic's comeback bid to win, 7-6 (10)

As Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer step back on the grass at Wimbledon, each has reason to believe he'll be hoisting the trophy overhead in two weeks' time. None of the other 125 men in the field can honestly say the same. Indeed, it's tough to imagine anyone outside that trio winning this year's championship at the All England Club, where play begins Monday. "They've, you know, been pretty selfish about Grand Slam titles for a little bit," said 2003 U.S. Open champion and three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick.

NEW YORK - Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open for the first time, followed by defending champion Rafael Nadal and five-time winner Roger Federer. The tournament followed the ATP rankings for the men's singles seedings Wednesday. It did the same for the women's seedings, with Serena Williams 28th. Djokovic is having one of the best seasons in tennis history: 57-2 with nine titles, including at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. He is seeking his first championship at Flushing Meadows, where he was runner-up to Nadal in 2010 and to Federer in 2007.

Andy Murray hit second serves for aces, slipped passing shots through the narrowest openings and rarely made a mistake. It was a performance worthy of a trophy, and Murray became the first Brit to win the Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5, yesterday in Key Biscayne, Fla. The Scotsman used his vast repertoire of shots and took advantage of two wobbly stretches by Djokovic, who struggled with the 85-degree heat....

MELBOURNE, Australia - It wasn't just Serena Williams' serve that was missing Monday at the Australian Open. It was her aura, too. Ekaterina Makarova, the lowest-ranked player left in the draw at No. 56, didn't seem the least bit frightened of her error-prone opponent. Williams had seven double-faults and a first-serve percentage of just over 50 - and also threw in 37 unforced errors. Makarova's 6-2, 6-3 win sets up a match with Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinal. Sharapova rallied past Sabine Lisicki, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 before men's defending champion Novak Djokovic fended off Lleyton Hewitt in Monday's last match, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Next up for Djokovic is David Ferrer, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 winer over Richard Gasquet.

MELBOURNE, Australia - A day after Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in four compelling sets, Novak Djokovic dug deep to overcome Andy Murray, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5 in the Australian Open semifinals on Friday night in a 4-hour, 50- minute epic. The defending champion, Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal in a third straight Grand Slam final on Sunday. Djokovic won 10 titles in 2011, six of them by beating Nadal in finals. Also on Friday, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva won the women's doubles title, beating Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Taylor Townsend, 15, of Stockbridge, Ga., won the junior girls' title, beating Russia's Yulia Putintseva, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Earlier, Townsend and Gabrielle Andrews, also 15, of Pomona, Calif., defeated Irina Khromacheva of Russia, and Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, 5-7, 7-5, 10-6 (tiebreak)

NOVAK DJOKOVIC kissed the clay and marveled at this sudden turn. The top-ranked Serb won the Monte Carlo Masters, and for the first time in 9 years the trophy belonged to someone other than Rafael Nadal . The Spaniard's record reign at this tournament ended Sunday with a 6-2, 7-6 (1) loss in the final. "Rafa, thank you for allowing me to win it once," Djokovic said. "I couldn't ask for a better start to the clay season. " After closing the match with another booming forehand, Djokovic held his head in his hands and looked skyward before talking to himself for a few seconds.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia ended Rafael Nadal's winning streak at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco on Sunday, beating the eight-time defending champion, 6-2, 7-6 (1), in the final. Nadal won his 46 previous matches in Monte Carlo, including a victory over Djokovic in last year's final. The Spaniard's last defeat in this event was against Guillermo Coria 10 years ago. Venus Williams beat Johanna Larsson , 6-3, 7-5, in Delray Beach, Fla., to give the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Sweden in the Fed Cup World Group.

Suzann Pettersen won the LPGA Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii, beating Lizette Salas with a par on the first hole of a playoff after Salas chunked her approach shot into the water. Charley Hoffman 's quick start gave him a 2-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson after three rounds of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Saturday. Esteban Toledo , a rookie looking for his first win on the Champions Tour, has a 1-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Greater Gwinnett Championship in Duluth, Ga. Mark Warren of Scotland shot a 4-under 68 to take a 2-shot lead after the third round of the Spanish Open in Valencia, Spain.

After a testy exchange over serves, Serena Williams settled down to defeat Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, and win the Family Circle Cup on Sunday in Charleston, S.C. At the start of the second set, Williams said Jankovic was serving too quickly, before she was ready. During the next changeover, Jankovic asked the chair umpire how long she needed to wait. "Until I'm ready," Williams shot back. Any hard feelings didn't last - Jankovic met Williams with a big smile at the net after the match ended.

Maria Sharapova swept the first 10 points Thursday, then hardly let up from there. If she can keep it going for one more round, she'll finally have that elusive Sony Open title. The four-time runner-up advanced to another Key Biscayne final by beating Jelena Jankovic , 6-2, 6-1. With a victory Saturday, the No. 3-seeded Sharapova would plug one of the few holes in her resumé. She completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open last year but has never won the tournament near downtown Miami.

Juan Martin del Potro defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic , 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday in Indian Wells, Calif., handing the Serb his first loss in 21 matches dating to last October. Del Potro will play Rafael Nadal for the title on Sunday. No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova and No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki will play in the women's final. Nadal rallied to beat Tomas Berdych , 6-4, 7-5. GOLF: Kevin Streelman , Justin Leonard , and George Coetzee were tied for the lead after the third round of the Tampa Bay Championship.

Rafael Nadal won his first match Tuesday after being away for more than seven months nursing a sore knee. The former No. 1-ranked Nadal partnered with Juan Monaco to defeat the Czech pair of Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy , 6-3, 6-2, in the VTR clay-court tournament in Vina Del Mar, Chile. Nadal opens in singles on Wednesday against Argentine Federico Delbonis , hoping to catch up with the other three of tennis' Big Four - Novak Djokovic , Roger Federer , and Andy Murray . SKIING: Julia Mancuso won her eighth medal at a major competition by taking the bronze in the super-G, the opening race of the world championships in Schladming, Austria.

MELBOURNE, Australia - Novak Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles when he beat Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's final. Little wonder he loves Rod Laver Arena. "It's definitely my favorite Grand Slam," he said. "It's an incredible feeling winning this trophy once more. I love this court. " Djokovic has won four of his six major titles at Melbourne Park, where he is now unbeaten in 21 matches. Nine other men had won back-to-back titles in Australia over 45 years, but none were able to claim three in a row. Only two other men, American Jack Crawford (1931-33)

MELBOURNE, Australia - Novak Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles when he beat Britain's Andy Murray, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2, in Sunday's final. Little wonder the 25-year-old Serb loves Rod Laver Arena. "It's definitely my favorite Grand Slam," Djokovic said. "It's an incredible feeling winning this trophy once more. I love this court. " Djokovic has won four of his six major titles at Melbourne Park, where he is now unbeaten in 21 matches.

MELBOURNE, Australia - Victoria Azarenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title, beating Li Na, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, on Saturday in a final that included a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts, and a nasty fall to the court by Li. The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle in the fifth game of the second set and had it taped. On the first point after a 10-minute pause in the third set while fireworks boomed overhead from nearby Australia Day celebrations, Li fell over again and slammed the back of her head on the court.