British tennis writer Mike Dickson dies in Melbourne while covering the Australian Open

LONDON (AP) — British tennis writer Mike Dickson has died while covering the Australian Open in Melbourne. He was 59.

His death was announced Wednesday by his wife, Lucy, in a joint message with the family on X, formerly Twitter. It was confirmed by The Daily Mail, the British newspaper where Dickson had worked since 1990.

"We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and Dad, Mike, has collapsed and died while in Melbourne for the Aus Open," the Dickson family wrote in a post on his X account.

"For 38 years he lived his dream covering sport all over the world. He was a truly great man and we will miss him terribly."

Lee Clayton, the Daily Mail's global publisher for sport, said "the world of tennis will join us in mourning."

"He was a giant of a journalist," Clayton wrote.

The Australian Open said it was "shocked and saddened" to hear of the death of Dickson, someone the event organizers called "our long-standing colleague and friend."

Dickson, who lived in Wimbledon, was a cricket correspondent at the Mail before moving to tennis. The newspaper said he covered 30 different sports across nearly 50 countries in total.

"Don't know what to say," British tennis player Liam Broady wrote on X. "A strong, good and fair man. Cared about me when I was at my lowest ebb. Rest well Mike."