Novak Djokovic completed a dream debut at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships on Sunday, beating John Millman, 6-3, 6-2, for his fourth ATP title of the year and the 76th of his career. The World No. 1 didn’t drop a set all week—he was never even pushed to a

In many ways, Andy Murray is a nightmare opponent for John Isner. Murray counters Isner’s best shot, his serve, with his own best shot, his return. He’s steady and conservative from the baseline, which is how you need to be against Isner. He’s quick enough to make the big American

Two days ago, in previewing the women’s final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, I wondered whether we would see a competition or a coronation. It turned out that we saw both. Sharapova, who hasn’t beaten Serena in nearly 10 years, held her own and made this one a match

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Victoria Azarenka reached her first Grand Slam final and staked a claim for the No. 1 ranking, beating defending champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open semifinals Thursday. The third-seeded Azarenka recovered twice in periods when a resurgent Clijsters seemed to have the upper hand,

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Rafael Nadal and fellow Spaniard David Ferrer will meet in their second final in two weeks at the Barcelona Open. Both cruised through their semifinals Saturday, Nadal beating the only non-Spaniard in the last four, Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-3, 6-2, and Ferrer topping Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4.

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) Top-seeded and two-time champion John Isner was upset in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships by Rajeev Ram 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (8) on Tuesday. The 18th-ranked Isner won the title on Newport's grass in 2011 and 2012. The 161st-ranked Ram, who won

NEW YORK—Playing catch-up throughout the match, Grega Zemlja finally had Roger Federer where he wanted him: At the net and seemingly on the defensive. Then Federer bounced to his right, picked off the pass, and blocked a forehand volley into the open court in an exchange that typified the match.

Novak Djokovic was phenomenal tonight in defeating Juan Martin del Potro, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4. One statistic, shown after the second set, encapsulates the gulf between winner and loser. Del Potro had won 44 of the 77 rallies which were three shots or less, but just 18 to Djokovic’s 45

Things haven’t been going too well for Agnieszka Radwanska on American hard courts this season: She’s been beaten convincingly by Li Na twice, and was forced to retire last week in New Haven. It didn’t look like things were going to get any better today, as she trailed Carla Suarez

After suffering six defeats to Roger Federer this year, some of them excruciating, Juan Martin del Potro gained his second measure of revenge, backing up his triumph in Basel with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 victory to claim his place in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals. There’s

After Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to move into his second consecutive Wimbledon semifinal, the charismatic Frenchman was signing autographs when he noticed a small girl clutching an oversized tennis ball, crying uncontrollably—presumably because she had originally been overlooked in her quest for his

Two days after he carried his nation’s flag during the opening ceremony, Stanislas Wawrinka was unceremoniously shut out of the London Olympics, defeated by home favorite Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-3. Murray exited this stage four years ago in Beijing, and his previous meetings with Wawrinka—they have played 10 times in

Beneath the translucent roof, Victoria Azarenka and Tamira Paszek launched baseline fireworks. Continuously advancing inside, Azarenka squeezed the court and finally slammed the door shut on the gritty Austrian, scoring a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals for the second straight year. This was a high-quality

Five matches into his quest to defend his Roland Garros title, Rafael Nadal is still waiting for an opponent who can take a set from him, after defeating Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3. That’s not a statement intended to denigrate his opponents, but rather a measure

Midway through the opening set, Francesca Schiavone suddenly pulled the string on a sharp-angled drop shot to force Melanie Oudin forward. Sprinting from behind the baseline, the 88th-ranked American stumbled and staggered to a stop while knocking her reply into the net. That shot symbolized the match: Schiavone dragged her

Roger Federer made all the right moves while winning his second match at the ATP World Tour Finals—6-4, 6-2 over Andy Murray—including choosing to receive serve when the Scot incorrectly picked ‘tails’ during the pre-match coin toss. The only time Federer looked in trouble Tuesday was when his shorts pocket

NEW YORK -- While Rafael Nadal was improving to 19-0 on hard courts in 2013 by returning to the U.S. Open quarterfinals, he noticed the scoreboard updates showing how Roger Federer's match on another court was going. So Nadal knew right away that he would not play Federer next. "When

Nikolay Davydenko and Rafael Nadal contested a hard-fought final in the first edition of the Shanghai Masters. After capturing the Australian Open in 2009 for his first major hard-court title, Rafael Nadal appeared to be poised for the best season of his career. After all, he was the five-time defending

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula booked their spots in the fourth round of the China Open for the first time with a pair of contrasting wins on Sunday at the WTA 1000 event. No. 2 seed Pegula defeated Veronika Kudermetova for the first time in three career meetings, 6-7(9), 6-1,

This year marks the 50th anniversary of TENNIS Magazine's founding in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, we'll look back each Thursday at one of the 50 moments that have defined the last half-century in our sport.