Tennis

Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Vaishnavi Adkar and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi fell woefully short, leaving the handful of centre court faithful to rue the day’s play.

Alcaraz’s decision rules out a repeat appearance at the Rotterdam Ahoy, where he claimed the title in 2025 — his maiden indoor ATP crown — after a three-set victory over Alex de Minaur.

Ankita, who benefited from the withdrawal of top seed Lulu Sun of New Zealand due to illness, failed to capitalise on the opportunity as Japan’s Misaki Matsuda outplayed her in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.

Nagal (world no. 281), the top-ranked singles player of the nation, retired in the first set of his last tour match – a round-of-16 clash in the Nonthaburi Challenger (Thailand) last month.

USA’s Madison Keys, whose title defence ended with a loss to compatriot Jessica Pegula in the round of 16, slipped from ninth to 15th.

Taylor Fritz replaced Ben Shelton in seventh place to become the top-ranked American in the latest ATP Rankings.

Alcaraz posed for photographers on Monday with the ornate Australian Open trophy, looking casually stylish in black, in loafers and no socks.

Djokovic’s Australian Open final loss has reignited doubts about his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam and raised fresh questions about how much time he has left.

Alcaraz downed Serbian great Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to become the youngest man in the Open era to win all four majors.

The Australian Open title was the only Grand Slam trophy missing from Alcaraz’s cabinet. He’d won the US Open in 2022, Wimbledon in 2023, and the French Open in 2024.