Carlos Alcaraz swept past Novak Djokovic to win his first Australian Open on Sunday and become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam, denying the Serbian great an unprecedented 25th major. The Spaniard was imperious after a slow start in dismissing the 38-year-old, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena to claim a seventh Slam title and cement himself as undisputed World No. 1. He becomes the youngest man in the Open era to win all four majors, adding to his two titles each from Wimbledon and the French and US Opens. An ecstatic Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after his victory on Sunday At 22, he surpassed legendary countryman Rafael Nadal — in the crowd to witness the feat — who was 24 when he did the same. A seventh Slam put him alongside John McEnroe and Mats Wilander and one behind Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. “Lifting the trophy for the first time in Australia was crazy,” Alcaraz said, before writing on a TV camera lens: “Job finished. Four out of four complete.” He added: “A dream come true. I dreamt about getting an Australian Open and completing the career Grand Slam.” He paid tribute to Djokovic. “You were talking about how I’m doing the things I am, but what you’re doing is really inspiring, not only for tennis players but athletes around the world.” It was a first defeat for Djokovic in a Melbourne final, having won all 10 previously. 22 years 272 daysCarlos Alcaraz is now the youngest man in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam, moving ahead of American Don Budge (22 years, 363 days in 1938) SevenNo. of Grand Slam titles won by Alcaraz — the second-most before turning 23, after Sweden’s Bjorn Borg (8) OneNo. of Australian Open final defeats for Novak Djokovic; he has won all 10 previous championship matches in Melbourne This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 February,2026 08:44 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPNovak Djokovic said it had been “a great ride” and “God knows what happens tomorrow” after losing Sunday’s Australian Open final. The 38-year-old Serb crashed in four sets to Spain’s 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. It leaves Djokovic stuck on 24 Grand Slam titles, equal with Margaret Court, and one short of the all-time outright record. Afterwards, he admitted he had not expected to reach a major final again and suggested the future was uncertain. The former World No. 1 has not always had an easy relationship with the fans in Melbourne, but told the crowd: “I want to just say in the end that you guys, particularly, the last couple of matches, gave me something that I have never experienced in Australia. That much love, support, positivity. I tried to give you back with good tennis over the years.” Djokovic, whose last major final was a defeat to Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2024, added: “I must be very honest and say that I didn’t think that I would be standing in a closing ceremony of a Grand Slam once again. So I think I owe you the gratitude as well for pushing me forward throughout the last couple of weeks. “God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in six months or 12 months. So it has been a great ride. I love you guys.” Djoko’s wait for 25th Slam continues 2024 Australian Open: Semi-finals (lost to Jannik Sinner) French Open: Quarter-finals (walkover/injured vs Casper Ruud) Wimbledon: Final (lost to Carlos Alcaraz) US Open: Third round (lost to Alexei Popyrin) 2025 Australian Open: Semi-finals (retired vs Alexander Zverev) French Open: Semi-finals (lost to Jannik Sinner) Wimbledon: Semi-finals (lost to Jannik Sinner) US Open: Semi-finals (lost to Carlos Alcaraz) This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 February,2026 08:40 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPElena Rybakina beat the two top-ranked players in the world to win the Australian Open and show that her quiet ruthlessness can propel her to No. 1 and more Grand Slam glory. The Moscow-born Kazakh emerged from a power battle with top seed Aryna Sabalenka to claim the Melbourne title in three tight sets on Saturday. The 26-year-old’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 triumph brought her a second major crown, more than three years after winning Wimbledon. Two-time Australia champion Sabalenka had her chances, notably leading the final set 3-0, but the fifth seed retained her trademark cool to pull through. Rybakina later revealed that beneath her understated celebrations was huge relief. She has been the form player on tour since the middle of last year and is set to return to her career-high ranking of three, behind Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Australian media labelled her a “quiet assassin”. “Last year I didn’t start that well,” said Rybakina, as she eyes a second Wimbledon title in June-July. “Now it’s different. So I just hope that I can carry all this momentum, hopefully do a good job with the team and continue this way throughout the year,” she added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 February,2026 08:34 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPFynbos, the four-year-old filly (by Kingda Ka out of Mahali), bred at Nanoli stud, showed no mercy to her rivals, including the superstar colt Baychimo, when she ran away with the Villoo C Poonawalla Indian Derby (Gr 1), at the Mahalaxmi racetrack on Sunday. The 84th running of the blue riband of the Indian turf, sponsored by Dr Cyrus & Adar Poonawalla, turned out to be an absolutely one-sided affair as Fynbos sailed away in solitary splendour, sparing 5-1/4 lengths to Sovereign King (Akshay Kumar up), stopping the clock at 2 minutes 27.62 seconds for the mile-and-a-half trip. Baychimo, who went neck-and-neck with Fynbos in the bookmakers’s ring, with both alternating as favourites at 16/10, put in a dismal show on the racetrack to finish a long way off in fifth. Pesi Shroff, who led in his fourth Indian Derby winner as trainer, also grabbed the third and fourth spots with Kings Gambit (Yash Narredu up) and Red Bishop (P Trevor up). Horse racing fans serve up some style while enjoying the Indian Derby at the Mahalaxmi racetrack on Sunday Fynbos is owned by KN Dhunjibhoy, ZK Dhunjibhoy, Vispi R Patel, Anosha Meyers and Anita J Captain, who got richer by Rs 2.40 crore. The Derby victory was also the first ever win for English rider Tom Marquand on an Indian racetrack. Tom was specially flown in for the Derby ride by KN Dhunjibhoy, after Suraj Narredu told Pesi Shroff that he had already given his word to trainer Adhirajsingh for rival Baychimo. “Fynbos won the Oaks by six lengths, and now the Indian Derby by five lengths, so she is clearly the champion horse of her crop,” jockey Tom Marquand said after the race. “She settled an easy third in the race,” Tom added, “and then it was smooth sailing.” Tom was all praise for trainer Shroff as he continued, “When you ride for Pesi Shroff and his team, you know you are on a very well-prepared horse because Shroff himself had won a record nine Derbys as jockey [actually eight, as Saddle Up got disqualified for a drug positive in 1999], and it was just a formality today that I would ride Fynbos as his fourth Indian Derby winner as trainer.”
02 February,2026 08:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviYoung Indian shuttler Devika Sihag clinched her maiden BWF Super 300 crown after Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei retired midway through the women’s singles final of the Thailand Masters here on Sunday. The 20-year-old from Haryana was leading 21-8, 6-3 when World No. 68 Goh pulled out due to a hamstring injury, handing the 63rd-ranked Indian the biggest title of her career. “I’m really happy. I’ve played very good matches here. I’ve learnt a lot. Coming into the match, I didn’t think about winning or losing, rather wanted to give my 100 per cent. That gave me the confidence. I thought to start with a good pace initially, and that worked well,” said Devika. With this victory, Devika becomes only the third Indian woman to win a Super 300 women’s singles title, joining an elite list that includes PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 February,2026 08:30 AM IST | Bangkok | PTIDelhi pacer Divij Mehra, who claimed 5-30 when they defeated Mumbai at home last time in the 2022-23 season, came up trumps again, taking 5-64 to bowl out the 42-time champs for 317 in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘D’ encounter on Saturday. Thereafter, Delhi captain Ayush Doseja (62 not out, 6x4) and Vaibhav Kandpal (61, 7x4) helped the visitors post 206-4 in their second innings, taking a 110-run lead at stumps on Day Three at the MCA-BKC ground. Mehra, 23, who was struggling with an injury — spur in the heel of his landing foot — and playing only his second match of the season, revealed that Test pacer Ishant Sharma inspired his comeback. “I was injured after that fifer against Mumbai [in 2022-23], so it felt very good to have contributed [again]. I spent a lot of time with Ishant bhaiya in the Vijay Hazare Trophy [in December and January]. He has helped in setting my routine and the areas I have to work on before the next season. He has told me about the kind of training I have to do and what my schedule will be like as a fast bowler,” Mehra told reporters after the day’s play on Saturday. “Ishant bhaiya spoke sternly to me after one match, saying, ‘dekh bhai itne se nahi chalega [this isn’t enough].’ He made me realise the things I was not able to do by myself,” Mehra added. Delhi’s pair of Doseja-Kandpal did well to stitch a 106-run fourth-wicket stand as the visitors fought back. Earlier, when Mumbai resumed their first innings on the overnight score of 266-5, they added 51 to finish at 317 all out. Friday’s cebturion Siddhesh Lad (103) managed to add just one run before he was clean bowled by pacer Money Grewal (3-74).
01 February,2026 09:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureThe Villoo C Poonawalla Indian Derby (Gr 1) will run as the feature event of Sunday’s nine-race card at Mahalaxmi. There are 11 runners in the fray, but if the race is run true to recent form, it should be a straight fight between Fynbos and Baychimo, with Sovereign King having an outside chance. Fynbos (Kingda Ka-Mahali) is a filly trained by Pesi Shroff, who already has three Indian Derby successes to his name, and Baychimo (French Navy-Lady Sergeant) is a colt trained by Adhirajsingh Jodha, who will be looking for his first Indian Derby victory. The pace of the race will hold the key. Fynbos, going by her Oaks win, may not settle too well if the Derby’s initial pace is too hot; but Baychimo (who shattered the course record in his last win), on the other hand, will simply relish that scenario. On the Dynamic class factor, however, Fynboss rates decisively superior to Baychimo based on their last runs on the same day, and therefore, though I think Baychimo will be tremendously helped by champion Suraj Narredu’s brilliant current form as compared to Tom Marquand, the visiting jockey who will ride Fynbos, I have no hesitation in casting my vote in favour of Fynbos. First race at 2.15 pm. Selections: Tattersalls Million (Class IV; 1400m)Don Julio 1, Vincero 2, Savage Peacock 3. Keki D Mehta Memorial Million (For 3y, Maidens; 1600m)Puccini 1, Alexios 2, Notimeforcaution 3. Rusi Patel Trophy - Gr 3 (For 4y&o; 1600m) Santissimo 1, African Gold 2, Pride's Prince 3. Sir Homi Mehta Million (For 3y, Maidens; 1200m)Lady Scarlet 1, Highland Spirit 2, Snow Girl 3. Thackers Eclipse Stakes of India - Gr 2 (For 4y&o; 2000m)Golden Thunder 1, Psychic Star 2, Regina Memorabilis 3. Rattonsey Multi-Million (For 3y; 1400m) Buckingham 1, D'Artagnan 2, Nebula 3. Coromandel Gromor Million [powered by Coromandel International Ltd] (Class II; 1200m)Western Star 1, Social Butterfly 2, Big Bay 3. Queen's Necklace Million (Class V; 1200m)Ministry Of Time 1, Santana Row 2, Desert Classic 3. RecommendationsBest bet: Puccini ((2-3)Upsets: Majesticus (1-9), Thalassa (5-9) & Red Mist (9-8) Today's pools Super jackpot pool: 4,5,6,7,8,9Jackpot pool: I - 2,3,4,5,6; II - 5,6,7,8,9Treble pool: I - 3,4,5; II - 6,7,8; III - 7,8,9Tanala pool: All races.
01 February,2026 08:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviWhile still out of action, serving a ban for breaching anti-doping rules, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk is busy trying to woo US TV star Jordyn Jones. The Ukrainian has been contacting Jones on social media since last September, when he first made a cheeky comment on one of her posts, asking his fans: “Should I try [dating her]?” According to British tabloid The Sun, Mudryk allegedly did land a date with Jones to Disneyland Paris soon after. Now, four months on, the pair continue to make flirtatious advances towards each other. On Jones’s recent Instagram post, Mudryk commented: “Flowers suit you,” to which she replied: “Why thank you darling.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 February,2026 08:53 AM IST | Disneyland | AgenciesHistory is on the line in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday with tennis gladiators Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz each vowing no surrender. Separated by 16 years, the pair stand at opposite ends of their careers and are pursuing significant but different milestones. The 38-year-old Djokovic is striving to win a record-extending 11th Melbourne crown and with it a 25th major title to finally surpass Margaret Court’s long-standing landmark. Should he do so, he will also become the oldest man to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at the Australian Open. The 22-year-old Alcaraz is bidding to become the youngest man to complete a career sweep of all four majors. Fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal did it at 24. “For me, I think also obviously for Carlos because of his age and everything that he was able to achieve so far, history is on the line for both of us every time we play,” said Serbia’s Djokovic. Both men conjured Houdini-like escapes in gripping five-set semi-finals. Djokovic survived two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner after 4hrs 9mins for his first win in six encounters against the World No. 2. Alcaraz spent even more time on court to tame Alexander Zverev in a titanic 5hrs 27mins, the longest semi-final in tournament history with both matches instant classics. 5-4Novak Djokovic’s win-loss record against Carlos Alcaraz 38No of Grand Slam singles finals entered by Novak Djokovic; he has won 24 SixNo of Grand Slam singles titles won by Alcaraz; he is yet to win the Oz Open This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 February,2026 08:47 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPElena Rybakina stifled her emotions to take revenge over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and win the Australian Open on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed fought back from 0-3 in the deciding set to triumph 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena here in 2hrs 18mins. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds the Melbourne crown to her Wimbledon win in 2022. Rybakina has a reputation for being unflappable, but she said she was nervous about losing the second set, even though she did not show it, and again as she served for the match. She sealed the championship with her sixth ace of the final. “Well, the heart definitely was beating too fast, even if maybe my face did not show it,” she told local broadcasters. “Inside was a lot of emotions.” A disappointed Aryna Sabalenka drops her racquet during her defeat to Elena Rybakina It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open last year for the second time, but lost the French Open and Melbourne title deciders. She was into her fourth Australian Open final in a row and had been imperious until now. The 27-year-old top seed had tears in her eyes at the end and draped a towel over her head to hide her feelings. “Let’s hope maybe next year will be a better year for me,” Sabalenka said ruefully. “She played an incredible match and I tried my very best. I was fighting until the very last point,” she added. Mertens-Zhang, Harrison-Skupski win doubles titles Belgium’s Elise Mertens marked her return to the No. 1 ranking in women’s doubles by combining with China’s Zhang Shuai to win the Australian Open title on Saturday at Melbourne Park. They beat Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4. Meanwhile, American Christian Harrison and Britain’s Neal Skupski won the men’s doubles trophy. Harrison served an ace on match point for a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over the Australian pair of Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans. Numbers game Sabalenka Rybakina5 Aces 62 Double faults 362 1st serves in (%) 5575 1st serve pts won (%) 7648 2nd serve pts won (%) 4825 Break pts won (%) 5034 Receiving pts won (%) 3335 Winners 2826 Unforced errors 2592 Total points won 92 One Elena Rybakina becomes the first-ever player from Kazakhstan to win the Australian Open singles title Five Consecutive number of games won by Elena Rybakina in the final set after trailing 0–3 SixRybakina becomes the sixth woman in the Open Era to win her first two Grand Slam titles on different surfaces (grass at Wimbledon and hard court in Melbourne) OneRybakina becomes the first woman in seven years (since Naomi Osaka in 2019) to defeat three top-10 players en route to her Oz Open title (No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Swiatek, and No. 6 Pegula) TwoConsecutive Australian Open finals lost by Aryna Sabalenka This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 February,2026 08:43 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPAfter being left out of the 33 core probables squad for the upcoming FIH Men’s Pro League over disciplinary issues, it is learnt that senior midfielder Manpreet Singh, forward Dilpreet Singh and goalkeeper Krishan Pathak could face further action from Hockey India (HI). A day after it was reported that the trio were not picked among the probables on disciplinary grounds, a Hockey India official confirmed to mid-day that the sport’s national governing body will be further probing the matter. “Yes, there was some disciplinary issue on the South Africa tour [India played two Tests and a friendly between December 7 and 10 in South Africa] and that’s the reason the three players have been left out of the Indian team,” the HI official told mid-day on Friday. It is learnt that forward Sukhjit Singh had been supplied some drug-laced eatables by Manpreet, Dilpreet and Pathak during the South Africa tour, and after consuming it, he became nauseous and behaved abnormally. “All three, being senior players, must realise that they cannot do such things and that too in a foreign country. For now, the team’s focus is the FIH Pro League, but we [HI] will be investigating this matter further and initiate disciplinary action after thoroughly going through the details of all that happened in South Africa,” added the HI official. Interestingly, with Manpreet on 411 international caps and current HI president Dilip Tirkey holding the record for most international caps (412), there were suggestions that the HI chief was deliberately keeping Manpreet out of the team since he wanted to safeguard his record. However, that’s definitely not the case, clarified the HI official: “Dilip Tirkey has been a reputed India player and captain, and will only be proud if another player breaks his record. There’s no way Dilip will even think of dropping Manpreet for this.” Meanwhile, Manpreet, on Friday, released a statement, saying that he “had been meaning to request for a break” which is why the coach spoke to him and has allowed “this much-needed rest.”
31 January,2026 08:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin FerroADVERTISEMENT
