Sport

Tennis

Sleep is the word for returning Rafa

Settling in nicely: Rafael Nadal.

Jet-lagged yet feeling the love, Rafael Nadal believes his best hopes of enjoying a triumphant Brisbane International debut is to sleep like a baby.

Rusty Serena wins opener in Auckland

American Serena Williams on her way to defeating France's Pauline Parmentier at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

She may not have played for a few months, but Serena Williams has lost none of our competitiveness with a comfortable first-up victory at the Auckland Classic.

Kyrgios backs Aussies to rebound at Hopman Cup

Gavrilova and Kyrgios are confident they can still make it through their pool.

Perth: Nick Kyrgios has expressed his confidence in his Hopman Cup partner Daria Gavrilova's ability to rebound from an opening singles loss and the defending champion Australians' ability to qualify for Saturday's final despite Sunday's 2-1 defeat against Spain.

Kerber's happy returns

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 01: Angelique Kerber of Germany takes part in the Pat Rafter Arena Spectacular during day ...

The German world number one prepares to begin her campaign at the Brisbane International as she heads to Melbourne to defend her maiden grand slam title.