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Tennis

Australian junior's lofty Davis Cup ambitions

Alexei Popyrin

He's the son of a former Russian ballroom dancing champion waiting for a call from Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt. No, Alexei Popyrin isn't a household name in Australian tennis just yet.

Haas cuts Federer comeback short in Stuttgart

Roger Federer and Tommy Haas

Roger Federer slumped to a shock 2-6 7-6(8) 6-4 loss to German veteran Tommy Haas at the Stuttgart Open in a disappointing comeback after the 18-times grand-slam champion missed the entire claycourt season.

Injured Sharapova to miss grasscourt season

Maria Sharapova serves against Eugenie Bouchard during their Madrid Open tennis tournament match.

Former world number one Maria Sharapova will miss the grasscourt season, including this month's Wimbledon qualifying tournament, after failing to recover from a left-thigh injury she suffered during last month's Italian Open.

Poor-with-numbers Nadal eyes French No.10

Approaching history: Rafael Nadal is attempting to win his 10th French Open crown.

Rafael Nadal has acknowledged during the French Open that he's never been all that good with numbers. Well, perhaps he should brush up. If Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in Sunday's Roland Garros final, so much of the story will be about statistics.

McEnroe open to coaching 'wacky' Kyrgios

One of a kind: Nick Kyrgios.

John McEnroe, tennis's original SuperBrat, would enjoy a crack at coaching fellow "head case" Nick Kyrgios, saying he and Australia's most mercurial talent could be a perfect partnership.

Halep into French semi as Svitolina chokes

Day to forget: Elina Svitolina.

Former French Open runner-up Simona Halep staged a remarkable fightback and saved a match point to reach the semi-finals with a 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-0 win over Elina Svitolina.

'Tank city': McEnroe accuses ousted Djokovic

Djokovic showed little hint of the competitive instincts that have made him the world's best player for much of this decade.

Paris: Defending champion Novak Djokovic was accused of "tanking" his quarter-final at the French Open as he suffered a chastening 7-6, 6-3, 6-0 defeat at the hands of 23-year-old Dominic Thiem.

Beaten champ Djokovic showed no fight: Courier

Thiem's the breaks: Novak Djokovic feels the strain during his loss to Dominic Thiem.

Double French Open champion Jim Courier said Novak Djokovic's decision to work with so-called "guru"' Pepe Imaz was partly to blame for his shock defeat at Roland Garros on Wednesday.