MELBOURNE: Defending champion Jannik Sinner will meet French world number 94 Hugo Gaston in the first round of the Australian Open in his bid for a third straight title at Melbourne Park, while women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga.

Men’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz will play 79th-ranked Australian Adam Walton in the Spaniard’s quest for a first Australian Open crown to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam. At the draw ceremony at Melbourne Park on Thursday, 10-times champion Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed, was bracketed next to 71st-ranked Spaniard Pedro Martinez for the opening round of the Grand Slam starting on Sunday.

Serb Djokovic, who is gunning for an all-time record 25th Grand Slam title to break clear of a tie with Margaret Court, could face rising Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed, in the quarter-finals before a possible semi-final against Sinner.

Italian Sinner has a smooth first week but fans will hope it includes a third round match-up with 28th-seeded Brazilian Joao Fonseca should the exciting, 19-year-old talent prove fit following recent back problems. “The draw is very difficult, it doesn’t matter who you play,” said Sinner at the draw ceremony. “We are the best players in the world and the way is very, very long.”

Alcaraz has home hero Alex de Minaur in his quarter of the draw but the Australian sixth seed must pass a tricky first test against Italian Matteo Berrettini, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2021.

Twice champion Sabalenka has few threats in her quarter of the draw before a potential semi-final against third seed Coco Gauff, who opens against 55th-ranked Uzbek Kamilla Rakhimova. Women’s second seed Iga Swiatek will meet a qualifier in the first round but her path to a first Australian Open title and seventh Grand Slam crown overall could mean a crunch quarter-final against the resurgent Kazakh Elena Rybakina.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, the fifth seed, looms as a dangerous proposition after clinching her maiden WTA Finals trophy in November in a major return to form. Rybakina meets unseeded Slovene Kaja Juvan in the first round. Defending champion Madison Keys will face unseeded Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova but the American ninth seed has a tough road to the title.

Keys could meet sixth-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula in the fourth round before a potential quarter-final against another American in fourth seed Amanda Anisimova. Home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis, who had a protected ranking for the Australian Open due to injury, pulled out of the men’s draw on Thursday after suffering a shoulder injury at the Adelaide International.

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Top seed Rafael Nadal was denied a place in the Australian Open semi-finals as Austria’s Dominic Thiem rattled the Spaniard with a powerful display to win a four-set thriller.

Fifth seed Thiem won 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (8-6) at Melbourne Park.

The 26-year-old, beaten by Nadal in the past two French Open finals, missed two match points before taking a third to win in four hours and 10 minutes.

He will now face Germany’s Alexander Zverev in Friday’s last-four match.

It will be a first semi-final in Melbourne for both men and the winner will face either Serbia’s defending champion Novak Djokovic or Swiss third seed Roger Federer in Sunday’s final.

Thiem missed the chance to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fourth, becoming jittery with three unforced errors and a double fault as Nadal levelled despite doing little to earn it.

But Thiem regrouped to win the third tie-break of a thrilling contest against the 19-time Grand Slam champion.

“I was holding my serve great and then it came to 5-4,” Thiem said.

“That was a special situation for me, serving against Rafa for a place in the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time.

“It was a mentally tough situation but I turned it around again in the tie-breaker.”

Thiem raised both arms in the air when Nadal hit a forehand into the net on the third match point, clutching and shaking his head in what was likely to be a mixture of relief and disbelief.

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Teenage phenomenon Coco Gauff missed out on her first Grand Slam quarter-final as fellow American Sofia Kenin fought back to win in the Australian Open fourth round.

Gauff, 15, lost 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-0 to the 14th seed in Melbourne.

She showed all her undoubted quality in the first set, but tired in the third as Kenin wore her down.

Kenin will next face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who beat Serena Williams’ conqueror Wang Qiang in straight sets.

After a warm embrace at the net, Kenin and Gauff broke out in tears following an intense battle on Melbourne Arena.

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US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from the Australian Open in Melbourne as she continues her recovery from a knee injury.

The Canadian, ranked sixth in the world, picked up the injury at the season-ending WTA Finals in October.

Andreescu beat Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows in September to win her maiden Grand Slam title.

“I have to respect the recuperation plan for my knee and body,” the 19-year-old wrote on Twitter.

“I feel better and stronger every day but the Australian Open is unfortunately too soon in my rehab process.”

Andreescu reached the second round in Melbourne in 2019.

Another absentee from the Australian Open will be Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, 31.

The 2009 US Open winner has been battling problems with his right knee since June last year when he had surgery.

Del Potro, twice a Melbourne quarter-finalist, was ranked in the top 10 a year ago, but has fallen to 120 in the singles rankings after six months out of action.

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Australian Open organisers have increased the prize money to more than £38m with the biggest gains for those losing in the earlier rounds.

The overall prize fund for the tournament has increased by 14% to 71m Australian dollars (£38.1m).

Players who exit in the first round will receive 20% more than last year while money for losers in the opening qualifying round is up by a third.

The tournament proper begins in Melbourne on 20 January.

Tournament director Craig Tiley says the Australian Open is committed to “improving the pay and conditions for a deeper pool of international tennis players”.

“We worked with the tours to establish the weighting for prize money increases round by round, and we pushed to reward players competing early in the tournament in both singles and doubles,” added Tiley.

“We strongly believe in growing prize money at all levels of the game and we will continue to work with the playing group to create viable career paths in the sport and enable more players to make more money.”

Singles champions at the 2020 tournament will take home 4.12m Australian dollars (£2.21m).

The prize money for losing in the first round of qualifying is 20,000 Australian dollars (£10,707) and 90,000 Australian dollars (£48,183) for exiting in the first round main draw.

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London:British number oneBritish number one Johanna Konta is hopeful she will be ready to play in the Australian Open after revealing the extent of a knee injury.

Konta, 28, said the problem is similar to tendonitis and she has been managing it throughout a year in which she played three Grand Slam quarter-finals.

She plans to travel to Australia on 30 December to play Brisbane and Adelaide before Melbourne on 20 January.

“I can only listen to my body,” said Konta, who is ranked 12th in the world.

Konta, speaking to reporters from several national newspapers at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, added: “I’m not giving myself any deadlines. I will be ready when I’m ready.”

Konta was ranked 38th at the start of 2019 and went close to falling out of the top 50 for the first time since October 2015 – before rediscovering her form on clay, a surface she had previously struggled for wins on.

That culminated in a run to the French Open semi-finals in June – losing to unseeded Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova – before she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

She has not played since losing to Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina in New York in early September.

“I have been carrying a knee problem since the first week of the year and it was basically a case of just managing it through the season,” said Konta.

“Once we got to the grass it got worse, and then at the US Open it felt significantly worse.

“I have definitely booked my flight and I want to be on that plane. I am certainly hopeful that I will be ready.”is hopeful she will be ready to play in the Australian Open after revealing the extent of a knee injury.

Konta, 28, said the problem is similar to tendonitis and she has been managing it throughout a year in which she played three Grand Slam quarter-finals.

She plans to travel to Australia on 30 December to play Brisbane and Adelaide before Melbourne on 20 January.

“I can only listen to my body,” said Konta, who is ranked 12th in the world.

Konta, speaking to reporters from several national newspapers at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, added: “I’m not giving myself any deadlines. I will be ready when I’m ready.”

Konta was ranked 38th at the start of 2019 and went close to falling out of the top 50 for the first time since October 2015 – before rediscovering her form on clay, a surface she had previously struggled for wins on.

That culminated in a run to the French Open semi-finals in June – losing to unseeded Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova – before she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

She has not played since losing to Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina in New York in early September.

“I have been carrying a knee problem since the first week of the year and it was basically a case of just managing it through the season,” said Konta.

“Once we got to the grass it got worse, and then at the US Open it felt significantly worse.

“I have definitely booked my flight and I want to be on that plane. I am certainly hopeful that I will be ready.”

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Federer successfully retained his Australian Open crown with a five-set victory over Marin Cilic last month to find himself just 155 points behind top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

But with the Spaniard not scheduled to play until the end of February in Acapulco the door has opened for the 36-year-old to become the oldest-ever world No 1 with a run to the semi-finals enough to see him overtake his long-time rival at the 500 event.

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MELBOURNE: Caroline Wozniacki finally lifted her first Grand Slam title at the 43rd attempt as she beat Simona Halep 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open on Saturday.

The Dane, who will take over as world number one, burst into tears as she secured the title against the battling Romanian top seed on her first match point of a gruelling, epic encounter.

Both players needed medical attention on court before the Dane prevailed in 2hr 49min in energy-sapping hot and humid conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

Wozniacki, 27, has long carried the unwanted moniker of best player never to win a major, having reached the US Open final in 2009 and 2014, and first becoming number one in 2010.

Both of them were in their third major final – their first in Australia – and both had saved match points in earlier rounds to get there.

Wozniacki started the stronger and broke Halep’s opening service game with the early evening temperature still above 30 Celsius.

The Dane sped into a 3-0 lead behind a consistent first serve.

Wozniacki had not won a set in either of her previous two Grand Slam final appearances and tightened visibly serving for this one at 5-3. Halep aggressively took advantage and moved to three break points at 0-40.

A big second serve and a first ace saved two of them but the relentless Halep forced Wozniacki long with a sliced forehand and the final was back on serve.

In the tiebreak the Dane went 4-1 up before a second mini-break and two solid serves gave her the tiebreak 7-2.

Wozniacki was growing in confidence and Halep needed to save four break points at 1-1 in the second set in a brutal game that lasted 11 minutes.

Worrying scenes

Soon after Halep signalled to her coach Darren Cahill in the player’s box that she wasn’t feeling well and there were worrying scenes as she had her blood pressure taken and an ice towel applied in the next changeover.

Halep re-emerged with her energy drained and needed the luckiest of net cords to hold for 4-3.

Cramping and almost limping, she decided to stand and deliver in the next game, keeping the points short.

Incredibly the tactic paid off as she broke Wozniacki with a ripping drive up the line and served at 5-3 to level the match.

Wozniacki forced two break back points which Halep saved, before levelling on her third set point.

The tournament’s extreme heat policy was invoked meaning the players took a 10-minute break before the start of the third set.

When they resumed Wozniacki held before wearing Halep down with a series of long rallies and securing the break for 2-0 as the match clock hit the two-hour mark.

Halep dug deep and got it back to 2-1 on her sixth break point of a gruelling game when Wozniacki double-faulted after almost 12 minutes.

Both players were feeling the heat and two more breaks of serve were exchanged as they struggled to find any rhythm until Halep held for 3-3.

Wozniacki´s weaker forehand let her down twice from deuce and Halep led for the first time in the match at 4-3.

Now it was the turn of the Dane to call the physio. With her left knee freshly strapped she broke Halep yet again to level at 4-4.

Finally, having not held since the first game of the third set Wozniacki managed it again and crucially led 5-4 with Halep having to serve to stay in the match.

She couldn´t manage it and a backhand into the net brought an end to her brave challenge.

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Defending champion Roger Federer strolled into the Australian Open final in a bitter-sweet win after Chung Hyeon’s retired injured in their semi-final on Friday.

The Swiss star was leading 6-1, 5-2 when the South Korean called it quits with foot blisters and will now face Marin Cilic in Sunday’s final.

Chung, the first South Korean man or woman to play in a Grand Slam semi-final, was treated in a medical timeout for the left foot problem two games earlier.

But it came as a big surprise when the 21-year-old walked to the net at 30-30 and trailing 2-5 after 1hr 02mins in the second set to concede defeat.

It put Federer into his seventh Australian final as he chases his sixth Melbourne title and 20th Grand Slam victory.

Federer leads 2014 US Open champion Cilic 8-1 in their meetings.

The Swiss maestro now has a 30-13 win-loss record in Grand Slam semi-finals and has yet to drop a set in this year’s Australian Open.

“You couldn’t tell until the end,” he said of Chung’s injury problems. “That’s probably why a lot of people are stunned (he retired).

“I could tell something was wrong before he took the injury timeout, but he has a great composure.

“I think he is already a great player, but we are talking next level excellence and I think he will achieve that.

“We will see much more of him. Top 10 for sure. The rest we will see.”

It was a muted semi-final with the Rod Laver Arena retractable roof closed for rain further improving Federer’s chances given his indoor record.

He broke Chung’s opening service and twice more to romp away with the first set in just 33 minutes as the Korean made a flurry of errors.

It got no better in the second set with Federer again breaking in the fourth game before the trainer was called on to the court to treat Chung for his foot blisters.

Chung only lasted a bit more than two games before pulling out to a stunned silence.

“In the second set I felt he was starting to get a bit slower, fighting with a blister,” Federer said.

“I’ve played with blisters in the past a lot, and it hurts a lot, and at one point it is just too much and you can’t take it anymore.

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South Korean sensation Hyeon Chung is through to his maiden grand slam semi-final after scoring a straight-sets victory over American surprise packet Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in their unexpected Australian Open quarter-final at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

Chung, the first Korean tennis player to make it to the final four of a major, will now face either Roger Federer or Tomas Berdych for a spot in Sunday night’s final.

“Whoever win, I’m playing. I don’t care,” a jubilant Chung said.

Backing up from his stylish straight-sets victory over six-time winner Novak Djokovic, Chung showed no signs of a psychological letdown as he broke Sandgren four times on Rod Laver Arena to storm into the last four in two hours and 28 minutes.

At 21 and 254 days, Chung is also the youngest men’s grand slam semi-finalist since Marin Cilic at the 2010 Australian Open. The South Korean could meet the Croat who in this year’s final.

The Tennessee native gave one last gasp at the end as he saved five match points and brought up two break points while trailing 5-3, but Chung finally overcame his nerves to win the third set in 47 minutes.

“I don’t know in last game 40-love up, I start thinking what I had to do in ceremony, something like that,” Chung said.

“After the deuce point, no ceremony. I’m just trying to stay focused because I’m first time in these (big) matches.”

While Sandgren displayed exquisite net play at times, 21-year-old Chung’s superiority from the baseline was a decisive factor in the result.

Sandgren’s inability to open up the court because of Chung’s speed was also key and the American’s poor service also made things easier for the Korean.

Heading into this match, Sandgren was 75 per cent for the tournament for first serves in, yet could only manage 55 per cent on Wednesday compared to Chung’s 76.

Chung also had the ascendancy in percentage of second-serve points won (62-45).

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