Serena, Venus storm to second round
Serena Williams stormed into the Australian Open second round as she began her bid for a 24th Grand Slam title with a win over Tatjana Maria. The 37-yearold American, whose 23rd major title came in Melbourne when she was pregnant two years ago, won 6-0 6-2 in 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Williams holds the most Open era singles titles, but is looking to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
Sister Venus dug deep to beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2. The Romanian 26th seed served for the match at 5-3 in the second set but Venus broke to love.
The 38-year-old American, ranked 36th, went on to take the set before dominating the third. The seven-time Grand Slam champion said: “It was pretty hairy there. I hope that this tough match will prepare me for the rest of the tournament.”
Williams, who has reached the final at Melbourne Park twice, most recently in 2017 when she lost to Serena, will meet Alize Cornet of France next. almost to the point of cockiness, going into his fights and nothing appears to have changed as he prepares for the biggest bout of his career.
Broner challenges legendary eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao for his secondary welterweight belt on Sunday (Fiji time) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and has shown no signs of altering his prefight personality.
Every fighter is different, but I know if I touch him flush, I’ll put him out. It’s no secret, he’s been to sleep before,” Broner said during a workout at Barry’s Boxing in Las Vegas on Monday as he puts the finishing touches on his training camp.
While Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), 29, of Cincinnati, has lost to the best opponents he has faced in Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Marcos Maidana, he has never been stopped while 40-year-old Filipino icon Pacquiao (607-2, 39 KOs), for all of his greatness, has suffered three knockout losses.
“I’m in shape and ready to go,” Broner said. “I could have made weight weeks ago. We’re prepared to go out and execute. I’ve been here before, and even though I haven’t been in a fight of exactly this magnitude, I’m just treating it like any other fight. He’s another opponent.
“A lot of people are saying that Pacquiao’s age will be a factor, but I’m not looking at it like that. You see guys like Floyd Mayweather who stay undefeated at an older age. I’m just focused on being me. As long as I do what I have to do, I will be victorious.” Broner said the fact that he is an underdog is no big deal. until March after injuring ankle ligaments in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester United.
Spurs say the England captain, 25, will return to training in early March.
Kane, Tottenham’s top scorer this season with 20 goals, is likely to miss both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund.
He will also be unavailable for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea on January 24.
Kane injured his left ankle when he was caught between United’s Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof late in the game at Wembley. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the match: “It was a clear foul on Harry Kane, a big hit. [Referee] Mike Dean said he didn’t see it.”
Spurs, who are third in the Premier League - nine points behind leaders Liverpool - look set to be without Kane for the games against Chelsea and Arsenal on February 27 and March 2 respectively.
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is currently on international duty with South Korea at the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
France midfielder Moussa Sissoko was replaced in the first half against United with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Tottenham’s back-up strikers are Fernando Llorente, who has scored four goals in 13 appearances this season, and Vincent Janssen, who has not played for the first team since August 2017.
England face the Czech Republic on 22 March and Montenegro on March 25 in Euro 2020 qualifiers. .