Novak Djokovic got the party started for 2024 as he sealed a 2-1 win for Serbia over China near the stroke of midnight on Sunday at the United Cup in Perth.

Nadal looked sharp on court and appeared to have no issues with his movement after the long lay-off for a hip problem

Play was halted until a snake catcher arrived and managed to tease it into a bag.

The world number one holds no grudges heading into the mixed team event nearly two years after being refused entry to the country over his stance on Covid-19 vaccinations

Andy Murray conceded Saturday he longed for the chance to play again on the big stage against superstars Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

The 37-year-old has not played since a second-round loss at the Australian Open this year, undergoing two rounds of hip surgery on the long road back.

The Serbian superstar is the king of the Melbourne Park hard courts, winning the Australian Open a record 10 times, with an 11th in his sights next month.

The rise means the prize pot at the Melbourne Park Grand Slam has more than doubled over the last decade but the cash is now far more evenly distributed.

The 37-year-old returns to the courts in Brisbane this week, almost a year since he last played professionally before an injury curse that has long plagued him returned with a vengeance.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, makes his comeback after a near year-long injury absence at the Australian Open warm-up event in Brisbane starting Sunday.

Novak Djokovic has no plans to hang up his racket any time soon and is hoping he might be able to emulate American football great Tom Brady by extending his career well past his 40th birthday, the 36-year-old Serbian said on Tuesday.

Showstopper Nick Kyrgios and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu were notable absentees Thursday from the 2024 Australian Open entry list, but Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka are set for their Grand Slam comebacks.

Former world number one Rafael Nadal said on Monday he expects "nothing" from himself before his return to the courts next month.

At 36 years old Djokovic is still tennis' number one player by some distance and he has racked up a host of new records this season, taking his Grand Slam tally to 24 and finishing top of the year-end world rankings for the eighth time.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion needed just one win or a defeat for young rival Carlos Alcaraz in order to secure top spot in the ATP rankings for 2023 and prevailed in a three-hour Green Group clash with spirited debutant Rune.

The world number two said he had been "out of my mind" during his semi-final match against Jannik Sinner in the Chinese capital, which the Italian won 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the second round of the China Open with an imperious 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Sofia Kenin on Sunday.

Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova claimed her first title of the season and second overall with a comprehensive 7-5 6-1 win over world number four Jessica Pegula in the Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo on Sunday.

Chinese tennis trailblazer Zhang Zhizhen claimed the nation's first men's singles gold medal at the Asian Games in nearly 30 years on Saturday, riding a wave of crowd support to beat Japan's Yosuke Watanuki 6-4 7-6(7) in Hangzhou.

Newly crowned world number one Aryna Sabalenka said Friday she is "super motivated" to finish the year in top spot as she prepares to compete in the China Open in Beijing.