Considering Novak Djokovic‘s experience in defense of his Australian Open crown, “rally” doesn’t quite describe the work he did in order to win. While he claimed the opening set with aplomb, getting 80 percent of his first serves in and winning 80% of his second, it was clear that fellow finalist Dominic Thiem would not be an easy out despite early jitters. In fact, he played nowhere near as well as his opponent in the second and third sets. For the first time in a long, long while, and for the first time ever at Melbourne Park, he looked rattled, shaken, and all too ready to fold.

MELBOURNE -- Novak Djokovic endured a fierce challenge to his Melbourne Park reign before overhauling Dominic Thiem 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 in a thriller on Sunday to clinch an eighth Australian Open crown and reclaim the world number one ranking.

MIAMI -- The Kansas City Chiefs ended a half-century Super Bowl drought with a dramatic 31-20 comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in a breathtaking finish to the National Football League’s 100^th season.

FILIPINO sports heroes, both old and new, will be celebrated at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night in March.

WHILE a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, is not yet guaranteed for her, Filipino-Japanese karateka Junna Tsukii is in no way deterred by it and still very much focused on seeing her push completed.

BOOSTED BY two quality victories in 2019, bantamweight champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman of Team Lakay was adjudged “fighter of the year” in Brave Combat Federation for the second year in a row.

The chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands is traditionally the first Super GM (Grandmaster) event of the year. The main sponsor of the chess festival, which started in 1938, remains the steel factory in Ijmuiden, which is now part of the Tata Group, one of India’s oldest and largest business empires with subsidiaries involved in steel, power, chemicals, communications, beverages, motor vehicles, hotels, and many more.

The Chiefs headed into Super Bowl LIV as the favorites, however slight, backed by a solid defense and an offense that had hitherto proven its capacity to score in bunches. In fact, their road to yesterday’s winner-take-all affair was marked by a couple of improbable from-behind triumphs. They won the divisional round 51-31 after spotting the Texans 23 points, and then the AFC championship 35-24 despite having been down by double digits. For much of yesterday, though, it appeared as if they finally ran out of luck. And behind by 10 with 11:57 left in the final period, they looked just about ready to fold after yet another interception gave the Niners the ball.

FILIPINO teen tennis sensation Alexandra Eala boosted her stock in the juniors circuit after a productive and successful outing in the 2020 Australian Open, capped by winning the girls doubles title with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho on Friday.

MELBOURNE -- Sofia Kenin shed a few tears and needed to find a way to keep her emotions in check during an epic final against Garbine Muguruza, but soon after lifting her first Grand Slam title the American had to rush to calm someone else down -- her mother.

ONE Championship world strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of the Philippines made it a successful title defense by beating Brazilian Alex “Little Rock” Silva at “ONE: Fire & Fury” by split decision on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

MIGHTY Sports Philippines completed a dominant showing in the 2020 Dubai International Basketball Tournament, defeating defending champion Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 92-81, in the finals on Sunday morning at the Shabab al Ahli Sports Club.