1.
Vikings' Asher Allen retires at age 24
MELBOURNE, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Novak Djokovic learned Friday he will meet Paolo Lorenzi in the first round of the Australian Open, which begins next week.
Tournament officials released the draws for the year's first major tennis event, with Djokovic beginning 2012 as the world's top-ranked player.
He surged to the top of his sport last year by winning his first 41 matches of the season and finishing 2011 with a 70-6 record. That remarkable stretch began with a victory in the Australian Open, one of three Grand Slam events he captured during the year.
Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in last year's championship match, and if both advance through the draw this time they would face each other in the semifinals. Murray will meet Ryan Harrison in the first round.
Four-time champion Roger Federer, seeded third this year, will meet an as yet undetermined qualifier in the first round. No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal also will meet a qualifier to open the tournament.
In the women's draw, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki will take on Anastasia Rodionova in the first round. Wozniacki lost in the semifinals last year.
No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova will face Vera Dushevina while third-seeded Victoria Azarenka is scheduled to meet Heather Watson.
|
|
|
| Additional Sports News Stories | |
PARIS, June 1 (UPI) --
Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, the world's top two ranked women's tennis players, picked up wins Friday at the French Open.
|
NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. author Lauren Weisberger is working on a sequel to her 2003 blockbuster novel, "The Devil Wears Prada," EW.com reported.
|
MIAMI, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. weather forecasters say the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be about average, despite the rare late-May landfall of Beryl.
|
HOLMES BEACH, Fla., June 1 (UPI) --
Employees at a Florida grocery store restrained a Cuban sandwich thief by sitting on him until authorities arrived, police say.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption
