Serena Williams made a ruthless start to her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title with a 6-0 6-2 victory over unseeded German Tatjana Maria in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Andy Murray said he would make a decision on further surgery that could end his career "within a week" after battling to a gutsy, epic five-set defeat in the Australian Open yesterday.

Andy Murray's hopes of a fairytale swansong at the Australian Open were crushed in the first round on Monday as Roberto Bautista Agut held off a thrilling fightback from the ailing Briton to claim a 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 6-2 epic.

Injury-wracked Andy Murray proved he hasn't lost his sense of humour despite chronic pain from a hip injury forcing him into retirement this year.

A ruthless Rafael Nadal showed no mercy in a clinical first round thumping at the Australian Open Monday with fellow former champions Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova also romping through.

TRAINING THROUGH THE PAIN

A tearful Andy Murray on Friday announced he would likely retire this year due to severe pain from a hip injury, saying next week's Australian Open could be the last tournament of a glittering career.

Japanese star Kei Nishikori claimed his first title since 2016 when he downed Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the final of the Brisbane International while Karolina Pliskova came from a set down to overhaul Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko in the women's final on Sunday.

Roger Federer has become the most successful player in Hopman Cup history after leading Switzerland to a 2-1 win in an enthralling final of the mixed teams tournament in Perth Saturday.

World number one Novak Djokovic won another gruelling battle in Doha on Thursday to continue his unbeaten start to the year and progress to the Qatar Open semifinals.

Rafael Nadal on Wednesday withdrew from the season-opening Brisbane International after an MRI revealed a slight strain of his left thigh.

Rafael Nadal withdraws from the season-opening Brisbane International after an MRI revealed a slight strain of his left thigh.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova had a tough start to her 2019 tennis season Monday at the Shenzhen Open, edging out Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-2, 7-6 (7/3).

Serena Williams overcame a sluggish start to win her opening match of the new season in Perth Monday, two weeks out from 2019's first Grand Slam.

Novak Djokovic admitted he'd be "lying" if overhauling Roger Federer's mark of 20 Grand Slam titles was not on his mind but insisted Saturday it will be a great challenge to get there, especially with the sport's widely-hyped young generation stepping up.

World number one Novak Djokovic wins a fourth Mubadala World Tennis Championship title on Saturday coming back from a set down to beat Kevin Anderson 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

A new extreme heat policy that dictates when it is safe to play will be introduced at next month's Australian Open to better deal with frequent oven-like conditions on court.

Former world number one Andy Murray says he has no regrets about not walking away from tennis despite missing 11 months of the year with a hip injury.

It was a memorable year for sport in 2018, with the World Cup in Russia, a cricketing controversy and Serena Williams' bizarre outburst grabbing the headlines.

This week's ATP rankings are the year-end rankings, and they're historic: the Top 10 includes seven players age 30 or over, the most in the 45-year history of ATP rankings.