Dominic Thiem made a significant breakthrough at the Australian Open on Wednesday night, upsetting World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6) at Rod Laver Arena. The Austrian recorded his first Grand Slam victory against the 2009 champion in six attempts to reach his first semi-final at the opening major championship of the year. Thiem won 78 per cent of first-serve points (65/83) and struck 65 …

For a nation that has been sifting through the dirt for decades for a truly loveable tennis champion, Australia has finally hit the mother lode in Ash Barty. The Queenslander is that rarest of rare gems in sport: a relentless winner who is also universally adored and respected. It’s not something Australia has had in abundance of late, in tennis …

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the Federal Government will try to evacuate “isolated and vulnerable Australians” trapped in China because of the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. The National Security Committee of Cabinet met earlier today and decided to launch the operation, after a briefing from Chinese authorities in Beijing on Monday. Mr Morrison said Australian children and elderly people …

Australian PM Scott Morrison has been accused of lacking leadership during the bushfire crisis – by the man he replaced after a party room coup. Malcolm Turnbull, who was deposed in 2018, told the BBC that Mr Morrison had misled the country by “downplaying” the influence of global warming. Mr Morrison apologised last month for taking a US holiday amid …

Alexei Popyrin has underlined why he is a rising star of Australian tennis after comfortably progressing to the third round at Melbourne Park via a straight-sets win. Popyrin exerted his command over Spain’s Jaume Munar early in their Australian Open encounter on Court Three en route to winning 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in two hours and four minutes. The win …

A clash with Rafael Nadal still looms for Nick Kyrgios, but for the time being he will be satisfied to have safely advanced to the third round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Kyrgios was in superb touch at times during his 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 defeat of veteran Frenchman Gilles Simon to edge a step closer to meeting …

The members of Castlemaine Bowling Club in Victoria range in age from 11 through to 93. “The Castlemaine Bowling Club provides a really important function in our community,” club secretary Peter Williams told 7.30. “We have a number of people who are no longer playing who just love to come and have a cup of tea and enjoy the social …

A Melbourne mother who left her 14-month-old boy alone in a car in 38-degree heat last week has been allowed to see the child in hospital. The boy was rescued from a parked car outside The Brook Point Cook Hotel in Melbourne’s west about 3:15pm on Wednesday. He remains in a critical but stable condition at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital …

Three US crew members were killed when their Large Air Tanker crashed while fighting a bushfire in southern NSW this afternoon. Earlier this afternoon, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it had “lost contact” with a Lockheed C-130 Hercules being used in water bombing operations in the Snowy Monaro area. Firefighters, emergency services and military personnel launched a search …

As you drive to the city from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, the giant billboards on the overpasses leave little doubt about who is the star attraction of this year’s Australian Open. If you have come from overseas and are keen to taste the local “delicacy”, you might find the contents of supermarket shelves confusing: Vegemite has been rebranded as Bartymite. You …