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

The disappointments in other sports could’ve been swept under the rug had the men’s cricket team performed up to expectations.

Let’s revisit the cream of the crop from a stellar year.

Rafael Nadal was handed a dream start to his comeback tournament after drawing a qualifier Saturday in the opening round of the Brisbane International.

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.

British boxer Joshua produced one of his best performances of recent times by stopping Sweden's Otto Wallin, who was pulled out by his corner after the fifth round of a one-sided bout.

Nadal dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in 20 years earlier this season and has slipped to number 668 but is eligible for a protected ranking having been injured and not competing for at least six months.

Nick Kyrgios says that "I don't want to play anymore" but will give his tennis career another one or two years, days after pulling out of his home Australian Open.

International Master (IM) Fahad Rahman wasted another opportunity to earn his first Grand Master (GM) norm when he lost to Indonesia's IM Setyaki Azarya Jodi in the ninth and final round of Hanoi Grandmasters Chess in Vietnam yesterday.

The 9th Dhaka Bank Victory Day Cup Golf Tournament concluded at the Army Golf Club in Dhaka on Saturday.

The International Olympic Committee added that there were currently only eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus who had qualified as neutral athletes.

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.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has undergone surgery twice in 2023 after struggling with a hip injury.

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

Nick Kyrgios said he is "thankful" to Andy Murray for looking out for him after he spotted signs of self-harm on the Australian's body.