Transfermarkt » his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4,

MELBOURNE, Australia - The opening Grand Slam tournament of the year ended Sunday with Novak Djokovic winning his fifth Australian Open title and denying Andy Murray his first.Outside of a few days when the temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the first week, the searing hot temperatures that can often affect play at the tournament were not an issue this year.It was also two weeks of record attendance — 703,899, breaking the previous mark of 686,006 in 2012 — due in part to a new roof on Margaret Court Arena, giving Melbourne Park three stadiums with retractable roofs.Here are some things we learned from the 103rd edition of the Australian Open:___TOUGH AT THE TOP: Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams extended their impressive records in finals at the Australian Open, where the No. 1 seeds in the mens and womens draws clinched the titles. Williams has won all six singles finals she has contested at the Australian Open, and Djokovic maintained his 100 per cent record in five finals. It was another disappointment Down Under for Murray, who has lost four Australian Open finals in six years, including three defeats to Djokovic.____BIG FOUR RESTORED: Andy Murray moved into fourth place in the ATP rankings, despite his loss to Djokovic in the final, restoring the so-called Big Four. Djokovic remains at No. 1, followed by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Thats a combined total of 41 Grand Slam singles titles — Federer has 17, Nadal 14, Djokovic eight and Murray two. The men frequently touted as challenging the Big Four for Grand Slam titles in the future will have to wait for another major — U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori and Wimbledon semifinalist Milos Raonic lost in the quarterfinals and Grigor Dimitrov went out in the fourth round.____SERENA VS. SHARAPOVA: Maria Sharapova lost her 16th consecutive match to Serena Williams, who won her 19th Grand Slam singles title in the straight-sets Australian Open final to move closer to Steffi Grafs Open-era total of 22. No. 2-ranked Sharapova was gracious in defeat. I havent beaten her in a long time but I love every time I step on the court with her, said Sharapova, who trails 17-2 in career head-to-heads and hasnt beaten Williams since 2004. Ive had some of the best memories of my career on this court and also some of my toughest losses, but thats the life of a tennis player. Her best memory of any match against Williams was her first major — Wimbledon in 2004 — when she beat the American in straight sets in only their second career meeting.___KEYS AND THE AMERICANS: Madison Keys, a 19-year-old rising star, had a breakthrough tournament, beating Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round and fellow Americans Madison Brengle and Venus Williams in the fourth round and quarterfinals before losing to Serena Williams in the semis. Four American women reached the round of 16, a good start for the U.S. contingent in the first major of the year, particularly the return to the quarterfinals of Venus Williams after an energy-sapping illness affected her play for more than four years.___THE CONTROVERSIES: An on-court presenter asked 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard of Canada to give us a twirl, to show off her dress, which soon became known as Twirlgate. Andy Murrays fiancée Kim Sears mouthing obscenities from the player box during the Scotsmans fiery win over Tomas Berdych (who hired Murrays former coach) in the semifinals. At Sundays final, Sears poked fun at herself by wearing a t-shirt which said: Parental Advisory Explicit Content. And she appeared to behave herself, unlike two political protesters who were arrested after a court invasion during the mens final. Play was delayed in the second set after a protester was grabbed by a security guard at the back of the court. Organizers said police were expected to lay charges Monday.___MAJOR MARTINA: Martina Hingis won her first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in 1997, and the 34-year-old Swiss player added her 16th of all varieties when she combined with Indias Leander Paes to take the mixed doubles title at Melbourne Park on Sunday. Hingis, who won the 1997 Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles, also won the Australian Open in 1998 and 1999 for a trio of singles titles at Melbourne Park. She has nine Grand Slam womens doubles titles, including four in Australia, where she has now won the mixed doubles twice. I never thought I would be standing here nearly 20 years later, Hingis said during the trophy presentations. Wholesale Jerseys . The Brad Jacobs team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., advanced to Fridays championship game with a 10-6 win over Chinas Rui Liu in the semifinal. Soccer Jerseys China . Following the Ford Womens World Curling Championship gold medal match that attracted record-breaking audiences to TSN, the networks exclusive live coverage of the tournament begins Saturday at 7am et/4am pt with Canadas opening draw against Denmark. http://www.wholesalejerseyssundaynfl.com/ . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. Wholesale NFL Jerseys .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line.MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany - Borussia Moenchengladbach has extended coach Lucien Favres contract until 2017 despite going nine games without a win in the Bundesliga. The club says the coach has been doing "an outstanding job in the last three years" and that "our common paath is far from over.ddddddddddddquot; The 56-year-old Swiss coach saved Moenchengladbach from relegation and then took the club to a Champions League qualifying spot the next season. Moenchengladbach has dropped from third to eighth in the current Bundesliga campaign. ' ' '