Djokovic, Serena retain top spots

Madrid, August 3 

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic maintained his place at No.1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men's singles rankings released on Monday with 13,845 points.

Spain's Rafael Nadal advanced to ninth after winning the Hamburg Open on Sunday over Italy's Fabio Fognini. Croatian Marin Cilic bumped up from ninth to eighth while Canada's Milos Raonic gave up his No. 8 spot and now sits at No. 10.

American Serena Williams held on to the lead in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings with 12,721 points. The rankings were unchanged this week as Russia's Maria Sharapova retained her second place followed by Romania's Simona Halep.

Australian Open slashes women's final ticket prices 

Melbourne: Australian Open organisers announced on Monday they have slashed ticket prices of the 2016 women's singles final by 32 percent in response to fan feedback after this year's tennis tournament.

The decision was announced by Tennis Australia (TA) commercial director Richard Heaselgrave with the cheapest seat to see the women's final now costing $70, less than the 2015 equivalent, reports Xinhua. Fans who felt they were short-changed attending the women's decider will now pay as little as $142 to attend the 2016 final, down from $212. 

Meanwhile, the men's final commands the premium price of $289 for the cheapest seat — more than double the price of the women's championship match. In contrast to the women's decider, the price of attending the men's final has gone up compared to last year's offering, rising by $4. — Agencies