An Australian Open wildcard is set to cheer up Maria Sharapova after a shock Brisbane International first-round loss compounded a horror grand slam build-up.

Sharapova became the latest women's star to raise questions about the inaugural men's team tournament having a monopoly on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane this week.

The loss came after Barty had to wait until Thursday to begin her Australian summer, with the men's ATP Cup having a mortgage on centre court earlier in the week.

She's in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open later this month, and Maria Sharapova made the most of a rare day off on Friday, visiting the National Gallery of Victoria.

MIKE DICKSON IN SYDNEY: Amid the dramatic recent history that Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have at the Australian Open, it is easy to overlook a fifth anniversary taking place.

Novak Djokovic, says the Australian Open in Melbourne may need to be postponed as players continue to struggle to compete due to the smoke-filled air.

The Russian star jumped behind the microphone to provide commentary at the Kooyong Classic, a tournament ahead of the Australian Open, while Dimitrov was on court at the time.

The 32-year-old tennis pro's WTA ranking recently fell to No. 369 following her first-round defeat at the Australian Open 2020

Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement from tennis after winning five Grand Slam titles during her career. She has announced she will be quitting tennis in an interview with Vanity Fair.

The 32-year-old Russian athlete was seen on a hike with two pals in Palos Verdes, California on Thursday. Maria seemed to be in great spirits as she beamed while cradling tiny dog while enjoying breeze.

I have several powder blushers but they are a bit dry looking on my skin and sometimes show up fine lines. Do you know of one that looks dewy? Or should I try cream blush?

I'm noticing my jawline getting a bit lax with the suspicion of jowls forming and a little pouch under my chin. I would love to stop them in their tracks but not keen on anything invasive

Sheku Kanneh-Mason's new album, his second for Decca, is a real curate's egg.

John Copley's classic 1974 production of La Bohème was finally laid to rest in 2015 after 25 revivals.

Sony regularly rush-releases the New Year's Day concert from Vienna, and I sometimes wonder why it bothers. But not this time.

Sometimes hype is just that; hype. But occasionally it's true.

Shostakovich's 11th Symphony here receives a performance of exceptional eloquence from the Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic under their chief guest conductor, the Finn John Storgårds.

Donald Trump has slipped further in the polls, a survey showed Monday, as he battles to dismiss a series of sexual assault allegations by claiming that the election is rigged against him.

Trump unveiled a scorched earth attack on the Clintons ahead of the debate, taking mourning Benghazi relatives as his guests as a man who claims to be Bill Clinton's son turned up in Vegas.

Hillary Clinton has swiped a chunk of Donald Trump's voters, a poll showed Wednesday, just hours before the candidates go head-to-head in the third and final presidential debate.

The results of Wednesday's presidential debate began to trickle in in the early hours of Thursday morning, with neither candidate the clear winner thanks to contrasting polls.

Voters think that whoever loses the election needs to accept the result, a poll showed Friday - even though almost half of those surveyed think that there will be widespread fraud at the polls.

The latest ABC News presidential opinion poll shows Republican Donald Trump trailing his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by 12 points.

With less than two weeks to go before election day on Nov. 8, Clinton has 43 per cent of the vote to her Republican rival's 39 per cent.

Hillary Clinton appears on the cusp of a potentially commanding victory over Donald Trump as she leads with 14 percentage points among likely voters, 51-37, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

A tracking poll put together by ABC and The Washington Post put Trump within two points of his opponent on Saturday morning. Clinton had 47 per cent of the vote over Trump's 45.

Last Sunday, Hillary Clinton was enjoying a 12 point advantage over Donald Trump in the ABC New/Washington Post tracking poll , but seven days later, that lead has shrunk to just one point.

Hillary Clinton is the most unpopular she's ever been, disliked by six out of ten voters, a poll showed - and there could be worse to come as the impact of the FBI's email news becomes clearer.

Hillary Clinton maintains a comfortable six-point lead over Donald Trump in a new poll that shows the FBI's announcement on Friday had no effect on voters.

Clinton's campaign is claiming 'bad polling' is responsible for the candidate's sudden fall from grace in a daily tracking survey that gives Trump a one-point advantage, not her emails.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are neck and neck in the battleground states of New Hampshire, two separate polls showed Thursday. The Republican has sliced into his rival's vote share.

Two red states that once looked liked they could be snatched up by Hillary Clinton are now trending back Donald Trump's way – while the two party hopefuls are tied in another.

Hillary Clinton has a three-point lead over Donald Trump at 47 points to 44, according to an ABC News/Washington post poll. Earlier this week Clinton had slipped behind Trump for the first time.

Hillary Clinton's lead over opponent Donald Trump has begun to stabilize as the Republican nominee's numbers hit their lowest point in ten days, according to the latest polls.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump released their final campaign ads on Monday night ahead of America going to the polls on Tuesday. The videos are remarkably different from one another.

In an exit poll by Fox News, Clinton just edges out Trump as a better commander in chief, at 49 per cent to his 46 per cent. But the Republican wins on the economy, at 48 per cent to 46.

US cybersecurity company Cylance showed how by physically accessing the machine the number of votes could be altered and the names of candidates changed.

After slack-jawed Clinton supporters watched Donald Trump turn huge swaths of the map red on a tense election night, Hillary Clinton got a break when she was declared the winner in Virginia.

Canada's immigration website, which details information on how to move to the country, crashed - presumably because of a high volume of traffic - as the U.S. election results came in.

The American supermodel, 24, cut a typically stylish figure as she prepared to cast her vote in what has arguably been the most dramatic Presidential race in recent memory.

And on Tuesday after voting in the election, Bush, 45, generated raised eyebrows again by seeming to suggest he had cast his ballot for Hillary Clinton.

Allan Lichtman (pictured), from the American University in Washington DC, described election polls and pundits as 'useless' and 'worthless'.

Dr Sam Wang, a polling expert who said he would eat a bug if Donald Trump won more than 240 electoral votes during Tuesday's election has made good on that promise on Saturday.

The losing presidential candidate said she 'wanted to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again' after conceding to Donald Trump a week ago today.

The talented Ireland Under 21 international has decided that education must come first before embarking on his career as a full-time professional footballer.

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has now played three times for the Three Lions and has again been called up for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.

Burnley midfielder Robbie Brady and Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark have been included in the finalised squad for the Republic of Ireland's clashes with New Zealand and Denmark.

Republic of Ireland international Daryl Murphy has admitted to taking cocaine on a night out that led to him being banned by the Football Association.

The Christmas special of Gavin & Stacey, which marked the return of the sitcom after a ten-year absence, carried the weight of all our seasonal TV expectations

The Trial Of Christine Keeler not only failed to live up to the billing that, admittedly, may only have been in my head, but was also frequently incoherent due to all the jumping about in time