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Luka Modric to Stay with Real Madrid for Another Season in the Spanish League

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric attends a training session at the Real Madrid City training complex in Valdebebas, outskirts of Madrid on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric attends a training session at the Real Madrid City training complex in Valdebebas, outskirts of Madrid on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
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Luka Modric to Stay with Real Madrid for Another Season in the Spanish League

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric attends a training session at the Real Madrid City training complex in Valdebebas, outskirts of Madrid on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric attends a training session at the Real Madrid City training complex in Valdebebas, outskirts of Madrid on June 3, 2023. (AFP)

Real Madrid extended Luka Modric's contract on Monday, keeping the veteran midfielder for another season.

Madrid agreed to extend the contract of the 37-year-old Croatian until the end of the 2023-24 campaign, just like it did with Toni Kroos last week.

The moves allow Madrid to keep two of its most experienced players in a midfield that will be refreshed by the recent signing of 19-year-old Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.

The Spanish club also has Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Dani Ceballos in the midfield. Ceballos also had his contract extended recently.

Modric will be playing his 12th season with Madrid. He has made 488 appearances with the club and won 23 titles, including five Champions Leagues and three Spanish leagues. He won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA's The Best awards for player of the year in 2018.

“Home Sweet Home,” Modric wrote on Twitter.

The 33-year-old Kroos will begin his 10th season with Madrid.

The club also recently extended the contract of defender Nacho Fernández, and boosted its attack with the loan of Spain striker Joselu from Espanyol. Not returning next season are forwards Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard and Mariano Díaz.

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Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
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Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa

Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.
Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals at the Australian Open last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.
Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony holding thei trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.
“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.
The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST) and will run for 15 days.
Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.
Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 US Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.