The week in sports: from Murray's Australian exit, to Bottas at Mercedes

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Tennis: Djokovic, Murray out of Melbourne

Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand in his fourth round match against Kei Nishikori of Japan at the 2017 Australian Open on January 22, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. /CFP Photo

The world’s top two male players suffered shock exits before even reaching the final stages at the Australian Open. Six-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was the first to bow out on Thursday, losing to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the second round, the first time he’s gone out this early in a Grand Slam since 2008. World number one Andy Murray followed suit on Sunday, crashing out to Germany’s Mischa Zverev, ranked 50th in the world, in four sets. Former Swiss number one Roger Federer showed he was still good for some surprises, booking his place in the quarter-finals with a five-set win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori. But on the women’s side, Germany's world number one Angelique Kerber also suffered an early exit, succumbing to US player Coco Vandeweghe.

F1: Bottas is the new Rosberg

Valtteri Bottas is unveiled as a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver at the team's factory on January 16, 2017 in Brackley, England. /CFP Photo

The long race to replace F1 champion Nico Rosberg is finally over. Mercedes confirmed last week that Williams driver Valtteri Bottas would race alongside Lewis Hamilton this season, following Rosberg’s surprise decision to retire just days after he secured his first F1 championship title in November. Bottas, who had long been a favorite to take over from the German, described the move as a dream come true. In a game of musical chairs, his transfer was made possible by Brazilian Felipe Massa accepting the challenge to come back from his recently announced retirement to race for Williams again. The new F1 season kicks off on March 26 with the Australian Grand Prix.

Football: Tevez unveiled at Shanghai

Carlos Tevez plays the ball during a match between Boca Juniors and Rosario Central at Alberto J. Armando Stadium on November 20, 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. /CFP Photo

Shanghai Shenhua unveiled their new big signing, Argentinian player Carlos Tevez, on Sunday. The 32-year-old international also took part in his first training session with the Chinese Super League team. Shanghai reportedly paid an 11-million-US-dollar transfer fee to Argentine side Boca Juniors for Tevez but rumors continue to swirl about the size of his actual paycheck. Huge packages offered to foreign players have led the Chinese Football Association to crack down, announcing last Monday that CSL teams would only be allowed to field three foreign players per game from now on. Shanghai Shenhua finished fourth in the CSL table last season.

Football: Chapecoense back on the pitch

Chapecoense's player Amaral celebrates with teammates after scoring against Palmeiras, during a friendly football match held at Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Santa Catarina state, in southern Brazil on January 21, 2017. /CFP Photo

Brazil’s Chapecoense football team on Saturday played its first match since a plane crash in late November killed most of the club’s players and staff. Played out in front of a crowd of fans and journalists from around the world, as well as survivors of the plane crash, the friendly game against Palmeiras, featuring 22 new players, ended in a 2-2 draw. The crash, on November 28, was a tragic end to a fairytale run for the Chapecoense team. A small club from a town of 200,000, they were headed for the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional when their plane crashed into a mountain near Medellin, killing 71 people on board. Atletico later requested that the team be awarded the Copa Sudamericana as a tribute.

Snooker: O’Sullivan wins record 7th Masters

Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the 2017 Snooker Masters final at Alexander Palace, London on January 22, 2017. /CFP Photo

Snooker champ Ronnie O’Sullivan won a record seventh Masters title on Sunday, defeating Joe Perry 10-7 at London's Alexandra Palace. The win puts O’Sullivan ahead of Stephen Hendry with whom he previously shared the record of six Masters titles. A five-time world champion, O'Sullivan had to come back from 4-1 down to defeat Perry in the all-English final. “The Rocket” relished his win, noting afterwards: “When I was younger I was just happy to win one, so to win seven, someone up there is looking after me."