Nadal, playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals, fell behind 5-2 in the tiebreak before roaring back to prevail in his first career meeting with world number 53 Evans.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Novak Djokovic and Rogerer Federer loom over Melbourne Park for the year's opening Grand Slam as favourites for the Australian Open as questions remain as to whether one of Generation Next could finally end their stranglehold.
Only three active players -- Novak Djokovic (1080), Nadal (804) and Roger Federer (742) -- have more singles victories than him in world tennis. All this means that David Ferrer has won the most number of matches on the ATP Tour without a Grand Slam title.
Venus Williams staged a spirited comeback to down third seed Petra Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic urged people to think about Brazilians who are having to live with the Zika outbreak on a daily basis rather than worrying about how the situation might affect those travelling to the country for the Rio Olympics in August.
A summary of Day 2 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic trounced stand-in David Goffin 6-1 6-2 for a clean sweep of his group at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday but spiced up a leisurely afternoon workout by picking a row with the umpire. The world number two, who will be joined in the last four by Milos Raonic after the Canadian beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 7-6(5) 6-3, began the week at London's O2 Arena quarrelling with a reporter and despite being relatively untroubled on court, there has been an edginess about the 12-times grand slam champion.
Since returning in January Rafael Nadal looks a man reborn. No wonder it is hard to find anyone not backing him to claim 'La Decima' in Paris.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Angelique Kerber, who will reclaim the world number one ranking on Monday, breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 second-round victory over fellow German Andrea Petkovic at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.
Unseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova upset fifth seed Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the China Open on Saturday as Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic showed stunning powers of recovery to pull off her own shock win over sixth seed Elina Svitolina.
Novak Djokovic brushed past France's Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3 7-6(5) on Wednesday to book his place in the third round of Wimbledon. The defending champion, aiming for his third consecutive title, played well within himself and was rarely troubled during the second-round match. Mannarino, ranked 55, put up spirited resistance in the third set to force a tiebreak but was ultimately swept off Centre Court by the Serbian's laser-guided ground-strokes.
Britain's Johanna Konta overpowered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided victory in the final of the Sydney International on Friday to claim her second career WTA title.
With fire in their bellies, former Grand Slam champs Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are targetting a fresh return to the tennis courts in 2017.
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2017 French Open:
The last 10 Slams have all been won by Djokovic, Federer or Nadal. Will this Wimbledon be different, asks Dhruv Munjal.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan on Friday. The defending champion will face David Goffin on Saturday after the Belgian beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.
Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was the highest women's casualty at the Miami Open on Saturday, blown away for the second time this year by Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Novak Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Thomaz Bellucci and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
IMAGES from the PNB Paribas Open played at Indian Wells in California on Monday
Former world number one Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round exit at the Barcelona Open when the Serb was beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 by world number 140 Martin Klizan on Wednesday.
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
With the French Open starting on Sunday, Murray has accrued 1,210 to the 4,915 of Rafael Nadal and looks a pale imitation of the player who won his last 24 matches of 2016 to knock Novak Djokovic off his pedestal and seize power in men's tennis.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
Roger Federer rallied from a set down to beat Moldovan surprise package Radu Albot 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a stuttering start to the 20-times Grand Slam champion's Miami Open campaign on Saturday.
The Scot lost 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men's draw at the year's final Grand Slam.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka was knocked out in the third round of the Paris Masters when he lost 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-6(3) against South African Kevin Anderson on Thursday, suffering his fourth defeat in five matches.
Rafael Nadal was made to wait before his second-round Rogers Cup match due to several rain delays but did his part to put the schedule back on track with a speedy 6-2 6-3 win over Frenchman Benoit Paire on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the US Open in New York on Wednesday.
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Eugenie Bouchard's mid-season nosedive continued on Tuesday as the Canadian was swept aside 6-3 6-4 by Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic despite having home advantage and the backing of an excited crowd in a first round clash at the Rogers Cup.
A competitor lambasted the French Open as "one big circus" on Thursday as soggy weather once again came back to exasperate players seeking a foothold in the semi-finals of the rain-hit claycourt major.
The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarter-finals played on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 9 of the US Open matches played on Tuesday
Images from matches played on Day 4 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday
The seventh-seeded Bulgarian advanced to his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Del Potro, who struggled with the intense heat in the closing stages of the one hour, 39 minute match.
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