A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Andy Murray has lost the world number two spot to Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday, after his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Masters final.
IMAGES from matches played at the Miami Masters in Key Biscayne, Florida
Holder Rafael Nadal provided more evidence that he is regaining his old dominance on clay after an injury-hit 2009 by cruising past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 at the Rome Masters on Thursday. British world number five Andy Murray struggled, however, and lost 6-3, 6-4 to Nadal's Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, who are touted as India's best bet for a tennis medal in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, have been seeded fourth and will be up against the Australian duo of Samantha Stosur and John Peers in their opening mixed doubles match at the Games.
The world number one has been struggling with tendinitis in his knees since being knocked out of the French Open last month and was forced to miss Wimbledon.
Holders Spain were on the brink of elimination in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday after France won both the opening singles in Clermont-Ferrand.
Novak Djokovic turned on the style to outclass old adversary Rafael Nadal and reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the 02 Arena in London, on Saturday.
Seedings for the June 23-July 6 Wimbledon men's singles championship were announced on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal showed his ruthless streak to overcome an early test from Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in a 6-4, 6-1 win on Friday and helped Spain to secure three of the four semi-final spots at the Rome Masters.
Rafael Nadal left no doubt that he would be the overwhelming favourite at next month's French Open after crushing Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Saturday. World number 12 and fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco will be the last man standing in Nadal's way to a record sixth consecutive title in the glitzy principality after he demolished top seed Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2.
If Rafael Nadal's Australian Open semi-final win over Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas was one-sided, Novak Djokovic showed he could be even more brutal in his victory against Lucas Pouille on Friday.
David Ferrer crushed Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to fire depleted champions Spain into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup on Sunday and set up a clash away to nine-times winners France.
World number two Novak Djokovic fired Serbia to a 2-0 lead over the United States in Belgrade with a 6-2, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Sam Querrey, after compatriot Viktor Troicki's hard-fought win over John Isner, also in four sets.
Juan Carlos Ferrero completed a perfect two-week tour of South America with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard and top seed David Ferrer in the Buenos Aires Open on Sunday.
Juan Martin del Potro is unlikely to be fit enough to play in next month's Australian Open, the Argentine told a news conference on Tuesday.
Spanish world number one Rafael Nadal will set up a tennis school in India through his foundation, local media reported on Thursday. The Nadal Tennis School (NTS) will take shape in September and be functional by June next year in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
A long season took its toll on Roger Federer on Thursday as the Swiss was knocked out of the Paris Masters following a 7-6(3) 3-6 7-6(5) third-round defeat by big serving John Isner.
Rafael Nadal thanked his team-mates for giving him the chance to end a troubled season on a sweet note after Spain sealed victory in the Davis Cup final against Czech Republic on Saturday.
Spain secured their second successive Davis Cup triumph, and their fourth in all, when they extended their lead over Czech Republic to an unassailable 3-0 in Saturday's doubles.
Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak at the China Open to 27 matches with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition over big-serving American John Isner on Friday.
Top 10 duo Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco have returned to the Spain side for next month's Davis Cup final against Czech Republic, captain Albert Costa said on Monday.
Lakhs of mourners turned out in Anantapur city of Andhra Pradesh to pay their respect to a Spanish man who worked for almost half a century to help the poor and the needy in this backward and drought prone district.
Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez upset Israeli doubles specialists Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to put champions Spain through to their fifth Davis Cup final in 10 years.
Fernando Verdasco found strength to haul his way back from a set and a break down to reach the final of the Barcelona Open with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer on Saturday. Under hot sun at the Reial Club de Tennis, Verdasco initially appeared to be feeling the effects of his run to the final at last week's Monte Carlo Masters but he dug deep to set up a clash with French Open runner-up Robin Soderling.
Ninth seed Gilles Simon booked his place in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday after a 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 win over Russian Igor Andreev.
Injury-stricken Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick will be among the big names forced to miss the Davis Cup World Group quarter-finals starting on Friday.
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal, the world's number two tennis player, won the second edition of the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abh Dhabi on Saturday. The Spanish ace beat Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-6(3), 7-5 to carry away the prize of US $250,000 at the end of a two-hour battle.
Spain's depth of talent and growing appetite for Davis Cup success mean the only team that could have given them a real run for their money in this year's final would have been "Spain B".
Roger Federer and Justine Henin have been named as top seeds for next week's Australian Open.
US Davis Cup debutant Sam Querrey will face world number one Rafael Nadal in the opening rubber of the semi-final on Friday.
Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga swept to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Brazilian Thiago Alves in the first round of the South African Open in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The Frenchman was joined in the second round by second seed David Ferrer, fifth seed Jeremy Chardy and seventh seed Kristof Vliegen.
Rafael Nadal will lead Spain's challenge in the Davis Cup semi-final against the United States in Madrid next week.
The French Tennis Federation has welcomed the decision of a French tribunal to lift the suspension of plans to expand Roland Garros, the home of the French Open tournament.
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
Spain overcame the absence of world number one Rafael Nadal to clinch the Davis Cup on Sunday when Fernando Verdasco beat Jose Acasuso to give them a 3-1 win over Argentina in the final. Verdasco, brought in to replace Spain's off-form number one David Ferrer, won 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to hand Argentina their third defeat in three final appearances and their first home loss for 10 years.
Top seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy entered the semi-finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Alexander Peya and Philipp Petzschner.
Israel's Dudi Sela played giant-killer again on Friday, upsetting sixth seed Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-4, 6-1 to sweep to his first ATP Tour semi-final at the $524,000 China Open.
Japanese outsider Kei Nishikori stole the spotlight on another day of shocks at the US Open on Saturday, while Venus and Serena Williams rolled towards a quarter-final showdown at Flushing Meadows. Fourth seed David Ferrer was left a punched out wreck as he went down 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5 following an inspired performance by Nishikori.
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