Andre Agassi has pulled out of this week's Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington to preserve energy for the U.S. Open.
The 35-year-old American beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the final of the Los Angeles Open.
'Of course I feel that I can beat Rafa. He is looking good and injury free. But if I didn't think I could win I would not bother going out on the court'
India's tennis stars enjoyed comfortable wins in the Australian Open on Thursday as Sania Mirza eased into the second round with partner Martina Hingis while Rohan Bopanna also registered a straight sets victory in the men's doubles first round.
Top seed Andy Murray slumped out of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament on Friday after being outplayed 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals by Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Second seed Gael Monfils edged past Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 7-6(6), 7-6(6) and Marin Cilic ousted Argentine Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-1 to progress to the Japan Open semi-finals in Tokyo on Friday.
Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov survived a scare against Pierre-Hugues Herbert before holding his nerve to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday, while Dominic Thiem edged out Russian youngster Andrey Rublev.
In the women's draw, Halep is seeded 2nd after top-ranked Kerber
Rafael Nadal has cast doubt on his participation at Wimbledon, saying he needs to see how his body recovers after a long clay court campaign culminated in an 11th French Open title.
World No.4 Stan Wawrinka will look to win his third successive Chennai Open title, while the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by rising star Yuki Bhambri
24th seed American Sam Querrey caused the biggest upset at this year's Wimbledon as he stunned defending champion Andy Murray 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1, in the quarter-finals, on Wednesday.
Paire won his first ATP Tour title on the clay at Bastad in July and will go in search of his second against French Open champion Wawrinka, who served strongly in taking out Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.
The Frenchman, seeded five, had no answer to left-hander Muller's swinging serve as he bowed out 6-4, 6-4.
Stanislas Wawrinka survived a thriller against Mikhail Youzhny in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Tuesday, fighting back in both sets to prevail 7-6(3), 7-6(8).
The 33-year-old left-hander from Luxembourg had lost all five of his previous tour finals but prevailed at the sixth attempt in the Australian Open warm-up event at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
Rewarding as it was for Rafael Nadal to become the only player to win the same Grand Slam 12 times by chalking up his dozen at last month's French Open, the Spaniard arrived at Wimbledon this year like a man on a mission. In the end, however, it became mission impossible as he lost to inspired Roger Federer in Friday's blockbuster semi-final.
Ivan Lendl says it is the ability to deal with distractions and overcome obstacles such as a lack of playing time that sets the top players in the world apart from the rest.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
Top seed Serena Williams turned an early challenge into an eventual cakewalk as she beat Russian-born Yulia Putintseva 7-6(2), 6-0 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in California on Sunday.
Spain's third seed Roberto Bautista Agut made a smooth entry into the men's quarter-finals at the ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament with a fluent 6-3, 6-2 win over German Peter Gojowczyk.
Somdev Devvarman joined compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles main draw of the ATP Chennai Open with a come-from-behind victory over Briton James Ward in the final qualifying round in Chennai on Sunday.
After all, he has been champion there twice, is bang in form after a record-stretching 12th French Open, is injury free and last year was a whisker away from reaching the final.
Roger Federer thinks a tie-breaker at 12-12 would be the best compromise following calls for Wimbledon to step into line with the US Open and scrap long deciding sets.
The 29-year-old former French Open finalist failed the out-of-competition test in February after a urine sample was found to contain letrozole - a substance used in the treatment of breast cancer which is also on the banned drug list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
World No 1 Novak Djokovic, second seed Andy Murray and three-time champion Rafael Nadal were all cheered into the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup on Thursday.
The 'Big Four' has become a 'Big Three' with the shock exit of Rafael Nadal, and the remaining trio of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will all be aiming to prove their elite credentials in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
Images from all the action on Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
Not since Croatian Goran Ivanisevic beat Australian Pat Rafter in 2001 has there been a final featuring two players adopting the serve-and-volley style once deemed mandatory.
Roger Federer's trademark serve-and-volley game makes him the bookmakers' favourite to seal his ninth Wimbledon title this year.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal powered to third-round wins at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering rematch of their recent Australian Open final.
'I feel like I'm rested enough. I've had... not the toughest matches. I can look at this quarter-final (on Wednesday against Milos Raonic) in a totally relaxed fashion'
The 'Big Four' of men's tennis have made it into the second week of Wimbledon unscathed and largely untroubled while the women's draw remains wide open, but "Manic Monday" could offer major clues as to the destination of this year's titles.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Wimbledon's grass is slower than when Sampras and all the classic serve-volley specialists ruled the roost and, though it still offers a lower bounce than clay or the hard courts that dominate the circuit, it seems that the difference is becoming marginal.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were winners but six seeds were beaten in a day of upsets in the second round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Swiss, ranked 261 in the world after two knee surgeries, served solidly throughout a one-sided contest on the slick centre court, easing past an opponent who struggled to cope with Wawrinka's power.
Rafael Nadal has said he will sue the former French government minister Roselyne Bachelot after she alleged that the Spaniard's lengthy absence from tennis in 2012 was due to a positive doping test.
US tennis powerhouse Serena Williams dispatched France's Alize Cornet in two sets on Monday, ending a streak of weak family performances that saw older sister Venus eliminated from singles on Saturday and the pair knocked out in doubles on Sunday.
Marin Cilic, thrashed by Roger Federer in straight sets in Sunday's Wimbledon final, said he had been suffering from a blister in his foot during the showpiece clash.
As another Grand Slam crown looks set to be snaffled by a man in his thirties this weekend, tennis fans lamenting a dearth of dynamic up-and-comers need not worry, says former world number one Mats Wilander.
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