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.
There was no rain break, no twilight five-set drama and no Wimbledon trophy on offer on Friday but none of that bothered ageless Swiss maestro Roger Federer. The only thing that mattered to the 20-time Grand Slam champion was that, unlike in his last grasscourt duel with Rafael Nadal 11 years ago, he had won the "crazy last game" which sealed his passage into a 12th Wimbledon final.
The French Open champion is eyeing glory at Wimbledon, despite having won only one match on grass over the past 12 months.
Nadal set to face Kyrgios clash in second round
Djokovic may never feel the affections of the crowd savoured by Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal but his record of 16 Grand Slam titles is proof that tennis is no popularity contest.
Rafael Nadal said positive thinking was the key to his triumph over Roger Federer at the French Open final
Federer beats Ruud, becomes oldest man to reach French Open 4th round since 1972
Rafael Nadal cruised into the Swedish Open final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
World number one Nadal will meet Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's showpiece when he will target a record-extending 11th title in Barcelona a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for the 11th time.
Fourteen-times grand slam champion Rafael Nadal has turned to fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya in an attempt to revitalise his career, the 30-year-old Spaniard said on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title on Sunday by thrashing Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 6-1, collecting his second claycourt title in a row.
What can the Swiss great do to win three sets against the king of clay when in their previous French Open duels he has never won two?
Brazil right back Danilo has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after suffering ankle ligament damage in training on the eve of Friday's quarter-final against Belgium.
Carlos Moya is fit, in form and utterly convinced he is now a better all-round player than when he won the French Open as a fearless 21-year-old back in 1998
Despite defeating Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Masters final, Andy Murray believes that it would be a mistake to write off Nadal from being the 'favourites' for the French Open title.
Images from Day 2 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Tuesday.
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).
The 32-year-old, who has not played since retiring injured in the US Open semi-finals, cited an abdominal injury.
Rafael Nadal has played down the significance of his quarter-final defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open
Serbian former world number one Novak Djokovic will be in action at his home club, working under old coach Marian Vajda -- desperately searching for some spark after tumbling down to 13th in the rankings.
Rafael Nadal will be pose a significant Grand Slam threat again next year after showing signs of returning to his best, according to two of the Spaniard's greatest rivals.
Images from Saturday's action at the Australian Open.
Images from Day 10 of the 2020 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Victory on Sunday would see Nadal become the first player to win the same grand slam 10 times in the modern era.
Rafael Nadal's return to action came to a shuddering halt on Friday when the Spaniard was beaten by Slovakia's Martin Klizan in a late-night quarter-final duel at the China Open.
Underarm serve could be an effective weapon in halting Rafael Nadal's annual rampage on clay most just chuckled.
Eleven-times champion Rafael Nadal booked his place in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open semi-finals by beating German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-5 in a hard-fought match on Friday.
'I don't understand Spain without Catalonia. I don't want to understand or see it'
German seventh seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Australian Open on Wednesday to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final. Swiss Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slams at Melbourne Park in 2014, broke Zverev twice early in the opening set to breeze through the opening set but the 22-year-old German came roaring back into the contest.
Rafael Nadal gave a much improved performance to advance into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday, dispatching Spanish compatriot and crowd favourite David Ferrer 6-3, 6-3.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final.
'It's a new era and will be like adapting to a different routine. Moya has come with new ideas and new methods of working that have worked well and we are excited'
Australian great Ken Rosewall will bestow the French Open trophy on the men's singles champion next month and sees only one grateful player ready to claim it -- Rafael Nadal.
Here are eight men to watch on the Roland Garros clay.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of a 15th Grand Slam title were crushed by an inspired Roger Federer in the Australian Open final on Sunday but the rejuvenated Spaniard was already rubbing his hands together with the prospect of a 'special' season on clay.
'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'
The spirit was as strong as ever but Rafael Nadal's troublesome knee failed him in the end as the Spaniard quit the ATP Finals after a painful defeat by Belgium's David Goffin.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final. But it ultimately proved a futile mission as, just like in all but two of Nadal's previous 87 matches here, the relentless Spaniard proved insurmountable, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
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