It was Novak Djokovic's first match this year after his Australian Open hopes were dashed when he was deported following an 11-day saga revolving around his decision not to have a COVID-19 vaccination.
Japan's Naomi Osaka cruised to victory in her first match since lifting the U.S. Open title, beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1 in the last-16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings with his second title of the season, swatting aside Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Serena Williams' memory is not as powerful as her first serve these days, although with so many achievements to recall it would be churlish to hold that against the American great.
IMAGES from matches played on Day 7 of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday
IMAGES from matches on Day 9 at the French Open at Roland Garros
The real Serena Williams finally turned up at the French Open on Saturday in pursuit of a 22nd Grand Slam singles title but it was to no avail as she lost to a tenacious opponent who beat her at her own power game.
Serena Williams allowed herself a few moments to enjoy her sixth Wimbledon title before thoughts turned to New York and the elusive calendar year feat.
The daughter of two lawyers and a former waitress received their last orders at the Wimbledon on Tuesday when Madison Keys and Timea Bacsinszky missed out on a great opportunity to set up a semi-final date.
Other nominees for the prize are Angelique Kerber (Germany), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic and Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark).
The 36-year-old has been practising hard on the grass and few would bet against her becoming the first mother to win the title since Evonne Cawley 38 years ago.
Jennifer Brady spent two weeks in hard quarantine gathering mental strength for her tilt at a maiden Grand Slam title and will hope there is plenty in reserve when she takes on Naomi Osaka in Saturday's Australian Open final.
'Maria will look at it and see no one dominant. Serena Williams is the only player in the past who has been like a thorn in her side, but she feels mentally superior to most of the other and she feels she can win against them all'
Maria Sharapova made it a remarkable 20 victories from 23 grand slam quarter-finals but was pushed all the way at Wimbledon on Tuesday by feisty American Coco Vandeweghe before emerging a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2 winner.
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.
Breeze though the outfits that caught the maximum shutterbugs at the final Grand Slam of the year.
Petra Kvitova, who missed part of the 2017 season after a home invasion left her with a badly cut left hand, continues her remarkable comeback when she faces American Venus Williams.
Britain's Andy Murray enjoyed a routine win over Argentina's Juan Monaco to ease into the third round of the tennis tournament at the Rio Games on Tuesday, while Spain's world number nine David Ferrer was knocked out.
Rafael Nadal boasted after his first-round US Open match that he had a video recording of being the first player to hit a ball in practice under the new roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
American tennis ace Serena Williams has maintained her No 1 spot, while German Angelique Kerber has slipped to the third in the latest women's tennis world rankings issued by the WTA.
The 31-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion had not played a competitive match since losing to Sam Querrey in last year's Wimbledon quarter-finals and opted to have right hip surgery five months ago.
Fourth seed Maria Sharapova rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 second-round win over Spain's Garbine Muguruza as order and power was restored to the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Wednesday.
It proved a happy Halloween for Czech Petra Kvitova after she made the most of coming back from the dead to set up a title-match showdown with Agnieszka Radwanksa at the WTA Finals.
Penpix of the top women's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
Here are some of those lucky celebrities who were invited to watch the Ladies Singles Finals.
Penpix of the top women's contenders at the 2017 French Open:
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in London, on Monday.
Serena Williams was the highest paid female athlete for a third consecutive year in 2018, according to an annual list published by Forbes on Tuesday that was dominated by tennis players.
A summary of Sunday's matches at the French Open.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
As Serena Williams sits out a fourth straight Grand Slam, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova will join Caroline Wozniacki in a quest for a major breakthrough in Australia.
Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
We bring you best images from week one of the 2019 Australian Open Championships at Melbourne Park
Djokovic continues to lead ATP Rankings
Photos of the French Open quarter-final match.
Nadal meets the 'new Nick' Kyrgios in fourth-round blockbuster
A round-up of the fourth day's play at the French Open.
Simona Halep has moved back to the top five in the latest women's tennis world rankings issued by the WTA, after clinching her first title in over a year at the Madrid Masters.
Men's second seed Rafael Nadal starts against Israel's Dudi Sela while three-time champion Novak Djokovic faces American Tennys Sandgren.
Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the Brisbane International with a hip problem on Tuesday, further putting in doubt the Briton's prospects of being fit in time for the Australian Open later this month.
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