A season that produced the biggest shake-up in men's tennis for more than a decade draws to a close next week with three ATP World Tour Finals debutants striving to sign off breakthrough years with a large exclamation mark.
Five-times champion Roger Federer reached his first US Open final in six years as he raced past fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 at Flushing Meadows in the semi-finals on Friday.
The 21-year-old German, one of the brightest stars in men's tennis, is yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.
'He can say what he wants, I don't have a problem with it. Does he show me the same amount of respect that most other players do? No, he doesn't, but that's the way he communicates these days'
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
Former champion Stan Wawrinka battled past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory. Fifth seed Dominic Thiem kept his flawless record against Gael Monfils intact with a trouble-free 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Monday to reach his maiden Australian Open quarter-final.
Murray, who suffered an elbow injury in March and made his return from a five-week layoff on Wednesday after a first-round bye, won the opening set in 48 minutes before losing concentration.
The 35-year-old Swiss, showing no sign of losing his edge, improved to 19-1 this year, winning the Australian Open in five sets over Nadal, and BNP Paribas Open in straight sets over fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
Osaka survives test to reach last 16
Two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka crashed out of the French Open in the first round losing 5-7, 5-7 to Katerina Siniakova on Monday, playing only her fifth tournament of the year after a legal battle over the custody of her son.
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
Images from Day 6 of the 2016 US Open tennis tournament in New York, on Saturday.
Defending champion Djokovic fired his 15th ace on match point to defeat Querrey but his serve had been an issue earlier in their second-round encounter.
Russian Daniil Medvedev, fresh from upsetting world number three Stan Wawrinka in the first round at Wimbledon, said he was now targeting a run to the last eight at the All England Club.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was happy with his movement if not the result after making a losing return from 15 weeks on the sidelines at an Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament this week.
Australia's new Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has backed the country's bad boy of tennis Nick Kyrgios to "control" the image he projects and break through for a grand slam trophy in the next year or two.
India's top tennis players Mahesh Bhupathi, Saketh Myneni, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Balaji have been granted wild card entries into the doubles draw of Chennai Open, the organisers announced on Monday.
Only one player has beaten Rafael Nadal on his beloved claycourts this year and that man, Austria's Dominic Thiem, blocks the Spaniard's path to the French Open final.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka will be back in Chennai to defend his title at the Aircel Chennai Open 2016, India and South Asia's Premier ATP World Tour tennis event, scheduled to be held at Chennai's SDAT Stadium from January 4 to 10.
Australian Nick Kyrgios did his best to enliven a damp and dismal Parisian day with some eye-catching play and colourful language as the French Open began without part of the usual furniture on Sunday.
Roger Federer claimed the 100th ATP title of his career by beating 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.
The latest tennis rankings have been announced by the ATP and WTA
Images from Day 5 of the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic has admitted that Andy Murray's attempt to surge to the top of the rankings has rejuvenated an otherwise mediocre season for the World No. 1.
'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'
Djokovic, the ninth seed, was originally scheduled to play Australian Open semi-finalist Chung Hyeon but the 22-year-old South Korean withdrew with a back injury about an hour before the match was due to start.
Murray, who is attempting to return to the top of the tennis world after undergoing hip surgery in January, was out of sorts in the first set of the rain-delayed match, losing three service games behind some uncharacteristically soft second serves.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
Take a look at six of the up-and-comers who could upset the top names at the year's first Grand Slam.
Gilles Simon will carry the distinction of being the first man to prise a set off Novak Djokovic at this year's Australian Open but the lion-hearted Frenchman was crushed after going down in a five-set classic on Sunday.
The trick-shots, underarm serves and tirades at spectators are all part of the theatre, and the 'what will he do next?' lure puts bums on seats, in much the same way John Daly still draws a crowd in golf.
The fifth-seeded Austrian, who saved two match points, will face Novak Djokovic on Saturday after the world number one's opponent Marin Cilic withdrew with food poisoning.
Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will play at Rio 2016 despite suffering with a wrist injury as he prepares for the Olympic Games. Speaking after training at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio on Tuesday (2 August), the Spanish team's flag bearer was asked if he would be fit enough to compete. "Yes," he said. "I was talking with the whole team and the team decided that I am going to play, so I'm going to try to train for the next couple of days.
Factbox on Switzerland's Roger Federer, who defeated Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open men's singles final on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
Four-times champion Roger Federer took apart Mischa Zverev 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 with a clinical display of all-court tennis to reach his 13th Australian Open semi-final in 92 minutes on Tuesday.
Yet to feel completely at home on the Wimbledon lawns, Stan Wawrinka became the latest player to jump on the super-coach bandwagon by joining forces with former All England Club champion Richard Krajicek this month. Krajicek knows a thing or two about playing at the heartland of grasscourt tennis as not only did he triumph in 1996, he was also the only man to have beaten seven-times champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000.
Britain's Andy Murray overcame a blistering start from Tomas Berdych to advance to his fourth Australian Open final with a 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Thursday.
After booking a much-anticipated semi-final with his Australian Open title usurper Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday, Novak Djokovic wasted little time reminding the Swiss of the heavy burden of being defending champion.
A break-out 2014 season and a career-high ranking of five has added extra weight to Kei Nishikori's shoulders, with the US Open finalist already bearing the burden of huge expectations in his home country Japan.
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