No sooner had Novak Djokovic claimed his 17th Grand Slam trophy by triumphing at the Australian Open for the eighth time on Sunday, the Serb was already setting himself a deadline to claim the record of major titles. Djokovic's 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in a thriller over fifth seed Dominic Thiem drew him within three slams of Roger Federer's haul of 20 and two behind second-placed Rafa Nadal's 19.
It will be the second time Nadal and Del Potro meet at Roland Garros. The previous match up saw the Spaniard beat Del Potro in straight sets in the opening round in 2007.
Images from Monday's action at the French Open.
Canada's Bianca Andreescu has decided not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former US Open champion said.
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.
Gauff will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19,
Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas battled back from a set down to beat Serbia's Filip Krajinovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoor championship on Friday. The win took Tsitsipas into his 10th semi-final of the season where he will face top seed Roger Federer, who was handed a walkover after Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka withdrew before their quarter-final with a back issue.
Last week the men's ATP and the WTA, which runs women's events, issued revised calendars for the resumption of the circuit from August while organisers of the US Open said the Grand Slam will be staged without fans as scheduled from August 31 to September 13 in New York.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Friday.
Images from Day 10 of the 2020 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, event organisers said on Wednesday, raising further doubts over whether the world number one will defend his Australian Open title next month.
Not that cash will be the motivator for world number one Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and debutants Andrey Rublev and Diego Schwartzman when the tournament's 50th edition starts on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic marked his return to Serbia, after being stranded in the Spanish resort of Marbella for two months due to the coronavirus lockdown, by announcing that he has organised an event which will be contested across the Balkans. When the world number one had travelled to Marbella with his family in mid-March to visit his younger brother Marko, he had no idea it would be another two months before he could return to his homeland on Sunday.
Factbox on Daniil Medvedev, who defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the US Open final on Sunday to win his first Grand Slam title.
The Serb, who turned 30 last month, will drop outside the top two for the first time since march 2011 on Monday -- quite a contrast to a year ago when his domination of men's tennis was complete after winning the French Open for the first time.
Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Indian Wells tournament on Saturday with a knee injury, shortly before his eagerly-awaited semi-final clash with great rival Roger Federer.
With each passing year questions are inevitably asked about whether Nadal's vice-like hold on the French Open will be loosened. Each time, the answer has been an emphatic NO.
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 French Open which begins on Sunday:
The two great rivals meet at Roland Garros for the first time in eight years in Friday's tie.
The fifth seeded German did not let up and another break confirmed the win in two hours and 40 minutes.
A look at the top men's contenders at the 2020 French Open.
Rafael Nadal will be aiming to win a record-extending 13th French Open when the re-scheduled claycourt event starts at the end of September.
Roger Federer got back on track at the ATP Finals with a 7-6(2), 6-3 defeat of Italian Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday.
'You can't be frustrated all the time because the neighbour has a bigger house than you, or a bigger TV or better garden. That's not the way that I see the life, you know'
Nadal will not be playing at Wimbledon, having decided to rest, while eight-time champion Federer is showing signs that, at 39, the window of opportunity to win one more Slam is closing.
Rafael Nadal shrugged off his derailed bid for the Grand Slam record with a pledge to keep "fighting" but the Spaniard leaves the Australian Open with familiar regrets after bowing out to a rising talent on Wednesday.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
Team Europe's Nadal was scheduled to take on Team World's Nick Kyrgios in his singles clash before partnering Swiss Federer to face John Isner and Jack Sock.
This year's French Open welcomes up to 5,388 spectators
Experienced Indian Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Denis Shapovalo advanced to the second round of the US Open men's doubles event after a straight-set win in New York.
Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
Driven by having started out in life with "literally nothing", Novak Djokovic is determined to end up as the man with the most Grand Slam singles titles when he finally hangs up his racket. Djokovic said his hunger for success came from growing up in a time of conflict and privation.
Nadal's great rival and fellow 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer is also out of the US Open and will be sidelined for many months because he needs knee surgery.
Roger Federer rediscovered his verve in the nick of time to outclass Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-3, on Tuesday, and maintain his hopes of reaching the last four at the ATP Finals.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will join Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playing a pre-Australian Open warm-up exhibition
Rafael Nadal gets the opportunity to avenge his only defeat in 10 meetings with Diego Schwartzman, which he suffered a little over two weeks ago, when Spain's 12-time French Open winner faces the Argentine in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Friday.
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