World number five Alexander Zverev continued his poor recent form as he crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round while Serena Williams had to pull out of the women's draw with a recurring knee injury.
Gael Monfils rose to the occasion as he upset Roger Federer 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 to help France level the Davis Cup final with Switzerland 1-1 on Friday.
Rafael Nadal's decision to skip the US Open because of health concerns has added another twist to the intriguing three-way battle for the most career men's Grand Slam titles and, in many eyes, the title of Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Had the 34-year-old Spaniard managed to retain the title he won in a five-set thriller against Daniil Medvedev last year, he would have joined Roger Federer at the top of the list with 20 titles. Instead, his decision has cleared the path for 33-year-old Novak Djokovic to edge to within one of Nadal's Grand Slam tally with a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18 in total.
Photos of celebrities who watched the Australian Open men's final between Rafa Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka.
'Tired' Kei Nishikori takes positives out of Open despite loss.
France's wait for a men's singles champion at Roland Garros will stretch into a 35th year, and three-times champion Mats Wilander says their current crop of stars are running out of time.
World number one Serena Williams opened her US Open account with a tidy 6-3, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday, to join her sister Venus in the second round of the year's final Grand Slam.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka won a battle of former girls' champions at the Australian Open by easing past Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
An 18-year rivalry will play out its next gripping chapter at Roland Garros as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic eye up a French Open final in which milestones galore will be on the line.
'I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago and we had a conversation about the near future of tennis. How we can contribute to help lower ranked guys who are obviously struggling the most.'
Kei Nishikori has set his sights on making a grand slam breakthrough in 2017 after the Japanese world number five concluded a successful season in which he claimed one ATP Tour title, an Olympic medal and recorded a career-high 58 wins.
Along with the Australian Open, Murray will also miss the ATP Cup to be played in Australia on January 3.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
The Scot said it is still too early to make a call on whether was ready for the rigours of a two-week Grand Slam with best-of-five-set matches.
World number one Roger Federer breezed into the Swiss Indoors semi-finals on Friday but the home crowd's hopes of an all-Swiss final were dashed when Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Stanislas Wawrinka.
Somdev Devvarman would be India's while Yuki Bhambri is expected to carry his good from into the new season which is full of new challenges for the Indian players as ATP Aircel Chennai Open begins on Monday.
Andy Roddick's body finally gave up on him when he limped out of the Shanghai Masters after retiring in the first set of his second-round match against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka on Tuesday.
As the players warm up before the tournament, meet the players who could well be contenders for the 2017 Australian Open titles.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who beat Switzerland's Roger Federer to win his 16th Grand Slam title on Sunday:
Roger Federer advanced to the Kooyong Classic final after a tight 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory over Spain's Fernando Verdasco on Thursday.
Roger Federer kept up his hopes of finishing the year as World No 1 when he downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Change might be afoot though, according to American great John McEnroe
The 32-year-old world number 18 still had a remote chance of qualifying for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals for an eighth time.
Persistent drizzle and a chill wind sweeping the almost-empty Roland Garros grounds.
Verdasco questions French Open COVID-19 testing protocols after withdrawal
The cool days of late September, with damp courts expected, will level the playing field and for the first time, other than when Rafael Nadal has been injured, he looks vulnerable on his beloved clay.
Seventh seed Wawrinka of Switzerland set up a third-round meeting with Bulgarian ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov after seeing off Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1.
Russian top seed Nikolay Davydenko will start favourite in the singles while Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will shoulder local hopes in doubles as the US $450,000 Chennai Open, featuring one of the strongest singles field this year, kicks off in Chennai on Monday. The crowd will see a range of international stars including seven top-50 players competing for the top honour with Swiss Olympic champion Stanislas Wawrinka also throwing his hat in the ring.
Three fancied players did succumb on a cheerless day.
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi due to ongoing fitness problems, the world number one said.
Japan's Kei Nishikori will make a third straight appearance at the ATP Tour finals next month after becoming the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending tournament, organisers said on Wednesday.
Djokovic is clubbed with Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Goffin and Alexander Zverev.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic ended Kei Nishikori's impressive debut at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 semi-final victory at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
With three of the four Grand Slam titles and a record six Masters Series crowns scooped up in a year of domination, Novak Djokovic could be forgiven for using the ATP Tour Finals in London as a well-earned lap of honour.
Nadal meets the 'new Nick' Kyrgios in fourth-round blockbuster
Serena Williams edged past Spain's Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarters.
Andy Murray will need to be at his streetwise best to beat Stan Wawrinka in the French Open semi-finals on Friday, three-times former Roland Garros champion Mats Wilander told Reuters.
With Roger Federer missing due to injury, Andy Murray upset in the quarters and Rafael Nadal a fourth-round loser, Djokovic marches on in a quest for a 13th Grand Slam title without his familiar high profile rivals standing in the way.
Roger Federer will meet Leander Paes in the second round doubles while Andy Roddick set up a clash with Mahesh Bhupathi at the Rogers Cup.
Playing better and with solid purpose this clay court season, Rafael Nadal is looking to win his 19th title at Roland Garros, says Desh Chopra Gaurav Sekhri, and will ask some difficult questions of anyone he is pitted against.
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