The five top contenders for the men's title at the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.
Rafa Nadal's below-par season has continued with the former world number one dumped from the Rio Open semi-finals with a 6-7(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 defeat by unseeded Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas on Saturday. The top seed pipped Cuevas in a first set tie-break and denied his opponent two set points in the second but succumbed to his first defeat against the world number 45. "I lost an opportunity, that's it," Spaniard Nadal said after being denied his 100th ATP final by claycourt specialist Cuevas who fired 48 winners to clinch the contest. "I fought until the end. I have to accept it and keep working to try to change the dynamic. That's what's happening today and I have to work hard to change it," added the 14-times grand slam champion. "I didn't win a title, so it wasn't a positive two tournaments. I had my chances in both. I lost in the semi-finals of both tournaments and just have to look forward to Indian Wells."
Top seed Alexander Zverev bagged his first ATP crown of the year after beating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to lift the bett1HULKS Indoor title in Cologne on Sunday.
Roger Federer says he does not regret passing up the chance to topple great rival Rafael Nadal from the top of the world rankings at the ATP Finals in London this week.
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic sounded the alarm over the packed ATP calendar after the withdrawal of two opponents helped him reach the final of the Rome Masters.
The duo, who had won the Australian Open earlier this year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the gruelling quarterfinal 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
Wildcard Jannik Sinner completed a dream run when he beat top-seeded Alex de Minaur to win the final of the Next Gen tournament for the season's best Under-21 players on Saturday.
Djokovic did not drop a set en route to the final in Rome
IMAGES from the French Open quarter-finals played in Paris on Tuesday.
Russian Andrey Rublev beat Norwegian top seed Casper Ruud
Riding on his sizzling performance in the Japan Open, Leander Paes is once again knocking the doors of the top-five zone as he gained two spots to be placed sixth in the ATP doubles world rankings, issued on Monday. Paes and Lukas Dlouhy reached the final of the Japan Open last week but lost the summit clash, missing out on the opportunity to pocket back-to-back ATP titles.
The 25-year-old Dzumhur recovered from a poor start to beat the Briton 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and will bid to become the Balkan nation's first Tour winner in Saturday's title-decider against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
'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.'
Russians scoffed at Wimbledon's efforts to keep their compatriots out of the tournament after Moscow-born Elena Rybakina became the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach a Grand Slam final.
Unheralded Joao Sousa completed a fairytale run at the Malaysian Open on Sunday when he beat France's Julien Benneteau 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final to become the first Portuguese to win an ATP Tour title.
Big-serving American Sam Querrey shrugged off a nervous second set to clinch his second ATP title with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Australian qualifier Carsten Ball at the LA Open on Sunday.
American twins Bob and Mike Bryan underlined their status as the best doubles pair in the world as they claimed the ATP Tour Finals title for the fourth time on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic said he is still hoping for a final chapter in their storied rivalry.
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi reached their third Tour level final of the season after clinching a three-set thriller against Leos Friedl of Italy and Serbian Dusan Vemic in Nice, France.
The 'Big Three' of men's tennis have found some "fresh energy" to thwart the charge of younger players on the tour, world number one Novak Djokovic said after setting up yet another title clash against his biggest rival against Rafael Nadal.
Spain's Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday that he is not sure if he will be able to play at next month's French Open.
Dominic Thiem will watch a treasured home movie of his recent win over Novak Djokovic at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals as he seeks inspiration to take down the defending champion Serb in the Australian Open decider.
Novak Djokovic has been unbeaten at Wimbledon since retiring with an elbow injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas made short work of Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud as he seized a third Monte Carlo Masters title in four years with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on Sunday.
'I guess I just put too much pressure on myself, aiming so high and I just have to take it step by step, not think too much about the future and be irrational'
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Croatia's Ivo Karlovic became the oldest ATP winner since Jimmy Connors in 1989.
Andy Murray has lost the world number two spot to Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday, after his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Masters final.
Three contenders for the men's singles title at the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday.
Gauff cruises past Zidansek to reach French Open third round
Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori reached his first ATP semi-final with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Bobby Reynolds.
The 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal addressed the prospect that 2024 could be his final year as an ATP professional, confessing that it is indeed a reality that he might hang up his racquets at the end of next season.
Take a look at the five top contenders for the men's singles title at the French Open:
The US Open's decision to extend the 2013 tournament to a third Monday has drawn criticism from the men's govening body the ATP who have called on Flushing Meadows organisers to fall into line with the three other grand slam tournaments.
Swede Robin Soderling needed 20 aces and two tiebreaks to down top seed Andy Roddick 7-6, 7-6 and reach the semi-finals of the Lyon ATP tournament on Friday.
India's Sanam Singh lost to Peter Polanski for the second time in two months and crashed out of the ATP Knoxville Challenger event in the United States.
Images from the US Open men's singles second round matches, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Thursday.
India's Somdev Devvarman qualified for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC with a straight sets victory over Japan's Go Soeda on Sunday. The 23-year-old beat second seed Soeda 7-5, 7-5 in the final qualifying round to set up a first round clash with American wildcard Taylor Dent.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances