Novak Djokovic and Rogerer Federer loom over Melbourne Park for the year's opening Grand Slam as favourites for the Australian Open as questions remain as to whether one of Generation Next could finally end their stranglehold.
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic boosted his hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season ATP World Tour finals in London by downing Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 6-3 to win the Thailand Open on Sunday.
Divij Sharan and Purav Raja won their first title of the 2017 season and maiden on the clay courts by lifting the Bordeaux Challenger trophy.
The Serb's dominance in 2016, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com, is way beyond numbers. It's about how he forced his opponents into submission.
Continuing his giant-killing spree, Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene knocked out third seed and world number 15 Roberto Bautista Agut to set up the Chennai Open summit clash with top seed and defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday.
Spaniard Nadal was in all sorts of trouble, trailing by a set and 5-4 and with 69th-ranked Rosol serving at 30-0, but his Czech opponent framed a basic backhand volley at 30-15 and blew his chance, Nadal going on to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have shared the grand slam spoils this year and it would take a hard heart not to hope for a fairy tale rematch next month of their epic 2008 Wimbledon final.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.
Andy Murray's charge towards the world number one ranking continued as he beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 7-6(6) to claim the Vienna Open title on Sunday. The Briton, seeking to end Serbian Novak Djokovic's stranglehold on the number one spot by the end of the year, was cruising towards his third consecutive title before Tsonga turned the match into a real fight.
I physically feel very fit. I'm very motivated to keep on playing on a very high level, says Novak Djokovic.
A round-up of all tennis action on Friday.
Alexander Zverev got the better of older brother Mischa at the Citi Open in Washington on Thursday, winning their first meeting at an ATP Tour event 6-3, 7-5.
A look at the top men's contenders at the 2020 French Open.
IMAGES from matches on Day 4 of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Ramkumar became the first Indian in seven years to advance to the singles final of an ATP World Tour event but missed out on ending India's 20-year title drought when he lost the Hall of Fame final to Steven Johnson on Sunday night.
Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek suffered their first defeat at the year-end ATP World Tour finals, losing their second Group B match to David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday.
A hoped-for fight to the finish for the year-end number one ranking at next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London will likely be a coronation for Rafael Nadal, who is virtually guaranteed ending 2017 top of the pile.
Fifth seed Roger Federer was dumped out of the Shanghai Open, losing to Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the third round on Thursday.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Australian teenager Oliver Anderson, one of the brightest young talents in tennis, has been charged by police with involvement in match fixing following an investigation, local media reported on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal's return to action came to a shuddering halt on Friday when the Spaniard was beaten by Slovakia's Martin Klizan in a late-night quarter-final duel at the China Open.
Alexander Zverev snatched the Laver Cup for Team Europe as he beat Canada's Milos Raonic in the final rubber of a thrilling three days of action in Geneva's Palexpo Arena on Sunday.
Roger Federer will make his only appearance on clay this season at Roland Garros, his agent said. The Swiss skipped the entire claycourt season in 2017 and 2018 and last year played only two tournaments on the surface before arriving in Paris for the French Open.
India's tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi on Saturday said his former Grand Slam winning partner Leander Paes is still playing well and can continue for another year. Terming it as 'The Last Roar', Olympics bronze-medallist Paes is in his last year of professional tennis career.
Maldini, an ace defender, who donned the Italian national team colours 126 times, made his AC Milan debut in 1985, and played his last Serie A match in May 2009.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
'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'
Four more performances like that at the O2 Arena this week should guarantee Andy Murray will end 2016 leading the pack.
Losing five Melbourne Park finals would leave many believing they were destined to never win the Australian Open title but world number one Andy Murray remains confident that this could be the year he lays his demons to rest.
In a sensational turnaround, the unseeded Frenchman toppled the world number six from Croatia 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a gripping semi-final encounter.
Tomic had to battle hard against the top seed, saving four match points in a tense final set before wrapping up the match in two hours and 15 minutes.
Roger Federer is one win from becoming the oldest world number one in ATP Tour history after beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(8), 7-5 in the last 16 of the Rotterdam Open on Thursday.
Leander Paes, on Sunday, won his first title of the season, combining with Canadian Adil Shamasdin to lift the Leon Challenger Tour tennis tournament's men's doubles trophy after a straight-set triumph in Leon.
IMAGES from matches played at the BNP Paribas tennis tournament played in Indian Well, California, on Thursday
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.
Earlier in the day, Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles but its players will still be allowed to compete at the Grand Slams and in regular tour events.
Holger Rune crashed out to Yoshihito Nishioka in the ATP 250 Adelaide International 1 first round.
Top seed Novak Djokovic overcame a strong challenge from Belgium's David Goffin to reach the Miami Open final with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory on Friday as he continued his pursuit of a fifth title in six years on Key Biscayne.
Rafael Nadal celebrated his 1,000th tour level match with a come-from-behind victory over German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open.
Tennis ace Roger Federer has revealed his three simple secrets to success as he tries to regain the World No 1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals in London this week.
