World number one Novak Djokovic had enough on his plate already on Wednesday without marauding Russian Daniil Medvedev pummelling him to a shock 6-3, 6-3 defeat at the ATP Finals.
Former champion Naomi Osaka was sent packing from Indian Wells after losing in straight sets to Colombia's Camila Osorio.
Novak Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park including the last three, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with Australian Open organisers Tennis Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete in Melbourne.
'I think he's bringing a fresh look to my game and I'll be able to benefit from that, no doubt, on the court. But also that champion mentality he has, I'm sure we'll match very well.'
Earlier this month, the ATP also announced a two-year partnership with online learning platform Coursera which will allow players to access over 4,000 courses for free.
Debutant Stefanos Tsitsipas crushed defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to book his place in the last four of the ATP Finals with a match to spare.
Novak Djokovic secured a semi-final place at the ATP Finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, his 50th match win of the year, while Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew from the tournament due to an elbow injury.
World number one Rafael Nadal has been drawn alongside defending champion Alexander Zverev, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) reported.
The American duo won 5-7, 6-1, 13-11 as they added the season-ending crown to the Wimbledon and US Open titles.
Djokovic helped Serbia to a 3-0 victory over Japan in their Group A opener on Wednesday at La Caja Magica where a revamped Davis Cup climax is being contested by 18 nations over seven days.
India's singles challenge has already ended with both Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan making first round exits.
Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament.
Factbox on Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Alexander Zverev
Learner Tien is the youngest American man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since an 18-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.
Following a victory over Alexei Popyrin at the Queen's Club Championships in his 1,000th tour-level singles contest, Murray withdrew due to the injury while trailing 4-1 in the first set of his second-round match with Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic's bid for a 100th ATP Tour title gained momentum on Thursday
Retired tennis great Andy Murray has agreed to join Novak Djokovic's team and will coach him at the Australian Open next year, the Serbian 24-times Grand Slam champion said on Saturday.
-French flair topped American firepower as Gael Monfils turned back the clock to dump fourth seed Taylor Fritz out of the Australian Open on Saturday and celebrate his place in the last 16 with a dance on court.
Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final to win his fourth Grand Slam title.
The Croatian helped Djokovic claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles before leaving his team in March and on Friday was hired to coach world number five Rybakina for the 2025 season.
Medvedev became only the fourth player in ATP history to beat the world's top three at the same tournament.
Eqbal and Faisal's recent success saw him conquer Fardeen Mohammed and Abhinansu Borthakur 6-0, 6-2 in the men's doubles final to win the title.
However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.
Tallon Griekspoor prevailed in a high-voltage three-set final against Benjamin Bonzi to win his maiden ATP World Tour title.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic, the last surviving member of tennis' "Big Four", said he does not plan on stopping any time soon but admitted that the retirement of rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal has been overwhelming.
Frances Tiafoe sees huge strides for American men after another deep US Open run. The ebullient fan favourite was already looking to the future.
Here is a quick glance of all the highs and lows from Nadal's stupendous career:
Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the United States eased through the first qualifying round on Saturday but Britain were knocked out as Japan hit back from 2-1 down to win 3-2, while Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to overcome Serbia.
World number two Nadal's fate will rest on his final group match against Tsitsipas.
Melbourne on Friday completed 28 days since the last reported locally-acquired case of novel coronavirus infection.
Sinner gives the impression of a player with all the answers against whoever he comes up against, but the off-court questions he is likely to face about the doping case that surfaced in August might be harder to shrug off.
Up against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 53) of Serbia in the first round, the world No. 72, who has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Sasikumar Mukund will aim for a winning return to the Davis Cup fold as India faces Togo in the World Group I Play-off.
Australia now have the opportunity to avenge last year's final defeat by Italy after world number one Jannik Sinner inspired the holders to a 2-1 victory over Argentina.
ATP events in Hamburg, Bastad, Newport, Los Cabos, Gstaad, Umag, Atlanta and Kitzbuhel will not go ahead as scheduled.
Daniil Medvedev destroyed his racket and a net camera in a mid-match meltdown as he survived a huge scare against Thai wildcard Kasidit Samrej.
The sight of immaculately-dressed line judges standing or crouching at the side and back of the grass courts has been a feature at the Grand Slam for 147 years.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday.
Sinner remains the man to beat at Melbourne Park even as doping officials seek a two-year ban for the world number one for failing two drugs tests last March.
Alcaraz returns to action at this week's Cincinnati Open, where he can gain ground on the Serb and Italian Jannik Sinner.
