Stanislas Wawrinka is one only one of three players to have defeated Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray at Grand Slams.
Nadal was much more than a claycourt bully, though. He spent more than 900 successive weeks from 2005 in the ATP's top 10, 209 of them at number one and at the age of 24 became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
Two time Miami Open winner Victoria Azarenka crushed Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.
Defending champion Andy Murray eased into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 10th successive year with a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Benoit Paire on Monday.
Former champion Rafael Nadal shrugged off concerns about his fitness ahead of the Australian Open and paid tribute to fellow 'Big Four' rival Andy Murray, a day after the emotional Briton revealed plans to retire.
He will skip the two Masters series events in Shanghai and Paris next month.
Four months after back surgery, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was understandably cautious on Saturday about his chances of reaching a fourth Australian Open final in five years.
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.
Eighteen time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has climbed up to the fourth spot in the latest ATP rankings after lifting his third Miami Open title by beating long-time rival Rafael Nadal.
Novak Djokovic does not consider himself among the favourites at next month's Wimbledon and shares the popular view that defending champion Roger Federer is likely to win a record ninth trophy at the All England Club.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
Men's singles winner set to receive five times more the amount as compared to the women's champion.
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka avoided a repeat on Wednesday of his first-round scare, though he was still made to work hard in a straight-sets win over Japan's Taro Daniel. The Swiss third seed won 7-6(7) 6-3 6-4 and is now on a six-match winning streak on clay, having warmed-up for Roland Garros by winning the title in Geneva last week. Progress was by no means straightforward against a skilful opponent ranked 93rd in the world and Wawrinka has yet to switch to his A game. But he says it's there when he needs it. "If you look at the first two matches, for sure I'm not playing my best tennis, but I know I have my best tennis in me," the 31-year-old Wawrinka, playing in his 45th consecutive grand slam tournament, told reporters.
Here is a quick glance of all the highs and lows from Nadal's stupendous career:
Andy Murray embarks on his first Grand Slam campaign as world number one with much stronger title credentials, even if he has lost five finals at Melbourne Park.
Defending champion Andy Murray ground his way past Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin with a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open where he will face Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.
Serena Williams will try to take a step closer to history on Saturday when she plays her third-round match at the US Open.
'I've been better than them (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic) for the last 12 months, that's how the ranking systems work' 'I don't want to stop in two years. I want to keep playing. Who knows where I am going to be in a few years'
Rafael Nadal continued his resurgence with a thrilling 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world number two Andy Murray on Saturday to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
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