Andy Murray blamed Novak Djokovic's physical problems in their Australian Open final on Sunday for throwing him off his game but that could hardly explain the meltdown that saw the Scot lose 12 of the last 13 games.
As the players warm up before the tournament, meet the players who could well be contenders for the 2017 Australian Open titles.
Chelsea extended their impressive turnaround under new coach Thomas Tuchel with a 2-0 home win over in-form Everton on Monday as Kai Havertz played a key role in both goals on his return to the starting 11.
Leicester City scored two stunning goals in extra time through Wilfred Ndidi and Demarai Gray to reach the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-1 win over second tier Derby County in a replay.
Both won in style on Sunday, with Spanish fifth seed Nadal pouncing on Guido Pella's serve to break the Argentine five times en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in sizzling afternoon heat on the stadium hard court.
'Ravi Shastri told me he would go miles, and pay, to enjoy Vishy make 20 than to watch someone scoring an inelegant, laborious, 200.'
Atalanta's Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens scored quickfire second-half goals to give them a comfortable 2-0 win over a toothless Liverpool
'The West Indies' pace battery was lethal.' 'Watching Gavaskar, Gaekwad, Amarnath and Vengsarkar play against those bowlers I learnt so much.' 'Everybody was getting hit.' 'Someone got hit on the fingers, someone on the chest, someone on the face, but they all showed guts.'
A floundering Novak Djokovic should seek advice from evergreen Swiss maestro Roger Federer in order to rediscover his vintage self, the Serb's former Davis Cup coach Bogdan Obradovic said.
Davis Cup champions Britain were locked at 1-1 with Japan after the opening two singles of their World Group, first-round tie on Friday after Andy Murray gave the hosts the lead.
Images from Day 9 of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It seems to be a Tom Hanks and Cate Blanchett show all the way!
However, one goal proved enough for City who picked up their sixth successive league win to move four points clear of Liverpool, who host Aston Villa later on Saturday, at the top of the standings.
Andy Murray has set up a mouth-watering clash with Grigor Dimitrov and a chance to avenge his defeat at Wimbledon after hammering Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Friday.
Here is a timeline of Djokovic's decline since the last of his 12 Grand Slam titles.
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
Despite it all, the participants, from across the American continent, show up as they vie for the medals and glory. Along the way, they give us some moments that are captured for posterity. Here are some eye-catching scenes from the Pan Am Games...
Breeze though the outfits that caught the maximum shutterbugs at the final Grand Slam of the year.
A round-up of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
Britain's Andy Murray enjoyed a routine win over Argentina's Juan Monaco to ease into the third round of the tennis tournament at the Rio Games on Tuesday, while Spain's world number nine David Ferrer was knocked out.
Meanwhile, Real Mallorca made a dream return to La Liga with a 2-1 victory over Eibar at the Estadi Son Moix on Saturday, less than two months after sealing back-to-back promotions to rejoin Spain's soccer elite.
Andy Murray won 23 consecutive points in an inspired passage of play to emerge from a hole and roar to a 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 victory over qualifier Vincent Millot at the Australian Open.
On Thursday morning, the world woke up to the news of the death of iconic New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe. A teenage prodigy, who went on to carve an illustrious career with his superlative batting and smart captaincy, lost his three-year long battle against cancer at the age of 53. Unfortunately, Crowe is among a few famous cricketers who battled to beat cancer but didn't survive the fight.
Chelsea are 10 points clear at top of the English Premier League championship table.
Images from Day 5 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Friday.
'We are all members of a tennis paradise that this year improbably promises to last forever -- and we owe it in no small part to the two champions' parents,' notes Rahul Jacob.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov edged out South Africa's Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) in a three-hour slugfest to claim his second career title with victory in the Acapulco International final on Sunday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic says he is excited to have created a "new vibe" by inviting Andre Agassi to work with him during the French Open which starts on Sunday.
A summary of the action on Day 3 at the US Open.
All the results from the matches played in the BNP Paribas Paris Masters on Tuesday
Chelsea brushed aside London rivals West Ham United with a 2-1 away win that restored their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Monday.
Images from English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
International Ski Federation (FIS) president Gian-Franco Kasper has warned FIFA against holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the same time as the Winter Olympic Games.
The 32-year-old, five-times a winner of the singles at the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up event, delighted a large evening centre court crowd with some fluent shot-making as he and Spanish veteran Lopez beat top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6(5), 6-3.
Following Stanislas Wawrinka's win at the US Open on Sunday, it may finally be time to officially expand the 'Big Four' in men's tennis to the 'Big Five'.
Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic suffered a shock 6-7(4), 1-6 loss against Denisa Allertova of Czech Republic in the women's singles first round at the 2016 US Open on Tuesday. Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner, started off well but failed to maintain her momentum. With the scored tied 6-6, the first set went into tie-break and the Serbian star failed to keep her nerves.
