Fernando Verdasco's confidence on clay is sky high as long as he does not have to play Rafa Nadal, the Barcelona Open champion said on Sunday.
PSG's Champions League tie with Newcastle is like a final, says Luis Enrique
Rafa Nadal has played down the significance of his victory over Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo, saying winning tournaments was his priority rather than reclaiming the World No 1 spot.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational goal and was then sent off for a combination of his provocative celebration and for diving as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in an explosive Spanish Super Cup first leg on Sunday.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona registered easy wins, while Manchester United came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and Chelsea surrendered the top spot after a 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
David Nalbandian has undergone hip surgery and is expected to be out of action for at least four months.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi rescued a 1-1 draw at Villarreal with a sensational late free-kick on Sunday but could not prevent the champions finishing the weekend third in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Alcaraz, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year before winning the US Open on the hard courts of New York, said how well he moves on grass would be key.
Saina lost 15-21, 21-23 in the women's singles match that lasted 37 minutes to crash out
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's much-anticipated return to Barcelona was scuppered on Monday when the AC Milan striker was injured in training and ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League Group H opener at the Nou Camp.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
Juan Carlos Ferrero made a confident start to his title bid in Barcelona when he thrashed Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-2
Barcelona won the European Cup for the third time with a classy 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday. Striker Samuel Eto'o struck the opener on 10 minutes when his low shot beat United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at his near post and Lionel Messi sealed the win on 70 minutes when he headed home Xavi's cross.
A Neymar double and a clinical finish from Luis Suarez handed Barcelona a comfortable 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov that put them on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season.
Paco Alcacer enjoyed a rare outing for Barcelona by scoring twice in the club's 2-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Paris is, and will continue to be, dogged by the usual gripes about staging the greatest show on earth.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has taken the blame for his side's 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, describing the last 16 second leg defeat as one of the worst moments of his life.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Leander Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley got a first-round bye in the Euro 888,000 Open Sabadell Atlantico tennis tournament in Barcelona. The sixth seeds will take on the winners of the match between the Argentine-Uruguayan pair of Juan Ignacio Chela and Pablo Cuevas and Spanish wildcards Guillermo Alcaide and Albert Montanes in the second round of the clay court event.
The Spaniard, who turns 36 next week, will next meet Dutch 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp with a potential quarter-final looming against world number one Novak Djokovic who defeated him in last year's semi-finals.
Navneet Kaur struck twice to help the Indian women's team register a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against hosts Spain.
Barcelona dismissed any notion they are a declining force when they won 2-0 at Manchester City on Tuesday to virtually guarantee their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the seventh successive season.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to inspire Barcelona to a 3-1 win over a dogged Leganes side on Sunday, creating one goal and scoring another to keep the Catalans five points clear at the top of La Liga.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday to win a record-extending 13th French Open title:
Lionel Messi struck a spectacular free kick, scored another goal and set up two more in a 4-1 victory for Barcelona over nine-man city rivals Espanyol in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 clash on Wednesday.
Images from Saturday's La Liga matches.
Brazil lived up to expectations by smashing Bolivia 5-1 at home in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers opener on Friday.
The home side spurned two chances to extend their advantage before the break but Barca levelled in the 52nd minute when Luis Suarez glanced in Lionel Messi's free kick.
Djokovic first played Monfils at the US Open in 2005 but Tuesday's match was only their second encounter on clay and he needed only one break point to clinch the first set.
Roundup of Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
Barcelona's talismanic Lionel Messi remains the driving force of a talented side on the brink of repeating 2009's historic treble despite a change in their coach and style of football, not to mention a host of players.
Karim Benzema's seven-minute hattrick saw Real Madrid thrash Real Valladolid 6-0 in their La Liga encounter
The Indo-Czech duo was beaten by fifth seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland in the second round of the Barcelona Open.
Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Harry Kane scored twice in his first league appearance in front of a home crowd to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over Augsburg.
Barcelona will ask their fans to decide on whether the club should rebuild their CampNou stadium or move to a new site, vice-president Javier Faus told local radio on Tuesday.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
