Driven by having started out in life with "literally nothing", Novak Djokovic is determined to end up as the man with the most Grand Slam singles titles when he finally hangs up his racket. Djokovic said his hunger for success came from growing up in a time of conflict and privation.
Nadal will not be playing at Wimbledon, having decided to rest, while eight-time champion Federer is showing signs that, at 39, the window of opportunity to win one more Slam is closing.
Nadal surpassed the haul of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was expelled from the tournament after going wild in the third set of his match against Casper Ruud.
It was Novak Djokovic's first match this year after his Australian Open hopes were dashed when he was deported following an 11-day saga revolving around his decision not to have a COVID-19 vaccination.
Novak Djokovic enjoyed a stress-free return to US competition following a two year absence
Images from Day 2 of the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
'The governing bodies, especially Grand Slams, need to allocate enough funds to support lower-ranked players, low-level tournaments, futures, challengers and I believe there is enough funds for those too.'
From Slam No 1 to Slam No 21 -- a summary of Nadal's 21 majors.
Inspired Garcia goes from Cincinnati qualifier to champion
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Images from Saturday's action at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic has been unbeaten at Wimbledon since retiring with an elbow injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals.
Novak Djokovic kicked off his season in style with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Canadian talent Denis Shapovalov on his favourite Rod Laver Arena court on Tuesday before returning to lead Serbia to a doubles victory that sealed their ATP Cup opener 2-1.
Images from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
Images from Day 2 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Tuesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
hampion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic turned in impressive displays to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. Nadal, chasing a record-extending 12th Monte Carlo title, broke Grigor Dimitrov's serve on four occasions to defeat the Bulgarian 6-4 6-1.
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.
Serena Williams has defeated her compatriot in four straight matches since a defeat in the quarter-finals of the 2013 Australian Open.
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Sunday.
The eight men to watch during the US Open which starts on Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The Tokyo Games, from July 23 to Aug. 8, coincide with the year's hottest weather in Tokyo where the temperature can rise to 35 degree Celsius (95F) or more. The 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics were held in October.
A look at how India's athletes fared at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
How sweet it is: Eubanks's climb up the ranks is 'icing on the cake'
Roger Federer was made to work hard by Fernando Verdasco before beating the Spanish veteran 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from 4-1 down in the deciding set to beat Elina Svitolina 6-3 3-6 6-4 in the Qatar Open semi-final on Friday, marking her first victory over the Ukrainian in nearly two years.
Novak Djokovic endured a fierce challenge to his Melbourne Park reign before overhauling Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch an eighth Australian Open crown and reclaim the world number one ranking. He captured the decisive break in the third game of the final set, then held firm as Thiem made desperate assaults on his serve. Going for broke in a nerve-shredding final game, the fifth seeded Austrian went for the lines but missed twice to hand Djokovic one of his most hard-earnt triumphs.
Naomi Osaka is no longer a shy, introvert youngster and the newest Grand Slam winner in women's tennis says she owes her maturity to last year's US Open triumph.
Djokovic may never feel the affections of the crowd savoured by Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal but his record of 16 Grand Slam titles is proof that tennis is no popularity contest.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Novak Djokovic wore down Lucas Pouille after an even first set, dispatching the Frenchman 7-6(2), 6-1 in a Cincinnati Masters quarter-final in Ohio on Friday.
The first meeting between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas lived up to the hype on Saturday as the Australian saved a match point in a wildly entertaining 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) win to reach the Citi Open final.
It took the COVID-19 pandemic to put a brake on Djokovic's 18-match unbeaten run in 2020, as he won the ATP Cup with Serbia, an eighth Australian Open title and a fifth Dubai Tennis Championships before the season came to a halt in early March.
A summary of Thursday's play at the US Open.
Novak Djokovic launched his bid to stay on course for a Golden Slam with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 win over 139th-ranked Hugo Dellien of Bolivia on Saturday, as sweltering conditions in Tokyo took a toll on the players on the opening day of tennis at the Games.
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
