World number two Rafael Nadal confirmed on Tuesday that he will not defend his US Open crown this year at Flushing Meadows as organisers released the singles entry list for the Grand Slam. Spain's Nadal had said in June that he had reservations about travelling to the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic and he joins women's world number one Australian Ash Barty in skipping the tournament due to COVID-19 concerns.
A look at the records of Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic before their title clash at the Australian Open on Sunday (prefix number denotes seeding):
Change might be afoot though, according to American great John McEnroe
Roger Federer lit up the O2 Arena with a dazzling 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Novak Djokovic to hand the Serb an early ATP Finals exit and wreck his bid to end the year ranked number one on Thursday.
Madison Keys beat fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe for the second time in eight days with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory on Monday to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
Images from Day 1 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
List of US Open men's singles champions since the Open Era began in 1968:
Images from Day 3 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
The Swiss squandered seven set points in the opener and although he took the second on a tiebreak he capitulated in the decider after dropping serve at 1-2, losing 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1.
The hosts had blanked Germany in their opening tie and became the first to seal a quarter-final spot with their second 3-0 win in the inaugural team event.
A win for Djokovic would move him past Pete Sampras (14) to outright third on the list of Grand Slam title winners.
A summary of the action on Day 3 at the US Open.
Men's tennis steps into the unknown next week when the young guns expected to follow in the footsteps of the current golden generation contest the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
Wimbledon debutant Eubanks ends Tsitsipas's challenge in fourth round.
Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas secured the biggest win of his career when he sent Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic packing in the third round of the Rogers Cup with a stunning 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 win on Thursday.
Badosa beats Fernandez; Swiatek, Halep storm into quarter-finals
Williams, a record 23-times Grand Slam champion, will be returning to the All England Club for the first time since giving birth to her daughter last September.
Defending champion Donna Vekic, of Croatia, earned a hard-fought win over British wild card Gabriella Taylor 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(3).
Eleven-times champion Rafael Nadal booked his place in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open semi-finals by beating German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-5 in a hard-fought match on Friday.
Raucous home support for holders Argentina did not make up for the absence of Juan Martin del Potro and Federico Delbonis on Friday as they fell 2-0 behind to Italy in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Belgium's Elise Mertens rallied from a set down to beat top seed Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch her first Premier-level title at the Qatar Open on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2, 7-6(9) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
Rafael Nadal gave a much improved performance to advance into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday, dispatching Spanish compatriot and crowd favourite David Ferrer 6-3, 6-3.
A tenacious Roberto Bautista Agut battled back to beat world number one Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and advance to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on Tuesday as the Spaniard claimed his second win over the Serb this year.
India ended its campaign at the Fed Cup with a fourth place finish after losing the classification tie 1-2 to Korea as the team badly missed injured Karman Kaur Thandi, who did not play on Saturday, in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Roger Federer suffered a shock 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) defeat to Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis on Saturday that will cost the Swiss his world number one ranking and leaves the Miami men's tournament wide open.
Images from Day 7 at the US Open.
World number one Rafael Nadal recovered from an upset loss against Belgium's David Goffin to win the deciding doubles match and send Spain into the semi-final of the ATP Cup teams event in Sydney in the early hours of Saturday. Spain will now play host nation Australia in the inaugural event, while Serbia, led by world number two Novak Djokovic, take on Russia.
World number one Rafael Nadal won a battle of attrition against fellow left-hander Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-6(4), 6-4 to seal Spain's spot in the final eight of the inaugural ATP Cup in Perth on Wednesday. Meanwhile his long-time rival, world number two Novak Djokovic, had an easier outing in Brisbane, strolling past Chile's Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3 to stay undefeated in the new year.
Second seed Sloane Stephens was shocked 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 by Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the second round of the Citi Open on Wednesday, disrupting the American's buildup to her US Open title defence.
Earlier in the day, Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles but its players will still be allowed to compete at the Grand Slams and in regular tour events.
Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic booked their spots in the Paris Masters second round on Monday, while Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament with next month's ATP Finals on the horizon.
American qualifier Sachia Vickery completed an astonishing comeback to stun third seed Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a second-round win at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Friday.
The Swiss great is looking to win a 102nd tour-level trophy and move closer to Jimmy Connors' record of 109.
Ash Barty beat eighth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) in Beijing to seal her spot in the final of the China Open on Saturday.
A summary of the first day's play at the US Open.
The Big Four were always going to come into the year's first Grand Slam knowing fully well that their days of dominance are drawing to a close, if not already a thing of the past, says Dhruv Munjal.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to set up their first meeting since the American's infamous row with an umpire overshadowed last year's US Open final.
Big-serving Isner reaches Montreal second round
