Nadal has turned back the clock to sweep through the European claycourt season with titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid and is a daunting obstacle for anyone with genuine title ambitions.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who will play this week in the Rio Open, downplayed public concerns over risks linked to the Zika virus in the Brazilian city that will host the Olympics in August, saying "people are living completely normal lives."
Iran were banned from an Olympic football qualifying match against Jordan later that year after refusing to remove their hijabs before kick-off.
Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak at the China Open to 27 matches with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition over big-serving American John Isner on Friday.
Rafael Nadal returned to Davis Cup action for the first time in two years on Friday with his victory putting Spain ahead in a Group One relegation playoff against Denmark.
As India gear up to host five-time champions Spain in a Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, Saketh Myneni knows the enormity of the task at hand.
World number one Novak Djokovic survived a second set fightback from Slovak Martin Klizan before winning his opening match at the Miami Open 6-0, 5-7, 6-1.
Roger Federer got his delayed hardcourt season off to a positive start with straightforward 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Germany's Phillip Kohlschreiber to ease into the third round of the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday.
World No 1s Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber have been named top seeds for the first major of the season, Australian Open, which will commences on January 16.
Serena, a six-times champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world number 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
IMAGES from matches played at the Miami Masters in Key Biscayne, Florida
World No 1 Novak Djokovic began his Paris Masters title defence with a routine 6-3, 6-4 win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round on Tuesday.
Toni Nadal has given a lukewarm response to the decision by the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) to appoint former women's Tour player Gala Leon as Spain's new Davis Cup captain.
Here is a factual guide on the man of the moment...
Serena Williams and Marin Cilic both survived third round scares on Friday to keep their US Open title defences on track but there was no escape for Rafael Nadal with the twice-winner going down in a late night thriller.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska's title defence at the Sydney International lasted just 92 minutes when she was dumped out of the second round by Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Tuesday.
With his glinting gold wedding band looped around the black laces of left shoe, Andy Murray had been an unstoppable force on clay this season.
All the results from the matches played in the BNP Paribas Paris Masters on Tuesday
The duo could face each other at the quarter-final stage.
Reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named top seeds for the Australian Open starting on Monday.
'I had a tough season in the last few years, but I've had better preparation this year, even with a tough start to the season'
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
A break-out 2014 season and a career-high ranking of five has added extra weight to Kei Nishikori's shoulders, with the US Open finalist already bearing the burden of huge expectations in his home country Japan.
Serena Williams edged past Spain's Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarters.
'He probably deserves a player that is probably more dedicated to the game than I am. He deserves a better athlete than me'
Ageing tour warrior Lleyton Hewitt ushered Australia into the Davis Cup semi-finals on Sunday, trouncing Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-3 in the decisive singles rubber against Kazakhstan.
A soccer friendly between Belgium and Spain scheduled for Brussels on Tuesday has been postponed for security reasons after the Paris attacks, the Belgian soccer federation said in a statement.
Tournament favourite Novak Djokovic beat Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on Tuesday, kicking off his quest for a first ever Paris trophy to add to his eight other Grand Slams.
Roger Federer's hopes of knocking Novak Djokovic off the top of the ATP world rankings before the end of the year took a hit when he lost to big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
Rafael Nadal's announcement on Friday that he will miss the ATP World Tour Finals because of appendicitis ended a difficult year for the Spaniard during which he has endured injury, illness and worrying defeats.
Factbox on Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to win his 10th French Open title on Sunday.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
Roger Federer booked his place in the ATP World Tour Finals for a record-tying 12th consecutive year when he dismissed South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw which includes five-times US Open champion and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed - his first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro underlined his status as a dark horse for next week's Australian Open by hammering Dmitry Tursunov to reach the final of the Sydney International on Friday.
With three of the four Grand Slam titles and a record six Masters Series crowns scooped up in a year of domination, Novak Djokovic could be forgiven for using the ATP Tour Finals in London as a well-earned lap of honour.
Will it be Rafa versus Djoko in Sunday's final?
Defending champion Rafael Nadal progressed to the second round of the US Open after fellow Spaniard David Ferrer retired midway through the second set due to a calf injury.
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