Live tennis action is a fading memory during the coronavirus shutdown but 20,000 fans tuned in to watch old rivals Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray chew the fat on Instagram on Friday. Sitting on their sofas at home, the duo spent an entertaining hour reminiscing about some of the classics in their 36-match series, painful losses and even came up with the perfect tennis player.
For soccer great Diego Maradona, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was more than a friend and fellow Latin American legend, he was "a second father." Maradona said Castro's death late on Friday hit him like a tennis ball to the chest served by Juan Martin del Potro, the Argentine player he cheered on in the Davis Cup final where he received the news. "I wept uncontrollably," Maradona told reporters on the sidelines of the tennis tournament. "After my father, it's the deepest sorrow I know."
A golden moment for Australian Ashleigh Barty and American CoCo Vandeweghe was tinged with disappointment when tournament officials did not let them speak to the crowd after winning the U.S. Open women's doubles final on Sunday.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal failed to win a single game in the opening set of his US Open quarter-final against Dominic Thiem on Tuesday but fought back to beat the Austrian 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in match that ended past 2 am in New York.
Novak Djokovic no longer sees winning Grand Slam titles or staying top of the men's ATP rankings as a priority in his tennis career, Serbia's world number one said on Friday.
Ana Konjuh was not a year old when Serena Williams played her first US Open match but both will be in the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight on Wednesday, with four gripping quarter-finals to take centre stage at the year's final Grand Slam.
Former champion Rafael Nadal shrugged off concerns about his fitness ahead of the Australian Open and paid tribute to fellow 'Big Four' rival Andy Murray, a day after the emotional Briton revealed plans to retire.
The world number one had arrived in Tokyo aiming to become the first man to win all four majors and an Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. But that quest came to an end after he was beaten by fifth-ranked German Alexander Zverev in Friday's semi-final.
Kyle Edmund has the most destructive forehand in tennis and it can power him into the world's top 10, according to three-times Australian Open champion Mats Wilander.
Djokovic is clubbed with Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Goffin and Alexander Zverev.
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.
Zverev defeated Anderson 6-4, 6-4 and captured his fourth title of the year in the finals played on Sunday.
For a seven-time champion who is a month shy of his 35th birthday, and is known to have a dodgy back, fate could not have dealt Roger Federer a better hand this week as he became the first, and so far only, man to reach the Wimbledon fourth round.
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Argentina's Diego Schwartzman ended a two-year wait for his second ATP tour title as he overpowered an exhausted Fernando Verdasco to win the Rio Open 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday.
Roger Federer says he does not regret passing up the chance to topple great rival Rafael Nadal from the top of the world rankings at the ATP Finals in London this week.
Rafael Nadal kept the flag flying for the old guard at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals, where he will meet another next generation player in Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will set aside their long-time rivalry when they play for Europe against the rest of the world in the inaugural Laver Cup tournament which starts on Friday.
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.
Defending Olympic champion Andy Murray reached the semi-finals of the men's tennis on Friday after winning a third-set tiebreak to scrape through a testing encounter against American Steve Johnson.
This is not the first time that Murray has won our hearts with his stance against sexism.
Djokovic had his personal best winning sequence of 30 consecutive sets ended as Cilic played almost flawlessly aggressive tennis to draw first blood in a magnificent duel.
The 32-year-old, who has not played since retiring injured in the US Open semi-finals, cited an abdominal injury.
Top seed Serena Williams dropped the second set before bouncing back to beat compatriot Christina Mchale 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in second-round action at the Miami Open in Florida on Thursday.
Former India tennis star Vijay Amritraj says the new Davis Cup format will not affect the country much as it is still playing home and away games in Group I and not the World Group matches.
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.
The contest for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award promises to be one of the most competitive ever with the likes of Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Murray vying for top honours.
Spaniard Feliciano Lopez has not beaten Roger Federer in 13 attempts but he finally got one over him on Tuesday without even needing to lay a glove on the Swiss great.
Thirteen years on and his record next to the Bois de Boulogne stands at an incredible 85 wins and two losses.
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. While Rafa Nadal rules Roland Garros with 12 titles, Djokovic holds sway in the title match at Rod Laver Arena having never lost a final in Melbourne Park.
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'.
Lucas Pouille was not prepared to say his pulsating four hour, fourth-round upset of 14-time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal at the US Open on Sunday was a career changing moment.
Change might be afoot though, according to American great John McEnroe
'I feel happy to be part of this rivalry, but at the same time, I played even more matches with Novak (Djokovic) than with Roger in such important matches, too'
Britain's rise from embarrassing Davis Cup lightweights to title contenders has been nothing short of spectacular and they will begin slight favourites to reach a first final in 37 years against Australia on Friday.
A day after celebrating his 36th birthday, Federer played the aggressive game that has propelled him to five titles, including two grand slams, this year, attacking the net and rocketing second serves.
In the absence of an injured Yuki, a lot would depend on how the left-handed Prajnesh, who won a singles bronze medal at the Asian Games, performs.
Although Kyrgios dropped the opening set his level of play and interest rose dramatically after the pep talk and he swept the next three sets for a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-0 win.
Stanislas Wawrinka and his wondrous one-handed backhand managed to pull off a feat no man outside tennis's Big Four had achieved in the past 40 Grand Slams -- to win two major titles
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