Rafael Nadal, whose all-time claycourt record now stands at 414-36 says nobody should assume his feats are routine and that each victory is celebrated like the first.
IMAGES from matches on Day 8 at the French Open
Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title on Sunday by thrashing Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 6-1, collecting his second claycourt title in a row.
Novak Djokovic marked his return to Serbia, after being stranded in the Spanish resort of Marbella for two months due to the coronavirus lockdown, by announcing that he has organised an event which will be contested across the Balkans. When the world number one had travelled to Marbella with his family in mid-March to visit his younger brother Marko, he had no idea it would be another two months before he could return to his homeland on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic will begin his Australian Open title defence against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while reigning women's champion Sofia Kenin meets wild card Maddison Inglis, following the draw for the year's first Grand Slam on Friday.
Images from Day 2 of the 2020 US Open in New York
World number one Rafael Nadal begins his French Open title defence, on Monday, with a clash against Italy's Simone Bolelli on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
But for the first time, that golden trio will be having an anxious glance over their shoulders. The past week in London has revealed a new fearlessness in the generation of 20 somethings expected to fill the void when they call it a day.
Nadal enters his title defence after a stellar season on his favourite surface.
Nadal was the favourite and top seed having lifted the Barcelona Open trophy last month but played below par on a sweltering spring day.
Rafael Nadal, the king of clay won his 11th French Open title on Sunday.
Defending champion Roger Federer will meet big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the final of the Brisbane International after the Swiss top seed dismantled rising Austrian talent Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 in Brisbane.
Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas won their respective singles matches before Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev teamed up in the doubles to beat Jack Sock and Denis Shapovalov
In the men's singles draw five-time champion Novak Djokovic headlines the top half of the draw and shares a quarter with Russian No.5 seed and recent Halle finalist Andrey Rublev.
Playing his first match since injuring his knee at Indian Wells last month, Nadal showed no signs of rust as he raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set on Court Rainier III.
Frenchman Lucas Pouille claimed his first ATP title by beating Austrian top seed Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-2 in the Moselle Open final in Metz on Sunday.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to win his 11th French Open title on Sunday:
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Second seed Daniil Medvedev will launch his bid to win his first major title against veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
'I think I played a great first set, one of the best of the claycourt season, in my opinion. No mistakes, high intensity, winners, playing long'.
Swiatek is positioned to face American fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Danielle Collins were among those to win their first-round matches at the Adelaide International
Alexander Zverev continued to rebuild his confidence on clay with a straight sets win over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the Monte Carlo Masters second round.
Alcaraz will face German Alexander Zverev or two-time runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday.
Experienced Indian Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Denis Shapovalo advanced to the second round of the US Open men's doubles event after a straight-set win in New York.
Rafael Nadal's absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-times Grand Slam champion slip out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005.
A summary of Day 2 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Gaston keeps French flag flying at Roland Garros.
Images from Day 2 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Dominic Thiem to win his 12th French Open title:
Djokovic's father blamed the cancellation of the tour on Dimitrov. There is nothing to suggest that Dimitrov spread the virus to others.
'I'm so humbled by the continuous support from my fans in Rome and I look forward to making my return soon.'
Bopanna and Shapovalov will take on Dutch-Romanian combination of Jeal-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in the quarterfinals.
The two great rivals meet at Roland Garros for the first time in eight years in Friday's tie.
Rafael Nadal gets the opportunity to avenge his only defeat in 10 meetings with Diego Schwartzman, which he suffered a little over two weeks ago, when Spain's 12-time French Open winner faces the Argentine in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Friday.
Canada's Bianca Andreescu has decided not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former US Open champion said.
With Federer certain, young Austrian Dominic Thiem is third in the ATP race to London, followed by Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Djokovic, world number one Andy Murray, and Belgium's David Goffin.
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