Second seed and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was beaten by Frenchman Julien Benneteau to cap a day of surprises at the Las Vegas Open.
Defending champion Roger Federer suffered a shock 6-3, 7-5 defeat by Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who has yet to lift a tour title during his 13-year career, in the World Indoor Tournament quarter-finals on Friday.
World number one Rafa Nadal battled back to defeat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 at the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday and Britain's Andy Murray needed a final set tiebreak to beat Latvia's Ernests Gulbis.
World number one Roger Federer slumped to a surprise 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 defeat by unheralded Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. Top seed Federer, who had a first-round bye, made an unusual high number of unforced errors to fall to the unseeded Benneteau, ranked 49th in the world.
They reached the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open on Monday.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started his quest for an ATP World Tour final spot with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 second-round victory over fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
Argentine Juan Martin del Potro is favourite to add his name to the banner of champions wrapped around the Ahoy Arena after beating Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 at the World Indoor Tournament on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal was forced to retire with cramps while Carlos Moya defeated Novak Djokovic.
Argentine Gaston Gaudio made a comfortable start to his French Open title defence by beating Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 on Monday.
Frenchman Julien Benneteau caused a stir during an interview on French radio station RMC Sport on Sunday in which he said tournament referees were often kinder to Federer when it came to scheduling his matches.
Roger Federer battled back from two sets down and double match point to defeat 20th seed Gael Monfils 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
Roger Federer set pulses racing as he diced with danger for more than three hours before dousing the fireworks of French buccaneer Julien Benneteau with a pulsating 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-1 Wimbledon third-round win on Friday.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has defended giving Roger Federer 'prime time' treatment at the year's first Grand Slam, saying it was a matter of meeting fans and broadcasters' demands for the 'box office' athlete.
The unseeded Michael Llodra cruised to his fourth career title when he beat fellow Frenchman and doubles partner Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4 in the Marseille Open final on Sunday.
World number one Rafael Nadal, taken the distance for the third match running, outlasted Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the World Indoor Tournament. Nadal, who went to three sets against Simone Bolelli and Grigor Dimitrov earlier this week, next meets fifth seed Gael Monfils who beat French compatriot Julien Benneteau 7-6, 6-1.
Two-time champion Novak Djokovic thumped Spain's David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to march into the last four of the Shanghai Masters on Friday and set up a semi-final showdown with third seed Roger Federer.
From potential dark horses to former champions, here are the players who were knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday
John Isner pushed on towards a Tour finals spot on Friday when he made it through to the semi-finals of the Paris Masters with a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 win over Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro as the tournament was hit by the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal.
Roger Federer kept up his hopes of finishing the year as World No 1 when he downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer notched up contrasting victories to reach the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals on Thursday while David Ferrer fought back from a set down to knock out Andy Murray.
Belgium's chances of claiming a maiden Davis Cup title against hosts France remained intact after Friday's opening singles, in which David Goffin made a huge impression, were tied 1-1.
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all picked up third round wins at the Western and Southern Open on Thursday to set up a star-studded last eight in Cincinnati.
Roger Federer produced a vintage performance to crush Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and seal Switzerland's maiden Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over hosts France on Sunday.
World number five Juan Martin del Potro began his 2014 season with a win, albeit a scrappy one over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Images from matches played on Day 4 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday
Second seed Garbine Muguruza, bidding to add the Wimbledon crown to her French Open title, was sensationally beaten in the second round on Thursday by Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-2 in the shock of the tournament so far.
Soccer's governing body FIFA has agreed to ban the third-party ownership (TPO) of players, its president Sepp Blatter said on Friday, seven years after first promising to outlaw the practice.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the US Open in New York on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal is recovering satisfactorily from appendicitis and will continue a course of antibiotics in a bid to be fit for the remainder of the 2014 season, the World No 2's spokesman said on Thursday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances