Big-serving Isner reaches Montreal second round
Briton Andy Murray will take over from Novak Djokovic as World No 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday after his Paris Masters semi-final opponent Milos Raonic withdrew with a leg injury on Saturday.
Having dug in early on to stay with Federer, Nishikori ended up running away with the match to inflict a first straight sets defeat in the ATP Finals round-robin stages on the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
The 22-year-old, 6ft 6in Russian, already the owner of two indoor hard court titles this year, moved one step away from the biggest title of his career at the Bercy indoor arena, crushing his Austrian friend in 70 one-sided minutes.
After a brief interruption when the players were locked at 5-5 in the opening set, Federer saved two set points in the tiebreak and held firm to gain the upper hand in the contest.
Twelfth seed Djokovic resumed two sets to one ahead after snatching a third-set tiebreak the previous night before Wimbledon's 11pm curfew left the match on a knife edge.
The Australian fell to the floor in celebration after clinching the victory, before sticking a finger behind his ear and asking the raucous crowd to cheer louder.
Jack Sock started a new tradition on Thursday, one that the 23-year-old hopes will become a regular occurrence as he carves out a successful tennis career.
Nadal, playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals, fell behind 5-2 in the tiebreak before roaring back to prevail in his first career meeting with world number 53 Evans.
The sorry state of American men's tennis will continue for some time with no real talent on the horizon, said Pete Sampras who dominated the game in the 1990s with fellow American Andre Agassi.
Team Europe swept the singles matches at the inaugural Laver Cup on Friday before Australian Nick Kyrgios and American Jack Sock took down top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych in the doubles to salvage a point for Team World.
Rediff.com presents the early surprises at the year's first Grand Slam.
Andy Murray continued his strong clay court form by booking a place in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Milos Raonic.
Switzerland took advantage of Novak Djokovic's absence to open a 2-0 lead over last year's runners-up Serbia in their Davis Cup tie on Friday with Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka winning their singles rubbers.
With 1,500 points available for an undefeated champion next week, the tournament could produce a thrilling climax with Murray and Djokovic, who have never met at the O2, facing off in the final for the year-end number one ranking.
Images from Day 6 of the US Open in New York, on Saturday.
US Open champion Stephens again ended former world number one Victoria Azarenka's hopes of a fairytale comeback by beating her 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in an afternoon encounter, while French Open champion Ostapenko beat unseeded American Danielle Collins in the nightcap, staving off a set point en route to a 7-6(1), 6-3 triumph.
World No 2 Rafael Nadal brushed aside American Jared Donaldson 6-1, 6-1 and will next face Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine beat Roberto Carballes 6-3, 6-1.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams advanced safely to the next round of the US Open on Saturday but the women's draw saw yet another big upset as Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was sent packing by a 145th-ranked qualifier.
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.
When Andy Murray was dragged to five sets in the opening round of the French Open and then again in the second, it was hard to believe this would be the year when the Scot could end Britain's 81-year wait for a men's Roland Garros champion.
Former world number one Serena Williams looked sharp in her return to the hardcourts after a week-long break, soundly defeating Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Nadal needed all his experience to keep Pouille at bay in the decider and the match looked to be heading for another tiebreak before he pounced to break Pouille's serve for the first time to go 6-5 up in the third.
Novak Djokovic was dumped out of the Paris Masters in straight sets by Marin Cilic on Friday, opening the door for Andy Murray to end the Serb's two-year stranglehold on the world number one ranking.
With the physical demands of modern-day tennis taking its toll the tournament will start without four of the top 11 in the ATP rankings including defending champion Stan Wawrinka who ended his season early with a knee injury.
Spain's Rafael Nadal was at his dominant best against Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday, brushing aside his compatriot 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to move into the fourth round at the Australian Open. Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
The top-seeded Serb, who had not dropped a set in four matches since the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January, looked out-of-sorts throughout the 98-minute contest.
Roger Federer returned from a month-long layoff with a 6-4, 6-4 second round victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
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.
IMAGES from the Miami Masters played in Key Biscayne, Florida on Tuesday
Second Andy Murray breezed to a 6-3, 6-0 semi-final victory over Kei Nishikori on Saturday to set up a final with Novak Djokovic at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic kicked off his bid for a fourth Canadian crown with a 6-3, 7-6(4) second round win over a stubborn Thomaz Bellucci at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Agnieszka Radwanska showed why she should be considered among the favourites for the Australian Open later this month by beating world number one Serena Williams in the final of the Hopman Cup in Perth on Saturday.
Serena Williams backed the searing Perth conditions as perfect preparation for her Australian Open title bid but the weather proved too hot for Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.
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.
'Everyone thinks it was a money-related issue, but it wasn't'
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams face challenging early tests at the US Open following Friday's draws for the year's last Grand Slam starting on Monday.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
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