Juan Martin del Potro continued his encouraging buildup to the Australian Open by reaching the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Thursday, but women's contender Petra Kvitova was stunned by a Bulgarian qualifier in the last four.
Andy Murray is more afraid of losing his wedding ring than a tennis match these days but that did not stop him from storming to a 10th successive win on clay at the Rome Masters on Wednesday.
A few days after it appeared as though a Roger Federer impersonator had gatecrashed the 02 Arena, the Swiss great resumed normal service to outplay Kevin Anderson and reach the last four of the ATP Finals on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal's conqueror Steve Darcis withdrew from Wimbledon on Wednesday with a shoulder injury, organisers said.
Benoit Paire made a remarkable Davis Cup debut for France, outplaying Pablo Carreno-Busta 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 in the opening rubber of the World Group semi-final tie against Spain at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday.
'He can say what he wants, I don't have a problem with it. Does he show me the same amount of respect that most other players do? No, he doesn't, but that's the way he communicates these days'
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray each had to contend with different degrees of adversity before they advanced.
World number one Novak Djokovic eased past Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to lift his fifth Dubai Tennis Championships title on Saturday, extending his unbeaten start to the 2020 season. Djokovic has now won 21 straight matches, including 18 this season, having already lifted the inaugural ATP Cup with Serbia and a record-extending eighth Australian Open title last month.
IMAGES from matches on Day 9 at the French Open at Roland Garros
Defending champion Djokovic fired his 15th ace on match point to defeat Querrey but his serve had been an issue earlier in their second-round encounter.
Venus Williams got off to a flying start in her return from a two-month layoff but her game quickly fell apart as the seven-time Grand Slam champion slumped to a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to Kirsten Flipkens in the Rogers Cup first round on Tuesday.
Rediff.com presents the early surprises at the year's first Grand Slam.
Top seed Dominic Thiem was knocked out the Rio Open in the first round on Tuesday, going down 6-3, 6-3 to Laslo Djere.
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 spurred Serbia to a 3-0 win over neighbours Croatia in the first round of the Davis Cup on Saturday and they will be joined in the quarter-finals by an equally rampant France.
Cash believes there will never be a return to the golden era of serve-and-volley tennis, however, not while the court speeds were so much slower than when he was winning at the All England Club.
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 urged people to think about Brazilians who are having to live with the Zika outbreak on a daily basis rather than worrying about how the situation might affect those travelling to the country for the Rio Olympics in August.
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.
A clinical Roger Federer took a confident step towards a fourth Miami Open title on Wednesday, easing past 13th-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-2 to book a spot in the quarter-finals.
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.
The 16-year-old backed his aggressive backhand throughout the contest and went on to win 17 of his 23 points at the net to seal victory in 61 minutes.
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.
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.
Images from all the action on Day 3 at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
World No 1 Novak Djokovic, second seed Andy Murray and three-time champion Rafael Nadal were all cheered into the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup on Thursday.
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
On the men's side, the fields have already been divided into two ATP 250 tournaments.
Top seed Novak Djokovic has been starved of competitive action at the US Open but on Sunday the World No 1 feasted on unseeded Briton Kyle Edmund in a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 romp that put him into the quarter-finals.
Big-serving Isner reaches Montreal second round
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 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.
Leonardo Mayer beat Joao Souza in a Davis Cup singles match that lasted a record six hours and 42 minutes.
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.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka was sent packing in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday and was very nearly joined by Rafael Nadal, who pulled off a Houdini-like escape to reach the last eight.
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.
Images from Day 4 of the 2021 French Open in Paris on Wednesday.
The winners of the season's first three grand slams Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal put on a masterclass at the Western and Southern Open on Wednesday, strolling into the third round with straight sets wins.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
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