His season had already provided several unforgettable chapters but Andy Murray saved the best to last as he eclipsed Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to claim his first ATP World Tour Finals title and rubberstamp the year-end top ranking on Sunday. Against a man who has so often been his nemesis, Britain's golden boy Murray produced a relentless display to claim a ninth title of a year which included a second Wimbledon crown and Olympic gold in Rio.
Roger Federer boasted of his fitness, Maria Sharapova felt a bit rusty and Andy Murray berated himself but all three eased into the second week of the Australian Open with third round victories at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
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.
Images from the second day's play of the 2016 French Open at the Roland Garros
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.
Defending champion Sloane Stephens was sent packing from the Miami Open on Sunday after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Germany's Tatjana Maria in the third round.
The Frenchman, seeded five, had no answer to left-hander Muller's swinging serve as he bowed out 6-4, 6-4.
A ruthless Sorana Cirstea took full advantage of Karolina Pliskova's patchy form at the China Open on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals as she consigned the recently dethroned world number one to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat.
Marathon man Kei Nishikori secured a monumental upset by sweating out a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over world number one Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open on Saturday to become the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam final.
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Marin Cilic hit all the right notes in a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori in the US Open final on Monday but it remains to be seen if the big Croatian is another one Slam wonder or perennial threat.
Big-serving Isner reaches Montreal second round
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.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic added to the sexism row, saying male tennis players should earn more money than their female counterparts as more people watch their matches.
Home favourite Kei Nishikori defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6(2), 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Saturday, setting up a final against Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev.
'Not only are four of the top five fathers, but Federer famously injured a knee, weakened by years of twisting and turning on tennis courts, early this year while giving his elder pair of twins a bath.'
Images from Day 5 of the US Open in New York on Friday
'We are all members of a tennis paradise that this year improbably promises to last forever -- and we owe it in no small part to the two champions' parents,' notes Rahul Jacob.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
For over three-quarters of a century men's tennis in Japan has played out like a kabuki tragedy, filled with decades of barren results, embarrassments and even a suicide.
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal survived a few anxious moments before booking his place in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a see-sawing 6-4, 6-3 victory over Japanese Kei Nishikori at Indian Wells in California on Friday.
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Saturday
Photos from the Wimbledon matches on Day 1
The Serena Williams show continued at the US Open as the world number one moved a step closer to a calendar Grand Slam on Wednesday, while Mardy Fish took a final Flushing Meadows bow as the curtain came down on the American's career.
A summary of Day Three's matches at the Wimbledon Championships.
Dhruv Munjal insists that women's tennis needs a golden generation, one that can make matches competitive and viewing more riveting.
The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarter-finals played on Friday.
American qualifier Sachia Vickery completed an astonishing comeback to stun third seed Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a second-round win at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Friday.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka won a battle of former girls' champions at the Australian Open by easing past Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the third year running after Kei Nishikori quit with a rib injury midway through their fourth round match on Monday.
Czech defending champion Katerina Siniakova fended off Maria Sharapova in a fiercely contested match at the Shenzhen Open on Friday to set up a final with world number one Simona Halep.
Novak Djokovic held off a Roger Federer fightback as he reached the final of the Australian Open for the fifth time in six years. Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska was taken apart 6-0 6-4 by the reigning women's champion Serena Williams.
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
Photos from matches on Day 2 at the Australian Open on Tuesday
Top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
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