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.
The French Open will be held in Paris from May 22 to June 5.
Rafael Nadal overcame a stern challenge from Ernests Gulbis to reach the Rome Masters final on Saturday, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after the Latvian had exposed chinks in the clay master's armour.
Holder Rafael Nadal provided more evidence that he is regaining his old dominance on clay after an injury-hit 2009 by cruising past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 at the Rome Masters on Thursday. British world number five Andy Murray struggled, however, and lost 6-3, 6-4 to Nadal's Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.
Rafael Nadal reached the final of the Barcelona Open for the ninth time by beating German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday.
David Ferrer admitted he effectively 'threw in the towel' on the way to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 quarter-final defeat by defending champion Rafael Nadal at the French Open on Wednesday.
Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka crashed to a shock second-round defeat at the Madrid Open on Tuesday when he was upset 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 by qualifier Dominic Thiem.
Rafael Nadal's 30-match winning streak ended on Friday when the world number one was upset 7-6(1), 6-4 by fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals.
Fernando Verdasco's confidence on clay is sky high as long as he does not have to play Rafael Nadal, the Barcelona Open champion said on Sunday.
Fernando Verdasco's confidence on clay is sky high as long as he does not have to play Rafa Nadal, the Barcelona Open champion said on Sunday.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had contrasting results in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters doubles on Wednesday night.
World number seven Tomas Berdych has withdrawn from the Barcelona Open due to illness, organisers said on Tuesday.
Eight-times champion Rafael Nadal was taken to the brink by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov before completing a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory on Friday to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals. He will meet Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
Both in action in the French Open second round on Wednesday, could be considered the tournament's favourites.
After pairing up with different partners in the initial months of 2013, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna have decided to rejoin forces for the rest of the season.
World number one Jannik Sinner produced a sublime semi-final display as he fought back from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Friday to set up an Italian Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
World number one Roger Federer beat Greg Rusedski 6-3, 6-1 while Marat Safin breezed past Lee Hyung-taik 6-0, 7-5
An ultra-confident Rafael Nadal takes his clay-court master-class to Spain this week going for a third Barcelona Open title in succession.
Russian Andrey Rublev beat Norwegian top seed Casper Ruud
World No 2 Rafael Nadal swept into the third round of the Barcelona Open when he thrashed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-2 as he began his quest for a seventh Conde de Godo trophy in eight years on Wednesday.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia Open tennis following the death of his grandfather during the Monte Carlo Masters event last week.
The world number one beat 18-year-old Richard Gasquet to avenge his defeat in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month.
Rafael Nadal saw off the challenge of the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinal of the Rome Masters.
After the high of Monte Carlo Masters title triumph, India's Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas suffered a first round exit at the ATP Barcelona Open.
Leander Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley got a first-round bye in the Euro 888,000 Open Sabadell Atlantico tennis tournament in Barcelona. The sixth seeds will take on the winners of the match between the Argentine-Uruguayan pair of Juan Ignacio Chela and Pablo Cuevas and Spanish wildcards Guillermo Alcaide and Albert Montanes in the second round of the clay court event.
Rafa Nadal underlined his crushing dominance on clay when he overwhelmed Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to win a sixth Barcelona Open title in seven years on Sunday.
World number one Rafa Nadal underlined his crushing dominance on clay when he overwhelmed Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to win a sixth Barcelona Open title in seven years on Sunday.
Top seed David Ferrer summed up his error-strewn defeat by qualifier Dmitry Tursunov as "one of the worst I have played" after falling at the first hurdle at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
With the French Open looming, Rafael Nadal sprung back to life at the Monte Carlo Masters and left his opponents baffled about how to beat him on clay.
Rafael Nadal left no doubt that he would be the overwhelming favourite at next month's French Open after crushing Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Saturday. World number 12 and fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco will be the last man standing in Nadal's way to a record sixth consecutive title in the glitzy principality after he demolished top seed Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2.
Rafael Nadal saw off Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the last 16 of the Barcelona Open, while Andy Murray advanced after opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew.
The Indo-Czech duo lost lost 3-6, 5-7 to top seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in Monte Carlo Masters semi-final
World number one Novak Djokovic said his years in the sport helped him switch off his emotions to beat Robin Haase and reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday, a day after learning of the death of his grandfather.
Rafael Nadal was not taking his fifth Monte Carlo Masters title as a guarantee of success at the French Open even though he has followed up his previous wins in the principality with victory at Roland Garros.
World number one Rafael Nadal charged into the quarter-finals of the rain-hit Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-0 demolition of Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti on Friday. The four-times champion won his match held over from Thursday in 93 minutes and will next face Ivan Ljubicic, who dismissed Italian Simone Bolelli 7-5, 7-6.
Marat Safin brought Lleyton Hewitt down to earth on Tuesday when he won the battle of the former world number ones by beating him 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Swiss beat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-0 at Monte Carlo Masters to clinch his 500th professional win.
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