Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Tuesday
Heavier balls to blame for slower game: Nadal
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley is confident Rafael Nadal will be at Melbourne Park for next month's Grand Slam despite testing positive for COVID-19, but he is still uncertain whether Novak Djokovic will be playing.
Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday.
The major milestones in Djokovic's career
Lucky loser Taro Daniel will replace Nadal in the second round against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Djokovic etched his name in history by clinching a record 24 Grand Slam titles
No tennis for four months, no problem for Rafael Nadal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas credited his stellar comeback win against Rafa Nadal in Wednesday's Australian Open quarter-final to his peace of mind, saying he had attained a state of "nirvana" during the match despite falling back by two sets.
With Roger Federer and 2018 champion Novak Djokovic having already made exits, Nadal's path to a fourth US Open trophy has been cleared of familiar hurdles.
Matching Roger Federer's record Grand Slam haul will act as huge motivation for Rafael Nadal
'If I was running for a drop shot, I was limping there more than running.'
Rafael Nadal's dominance on the red claycourts in Paris is unmatched, the Spaniard picking up his 13th French Open trophy last year to match Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
Alcaraz will face German Alexander Zverev or two-time runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway on Sunday.
Jannik Sinner bounced back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and win his maiden Grand Slam title.
Djokovic's challenger will be a 22-year-old who is bidding to become the first Greek to win a singles major.
Even though he withdrew from his semi-final tie with Denis Shapovalov, Nadal's run to the last four in Paris saw him reclaim the number one spot from Novak Djokovic on Monday.
Nadal becomes just the fourth man to achieve 1,000 singles victories in the Open Era, behind Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).
Nadal set to face Kyrgios clash in second round
Alberto Contador is auctioning his bike from the 2011 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France while Rafael Nadal is selling the shirt he wore when he won the 2019 French Open to raise money for the Spanish Red Cross' fight against the coronavirus.
Sumit Nagal registered a straight sets victory against Canada's Gabriel Diallo on his debut at the Miami Open.
'I am playing tennis because I love to play tennis'
Brazil right back Danilo has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after suffering ankle ligament damage in training on the eve of Friday's quarter-final against Belgium.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic looked completely powerless as he was pummeled into submission by Spain's Carlos Alcaraz.
The 31-year-old Spaniard has not played since he withdrew from the season-ending World Tour Finals in London in November with a knee injury. He had already withdrawn from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi that starts later on Thursday.
An ardent supporter of cricket's inclusion in the Olympics, the legendary Rahul Dravid says players are excited and he has heard "serious dressing room conversations" about competing in the world's biggest sporting event.
Images from Monday's action at the Australian Open.
It may not quite be the end for British great Andy Murray at Wimbledon but it felt like it as the 37-year-old received an emotional farewell after he and brother Jamie were beaten in the first round of the men's doubles on Thursday.
'Last year I was one point away to the final. I felt competitive last couple of years, so why do I need to change that?'
The cool days of late September, with damp courts expected, will level the playing field and for the first time, other than when Rafael Nadal has been injured, he looks vulnerable on his beloved clay.
'The world is suffering in general, so we can't complain'
Pummelling the ball with such force that it appeared distorted into an oval shape at times, the nine-times French Open champion was able to toy with his opponent until ready to finish him off.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final.
A quick look at Rafael Nadal's domination of Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
Eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl said whoever ends up winning the most majors among the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic should be considered the greatest male tennis player of the Open era. Federer, who will be 39 in August, leads the race with 20 Grand Slam singles titles, with Spaniard Nadal close on his heels with 19. Reigning world No. 1 Djokovic is three behind the Swiss with 17 majors under his belt and is the youngest of the trio - at 32 he is a year younger than Nadal.
According to Hola magazine, Nadal and Xisca got secretly engaged in May last year and now planning an autumn wedding this year.
Casper Ruud gained sweet revenge over Stefanos Tsitsipas as he beat the Greek fifth seed 7-5, 6-3 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday.
Fourteen-times grand slam champion Rafael Nadal has turned to fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya in an attempt to revitalise his career, the 30-year-old Spaniard said on Saturday.
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