Nadal was much more than a claycourt bully, though. He spent more than 900 successive weeks from 2005 in the ATP's top 10, 209 of them at number one and at the age of 24 became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
Learner Tien became the youngest man to reach the Australian Open fourth round in 20 years
The Dane revealed he had taken notes from how Novak Djokovic beat Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros.
Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely pulled off a huge upset at the Monte Carlo Masters after knocking out defending champion and World No 1 Novak Djokovic at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, on Wednesday.
Russia's fourth seed Daniil Medvedev crushed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to set up a title clash with Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Australian Open quarter-finals by Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 on Tuesday.
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who turns 40 this year, takes on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in round one.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he would not be surprised if Daniil Medvedev beat Novak Djokovic
Grand Slam titles won by the men's 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Six weeks after completing one of the greatest seasons in tennis history, Novak Djokovic begins his 2016 campaign and warm-up for his Australian Open defense in Qatar.
World number one Novak Djokovic scrapped his way into the US Open final for a seventh time on Friday with a confounding 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over enigmatic Frenchman Gael Monfils.
World number two Novak Djokovic hammered Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 to reach the Paris Masters semi-finals on Friday.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic swept aside opponent David Ferrer of Spain in straight sets to set up China Open summit clash against third-seed Rafael Nadal.
It was only 13-time champion Rafael Nadal's third defeat here since his debut in 2005 and the first time in 115 best-of-five-set matches on clay that he had lost after taking the opening set.
'I feel quite embarrassed as an Australian athlete that's seen what this guy has done for us and the sport'
It is a U-turn from Novak Djokovic after his June statements that competing at the 2020 US Open would be 'impossible' due to 'extreme' COVID-19 protocols for the tournament at Flushing Meadows.
Nick Kyrgios has likened Novak Djokovic to NBA player LeBron James in his influence both on and off the court but says he had a duty to call out the world number one when he "lost his way" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An off-colour Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5 to Norway's Casper Ruud in his opening match on Monday and the 21-year-old cancelled a public training session the following day.
With his glinting gold wedding band looped around the black laces of left shoe, Andy Murray had been an unstoppable force on clay this season.
Earning his fourth straight win over a top-10 player this week, Khachanov, whose muscular game resembles that of his childhood hero Marat Safin, a Russian three-times winner in Paris, picked up the biggest title of his burgeoning career.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win the US Open title at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic had to work hard against Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus to reach the Halle tournament final with a 7-6, 6-4 win on Saturday. The Serbian world number four will play Germany's Tommy Haas, who earlier beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic made a sticky return to action before recovering from losing the opening four games to beat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff at the Qatar Open on Monday.
Novak Djokovic kicked off his season in style with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Canadian talent Denis Shapovalov on his favourite Rod Laver Arena court on Tuesday before returning to lead Serbia to a doubles victory that sealed their ATP Cup opener 2-1.
Germany's Tommy Haas recorded the upset of the tournament when he stunned two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Sony Open at Miami on Tuesday.
A floundering Novak Djokovic should seek advice from evergreen Swiss maestro Roger Federer in order to rediscover his vintage self, the Serb's former Davis Cup coach Bogdan Obradovic said.
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.
Sinner remains the man to beat at Melbourne Park even as doping officials seek a two-year ban for the world number one for failing two drugs tests last March.
Deposed World No 1 Novak Djokovic suffered an early scare against Austrian debutant Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals before launching his bid for a fifth successive title with a 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2 victory.
The moment Novak Djokovic accepted that being part of the Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal era was a chance, not a curse, everything improved for him.
'Heading to dinner with some friends,' Roger captioned a selfie clicked with fellow legends Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, with the London Bridge in the background.
Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic pledged one million euros ($1.10 million) to help buy ventilators and other medical equipment in his native Serbia on Friday, joining a list of other athletes in the fight against coronavirus.
Novak Djokovic opened defence of his US Open title with a laboured 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over Poland's Jerzy Janowicz on Monday that brought new concerns about the world number one's fitness.
Djokovic dismissed suggestions he was under intense pressure to overhaul Nadal and Federer in their three-way race to become the greatest male player of all time.
Italy's Sinner and Spain's Alcaraz have won two Grand Slams each this year, with Alcaraz beating Sinner in closely fought clashes at the French Open semi-finals and the China Open final.
'I surprised myself also today'
Three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 in his first grasscourt match of the season on Wednesday to reach the third round at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
The Serbian showed no mercy against the Spaniard as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the National Tennis Centre to claim the China Open title
Djokovic did not play badly in the final but it took him 55 minutes before he registered his first game in what turned out to be a mauling.
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.
