The 14-time Grand Slam winner said he is happy and proud to have reached the summit of the game for a fourth separate spell.
The 31-year-old becomes world number one for a sixth time ahead of the French Open.
Australian Nick Kyrgios blasted 15 aces to blow past Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday and reach the quarter-finals at the Citi Open in Washington.
Rafa Nadal became the first player in the open era to win two tournaments seven times when he fought off tenacious Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 7-6, 7-5 to win a thrilling Barcelona Open final on Sunday.
Top seed Rafa Nadal set up an all-Spanish final against David Ferrer at the Barcelona Open after blasting his way past compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday.
Rafa Nadal was less than his dominant best on the clay at the Barcelona Open on Thursday but was still good enough to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win over Colombian wildcard Robert Farah and set up a quarter-final clash against Janko Tipsarevic.
Rafa Nadal has played down the significance of his victory over Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo, saying winning tournaments was his priority rather than reclaiming the World No 1 spot.
It was an intense training session for the visiting Spanish tennis team that turned into fun watching for a few fans gathered at the DLTA complex as Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal aimed at empty ball boxes with their serves. David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez were first to hit the courts in the morning session and once they were done with their routine practice -- the groundstrokes, the volleys and the serves -- in came Nadal and began his drill under scorching heat.
Rafa Nadal's steady recuperation from a knee injury is proceeding according to plan and he is not going to rush back before it has healed properly, the World No. 4 said.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic raised his eyes and arms to the sky after beating Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday just hours after learning of the death of his grandfather.
World number one Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week's Madrid Open for a second consecutive year to rest before the Rome Masters and the French Open, organisers of the clay Masters event said on Wednesday.
World number one Novak Djokovic beat Argentine Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6 on Friday to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he will meet Andy Murray.
Rafa Nadal was forced to pull out of his semi-final against Andy Murray at the Sony Ericsson Open because of a recurrence of a knee injury.
World number two Rafa Nadal was pushed all the way by France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before finally emerging with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory to earn a place in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday. Nadal next faces fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray, who rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.
World number one Novak Djokovic and second ranked Rafa Nadal moved into the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open with straight set victories on Tuesday.
John Isner pulled off the biggest win of his career at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday before Roger Federer outplayed long-time rival Rafa Nadal in the other semi-final.
Three-times champion Roger Federer and twice winner Rafa Nadal won their quarter-final matches at the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Friday to set up an enticing last four showdown.
Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be without Rafael van der Vaart for the Christmas and New Year English Premier League fixtures after the Dutchman injured his hamstring in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Thursday.
Roland Garros has always been his favourite Grand Slam venue but he knows he will face an uphill task their on its claycourt surface in a tournament he has yet to win.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has expressed disappointment over the sacking of Rafael Benitez as a manager, saying that it was really sad to see him go. "I had a very good relationship with Rafa, obviously it was a big disappointment to see him go," Bale was quoted as saying by goal.com. Benitez was replaced by former French great Zinedine Zidane after just seven months in charge due to club's recent slump in form in the La Liga. Zidane's appointment seemed to be in favour of Real as they thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 in La Liga match.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic's first competitive outing since last month's epic Australian Open final was a much more routine affair as he began the defence of his Dubai Championships title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe on Monday.
Rafa Nadal had doubted he could seal a sixth French Open title having started in shaky form and with rivals looking imperious, but the Spaniard need not have worried after triumphing with another claycourt masterclass.
David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank trounced Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-2 6-3 to secure Argentina's first point of the Davis Cup final on Saturday and keep the best-of-five tie alive ahead of Sunday's reverse singles.
With British hopes of elusive home success once again resting on his shoulders, Andy Murray could have been forgiven an envious glance Novak Djokovic's way after the Wimbledon draw was made on Friday.
Rafa Nadal branded comments made by former French tennis player Yannick Noah about doping as "stupid" on Sunday, saying they were the words of a "kid".
Andy Murray continued his remarkable run on clay.
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Rafa Nadal has hit out at what he called a "general campaign" in France to discredit Spanish athletes by implying their success is due to the use of illegal drugs.
...There was more to his win as he made a few variations to his game en route his 16th major
Rafa Nadal issued a statement on Thursday saying he had met all his fiscal obligations after a Spanish website published details about several companies linked to the World No 2 it said had been set up to drastically trim his tax bill.
Novak Djokovic said Rafa Nadal had pushed him to the brink of exhaustion as his weary legs held him upright just long enough to see off the Spaniard in the longest Grand Slam final on record.
A fatigued Novak Djokovic stared down a ferocious challenge from Rafa Nadal to retain his Australian Open title on Sunday in the longest Grand Slam final played.
A fatigued Novak Djokovic stared down a ferocious challenge from Rafa Nadal to defend his Australian Open title early on Monday in the longest grand slam final ever played.
Rafa Nadal came from behind to topple great rival Roger Federer 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday in an enthralling Australian Open semi-final of the highest quality.
Novak Djokovic survived the shock of losing the first set to beat Czech Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 and reach the Wimbledon fourth round.
Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and other top tennis players hammed it up in exhibition matches on the eve of the Australian Open to raise money for victims of the country's devastating floods on Sunday.
'I am still able to prioritise all the things in my life the right way'
While Federer and Nadal will look to reignite the flair and fight they showed to reach last year's final, 2018 could have a different script at play.
Spain's talisman Rafael Nadal sealed a sixth Davis Cup title for his country on Sunday when they beat Canada 2-0 in the final of the revamped event.
Roger Federer staked his claim as one of the favourites for the Australian Open title later this month by romping into the second round of the Qatar Open, while rival Rafa Nadal survived a scare in windswept Doha on Tuesday.
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