Tennis titans Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday and visited the site of a deadly Bangkok bomb blast.
Some of the most iconic moments of Roger Federer's glittering career featured Rafael Nadal across the net but on Friday his great Spanish rival will be alongside him for his final bow.
A Sela double-fault secured Nadal the break of serve he needed in the first set and Nadal moved two sets clear with a punishing forehand return.
Nadal, whose 2022 season began in complete contrast as he went on a 20-match winning spree, said the early defeat ahead of the new season was not a disaster.
The world number five Spaniard has won 15 straight matches since returning from a foot issue that sidelined him for nearly six months last year.
Novak Djokovic's erratic form, Rafael Nadal's fitness woes and untimely injuries to top-ranked youngsters have set up an uncertain French Open men's tournament
He also overtook his career-best 65-season win tally of 2023 with this win.
Top seed Rafael Nadal's bid for a maiden Paris Masters title was halted on Saturday when the Spaniard was beaten 6-4, 7-5 in the semi-finals by German fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Rafael Nadal returns to the US Open for the first time in three years short of match practice and with big question marks about his fitness but few people will dismiss the Spaniard's chances of claiming a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title.
Twelfth seed Djokovic resumed two sets to one ahead after snatching a third-set tiebreak the previous night before Wimbledon's 11pm curfew left the match on a knife edge.
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.
Rafael Nadal pulled off an incredible recovery from 1-5 and match-point down to overcome Russia's Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.
Nadal, bidding for a record-extending 14th French Open title, won the first five games of the match as he looked on course to repeat his drubbing of the Serb in last year's final.
'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.
The tennis star also opened the doors of his Rafael Nadal Academy to those who were affected by the storm.
A quick look at Rafael Nadal's domination of Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal will return to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships exhibition event in Abu Dhabi in December.
Roger Federer saw his men's record haul of 20 Grand Slam singles titles matched by Rafael Nadal on Sunday and the Swiss great was quick to offer his congratulations to the Spaniard.
Former world number one Andy Murray eased past Rafael Nadal in the Spaniard's comeback match at the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of completing a rare calendar year Grand Slam ended on Thursday when the Spaniard pulled out of his highly-anticipated Wimbledon semi-final showdown against Australian Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal strain.
Play was suspended on court 1 before the 5th set at 10.18pm, 40 minutes before the 11 PM curfew, leaving Fritz and the crowd furious.
Kyrgios was raging after losing a challenge on his first serve and then smashed down an unstoppable, untouchable second.
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.
The pair faced each other 40 times over the last two decades in one of the sport's most enduring rivalries, with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head 24-16.
Rafael Nadal gave Russian teenager Andrey Rublev a tennis lesson on Wednesday, racing into the semi-finals of the US Open with a ruthless 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win that cleared the path for a possible showdown with rival Roger Federer.
World number two Rafael Nadal has been named in Spain's squad for their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final against Germany in Valencia next month.
The two great rivals meet at Roland Garros for the first time in eight years in Friday's tie.
'With all the foot issues, just turned 36, he adds his 22nd Major'
Rafael Nadal's preparations for his Australian Open title defence got off to a wobbly start as Cameron Norrie handed him a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat in the United Cup on Saturday to give Britain a 1-0 lead.
According to Hola magazine, Nadal and Xisca got secretly engaged in May last year and now planning an autumn wedding this year.
Nadal will resume his fight to stay in the French Open on Thursday
Nadal stretched his record of men's singles Grand Slam titles to 22
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.
Mats Wilander said it was a 'miracle' that Nadal won two majors during the year.
Rafael Nadal ruled the court on Sunday night but it was not just tennis that caused a racket at the US Open. Take a look at the celebs who were at courtside.
A summary of the day's tennis action at Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal maintained his ominous claycourt form by seizing back the Barcelona Open title from Kei Nishikori with a 6-4, 7-5 victory on Sunday, matching Guillermo Vilas's record title haul on the surface.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic remained at the top of the rankings chart
From the passion of MotoGP champions to the intensity of football pitches and the elegance of synchronised swimming, this collection of images captures unforgettable moments in sports and beyond.
Images from Day 13 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
