Since returning in January Rafael Nadal looks a man reborn. No wonder it is hard to find anyone not backing him to claim 'La Decima' in Paris.
World number one Novak Djokovic's French Open preparations were dealt with a blow as he suffered a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat by Russian Daniil Medvedev in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
The Serbian won 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to claim his 15th Grand Slam title.
For the second time in three days at the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal fought off one of the game's rising powers but beating Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas proved in vain as his semi-final hopes vanished on Friday.
Former world number one Rafael Nadal is feeling confident about his chances of competing for a third US Open title when the tournament starts in New York next week.
On the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Wimbledon men's final that is widely considered the 'greatest ever tennis match' it seems like the stars may be aligning for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to meet in another mesmerising epic.
Shapovalov will meet Rafael Nadal for a place in the semi-finals.
Tennis is on hold until at least the start of August because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while there have been positive noises about the prospects of the US Open taking place, followed by the French Open, Rafael Nadal served a dose of reality.
Playing in his first competitive singles match on the ATP Tour since August 5, the 20-times Grand Slam champion showed no signs of rust in his second round win against Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis.
Zverev twisted his ankle as he tried to retrieve a shot in the 12th game of the second set
Rafael Nadal continued to scythe his way through the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-1 thrashing of temperamental Italian Fabio Fognini.
Rafael Nadal claimed a record-stretching 12th French Open title by beating Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in a repeat of last year's final on Sunday.
Alcaraz also found a surprising source of joy and mental training on the green: golf!
Rafael Nadal suffered a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday, a result that means the Spaniard will lose the world number one ranking.
Rafael Nadal fired hosts Spain into the Davis Cup final as he joined Feliciano Lopez to win a thrilling late-night doubles and seal a nail-biting 2-1 victory over Britain on Saturday.
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.
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).
World number one Nadal will meet Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's showpiece when he will target a record-extending 11th title in Barcelona a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for the 11th time.
Rafael Nadal gets the opportunity to avenge his only defeat in 10 meetings with Diego Schwartzman, which he suffered a little over two weeks ago, when Spain's 12-time French Open winner faces the Argentine in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Wimbledon 2022 Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, on Wednesday.
Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza were named as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) world champions on Friday - the first time in 19 years the awards have gone to players from the same country.
Roger Federer was joined by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray at a fun practice session that held the spectators spellbound.
'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?'
Let us forget tennis for a while and take a look at Nadal's grand birthday cakes at the Roland Garros over the years. It is a tradition which cannot be interrupted!
Legendary Rafael Nadal was at his energetic best in his two wins as rampaging Indian Aces continued their sparkling run in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) with a 30-12 rout of the Philippines Mavervicks, on the opening day of the Indian leg of the event.
Rafael Nadal shrugged off his derailed bid for the Grand Slam record with a pledge to keep "fighting" but the Spaniard leaves the Australian Open with familiar regrets after bowing out to a rising talent on Wednesday.
The Spaniard's withdrawal means Medvedev will be top seed at the March 1-7 event, which also features top-10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.
Following is a selection of tweets after Rafael Nadal won his ninth title at the French Open on Sunday with victory over Novak Djokovic.
Former World No 1 Rafael Nadal says regaining control of his emotions has sparked a resurgence that continued on Thursday when he reached the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals with victory against Canadian Milos Raonic.
IMAGES from the Australian Open final played on Sunday
Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday.
Nadal, 31, pulled out of the Paris Masters before his quarter-final match last week after experiencing discomfort in his right knee during his third-round win over Pablo Cuevas.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
Russian fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny made a winning start to the New Year as he routed world no. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1 in the final of the Chennai Open on Sunday.
It was like someone had turned up the volume and intensity to the last notch. The spectators had poured in to watch the Spanish bull-fight, and they devoured every bit of drama Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya provided.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal will sharpen his grasscourt game at London's Queen's Club ahead of Wimbledon in June, organisers of the Aegon Championships said on Tuesday.
Alcaraz has been seen as fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal's successor on the Paris clay.
Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal has defended his training methods and outrightly rejected to have used any banned substance in order to speed up his recovery from injury.
Three-times champion Rafael Nadal pummelled fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco into a 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 submission to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open on Sunday.
