World number one Rafael Nadal will begin the defence of his title at Wimbledon against Frenchman Arnaud Clement as long as his painful knees hold up. French Open champion Federer, in pursuit of a record 15th Grand Slam title, will open his account against Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun.
...There was more to his win as he made a few variations to his game en route his 16th major
Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 7-6, 6-3 to set up a Toronto Masters final against resurgent German Nicolas Kiefer.
Top seed Rafael Nadal overcame fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters on Friday while Roger Federer beat German qualifier Mischa Zverev 7-6, 6-2 to book a semi-final with holder Novak Djokovic. Serb Djokovic eased through with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro. Nadal next faces Chilean 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez, a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco.
Rafael Nadal held off a fierce challenge from one of the hottest prospects in the game when he outlasted German teenager Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open.
Chasing a record-extending 10th French Open crown on the back of his worst claycourt season since prevailing for the first time, Rafael Nadal acknowledged another weakness on Tuesday -- his best shot is not that solid.
Djokovic's challenger will be a 22-year-old who is bidding to become the first Greek to win a singles major.
Rafael Nadal's eight-year reign at the Monte Carlo Masters was ended when he was beaten 6-2, 7-6 by Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday.
Rafa Nadal's return to form was stopped in its tracks when he lost his opening match at the Aegon Championships to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 on Tuesday.
Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal will lock horns with World No 1 Novak Djokovic for third time in the Monte Carlo Masters final after both sailed through their semi-finals with relative ease on Saturday.
The world number one is looking forward to taking revenge against Rafael Nadal later this week on the grass of the Halle Open.
Champion Venus Williams and second seed Rafael Nadal survived a few anxious moments to reach the third round of Wimbledon. Williams, seeking a fifth singles title at the All England Club, had to draw on all her big-match experience to repel world number 92 Anne Keothavong 7-5, 6-2 while Nadal also endured some first-set jitters before toppling rising Latvian Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.
World number one Rafael Nadal held off a strong challenge from Portugal's Frederico Gil on Monday to win 7-5 6-3 and book a place in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open.
The unanswerable question, of course, is whether Djokovic is the GOAT. That's a complex issue over which fans will forever bicker, observes Kanika Datta.
World No 1 Rafael Nadal is hoping to become the first male tennis player to win six Masters trophies in the same season by winning at the Shanghai Masters this week.
French Open champion Gaston Gaudio said Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal is the biggest threat to his Roland Garros crown.
Champion Rafael Nadal is a doubt for this year's Wimbledon championships because of a knee injury, his coach said on Saturday.
Russia's Igor Andreev powered to a 7-5, 6-2 win over third seed Rafael Nadal in the Valencia Open quarter-finals.
Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez of Spain won the Olympic men's doubles tennis title on Friday, beating Romania's Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau to secure their country's third gold medal of the Rio Games.
World number one Rafael Nadal was handed a walkover into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open on Thursday when his third-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber was forced out of the claycourt event with a left leg injury. Nadal was joined in the last eight by world number two Roger Federer, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over James Blake, and Andy Murray, who coped well with blustery conditions in the Magic Box stadium to dispatch Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova eased past defending champion Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-1 at the Tianjin Open on Saturday to reach her first WTA final in almost two and a half years.
Rafael Nadal posted a 7-6, 6-4 win over Andy Murray to claim a place in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters.
Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will play at Rio 2016 despite suffering with a wrist injury as he prepares for the Olympic Games. Speaking after training at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio on Tuesday (2 August), the Spanish team's flag bearer was asked if he would be fit enough to compete. "Yes," he said. "I was talking with the whole team and the team decided that I am going to play, so I'm going to try to train for the next couple of days.
The 18 year old captured his second ATP Tour title in as many weeks.
World number one Rafael Nadal romped into the third round of the ATP event in Indian Wells on Sunday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over German Michael Berrer. Champion Novak Djokovic had a harder time of it before beating Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, while sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro and number seven Andy Roddick also advanced.
Rafael Nadal thumped Canada's Milos Raonic while to capture his eighth ATP title this season while Serena Williams crushed Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the final of the Rogers Cup on Sunday.
'I think it's a great competition but ... I can't change my mind that two world cups (within two months) is not real'
Whatever the season's results or pundits may suggest, Rafael Nadal -- and not Novak Djokovic -- is the top favourite for the French Open title this year, Roger Federer assessed.
"It has been an amazing year. One year ago, for sure I never dreamed about being World No. 1 again at the end of the season. It's something that means a lot to me. But the season is not over."
Roger Federer has warned Rafael Nadal that he must win the US Open to stand any chance of being labelled as the greatest to ever play the game.
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.
Top seed Rafael Nadal showed his trademark tenacity to beat Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of Madrid Masters.
World number one Rafael Nadal gave another powerful statement of his Australian Open intentions by crushing Croatia's Roko Karanusic 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round on Thursday. Andy Murray maintained his unbeaten run this year when he crushed Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Watching India and Australia compete in the series-deciding fifth Test was some experience for the 54-year-old American tennis legend.
Novak Djokovic won his fourth China Open title in five years on Sunday, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in the final against Rafael Nadal who will replace him as the men's new world number one on Monday.
Spain's Rafa Nadal faces the first real test of his title defence when he takes on David Nalbandian of Argentina at the US Open on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, numbers two and three in the world, suffered surprise defeats to Mardy Fish and Tomas Berdych respectively in an entertaining quarter-finals day at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
The Spaniard will make his third appearance in five years at the Chennai Open in January.
Rafael Nadal believes he still has a very long way to go before he can match or overtake the record haul of 17 Grand Slam singles titles amassed by his great rival Roger Federer.
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