The British duo squandered two match points in a nerve-jangling second set tiebreak and looked to be heading out as the Belgians moved ahead in the third set, leading 9-7.
It was a freak accident that set the claycourt major abuzz.
Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have clinched a spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals, marking the Indian's fourth appearance in the tournament.
Defending champions Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy remained on course for a second successive French Open title by advancing to the semi-finals of the men's doubles with a straight-set win in Paris on Tuesday.
'I'm happy to be part of this Italian movement. People, they start to play tennis now more and more, which is great to see. I think that's the most important.'
A year before he won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2005, Rafa made his debut in India at the Chennai Open.
Dubbed the 'King of Clay' for his jaw-dropping 112-4 win-loss record at the Paris major, Rafael Nadal's last Roland Garros triumph came in 2022.
Nadal had previously said this year could be his final one on the tour.
Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth French Open title when the Polish fifth seed overcame Romania's Jaqueline Cristian to reach the Roland Garros fourth round.
Can Iga Swiatek challenge Rafael Nadal's French Open record?
Third seed Alexander Zverev produced a near-flawless display to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(4) on Saturday and return to the Paris Masters final after a gap of four years.
Novak Djokovic said he is still hoping for a final chapter in their storied rivalry.
Paris is the fashion capital of the world and fans may want to copy the styles of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal.
Images from Day 3 of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday.
India's top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal made a first round exit from the Geneva Open after going down fighting against Argentina's Sebastian Baez.
Djokovic described beating Carlos Alcaraz to claim the Olympic singles gold medal at the fifth attempt as the biggest achievement of his career on Sunday.
Images from the US Open women's singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Tuesday.
Rafael Nadal teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz for the first time as Spain's so-called dream team opened their Olympic doubles campaign with a 7-6(4), 6-4 defeat of Argentine sixth seeds Maximo Gonzales and Andres Molteni on Saturday.
Day 12 of the French Open witnessed the unveiling of a brand new pink clay court. The women's legends doubles semi-final match between American Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna of Czech Republic and Nathalie Tauziat and Sandrine Testud of France was the first match to be played on the freshly-laid surface.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek crushed Dayana Yastremska 6-0, 6-2 and 2023 champion Elena Rybakina powered past Britain's Katie Boulter 6-0, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells on Sunday in displays of dominance.
Rafael Nadal's absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-times Grand Slam champion slip out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005.
Alcaraz has not gone beyond the quarter-finals in his three previous visits to Melbourne, but that has not stopped the world number three from dreaming of glory in the Jan. 12-26 event.
Contenders lurk around every corner in New York, as a gruelling year has left the title vulnerable for those hoping to capture a maiden major title.
Third seed Alexander Zverev eased past home favourite Ugo Humbert
Alcaraz has been seen as fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal's successor on the Paris clay.
Images from Day 7 of the 2024 French Open.
Zverev fresh for Australian Open final after being spared gruelling Djokovic test
Three-time champion Novak Djokovic battled past Frenchman Corentin Moutet in a match that lasted more than three hours on Thursday.
Briton Andy Murray will make his comeback from injury at this month's Geneva Open after the former world number one was handed a wildcard by the organisers of the French Open tune-up event on Wednesday.
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff stressed the need to start matches earlier at Grand Slams
Casper Ruud returned to the French Open final for a second year running by dismantling German 22nd seed Alexander Zverev to set up a showdown with 22-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Gauff cruises past Zidansek to reach French Open third round
Imane Khelif, the boxer at the centre of a gender dispute, beat Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous decision in a Women's 66kg welterweight semi-final at the Paris Games on Tuesday to progress to the final at Roland Garros.
Spain's Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will team up to play doubles at this year's Olympic Games in Paris, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) said on Wednesday.
Poland's world number one Iga Swiatek swatted aside 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2 with a near-flawless performance to reach the round of 16 for a fourth straight year at the U.S. Open on Saturday.
Spain's dream team met its match as Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz's hopes of an Olympic doubles gold medal were ended by American duo Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic is ready to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the Grand Slam stage when he returns to action at the Australian Open after an underwhelming campaign this year, the 24-times champion said.
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.
The Indian jumped six places following his runner-up finish at the Perugia ATP Challenger tournament on Sunday.
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has made it to the semi-finals on his Olympic Games debut.
