Third seed Jelena Jankovic had to work very hard on Friday to quell the challenge of Czech Lucie Safarova 5-7 7-6 6-2 and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Kyle Edmund has the most destructive forehand in tennis and it can power him into the world's top 10, according to three-times Australian Open champion Mats Wilander.
Andy Murray stayed on course for a second Wimbledon title while setting setting up a semi-final showdown with Roger Federer.
The 13th seeded Czech proved too strong for Serb, who lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in 2008, winning 7-5, 6-4.
Defending champion Nadia Petrova was also shown the door in the quarter-finals of the German Open.
The 'Big Four' has become a 'Big Three' with the shock exit of Rafael Nadal, and the remaining trio of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will all be aiming to prove their elite credentials in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
The Frenchwoman went down to rising Serb Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 7-5 at the Sydney International.
Images from Day 5 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
It was the 31-year-old Serb's second comfortable win in the Gustavo Kuerten group and combined with Marin Cilic's 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 defeat of American John Isner later in the day, he sealed his place in the semi-finals at the year-ender for the eighth time.
Images from Day 7 at the US Open.
Seven-times grand slam champion John McEnroe called Nadal's latest injury "extremely disappointing". "We've seen him play for many years and it's always been a concern about how his knees would hold up," the American told Eurosport in his daily spot. "After last year, we all hoped he would be able to get his health and fitness back and get his game together and it looked like that was happening. "We all know how much he wanted (title) number 10 and we were looking forward to seeing play Novak in the semis." Former French Open champion Mats Wilander said the decision had been a no-brainer for Nadal.
There is no let-up for Roger Federer as he prepares for his 12th consecutive appearance at the ATP's season-ending extravaganza.
Rafael Nadal eased past Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-1 to reach the Barcelona Open third round on Wednesday as he began his bid for a ninth title on the clay in the Catalan capital.
Australia hot-headed tennis star Nick Kyrgios was handed a $16,500 fine on Thursday after he tanked a match and got into an argument with fans at the Shanghai Masters.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open.
Inter Milan are on the verge of signing Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic, with president Erick Thohir saying on Thursday that the deal was almost finalised.
Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8) in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters on Friday to claim his 20th consecutive win and stay on course for an unprecedented third title in a row at the event.
The second seed dismissed a challenge from rising Serb teenager Ana Ivanovic to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Images from Day 9 of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros, in Paris, on Monday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
The American ace has won all 10 semi-finals she played this season and never failed to reach the title match in Zurich in the six years she has played the event.
The doctors at the ongoing Australian Open tournament are reportedly confident that the tennis stars can cope with the extreme heat over the next four days.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Former champion Janko Tipsarevic has confirmed his participation for the USD 450,000 Aircel Chennai Open to be held here from January 5 to 11.
The Belgian was beaten by Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals of the Warsaw WTA claycourt event.
Novak Djokovic lost his momentum in the second half of last season and was toppled as the world number one by Andy Murray because his work-rate dropped, the Serbian's former coach Boris Becker said on Wednesday. Speaking a day after the two terminated their cooperation by mutual consent, German Becker said Djokovic's need to spend more time with his family had derailed him on the court.
Ash Barty beat eighth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) in Beijing to seal her spot in the final of the China Open on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic has denied an Italian media report he deliberately lost a match in 2007 that has been linked to a wider scandal involving alleged corruption in tennis. The 28-year-old world number one, who easily beat French teenager Quentin Halys on Wednesday to advance to the Australian Open third round, was asked about a report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he had deliberately lost to now-retired French player Fabrice Santoro at the Paris Masters. "It's not true," the Serb said with a shrug and shake of his head. "What it is to say? I've lost that match. "Anybody can create a story about that match or for that matter any of the matches of the top players losing in the early rounds, I think it's just absurd." "You can pick any match that you like that the top player lost and just create a story out of it."
