Fernando Verdasco was kicking himself after narrowly missing his chance to beat fellow Spaniard Rafa Nadal in an epic five-set semi-final at the Australian Open in the early hours of Saturday. The energy-sapping five hour 14 minute match beat the previous record held by Boris Becker and Omar Camporese since 1991 by three minutes.
Often overshadowed by his classic duels with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal's rivalry with Novak Djokovic has been brewing slowly and it will come to the boil on Sunday when the world's two best players contest the 125th Wimbledon men's final.
Rafa Nadal continued his sizzling hardcourt form beating John Isner 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3) in the final of the Western and Southern Open on Sunday, setting up the Spaniard as the red-hot favourite heading into the U.S. Open.
Roger Federer paid tribute to his retiring rival Rafael Nadal on Tuesday, telling the Spaniard he challenged him like no other player.
All the top three's charitable talk of new challengers ready to end their Grand Slam hegemony at the Australian Open has come to nothing and the top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will contest their third consecutive major final on Sunday.
Tournaments continue to be played in front of a handful of fans at most.
Rafa Nadal could face world number one Novak Djokovic, defending champion Roger Federer or home favourite Andy Murray as early as the Wimbledon quarter-finals after being announced as fifth seed for the tournament on Wednesday.
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.
Fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer was ousted from the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Tuesday as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer both moved into the fourth round.
Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal advanced to a mouthwatering semi-final showdown at the Rogers Cup after they crushed their quarter-final opponents in ruthless fashion on Friday.
Rafa Nadal branded comments made by former French tennis player Yannick Noah about doping as "stupid" on Sunday, saying they were the words of a "kid".
A dominant Rafa Nadal dismantled fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday to win his second Mexican Open title and continue his successful comeback from a long injury lay-off.
Carlos Alcaraz said he could hold his head high despite being unseated from his Wimbledon throne by Jannik Sinner on Sunday and the Spaniard praised their hot rivalry for being several notches higher than the others on the men's tour.
Roger Federer faces a tough road to another Wimbledon final after Friday's draw threw Rafa Nadal and home favourite Andy Murray into the champion's path and cleared the way for world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Rafa Nadal overpowered qualifier Go Soeda 6-3, 6-2 as he began the defence of his Japan Open title in a blur of swashbuckling winners on Tuesday.
Rafa Nadal made a dazzling start to his Wimbledon title defence with an easy win over American Michael Russell on Monday before home favourite Andy Murray produced some indoor fireworks to join the Spaniard in the second round.
World number one Rafa Nadal advanced to the semi-finals of the Thailand Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin on Friday.
Twice champion Rafa Nadal and triple winner Roger Federer barely raised a sweat as they each cruised into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with imperious victories on Sunday.
Rafa Nadal made light work of Italian Andreas Seppi to reach the final of the Hamburg Open on Saturday and will now face Fabio Fognini, who is chasing an almost unthinkable third claycourt victory over the Spaniard this season.
Spain's Rafa Nadal will face American Andy Roddick in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open after the pair enjoyed convincing victories on Wednesday.
Rafa Nadal had doubted he could seal a sixth French Open title having started in shaky form and with rivals looking imperious, but the Spaniard need not have worried after triumphing with another claycourt masterclass.
Andy Murray reduced Rafa Nadal's granite-like resistance to rubble as he stunned the Spaniard 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 to capture the Japan Open on Sunday.
If there was any doubt before, there is now no question that Rafa Nadal can and most probably will better Roger Federer's record of 16 Grand Slam titles following the Spaniard's French Open success over the Swiss.
World number one Rafael Nadal continued his smooth progress at the ATP event in Indian Wells on Tuesday, easing past Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round. Champion Novak Djokovic though survived a testing second set to beat German Tommy Haas 6-2, 7-6.
Carlos Alcaraz fought back from the brink to outlast top seed Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) in a French Open final for the ages on Sunday to retain his crown and cement his status as the Prince of Clay in Roland Garros' post-Rafa Nadal era.
Novak Djokovic believes Rafa Nadal may soon displace him as world number one and has plenty of time to break Roger Federer's benchmark 17 major titles after the Spaniard roared to the US Open title at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
Rafa Nadal lost the Wimbledon final on Sunday and will concede the number one ranking to his conqueror Novak Djokovic but the gritty Spaniard has known worse times.
Having achieved the glittering distinction of becoming the only man to win eight singles titles at the same Grand Slam tournament, French Open champion Rafa Nadal was soon dreaming of another priceless thing on Sunday -- to be left alone.
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer remained on course for their first head-to-head clash this year after easily winning their third round matches at the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer each needed three sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Wednesday while Rafa Nadal advanced with a comfortable victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Andy Murray felt 'gutted' for Rafa Nadal when the Spaniard limped out of the Australian Open with a knee injury but said he deserved his place in the semi-finals after putting on a dazzling display.
By winning the U.S. Open for the first time and completing his collection of grand slam titles, Rafa Nadal solved one riddle and posed another.
An hour after one of the worst beatings of his career Rafa Nadal refused to be too downhearted on Tuesday and said he was still in contention at the ATP World Tour Finals.
'It has been unforgettable, and I can only say 'thank you'. It has been an incredible journey. It's very difficult, but life and my body have been sending signals to me for a long time.'
Rafa Nadal arrives at Roland Garros without his air of invincibility as the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic threatens to flatten the Spaniard's bid to equal Bjorn Borg's six French Open titles.
Rafa Nadal dispelled any concerns over his fitness and form at the Australian Open with an impressive second-round win over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal has decided not to participate in the US Open due to concerns about his fitness
Rafa Nadal is unlikely to face the same problems Novak Djokovic had to confront against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when the six-times French Open champion takes on Nicolas Almagro in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
World number two Nadal's fate will rest on his final group match against Tsitsipas.
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