World number one Rafael Nadal made light work of Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the Barcelona Open final 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday, lifting the trophy for a record-extending 11th time.
The victory earned the American a place in the Pacific Life Open final against Roger Federer.
The 34-year-old practised for an hour on Thursday evening at the Rod Laver Arena and his fitness was improving "little by little, step by step", sources close to Nadal told Reuters.
Rafael Nadal said he feels sorry for Novak Djokovic after the world number one was denied entry into Australia but added that the Serb knew for months he could potentially face problems if he arrived without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Daniil Medvedev will play Rafael Nadal for the Australian Open title on Sunday after a stirring victory over Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final on Friday.
American Sam Querrey claimed the biggest title of his career with an emphatic 6-3, 7-6(3) upset victory over second seed Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mexican Open.
World number one Rafael Nadal begins his French Open title defence, on Monday, with a clash against Italy's Simone Bolelli on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Rafael Nadal does not expect to return to play competitive tennis until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated much of this year's calendar. The World No 2 said he has practically written off the remainder of the year and is looking to the Australian Open in January 2021 as the next tournament he will play.
Rafael Nadal struggled to finish off Fabio Fognini at the Barcelona Open on Friday but eventually quelled one of his most troublesome opponents 6-2, 7-6(1) to reach the semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are determined and inspired by the opportunity to win their first French Open title.
Medvedev will be glad to play the role of dream wrecker once again.
Both are in superb form and have yet to drop a set at this year's championship. Britain's Murray, the number one seed, will face 28th ranked Fabio Fognini from Italy while Spaniard Nadal will go up against Russian Karen Khachanov, ranked 30.
Nadal has traditionally started his French Open campaigns with at least one claycourt title under his belt but this year got to the French capital empty-handed.
Rafael Nadal survived a difficult start to see off Chung Hyeon of South Korea in straight sets and reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open for a 10th time on Friday.
Roger Federer, revelling in the unusual role of being the underdog, will continue his bid for a fifth successive US Open title on Friday when he plays little-known Brazilian Thiago Alves in the second round. The Swiss, relegated to second seed in New York after losing his number one ranking to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, is trying to avoid ending the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002.
Top seed Rafael Nadal beat American qualifier Maxime Cressy 7-6(6), 6-3 to win the Melbourne Summer Set 1 ATP 250 event and build up momentum heading into the Australian Open.
Zverev will have a chance to spoil the birthday party for Nadal, who turns 36 on Friday
Medvedev whips Dimitrov to enter US Open final
Novak Djokovic beat defending champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to move into the semi-finals of the French Open, in the process spoiling the Spaniard's 29th birthday celebrations.
'I believe I'm in a different moment, in a separate situation and in an unexplored terrain.'
Clearly Nikoloz Basilashvili had come to face Rafael Nadal with a plan but, like Mike Tyson said, everybody has a plan until they're punched in the face.
Rafael Nadal was reportedly happy to be on the dance floor, not on an actual one but on a tennis court, as the recovering Spaniard played in a new format called Fast4, which has been dubbed as disco tennis by some.
Rafael Nadal said he was lucky to be part of an era of tennis that included Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic after the Spaniard won a men's record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open to move one ahead of his two great rivals.
The Spaniard, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in a grand slam, grew in confidence in the second set, however, with the backing of the home support on the Manolo Santana court and saved two break points before forcing a decider.
World No 3 Rafael Nadal admitted that he may not play in the upcoming Australian Open after suffering a shocking first round defeat against Germany's Michael Berrer at the Qatar Open.
With world number four Ruud already assured of a semi-final berth the match was in reality a dead rubber.
The Serbian won 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to claim his 15th Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal returned to Roland Garros after his birthday celebrations and showed no signs of slowing up, railroading compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round on Sunday.
Let battle commence, says Djokovic ahead of Nadal showdown
The second seeds play the winner of the tie between Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett and Nicolas Kiefer/Rainder Schuettler in the Pacific Life Open.\n\n
Rafael Nadal is no stranger to being out of action for months due to injuries taking a toll on his body but when the Spaniard pulled out from a virtual reality tennis match that would have been contested using a game console - it raised a few eyebrows. The claycourt king had been expected to take on gamer DjMariio as part of a virtual Madrid Open charity event - but ended up being a no show on Monday.
Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's five-year reign as king of Wimbledon on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory in one of the most dramatic finals seen at the All England Club.
French Open finalist Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week's Wimbledon warm-up event at Halle in Germany, citing fatigue after a busy few weeks of tennis.
A couple of months ago, the 35-year-old Spaniard was worried that he might never return to the court again.
The 35-year-old also paid tribute to Messi, who played for Real's arch-rivals Barcelona.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final. But it ultimately proved a futile mission as, just like in all but two of Nadal's previous 87 matches here, the relentless Spaniard proved insurmountable, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Rafael Nadal claimed his first grasscourt title for five years.
With the ATP Finals coming up next month, Nadal said on his Facebook page he had made the decision to pull out of next week's Basel tournament after getting medical advice.
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi due to ongoing fitness problems, the world number one said.
Rafael Nadal secured his first title since 2006 French Open by beating Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 to win the Pacific Life Open.
