Rafael Nadal survived a fightback from Alexander Zverev to win a record eighth Italian Open 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 on Sunday.
While Daniil Medvedev remained the world number one, 2022 Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic dropped to seventh position after the grass-court Grand Slam tournament was stripped of ranking points for banning Russian and Belarusian players.
Rafael Nadal reached the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday only to immediately write off his chances of winning the title.
Rafael Nadal said positive thinking was the key to his triumph over Roger Federer at the French Open final
A 30-year-old German journeyman who once travelled around Europe's Challenger Circuit in a camper van joined a list of Wimbledon luminaries who go by the names of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios.
Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 46 after he edged out fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro at the Barcelona Open.
Top seed Rafa Nadal, who has won the tournament 10 times, also reached the last eight after dispatching compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and claiming a record-extending 40th consecutive set on clay.
Rafael Nadal confirmed he will miss this year's French Open as he is yet to recover from injury.
The defending champion battled back from 4-6, 1-4 down to set up a semi-final against unseeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who upset 10th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Barcelona Open.
Argentine David Nalbandian extended his perfect record against Rafael Nadal by crushing the world number two 6-4, 6-0 in the final of the Paris Masters Series tournament on Sunday.
Nadal will equal world number one Roger Federer's haul of four Masters Series titles this year if he beats Ljubicic.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will clash for the Italian Open title after the top two seeds advanced to the final of the Masters tournament on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal took his remarkable record to 100 wins in his last 101 matches on clay by beating fellow-Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the Barcelona Open quarter-finals. The top seed, chasing his fourth consecutive title here, appeared unaffected by strapping on his left shoulder as he eased through.
Rafael Nadal suffered a late blip against unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek before reaching the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club championships on Thursday after Andy Murray and Andy Roddick both cruised through.
Nadal and Williams headline party for all ages at US Open
Rafael Nadal may have won the French Open a record 12 times but the Spaniard feels this year's conditions will be the most difficult he has ever faced at Roland Garros and mean he must be at his best to have a chance of retaining his title again.
A rampaging Rafael Nadal roared through the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday when Brazil's Marcos Daniel retired with the world number one on a tear at 6-0, 5-0.
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Wimbledon 2022 Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, on Wednesday.
A year that began with doubts over Rafael Nadal's body and continued with worries over Roger Federer's head ended with both men at the peak of their powers and promising some juicy new chapters of their rivalry in 2011.
He won 83 points to Rafael Nadal's 80, hit 30 winners to the Spaniard's 14, struck more aces and generally played the more inspiring tennis, yet it all ended in familiar fashion for Stanislas Wawrinka at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday.
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.
It was only his second defeat in 11 years and 72 matches at Roland Garros, yet it came as little surprise for Rafael Nadal as the nine-time champion admitted he had his French Open quarter-final defeat to Novak Djokovic coming.
World tennis No 4 Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour finals in London as he is still recovering from his left knee injury, the ATP said on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal will return to the top of the men's world rankings after Tomas Berdych retired with a back injury during their China Open semi-final.
A marauding Rafael Nadal ended Stefanos Tsitsipas's trailblazing run at the Australian Open on Thursday, thrashing the 20-year-old Greek in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 masterclass to reach a fifth final at Melbourne Park.
Roger Federer reached the Monte Carlo Masters final when Serbian Novak Djokovic pulled out of their semi-final.
Rafael Nadal will return to his old routine in a bid to recapture the Wimbledon crown.
IMAGES from the French Open matches played on Thursday
'Yes, I fall over, but grass sometimes is slippery. Nothing happens. I am good, yeah. Nothing'
While champions have crashed all around him at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal has arrived at the French Open semi-finals unruffled and bang on course to reclaim his crown.
'I have been serving well, starting to create damage with the forehand. Hitting serve on one shot, I think'
Rafael Nadal rediscovered his clay court form after a rare wobble in the semi-finals to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2, in Sunday's rain-hit final and claim his fifth Rome Masters title in six years.
Rafael Nadal overcame a stern challenge from Ernests Gulbis to reach the Rome Masters final on Saturday, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after the Latvian had exposed chinks in the clay master's armour.
With the French Open looming, Rafael Nadal sprung back to life at the Monte Carlo Masters and left his opponents baffled about how to beat him on clay.
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.
Federer will enter Sunday's Wimbledon final as top dog and he is determined to preserve his status and win an 11th Grand Slam crown.
The Spaniard's match against Sweden's Robin Soderling, originally scheduled for last Saturday, was suspended for rain at 6-4 6-4 6-7 4-6 2-0 on Monday.
Seven-times Grand Slam John McEnroe knows how it feels when a tennis career starts going in the wrong direction.
Nikolay Davydenko saved two match points as he made a remarkable recovery to beat Rafael Nadal 0-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
