Serena Williams must navigate a heavily American quarter of the draw including sister Venus to complete a calendar sweep of the four Grand Slams, while two sensational quarter-finals loom on the men's side after Thursday's U.S. Open draw.
Before the tournament, top seed Djokovic declared the three should be favourites to win the Slams, and Federer agreed when asked after his Evans match.
A prodigious yet polarising talent, former quarter-finalist Nick Kyrgios suffered his earliest exit from Melbourne Park.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Switzerland's preparations for the Davis Cup Final against France in Lille on Sunday have been disrupted by a back injury to Roger Federer and a spat within the Swiss camp.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
The Scot said it is still too early to make a call on whether was ready for the rigours of a two-week Grand Slam with best-of-five-set matches.
Factbox on Novak Djokovic's five Wimbledon titles
Roger Federer produced a vintage performance to crush Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and seal Switzerland's maiden Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over hosts France on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal's decision to skip the US Open because of health concerns has added another twist to the intriguing three-way battle for the most career men's Grand Slam titles and, in many eyes, the title of Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Had the 34-year-old Spaniard managed to retain the title he won in a five-set thriller against Daniil Medvedev last year, he would have joined Roger Federer at the top of the list with 20 titles. Instead, his decision has cleared the path for 33-year-old Novak Djokovic to edge to within one of Nadal's Grand Slam tally with a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18 in total.
The two great rivals meet at Roland Garros for the first time in eight years in Friday's French Open semi-final.
Rafael Nadal is generally a slow starter but should not have any problem getting past his first-round opponent, Germany's Yannick Hanfmann.
Gilles Simon will carry the distinction of being the first man to prise a set off Novak Djokovic at this year's Australian Open but the lion-hearted Frenchman was crushed after going down in a five-set classic on Sunday.
A long year has taken its toll on some of the world's best tennis players but the relentless Novak Djokovic gives no indication that he is about to slacken the pace as he heads to the season-ending ATP World Tour finals in London.
The 38-year-old, who has lost six games so far in the tournament, dispatched his hapless opponent in only 62 minutes winning the second-round match 6-0, 6-3.
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.
Thiem, Wawrinka stay positive after defeats on return
Bidding for a record-extending ninth Australian Open title, the world number one and double-defending champion remains the runaway favourite at his favourite Grand Slam where he once remarked that he felt touched by the "divine".
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has disappointed athletes around the world but, if the coronavirus pandemic eases over the next few months, it could turn out to be a blessing for the tennis world.
Fourth seed Rafa Nadal was stunned by Serb Viktor Troicki in an upset-filled Shanghai Masters second round on Wednesday while Andy Murray breezed past American Steve Johnson and Nick Kyrgios slumped to a listless defeat. Troicki, ranked 31st in the world, overcame Nadal 6-3 7-6(3) in an hour and 34 minutes to secure his first ever victory in five previous attempts against the 14-time grand slam winner. The unseeded Serb broke twice to seal the opening set before Nadal came back strongly in the second. The Spaniard saved a match point at 5-4 down but was defeated in the tiebreak.
Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will play at Rio 2016 despite suffering with a wrist injury as he prepares for the Olympic Games. Speaking after training at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio on Tuesday (2 August), the Spanish team's flag bearer was asked if he would be fit enough to compete. "Yes," he said. "I was talking with the whole team and the team decided that I am going to play, so I'm going to try to train for the next couple of days.
List of US Open men's singles champions since the open era began in 1968:
Images from Day 2 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will feel like they are working overtime on Friday when organisers cram all four semi-finals into a single session to try and ensure a rain-ravaged tournament ends on schedule.
Defending champion Djokovic fired his 15th ace on match point to defeat Querrey but his serve had been an issue earlier in their second-round encounter.
Nick Kyrgios was involved in a heated row in his post-match news conference after being questioned about his behaviour during his five-set victory over Dustin Brown at Wimbledon on Friday.
Only one player has beaten Rafael Nadal on his beloved claycourts this year and that man, Austria's Dominic Thiem, blocks the Spaniard's path to the French Open final.
Top seed Alexander Zverev crashed out in the second round of the Stuttgart Open, losing to world number 170 Dustin Brown.
Nadal has won his 13th French Open singles title and 20th Grand Slam tournament by beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
German tennis legend Boris Becker has issued a stringing rebuke against second-ranked Andy Murray for saying that he has been suspicious of his opponents doping in the past and described his comments as "totally out of order".
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final to win a 24th Grand Slam singles title and equal Margaret Court's record haul.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was happy with his movement if not the result after making a losing return from 15 weeks on the sidelines at an Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament this week.
The marquee clash between a vintage Roger Federer and classy Rafael Nadal, the legends of the game will be awaited keenly by the fans as the third leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) begins in New Delhi on Thursday.
With Roger Federer missing due to injury, Andy Murray upset in the quarters and Rafael Nadal a fourth-round loser, Djokovic marches on in a quest for a 13th Grand Slam title without his familiar high profile rivals standing in the way.
Australia eased ahead of Bosnia 2-0 as John Millman thumped Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 while Alex de Minaur overcame Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6(0), before Millman revealed the team's larger goal under captain Lleyton Hewitt.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were winners but six seeds were beaten in a day of upsets in the second round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday.
'I know earlier in the tournament I said something in kind of a bad way and now I'm saying it in a good way: That it's because of your energy that I'm in the final'
Rafael Nadal stormed into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 demolition of former finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
