Tatsuma Ito and Michal Przysiezny claimed the biggest wins of their careers at the Japan Open on Tuesday when the local wildcard knocked out top seed Stan Wawrinka and the Polish qualifier saved match points to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Andy Murray took a step closer to a first title in arguably the toughest year of his playing career, grinding out a 3-6, 7-5 ,6-2 win over Ugo Humbert on Saturday to reach the final of the European Open in Antwerp.
Stan Wawrinka will begin his title defense at the Chennai Open facing off against Croatian teenager Borna Coric.
India's Sumit Nagal gave a mighty scare to three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka by taking off the first set but then wilted under pressure to bow out of the Prague Open in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
In the women's draw, Angelique Kerber was knocked out in a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Czech Katerina Siniakova while Coco Gauf won her first ever match on clay.
India will travel to the city of Biel for the World Group I first-round tie, which will be played on indoor courts from September 12.
Stan Wawrinka reached his second final of the season as Nick Kyrgios retired injured from their semi-final at the ATP Dubai Championships on Friday. The Australian quit due to back pain while trailing 6-4, 3-0, having had on-court treatment after the seventh game of the opening set. Wawrinka now moves into position for a possible second trophy of the season after winning in Chennai to start the year. The French Open champion will face either sixth seed Feliciano Lopez, who advanced in the quarter-finals when Novak Djokovic was unable to continue due to an eye infections or former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Wawrinka, ranked fourth, carries an enviable record into the Saturday title match at the Aviation Club, having won his last eight finals.
World number one Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a whirlwind trip to Sunday's U.S. Open final, but the top-seeded Serb expects hard work ahead when he meets Stan Wawrinka at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Defending champion Djokovic, who became the third man to hold all four grand slam singles titles at once after his triumph at Roland Garros in June, owns a 19-4 career head-to-head advantage over the Swiss third seed.
After a brief interruption when the players were locked at 5-5 in the opening set, Federer saved two set points in the tiebreak and held firm to gain the upper hand in the contest.
Wawrinka, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments, trailed by two sets overnight, having squandered set points in the opener, but led 6-5 in the third when play resumed in muggy conditions.
For someone who was the only man to beat world number one Novak Djokovic in a grand slam in 2015, Stan Wawrinka was indifferent about the attention on the feat heading into this year's Australian Open. Djokovic was virtually untouchable last year as he compiled an 82-6 win-loss record and won three grand slam titles as well as six of the eight ATP 1000 top-tier tournaments he played. Wawrinka, however, surprised the tennis world when he produced a barrage of backhands on the clay at Roland Garros to beat the Serb in the Paris final and claim his second grand slam title.
Images from all the action on Day 9 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
Stan Wawrinka, who captured his maiden US Open title and first grand slam trophy of the year after defeating world number one Novak Djokovic, is unable to contain his excitement.
Australia's tennis badboy Nick Kyrgios was on Monday handed a suspended ban and fine by the ATP for his lurid verbal attack on Stan Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka will be back in Chennai to defend his title at the Aircel Chennai Open 2016, India and South Asia's Premier ATP World Tour tennis event, scheduled to be held at Chennai's SDAT Stadium from January 4 to 10.
The Swiss squandered seven set points in the opener and although he took the second on a tiebreak he capitulated in the decider after dropping serve at 1-2, losing 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1.
World number four Stan Wawrinka began the new season with a straight-sets victory over Viktor Troicki in his Brisbane International debut on Wednesday. Second seed Wawrinka edged out Troicki 7-6(5) 6-4 to maintain his perfect record against the Serbian whose seventh attempt at beating the Swiss failed at the Pat Rafter Arena. "I'm quite happy with my level at the start the year," Wawrinka said.
Russian Daniil Medvedev, fresh from upsetting world number three Stan Wawrinka in the first round at Wimbledon, said he was now targeting a run to the last eight at the All England Club.
Ramkumar Ramanathan's good run at the Chennai Open continued as he combined with compatriot N Sriram Balaji to knock out fourth seeded Kiwi pair of Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniel on Wednesday and storm into the doubles quarter-finals.
Novak Djokovic said a majority of players believe favouritism is at play in the tennis anti-doping system.
Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka advanced into the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory over big-serving South African Kevin Anderson at the Aviva Centre in Toronto on Friday.
When Andy Murray was dragged to five sets in the opening round of the French Open and then again in the second, it was hard to believe this would be the year when the Scot could end Britain's 81-year wait for a men's Roland Garros champion.
Images from the matches played on Day 7 at the Roland Garros on Saturday
Kei Nishikori was warned by tough taskmaster coach Michael Chang not to be satisfied, after having become the first Japanese man for almost a century to reach the US Open semi-finals, and to target the title.
The Argentine, making his first appearance at Wimbledon since reaching the semi-finals in 2013, held aloft his arms in triumph after condemning twice Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka to his earliest defeat at the All England Club for three years.
A marauding Ramkumar Ramanathan dished out yet another commendable performance, albeit in a losing cause as he exited from Chennai Open after an intensly-fought singles quarterfinal against world number 45 Aljaz Bedene on Friday. The gritty Indian youngster gave a terrific fight to a top-50 player and saved four match points before losing 7-6(5), 4-6, 3-6, battling hard for two hours and 13 minutes against Britain's number two player. "Ramkumar has made good progress. It was not easy. He was playing well and I was fighting. I was focusing on my game. It could have gone either way," Bedene said after the match. "I was practising with him here last year and he has made progress, specially his forehand. His serve has been superb. I was surprised," he added.
Simona Halep ended Beatriz Haddad Maia's dream run in Toronto
After booking a much-anticipated semi-final with his Australian Open title usurper Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday, Novak Djokovic wasted little time reminding the Swiss of the heavy burden of being defending champion.
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka avoided a repeat on Wednesday of his first-round scare, though he was still made to work hard in a straight-sets win over Japan's Taro Daniel. The Swiss third seed won 7-6(7) 6-3 6-4 and is now on a six-match winning streak on clay, having warmed-up for Roland Garros by winning the title in Geneva last week. Progress was by no means straightforward against a skilful opponent ranked 93rd in the world and Wawrinka has yet to switch to his A game. But he says it's there when he needs it. "If you look at the first two matches, for sure I'm not playing my best tennis, but I know I have my best tennis in me," the 31-year-old Wawrinka, playing in his 45th consecutive grand slam tournament, told reporters.
Yet to feel completely at home on the Wimbledon lawns, Stan Wawrinka became the latest player to jump on the super-coach bandwagon by joining forces with former All England Club champion Richard Krajicek this month. Krajicek knows a thing or two about playing at the heartland of grasscourt tennis as not only did he triumph in 1996, he was also the only man to have beaten seven-times champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000.
Serena Williams, hoping to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, will start her campaign against fellow American Kristie Ahn.
Factbox on Italy's Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open final
Images from Day 6 of the 2016 US Open tennis tournament in New York, on Saturday.
Stanislas Wawrinka eked out the "biggest win" of his career when he downed Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2015 French Open and the Swiss champions says staying mentally strong is always key against the Serbian giant.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka battled back after losing the first set to beat top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-7(1-7), 6-4, 7-5, in the men's singles final of the US Open final at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.
Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka beat the heat with straight-sets wins to reach the third round of a sweltering US Open on Thursday while American hope Jack Sock wilted under the punishing conditions, collapsing on court.
Jannik Sinner overpowered American Taylor Fritz in the final to become the first Italian man to win the US Open singles title.
With Federer certain, young Austrian Dominic Thiem is third in the ATP race to London, followed by Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Djokovic, world number one Andy Murray, and Belgium's David Goffin.
The Indo-Canadian got a walkover in their quarter-final clash against France's Benoit Paire and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Novak Djokovic says he is still dealing with an elbow issue heading into this week's Srpska Open as the Serb looks to get his French Open preparations back on track.
