While company would hold on to prices for now, hike likely by end of 2013
Fans spent more time looking at the murky Parisian sky than watching tennis on Tuesday as French Open organisers were accused of "not caring about the players" after the event was disrupted by more rain following the previous day's washout.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Stanislas Wawrinka started the run at last year's US Open, followed by a 35-year-old Federer at Melbourne Park and Rafael Nadal in Paris.
The Ig Nobel prizes honour achievements that first make people laugh, and then makes them think.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi rescued a 1-1 draw at Villarreal with a sensational late free-kick on Sunday but could not prevent the champions finishing the weekend third in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Holders Real Madrid chased away some of their early-season blues when Gareth Bale scored the pick of the goals in a 5-1 rout of FC Basel in their Champions League Group B opener on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Thomaz Bellucci and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals.
As Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo watched, the World No 4 Nadal went past Italian Bolelli to set up a quarter-final clash against 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
However, he refrained from speaking on Mexican immigrants and also declined to repeat his frequent promise to force Mexico to pay for the wall.
The hosts will face Australia in the semi-final on Friday.
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
It's an acid test against the Czech Republic in the World Group Play-off tie, but Rohan Bopanna is confident India's Davis Cup team can tame the world number one three-time champions.
Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro served notice of his strong form ahead of the Australian Open when he crushed defending champion Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended a three-game goal drought as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Schalke.
Richard Gasquet kept his ATP World Tour finals hopes alive when he overcame Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-3 to reach the Paris Masters third round as fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crashed out of the race on Tuesday.
Rediff.com brings you the second instalment of the Best Sports Photos of the Year!
Top seed Novak Djokovic launched his Shanghai Open title defence in fine style, breezing past Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-0 on Wednesday. Later Roger Federer, playing his first singles match since a fourth-round exit at the US Open, made a brisk return to winning ways, beating Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-3.
The evening start for the Davis Cup tie against Spain has caught the Indian team by surprise with captain Anand Amritraj calling it an 'unfortunate' decision that has compromised the country's home advantage.
Coach Boris Becker can help Novak Djokovic acquire a greater mental toughness to better his recent record in Grand Slam finals, the Serb said ahead of the Dubai Championships which begin on Monday.
For 15 minutes Novak Djokovic appeared to have a fight on his hands at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday, then the Serb dialled up his A game and tore Stanislas Wawrinka to pieces.
Defending champion Andy Murray ground his way past Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin with a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open where he will face Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.
Roger Federer's hopes of knocking Novak Djokovic off the top of the ATP world rankings before the end of the year took a hit when he lost to big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
Roger Federer's enduring brilliance and his sheer hatred of losing allowed him to withstand a stunning Kei Nishikori fightback and remain undefeated at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday.
Photos from the ATP World Tour Finals matches played in London on Monday
Rafael Nadal's announcement on Friday that he will miss the ATP World Tour Finals because of appendicitis ended a difficult year for the Spaniard during which he has endured injury, illness and worrying defeats.
Images from Day 3 of the French Open in Paris on Tuesday
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer notched up contrasting victories to reach the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals on Thursday while David Ferrer fought back from a set down to knock out Andy Murray.
World number five Juan Martin del Potro began his 2014 season with a win, albeit a scrappy one over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
