Novak Djokovic turned on the style to outclass old adversary Rafael Nadal and reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the 02 Arena in London, on Saturday.
Croatian Cilic, who lost last year's final to Roger Federer, underlined his credentials for another Grand Slam title bid to add to his U.S. Open triumph in 2014.
Rafael Nadal continued his resurgence with a thrilling 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world number two Andy Murray on Saturday to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Novak Djokovic beat defending champion David Ferrer of Spain 7-5 7-5 to win the Paris Masters on Sunday and keep alive his hopes of reclaiming the world number one spot by the end of the year.
Simona Halep will take over as the new number one in the WTA world rankings after progressing to the China Open final with a dominant 6-2 6-4 victory over Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in Beijing on Saturday.
Leander Paes talks to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about his recent Australian Open mixed doubles triumph and the special bond he shares with his former Grand Slam-winning partner, Martina Navratilova.
Bopanna also in reserves while four single specialists named in squad
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.
Captain Mahesh Bhupathi, on Wednesday, made it clear that India won't miss veteran Leander Paes during their upcoming Davis Cup Qualifier against fancied Italy at Calcutta South Club on Friday-Saturday.
Having bagged a gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics and won the 2013 Wimbledon championship, Murray will get his first chance to complete the hat-trick at the O2 next week.
Italy's Matteo Berrettini overcame second seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(9), 6-4 to win his first title at the Swiss Open in Gstaad on Sunday.
Images from Day 1 of the US Open in New York, on Monday.
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic boosted his hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season ATP World Tour finals in London by downing Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 6-3 to win the Thailand Open on Sunday.
No complaints but quarantine differentials were a mistake: Zverev
Kei Nishikori exacted a measure of revenge against Marin Cilic when the Japanese world number five overcame the Croatian in the semi-finals of the Citi Open.
It is the first time the final match of the season will decide who is ranked number one.
IMAGES from Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Friday
The 2020 international calendar concluded with the three tournaments in the Asia leg which was conducted in Bangkok in successive weeks.
Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori will meet in the semi-finals at the Citi Open in Washington on Saturday, their first encounter since the final of last year's US Open.
The Australian Open has seen many unheralded players punching above their weight. Rediff.com takes a look at a few such unseeded players who went the distance in the new millennium.
A hoped-for fight to the finish for the year-end number one ranking at next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London will likely be a coronation for Rafael Nadal, who is virtually guaranteed ending 2017 top of the pile.
Sahara Force India enjoyed a double points finish at the 'home' British Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finishing eight and ninth to collect six points for the team, in Silverstone, on Sunday.
Andy Murray took another step towards securing a berth at next month's World Tour finals when he fought off a typically dogged David Ferrer to win 6-4, 7-5 and move into the final of the Valencia Open on Saturday.
Switzerland's potential Davis Cup fairytale this weekend was clouded by uncertainty over the fitness of Roger Federer and rumours of a strained relationship between the all-time great and his teammate Stanislas Wawrinka. But all seems to be fine now in the Swiss camp as this picture suggests.
Penpix of the top women's contenders at the 2017 French Open:
Roger Federer used a dominant service game to beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6(5) in Montreal on Saturday, setting up a Rogers Cup final against German Alexander Zverev.
Yuki Bhambri won his first ATP Challenger level singles title of the season and second of his career on Monday after humbling top seed American Bradely Klahn (ranked 123) in the rain-hit summit clash of the Traralgon event in Australia.
As the players warm up before the tournament, meet the players who could well be contenders for the 2017 Australian Open titles.
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.
Rohan Bopanna teamed up with Canada's Denis Shapovalov to enter the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open
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.
Former world number one Rafael Nadal displayed more signs of a return to top form with a ruthless 6-2, 6-1 hammering of Stanislas Wawrinka to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Friday.
Andy Murray saved seven match-points in a 31-minute tiebreak that stretched to 38 points before he finally subdued Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7(4), 7-6(18), 6-1 to reach the Dubai Championships semi-finals on Thursday.
World No 2 Rafael Nadal sailed into the quarter-finals of the China Open, his first tournament in 13 weeks, with a 6-3, 6-4 win over German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk on Thursday.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.
Australian Nick Kyrgios caused more on-court controversy in his defeat by unseeded German Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday with a listless performance that could land him in trouble with the ATP.
Top seed Nadal extended his winning streak to 13 matches with a 6-2, 6-1 demolition of American Jared Donaldson in the Qi Zhong Stadium before World No 2 Federer, to the delight of his sizeable Chinese fan club, got the better of Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 7-6(4), 6-4.
Four more performances like that at the O2 Arena this week should guarantee Andy Murray will end 2016 leading the pack.
Two-time champion Novak Djokovic thumped Spain's David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to march into the last four of the Shanghai Masters on Friday and set up a semi-final showdown with third seed Roger Federer.
