World No 1 Serena Williams's 27-match unbeaten run ended with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Madrid Open.
Ferrer, 37, announced earlier in the year he would end his 19-year career at the Madrid Open and prolonged his time on court by a day by beating Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday, but was easily overpowered by world number four Zverev.
World No 1s Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber have been named top seeds for the first major of the season, Australian Open, which will commences on January 16.
Venus Williams gained revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat by Garbine Muguruza when the American advanced to the last four of the WTA Finals with a gutsy 7-5 6-4 victory over the Spanish world number two on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the 2020 US Open in New York, on Wednesday.
Roger Federer reached the Rogers Cup semi-finals on Friday after coming to the net early and often in a straight sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on a windy day in Montreal.
He will skip the two Masters series events in Shanghai and Paris next month.
Halep through but Stephens exits in Cincinnati
Greek tyro Stefanos Tsitsipas' dream run at the Rogers Cup continued on Friday as the teenager toppled defending champion Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Toronto.
Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas secured the biggest win of his career when he sent Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic packing in the third round of the Rogers Cup with a stunning 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 win on Thursday.
Images from the matches played on Day eight of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday
For all their success together, the red dirt isn't Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis' most favourite surface.
World number 30 Berrettini saved five points in the marathon second set tiebreak and held on to win it 13-11 for his third ATP crown in last 11 months.
Having pulled out of the Brisbane International tournament through injury for the last two years, Maria Sharapova might consider it a victory in itself if she actually gets out on court at the Pat Rafter arena on Monday.
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.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named top seeds for the Australian Open starting on Monday.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber's bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles ended when 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova defeated the German 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open third round on Saturday.
The Czech Republic further established themselves as the dominant force in women's team tennis as they claimed a 3-2 comeback win against hosts France to capture their fifth Fed Cup title in six years on Sunday, and 10th overall. Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova downed Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia 7-5 7-5 in the doubles to hand the visitors the decisive point. The nation won five titles as Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 80s before dominating the women's team competition in recent years.
Images from Day 1 at the Australian Open.
Under the lights on the stadium court, Williams smashed 39 winners to defeat Azarenka 7-5, 6-3 in a rematch of the 2016 final, which the Belarusian won.
Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to ease past Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the Italian Open quarter-finals on Friday and set up a mouth-watering clash against long-time adversary Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday's final. Djokovic plotted a similar path to the Spanish clay-court king when the Serb lost the first set against Japan's Kei Nishikori before recovering to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 and seal an open-era record 51st career meeting against Nadal.
Victoria Azarenka suffered a stunning meltdown and blew three match points against world number one Serena Williams before losing 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(1) in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Caroline Wozniacki became the biggest name to fall at the BNP Paribas Open.
Former world number one Serena Williams looked sharp in her return to the hardcourts after a week-long break, soundly defeating Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Russia, last year's runners-up, were unable to call on world number six Maria Sharapova who was injured
World number five Alexander Zverev continued his poor recent form as he crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round while Serena Williams had to pull out of the women's draw with a recurring knee injury.
PHOTOS from day seven of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Monday
World number two Rafael Nadal dropped a set at the Barcelona Open for the first time in four years before advancing to the last 16, beating Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Simona Halep trailed by a set and 5-1 against Elina Svitolina but somehow dug herself out of a hole before storming to victory to set up a semi-final against Karolina Pliskova.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Rafael Nadal swept into the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday with a ruthless 6-4, 6-1 victory over Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov. The top seed, who will reclaim the world number one ranking from Roger Federer if he wins his eighth title in Rome, turned in a near-flawless performance, losing only five service points as he honed in on victory in an hour and 22 minutes.
World number two Simona Halep beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open third round on Wednesday for her first win over the Russian in eight attempts.
Earlier on Wednesday, Czech Karolina Pliskova was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a viral illness.
ATP says 'no evidence' against Harrison's racist remarks
The Russian five-times Grand Slam champion struggled for rhythm initially on the low-bouncing grasscourt at the Mallorca Open but picked up the pace to beat Viktoria Kuzmova 7-6(8), 6-0.
As Serena Williams sits out a fourth straight Grand Slam, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova will join Caroline Wozniacki in a quest for a major breakthrough in Australia.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
The 36-year-old Australian Open champion arrived in the Dutch port city at the weekend knowing a run to the semi-finals will move him ahead of Rafael Nadal in the ATP standings.
Coco Gauff claimed the biggest win of her young career on Friday with a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round. Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams also lost their respective matches earlier in the day. Images from Day 5 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Friday.