Nadal was the favourite and top seed having lifted the Barcelona Open trophy last month but played below par on a sweltering spring day.
Favourites Russia Tennis Federation opened their Davis Cup Finals campaign with a resounding victory over Ecuador, Britain began with a win against France and Italy eased into the quarter-finals with a win over Colombia on Saturday.
'I have to treat patients and there they don't like Indians.' 'The patients don't like me, they are not going to come to me, then what is the point of studying there?'
Elena Rybakina's modest celebrations after winning Wimbledon on Saturday was mostly due to her impassive personality but there was possibly also an air of inevitability about her triumph that made her react the way she did.
India's boxer Monika handed a shock defeat to the two-time world championships medallist Josie Gabuco of Philippines to enter the women's 48kg semi-finals at the 2022 Thailand Open International Boxing tournament in Phuket on Monday.
Krrish, Ravi enter semis of Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships
Exporters are readying back-up routes to send their shipments to the nations belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, as the war in Ukraine continues to intensify. Three routes are being explored. The first is the China route using Qingdao port. The second is the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route that connects Mumbai to Moscow via Iran and Azerbaijan.
Vidit Gujrathi suffers first defeat
Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi will have to punch above their weight when the battle to qualify for Fed Cup tennis tournament's World Group II,
Nikhat, who defeated world champions Paltceva Ekaterina of Russia and Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in her last two bouts, suffered a 0-5 loss
Modi's emphasises on transit for trade comes amid Pakistan's reluctance to provide such a facility for two-way trade between India and Pakistan.
Sakshi had prevailed 3-2 in the regulation bout but the decision was challenged by the Kazakh team and eventually overturned; Mary Kom marches into final.
Ravi, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, conceded early lead in all his bouts, but bounced back in tremendous fashion to outsmart his rivals in the men's freestyle event
Speaking at the 4th Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, Doval said that India has historical and civilisational relations with Afghanistan and New Delhi has always stood by the people of Afghanistan.
Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including with Putin, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev among other leaders.
Making a comeback after more than seven months, World No 3 Jyothi, who was sidelined in the Asian Games trial, is also in the hunt for an individual medal, having advanced into the semi-final.
Also ending with a bronze was tournament debutant and national champion Varinder Singh (60kg) after a high-intensity clash against Iran's Daniyal Shahbakhsh. The Indian lost 2-3 after fighting his heart out.
Here is a compilation of some of the best photos from 2021...
British No 1 Cameron Norrie overcame a slow start to beat Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-3, 7-5.
In a ceremony held in Amritsar, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla along with Afghan ambassador Farid Mamundzay and World Food Program Country director Bishaw Parajuli flagged off the first convoy of 50 trucks carrying the consignment.
The rumblings of discontent from Righteous Europe over Qatar's admittedly appalling human rights record can only be viewed as deeply disingenuous and phoney, argues Kanika Datta.
The 12 winners of the Qualifiers on March 6-7 next year will compete alongside the six nations that have automatically qualified for the 2020 Finals.
Andy Murray started working with former coach Daniel Vallverdu this month on a short-term basis as the multiple Grand Slam winner works towards rediscovering the form that took him to the top of the world rankings.
Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme. The first launch with New Space India is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launches will add to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications firm OneWeb's total in-orbit constellation of 428 satellites -- 66 per cent of the planned total fleet -- to build a global network that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity.
India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
India on Thursday resumed its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a team in its embassy in the Afghan capital, over 10 months after it pulled out its officials from the mission following the Taliban's capture of power.
It was a stunning loss for Panghal, who had won a gold medal in the Cologne World Cup a couple of months back. The 23-year-old ended up paying for his rather weak defence in the bout against Escobar.
Novak Djokovic eased into the last four with a commanding performance over Japan's Kei Nishikori but world number two Daniil Medvedev bowed out of the men's singles at the Tokyo Olympics.
Nikhat Zareen (52kg), Manisha (57kg) and Parveen (63kg) continued their stellar run at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Monday by advancing to the semi-finals but five other Indians bowed out after suffering quarter-final losses.
A day after taking down world number one Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, Felix Auger-Aliassime booked Canada's place in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the group stage tie in Valencia.
India had delivered its best ever Asian Championship performance in the 2019 edition in Thailand, claiming 13 medals, including two gold, four silver and seven bronze.
On the penultimate day of the competition, India finished with just two silver in the Greco-Roman wrestling event even as Prem missed out on a bronze medal finish.
France, who were 2-0 up courtesy of Arthur Rinderknech and Adrian Mannarino, faced little resistance from Ecuador as wins for Benjamin Bonzi and the doubles pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicholas Mahut secured victory for the 10-times champions.
Becomes only third Indian to win a singles match at the Games.
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday against the backdrop of widespread anger in West Asia over controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed made by two former Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons.
The 25-year-old Medvedev, who has played Grand Slam finals at the Australian and US Opens, is certainly expecting to go through to the second round at Roland Garros.
The need for an inclusive government in Kabul and a zero-tolerance stance on the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups are among four aspects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed on Wednesday for countries in the region to focus on in the backdrop of the developments in the war-torn nation.
