The trick-shots, underarm serves and tirades at spectators are all part of the theatre, and the 'what will he do next?' lure puts bums on seats, in much the same way John Daly still draws a crowd in golf.
The tournament will be Murray's third since hip surgery in January and mark his return to the hard courts for the first time since March 2017 at Indian Wells.
World number one Novak Djokovic produced sublime form to clinch an unprecedented fifth men's title at Indian Wells with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the men's final.
Borna Coric ended Roger Federer's 20-match winning streak on grass, beating him 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2 in the Halle Open final on Sunday while also bringing to a halt the Swiss maestro's reign as World No 1.
French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka was scythed back to earth by big-serving South African Kevin Anderson on the Queen's Club grass as the Swiss bowed out of the Aegon Championships 7-6(4), 7-6(11) on Wednesday.
With his glinting gold wedding band looped around the black laces of left shoe, Andy Murray had been an unstoppable force on clay this season.
Lleyton Hewitt was ushered into retirement as Spain's David Ferrer ended the Australian former world number one's career with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory on an emotional night at Melbourne Park.
Roger Federer made a comfortable start to his quest for a 100th title, despatching Fabio Fognini in straight sets to ease into the quarter-finals at the Paris Masters on Thursday.
A deflated Novak Djokovic blamed a bad day at the office for his stunning second-round elimination by Uzbek wildcard Denis Istomin which condemned the Serb to his earliest grand slam exit in nearly a decade.
Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a record seventh Australian Open title on Tuesday with an impressive 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over hard-hitting Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Sunday.
Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev stunned home favourite Kei Nishikori in Tokyo on Sunday, winning the final of the Japan Open 6-2, 6-4 in just over one hour.
Serbian Djokovic, who 12 months ago had elbow surgery, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018, before lifting this year's Australian Open crown, to add to his tally of Grand Slam singles titles and reclaim top spot in the rankings.
Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat World No 1 and defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.
Madison Keys beat fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe for the second time in eight days with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory on Monday to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
IMAGES from the Australian Open final played on Sunday
Novak Djokovic kept his juggernaut rolling at the China Open by improving to 26-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over local hope Zhang Ze on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic praised American Tim Smyczek's act of sportsmanship in his second round marathon against Rafa Nadal as "greater than sport itself" at the Australian Open on Thursday.
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.
Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic booked their spots in the Paris Masters second round on Monday, while Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament with next month's ATP Finals on the horizon.
BNP Paribas Open chief executive and tournament director Raymond Moore provoked outrage with controversial comments he made before the women's and men's finals at Indian Wells, and later issued an official apology.
News of all that's transpired on and off the tennis courts.
It was a clearly deflated Rafa Nadal who admitted he has no idea whether he can ever reproduce the form that helped him win two Wimbledon titles after maverick Dustin Brown inflicted a fourth successive embarrassment.
A 30-year-old German journeyman who once travelled around Europe's Challenger Circuit in a camper van joined a list of Wimbledon luminaries who go by the names of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios.
When tennis fans from Arizona say it is hot at the Wimbledon championships, then it must be.
Rafael Nadal is chasing a historic 10th French Open title in Paris, but nothing will ever come close to trying to win his second.
Novak Djokovic deserves a "little star" next to his name for a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win three grand slams among his 11 titles but the men's game is not simply a matter of the Serb versus the rest, Roger Federer said.
The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) said on Thursday it had decided not to extend the contract of Davis Cup captain Alex Corretja when it expires at the end of this year but has yet to name a successor.
One thing that has been consistent about Rafa Nadal's disappointing season so far has been his brutal honesty.
A near flawless Novak Djokovic crushed Marin Cilic 6-0, 6-3 to set up a blockbuster Monte Carlo Masters semi-final with claycourt king Rafa Nadal, who came through a testing workout by David Ferrer on Friday.
Defending champion Simona Halep was knocked out of the French Open 6-2, 6-4 by 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova in a quarter-final shock.
World number one Novak Djokovic survived a second-set blip to reach the Paris Masters final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 win over Stan Wawrinka, his 21st victory in a row.
World number one Novak Djokovic fended off a resurgent Rafael Nadal 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a pulsating battle on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
Novak Djokovic pronounced himself fit and raring to go in search of his fifth Australian Open title on Sunday after overcoming a bout of illness that had prompted social media users to suggest he was in doubt for the tournament.
Serena Williams must navigate a heavily American quarter of the draw including sister Venus to complete a calendar sweep of the four Grand Slams, while two sensational quarter-finals loom on the men's side after Thursday's U.S. Open draw.
Grigor Dimitrov reached his first grand slam quarter-final in over two years on Monday by defeating an injury-hampered Denis Istomin 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-1 to end the Uzbek wildcard's fairytale run at the Australian Open.
Images from Day 2 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Monday
List of US Open men's singles champions since the open era began in 1968:
German seventh seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Australian Open on Wednesday to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final. Swiss Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slams at Melbourne Park in 2014, broke Zverev twice early in the opening set to breeze through the opening set but the 22-year-old German came roaring back into the contest.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday.
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