A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka battled past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory. Fifth seed Dominic Thiem kept his flawless record against Gael Monfils intact with a trouble-free 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Monday to reach his maiden Australian Open quarter-final.
Seven-time champion Serena Williams endured an unlikely scrap in her Wimbledon opener and will look to shake off more rust in the second round on Thursday when she faces another qualifier in 18-year-old Kaja Juvan.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
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.
The sweet spot of Andy Murray's racket was put through its paces as he signed of his first week at Wimbledon by stylishly dispatching Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 to move into the last 16 on Friday.
With British hopes of elusive home success once again resting on his shoulders, Andy Murray could have been forgiven an envious glance Novak Djokovic's way after the Wimbledon draw was made on Friday.
Former World No. 1 Roger Federer was named as the high-profile replacement for the injured Rafael Nadal in Team India in the forthcoming International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), the organisers announced on Monday.
Marin Cilic completed a sensational set of semi-final shockers by upsetting 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the US Open. Croatian 14th seed Cilic's opponent in Monday's final will be 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who sent world number one Novak Djokovic out of Flushing Meadows with a stunning 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.
Novak Djokovic, Petra Kvitova and Andy Murray were among the top players who eased into the last 16 of the French Open on Saturday.
Roger Federer handed Nick Kyrgios a 6-4 6-1 7-5 tennis masterclass by storming into the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Saturday with a ruthless display that left the Australian talking to himself and waving the white flag.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro underlined his status as a dark horse for next week's Australian Open by hammering Dmitry Tursunov to reach the final of the Sydney International on Friday.
Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt will resume one of the oldest rivalries in tennis when they contest the Brisbane International final on Sunday.
The Scot lost 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men's draw at the year's final Grand Slam.
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.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer remain on course for a marquee one-two clash in the men's US Open final, but each must first vanquish a formidable opponent and friend in Friday's semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Roger Federer claimed one of the few titles to have previously eluded him after he overcame a sluggish start to beat injured Frenchman Gilles Simon in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday.
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Croatia's Marin Cilic swept past Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to win the U.S. Open on Monday and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year's final Grand Slam.
Two-times champion Rafa Nadal crashed out in the second round of Wimbledon on Thursday after being out-muscled and out-thought in four sets by an inspired Dustin Brown of Germany.
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 9 of the US Open matches played on Tuesday
Thursday's match was just Venus Williams's seventh of the year and first since January's Australian Open, where she fell to Simona Halep in the round of 32.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka of Japan was upset 7-5, 6-4 by Belinda Bencic in the fourth round at the US Open on Monday as the Swiss reached the quarter-finals for the second time.
Practising his strokes for over seven million times has given him an unforgettable muscle memory and an uncompromising diet has kept his enviable fitness intact in an astonishing 25-year long career but Leander Paes is not training the way he used to train 20 years ago. The 43-year-old has just finished another season in his glorious career and he is not finished yet. Rather, he has set himself a new target - taking his Grand Slam tally to 20. Passion for the game and a knack for creating history has kept him going but it also involves pain of hard work that may become difficult to sustain year after year.
List of Australian Open men's singles champions since the event began in 1905 (Australian unless stated):
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova glittered under the Rod Laver Arena lights on Monday, restoring order at the Australian Open after eight women's seeds crashed out in the afternoon sun on a manic opening day. The evergreen Federer strolled into the second round with a classy 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun before fellow-second seed Sharapova ruined Croatian qualifier Petra Martic's 24th birthday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
PHOTOS from day three of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Wednesday.
Claycourt king Rafael Nadal marched into his 10th French Open final after demolishing rising Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, while third seed Stan Wawrinka edged past Andy Murray 6-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1.
His success in Paris means Wimbledon remains the one major where he has not reached at least the semi-finals.
Watching a grey-haired, smart-suited 56-year-old John McEnroe speak with mature insight about all-things tennis it seems odd to think that many feel that what the sport needs is a dose of the "superbrat" attitude of the brash New Yorker's youth.
Wimbledon's genteel surrounds resembled Saturday night on a casualty ward as injuries saw seven players withdraw or retire and third seed Maria Sharapova stumble to a shock second-round defeat on Wednesday.
'As a father and a husband, experiencing a different variety of things in my life, it's a completely different approach to tennis today. I feel more fulfilled. I feel more complete as a player today than I was in 2011. Physically stronger, mentally more experienced and tougher as well'
Images from Day 6 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.
World number one Novak Djokovic and number two Andy Murray crashed out of the Western and Southern Open within an hour of each other on Friday, before Rafa Nadal restored order with a win over old rival Roger Federer.
A ruthless Sorana Cirstea took full advantage of Karolina Pliskova's patchy form at the China Open on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals as she consigned the recently dethroned world number one to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat.
Iron-willed Czech Tomas Berdych ended eight years of tyranny under nemesis Rafa Nadal to storm into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday before his next opponent Andy Murray restored British colonial rule to the floodlit centre court.
Third seed Rafael Nadal battled through mid-match cramps for more than an hour before he lurched into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-5 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyzcek.
Defending champion Andy Murray eased into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 10th successive year with a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Benoit Paire on Monday.
Roger Federer boasted of his fitness, Maria Sharapova felt a bit rusty and Andy Murray berated himself but all three eased into the second week of the Australian Open with third round victories at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
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