Spaniard Rafa Nadal won his 67th career title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory against dangerous Italian Fabio Fognini in the final of the Hamburg Open on Sunday.
It took the COVID-19 pandemic to put a brake on Djokovic's 18-match unbeaten run in 2020, as he won the ATP Cup with Serbia, an eighth Australian Open title and a fifth Dubai Tennis Championships before the season came to a halt in early March.
Until Sunday, Stan Wawrinka had an unblemished record in grand slam finals -- but then he had never faced Rafa Nadal in the Spaniard's favourite arena, Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open.
Liverpool FC manager Rafa Benitez has said no amount of money could tempt him into selling star striker Fernando Torres.
'They're just trying to shove us on the court because we're qualifiers'
Andy Murray felt 'gutted' for Rafa Nadal when the Spaniard limped out of the Australian Open with a knee injury but said he deserved his place in the semi-finals after putting on a dazzling display.
With professional tennis tours closed down until mid July at the earliest because of the coronavirus pandemic, an esports version of the claycourt event is being staged online. Nadal showed impressive fingerwork to beat young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in his opening round-robin match on a digital representation of the Spanish capital's Manolo Santana Stadium.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Serena Williams returns to the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday
Underarm serve could be an effective weapon in halting Rafael Nadal's annual rampage on clay most just chuckled.
Driven by having started out in life with "literally nothing", Novak Djokovic is determined to end up as the man with the most Grand Slam singles titles when he finally hangs up his racket. Djokovic said his hunger for success came from growing up in a time of conflict and privation.
"But if you need a reminder of who he is, just look at his career stats and grand slams that he won."
One thing that has been consistent about Rafa Nadal's disappointing season so far has been his brutal honesty.
The 43-year-old, whose longevity is a talked about tale in world tennis, said the line-up that Spain has presented for the Davis Cup tie against India is a must watch for every single budding athlete in the country.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic led the tennis world in mourning for "mentor" Kobe Bryant on Monday after Melbourne Park awoke to the news that the NBA great had died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven others. Djokovic had spoken fondly of his relationship with the former Los Angeles Laker in an interview at the weekend and the 16-times Grand Slam champion signed off his Tweet of condolence with the words: "RIP my friend".
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.
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Sunday.
Roger Federer blamed troubled preparations for his US Open quarter-final exit on Wednesday, saying he had spent most of the time leading up to the year's final Grand Slam worrying about his back instead of focusing on training.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and missed another as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 3-1.
Rafael Nadal gave a much improved performance to advance into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday, dispatching Spanish compatriot and crowd favourite David Ferrer 6-3, 6-3.
Organisers played a wrong national anthem for Moldova ahead of their tie against Belgium in Sydney. Denis Shapovalov won the battle of the next generation against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas to help Canada to an emphatic 3-0 victory in the inaugural ATP Cup men's team event in Brisbane on Friday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic says he is excited to have created a "new vibe" by inviting Andre Agassi to work with him during the French Open which starts on Sunday.
Venus Williams has pulled out of the upcoming Brisbane International after suffering a 'setback' in training
Confident Shapovalov primed to step up against Djokovic
IMAGES from the Australian Open final played on Sunday
Fourth seed Rafa Nadal was stunned by Serb Viktor Troicki in an upset-filled Shanghai Masters second round on Wednesday while Andy Murray breezed past American Steve Johnson and Nick Kyrgios slumped to a listless defeat. Troicki, ranked 31st in the world, overcame Nadal 6-3 7-6(3) in an hour and 34 minutes to secure his first ever victory in five previous attempts against the 14-time grand slam winner. The unseeded Serb broke twice to seal the opening set before Nadal came back strongly in the second. The Spaniard saved a match point at 5-4 down but was defeated in the tiebreak.
World number two Rafael Nadal confirmed on Tuesday that he will not defend his US Open crown this year at Flushing Meadows as organisers released the singles entry list for the Grand Slam. Spain's Nadal had said in June that he had reservations about travelling to the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic and he joins women's world number one Australian Ash Barty in skipping the tournament due to COVID-19 concerns.
World number one Rafa Nadal won a record extending ninth French Open title when he beat Serbian second seed Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Serena Williams faces her first seeded opponent at the French Open on Thursday and will hope to use her booming serve to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
Rafael Nadal is hungrier than Roger Federer and is likely to overhaul his Swiss rival's grand slam title tally to become the most decorated player ever, according to former world number one Mats Wilander.
A potential semi-final with number one seed Novak Djokovic looms for defending champion Andy Murray following the Wimbledon draw on Friday.
World No 1 Rafael Nadal eased into the French Open final after defeating Britain's Andy Murray 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 at the Roland Garros on Friday.
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday.
Australian great Ken Rosewall will bestow the French Open trophy on the men's singles champion next month and sees only one grateful player ready to claim it -- Rafael Nadal.
Roger Federer has secured his place in the ATP Finals for a record 15th time after the Swiss world number three won a record eighth Wimbledon title on Sunday, the Association of Tennis Professionals confirmed on Monday.
Mexico defender Rafa Marquez stuck his foot out and Netherlands winger Arjen Robben went down for an injury-time penalty that took his team into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win. Did Robben dive or was he fouled by Marquez?
Photograph of the World Cup game between Netherlands and MExico
Germany's Andrea Petkovic reached her first Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday, thrashing 10th seed Sara Errani 6-2, 6-2 after a lengthy rain delay at the French Open.
A round-up of the fifth day's play at the French Open.
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