Coming from a humble family at a time when tennis was considered a sport only for the upper classes in Spain, Santana became a stalwart of the country's Davis Cup team, amassing a 69-17 win-loss record in singles between 1958 and 1973. He also won the tournament at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, where tennis was a demonstration event.
'During the grass court season, I unfortunately experienced a setback with my knee, and have accepted that I must withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games.'
Prior to the kick-off of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, Rediff.com spotted some of the biggest names in sport at the Olympic Village. Check it out.
Rafael Nadal suffered a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday, a result that means the Spaniard will lose the world number one ranking.
Sparks flew when they met for the first time on the ATP Tour in Miami, with Medvedev confronting the Greek over his on-court conduct.
Here are some facts about Federer and his ranking.
Bulgarian's Grigor Dimitrov claimed a first career win over former world number one Rafael Nadal at the eighth time of asking to reach the semi-finals of the China Open on Friday.
Novak Djokovic is bidding to win the title for the first time since 2015 and equal Roger Federer's six.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal will sharpen his grasscourt game at London's Queen's Club ahead of Wimbledon in June, organisers of the Aegon Championships said on Tuesday.
'I make him play very easy. So you cannot expect to win matches in quarter-finals of Grand Slams helping the opponent to play well. That's what I did' 'It's not a bad result at all for me arriving here the way I arrived: only with one match, only with five matches in seven months. So taking the positive part, that's the thing that I have to take'
The world number one overcame a sluggish start to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 for a record 36th ATP Masters crown.
Novak Djokovic is prepared to miss the French Open and Wimbledon if COVID-19 vaccination becomes mandatory at the Grand Slams but he is not against inoculation, the world number one tennis player said.
The second round match against Argentine Federico Delbonis lacked nothing in quality power tennis but was almost entirely devoid of drama and the most notable incident came late in the third set when the ball flew off top seed Nadal's racket and hit a ballgirl on the head.
List of US Open men's singles champions since the Open Era began in 1968:
A very different Australian Open comes to a familiar end on Sunday as Novak Djokovic looks to thwart another challenge to his Melbourne Park dynasty from the latest Grand Slam aspirant in Daniil Medvedev.
Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria reported no local coronavirus cases on Saturday for the second straight day, boding well for the Australian Open tennis tournament due to start in Melbourne on Monday.
Halep said she would not recover from a calf injury in time, Wawrinka underwent foot surgery that would rule him out of the Games
Rafael Nadal's decision to end his season early means Cilic is actually holding the last berth for the eight-man showdown at London's O2 Arena.
Dominic Thiem has reached a Grand Slam final three times - only to lose on each occasion
"At this point of the season for me, every victory is important, every title means a lot to me. This is not confidence for Wimbledon, this is an important victory for me and I'm happy for that today.
"At this point of the season for me, every victory is important, every title means a lot to me. This is not confidence for Wimbledon, this is an important victory for me and I'm happy for that today.
'...What is at stake, however, is his ability to assess the need for vaccinations or whether the vaccine has been tested for a sufficient period of time. And ... he has neither the knowledge nor the studies nor the research work that would allow him to form an opinion about it.'
World number one Rafael Nadal, who is struggling to get any match practice before the Australian Open, will play an exhibition event at Melbourne Park in the week leading up to the season opening Grand Slam, organisers said on Monday.
Nadal paid tribute to his uncle and coach Toni after winning a record-extending 10th French Open title on Sunday.
Victory on Sunday would see Nadal become the first player to win the same grand slam 10 times in the modern era.
Legendary Rafael Nadal was at his energetic best in his two wins as rampaging Indian Aces continued their sparkling run in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) with a 30-12 rout of the Philippines Mavervicks, on the opening day of the Indian leg of the event.
The Spaniard, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in a grand slam, grew in confidence in the second set, however, with the backing of the home support on the Manolo Santana court and saved two break points before forcing a decider.
How Nadal surpassed the haul of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Dominic Thiem to win his 12th French Open title:
The victory saw him move up by three places to stand only behind Spain's Rafael Nadal and Swiss star Roger Federer.
Tiley denies reports Djokovic will sue Tennis Australia
Big serving Berrettini is having a breakout year, with two titles under his belt, one on grass and one on clay, and is now on the brink of becoming the first Italian male grand slam finalist in more than 40 years.
Rafael Nadal, after having suffered a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) loss in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors to teenager Borna Coric, has shut down his season to undergo appendix surgery.
World number one Rafa Nadal's participation in the season-ending Tour finals hung in the balance when the Spaniard pulled out of the Paris Masters with injury on Friday.
Images from Day 5 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Kyrgios was due to play Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round in Rome, but was replaced by lucky loser Alexandr Dolgopolov in the men's draw.
Rafael Nadal to play for Spain in new Davis Cup Finals while World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, have already said they would support the ATP Cup -- seen as a rival team event to the Davis Cup -- when it begins in Australia just a few weeks after the ITF's flagship event.
Seven months after the last French Open ended the tournament is back, boosted by the prospect of more spectators despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and forecasts of good weather.
Here is a factual guide on the man of the moment...
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