Nadal believes he had no reason to feel alarmed ahead of the season's first Grand Slam starting in two weeks.
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan stormed into the singles semi-finals of the Eckental Challenger with a ruthless win over fourth seed Evgeny Donskoy, in Eckental, Germany, on Friday.
The Finals, contested by the world's top eight singles players and eight doubles teams, was moved out of China's Shenzhen after last year's event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second seed Rafael Nadal said he would make no excuses after his shock loss to American Frances Tiafoe in the US Open fourth round Monday, despite a serious abdominal injury that derailed his run-up to the year's final major.
The Swiss was handed a code violation for swearing in the third set of Tuesday's match after the lineswoman reported Federer to Serbian chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.
Andy Murray launched a fresh rocket at his US Open conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday, griping that the Greek player took longer on bathroom breaks than it took billionaire Jeff Bezos to reach outer space.
Let battle commence, says Djokovic ahead of Nadal showdown
Djokovic has never failed to win the tournament after making the semi-finals and he will be heavily favoured to claim a record-extending ninth title at his favourite Slam on Sunday.
Bhavinaben Patel became only the second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics after she claimed a historic silver following a 0-3 loss to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women's singles table tennis class 4 final at the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
Coco Gauff rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Swede Rebecca Peterson and reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals for the first time
Teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have both said they would not want their quarter-final, also on Tuesday, to be scheduled during the night session.
Juan Martin del Potro's return to tennis fell short of a fairytale ending on Saturday as the Argentine lost to American Sam Querrey 7-5 7-5 in the semi-final of the Delray Beach Open. The former U.S. Open champion Del Potro made his comeback at Delray Beach after an 11-month layoff following two surgeries on his left wrist. He had looked strong in his run to the semi-finals but Querrey checked his momentum by breaking his powerful serve in each set at 5-5 -- the only two breaks of the match. Del Potro, 27, was aiming to recapture his magic at Delray Beach where he enjoyed comeback success by winning the 2011 title after fighting his way back form wrist surgery.
Barty is primed to become the first local since Chris O'Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open.
Medvedev tames claycourt demons to advance in Madrid.
Novak Djokovic endured a fierce challenge to his Melbourne Park reign before overhauling Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch an eighth Australian Open crown and reclaim the world number one ranking. While Rafa Nadal rules Roland Garros with 12 titles, Djokovic holds sway in the title match at Rod Laver Arena having never lost a final in Melbourne Park.
Djokovic said it had been a friendly conversation.
Venus Williams rejected the suggestion she might be content to serve as an inspiration to younger players after her 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 defeat to fellow American Sloane Stephens in the semi-finals.
Images from Day 9 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Wednesday.
Naomi Osaka now gets to test her mental strength against a revitalised Victoria Azarenka, who stunned Serena Williams in Thursday's other blockbuster semi-final.
It was a case of better late than never as Kevin Anderson reached his first Wimbledon final after a heart-stopping 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 6-7(9), 6-4, 26-24 victory over the sport's perennial marathon man John Isner on Friday.
Images from all the action on Day 9 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
Badosa beats Fernandez; Swiatek, Halep storm into quarter-finals
Images from Day 11 of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza and Leander Paes will battle it out for the French Open mixed doubles title with their respective partners, having won their semi-final matches on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic enjoyed success at his own tennis centre when he won the Belgrade Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Slovakian Alex Molcan in Saturday's final.
Images from the women's singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he would not be surprised if Daniil Medvedev beat Novak Djokovic
In para taekwondo, India will be solely represented by 21-year-old Aruna Tanwar. The Haryana-based athlete, who will participate in the women's under 49kg K44 category, will be in action on September 2 from the round-of-16 rounds.
The Indo-Canadian got a walkover in their quarter-final clash against France's Benoit Paire and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.
18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz entered the top 10 at the same age, on the same date and after a triumph in the same tournament as compatriot and 21-times major winner Rafael Nadal did in 2005.
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
Auger-Aliassime, now coached by Nadal's uncle and long-time mentor Toni who sat in his box, will face Fritz in his final group match with a chance of making the last four.
Rafael Nadal toppled big-serving American Reilly Opelka to remain perfect on the year while unseeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic stunned world number six Matteo Berrettini.
Flushing Meadows semi-finalist Vandeweghe will take on the winner of the contest between fifth seed Karolina Pliskova and Estonia's Anett Kontaveit in Sunday's final.
It would be hard to bet against the Williams sisters meeting in their first Wimbledon final since 2009, but Angelique Kerber and Elena Vesnina won't just be making up the numbers in the last four on Thursday. While unseeded Vesnina has described her semi-final against world number one Serena Williams as a dream, she is playing inspired tennis, bringing the guile from two doubles slams to deliver baseline power and a deft touch at the net.
This is Sania Mirza's first tournament since her return to the circuit after a two-year break.
"Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can't live up to my expectations," Radwanska, 29, said in a post on Facebook.
The Spaniard, who turns 36 next week, will next meet Dutch 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp with a potential quarter-final looming against world number one Novak Djokovic who defeated him in last year's semi-finals.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who beat Switzerland's Roger Federer to win his 16th Grand Slam title on Sunday:
Live tennis action is a fading memory during the coronavirus shutdown but 20,000 fans tuned in to watch old rivals Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray chew the fat on Instagram on Friday. Sitting on their sofas at home, the duo spent an entertaining hour reminiscing about some of the classics in their 36-match series, painful losses and even came up with the perfect tennis player.
