Teenager Taylor Fritz earned the chance to face his hero Roger Federer after the American defeated an unranked French qualifier on Tuesday to reach the second round in Stuttgart. Federer will be playing his first match in nearly a month after recovering from back pain and skipping the French Open, as he ramps up his preparations for Wimbledon. Number 65 Fritz has had time on court with the Swiss legend -- a Wimbledon training session a year ago - but booked his place into the match of his life with a 3-6 7-6 (8/6) 6-1 win over Fabrice Martin on the grass at the Weissenhof Club. Fritz, 18, said he will not worry with nerves when he faces one of the best players on the planet. "I have nothing to lose, there is no pressure on me, I don't think there will be any nerves." The teenager said he had watched and admired Federer as a boy aged 11.
Novak Djokovic began his bid to hold on to his number one ranking with an easy win over Gilles Muller in the Paris Masters second round while Andy Murray struggled through and Stan Wawrinka faltered on Wednesday.
From a Sri Lanka cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara's final Test innings, Virender Sehwag's felicitation ceremony, FC Barcelona's Luis Suarez celebrating the La Liga title with his family, these and many more scintillating moments are frozen in time in this beautiful photo-feature.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Former US Open champion Del Potro fired down 11 aces and did not face a break point during the one hour, 33 minutes match.
Reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named top seeds for the Australian Open starting on Monday.
A long season took its toll on Roger Federer on Thursday as the Swiss was knocked out of the Paris Masters following a 7-6(3) 3-6 7-6(5) third-round defeat by big serving John Isner.
Less than a month after her run to the Wimbledon final, where she lost to Spain's Garbine Muguruza, 37-year-old Williams again had to turn back time against a young challenger.
Images from Day 2 of the French Open in Paris on Monday.
Vandeweghe, who had been suffering from flu, told reporters that Babos had been "getting in my face", prompting her to shout at her and fling her racket to the ground.
Raucous home support for holders Argentina did not make up for the absence of Juan Martin del Potro and Federico Delbonis on Friday as they fell 2-0 behind to Italy in the first round of the Davis Cup.
All the results from the matches played in the BNP Paribas Paris Masters on Tuesday
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
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.
Britain's Johanna Konta overpowered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided victory in the final of the Sydney International on Friday to claim her second career WTA title.
The Frenchman, seeded five, had no answer to left-hander Muller's swinging serve as he bowed out 6-4, 6-4.
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic made a strong return to competition on Friday by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third round of the Miami Open.
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
Images from the second day's play of the 2016 French Open at the Roland Garros
The Czech Republic retained their Davis Cup title after Radek Stepanek ruthlessly exploited the inexperience of Dusan Lajovic in the decisive rubber to seal a 3-2 final victory over Novak Djokovic's Serbia on Sunday.
Federer said the rate of dropouts would fall if the slams switched to best-of-three-sets rather than best-of-five as it would mean matches were more like "a sprint to the finish line" rather than being "a marathon" but the people he really felt sorry for on Tuesday were the fans.
Images from the action on Day 2 at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic spurred Serbia to a 3-0 win over neighbours Croatia in the first round of the Davis Cup on Saturday and they will be joined in the quarter-finals by an equally rampant France.
Roared on by 17,000 partisan fans Novak Djokovic fired Serbia ahead in the Davis Cup final on Friday but Tomas Berdych hit back for the Czech Republic to leave the tie delicately poised going into the weekend.
A round-up of results from Davis Cup matches played on Saturday and Sunday
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea entered the Sydney International final after a straight sets win over Thomaz Bellucci and Leonardo Mayer, on Friday.
Photos of Day 5 of the Australian Open being played in Melbourne
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.
Novak Djokovic says he has lost all trust in the anti-doping programme in tennis and fears he could become a victim of its 'negligence' after fellow Serb Victor Troicki failed to have his doping ban overturned on Tuesday.
Nick Kyrgios clinched his maiden tour title on home soil in a big confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open, beating Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-2 in the Brisbane International final.
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.
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
Jelena Ostapenko became only the sixth female Grand Slam champion to lose in the opening round of their title defence on Sunday when she lost to Kateryna Kozlova at the French Open.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Thursday.
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 1 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Monday
Images from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
'Djokovic is playing some of the best tennis in the history of the game.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances