Angelique Kerber, who will reclaim the world number one ranking on Monday, breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 second-round victory over fellow German Andrea Petkovic at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.
Form guide for American Serena Williams ahead of Thursday's US Open semi-final clash against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova:
Exodus of big guns opens up bottom half of men's draw
Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic gave Australia an unwanted reputation as a breeding ground for tennis brats during a tempestuous 2015 and the pair will be firmly under the spotlight in front of home crowds at Melbourne Park. With former world number one Lleyton Hewitt set to retire and the last of his two grand slam titles at the 2002 Wimbledon championships a distant memory, Australia has long yearned for a new force in men's tennis to challenge at the majors. Tomic, 23, and Kyrgios, 20, have both been tagged as the future of the sport in the country but the excitement generated by their undeniable talent gave way to dismay last season as the pair hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Top seed Dominic Thiem was knocked out the Rio Open in the first round on Tuesday, going down 6-3, 6-3 to Laslo Djere.
The Slovakian eventually won 6-4, 6-1 but the match will be remembered for a ludicrous umpiring decision at a crucial stage of a tight opening set.
A summary of the first day's play at the US Open.
Roger Federer may have his doubts about Australia's Nick Kyrgios, but the firebrand talent believes he is ready to become his nation's first home Grand Slam winner in 40 years.
Roger Federer got his delayed hardcourt season off to a positive start with straightforward 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Germany's Phillip Kohlschreiber to ease into the third round of the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday.
World No 55 Haase improved to a 2-2 career record against Zverev, including victories in their last two meetings.
A pioneering Kei Nishikori blazed a new trail for Japanese tennis with a shock win over World No 1 Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open on Saturday, becoming the first man from Asia to book a place in a Grand Slam final.
On July 1, 2021, Britain's Princess Diana would have turned 60 and two decades after her tragic death in a car accident near the end of summer 1997, she still holds an exalted place on the altar of the most admired people in the world, her status secure as a style icon -- as is her legacy of having forever changed the British monarchy.
The victory over the 19-times Grand Slam champion was the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title of the season for the 20-year-old German, who also beat Novak Djokovic in Rome.
Roger Federer used a dominant service game to beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6(5) in Montreal on Saturday, setting up a Rogers Cup final against German Alexander Zverev.
Karolina Pliskova ruined any chance of another Flushing Meadows sister showdown as she claimed a dramatic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) win over sixth-seeded Venus Williams on Monday to reach the US Open quarter-finals.
McEnroe had claimed that Serena, who is the best player of her gender, would be ranked 700 if she plays on the men's circuit.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Serena Williams moved another step closer to a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova on Friday to reach the last 16 at the US Open.
Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak at the China Open to 27 matches with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition over big-serving American John Isner on Friday.
It may have been the Labor Day holiday in the United States on Monday but Andy Murray came ready to work, demolishing Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to storm into the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.
Eighth-seeded Madison Keys was forced to stay up late before overcoming fellow American Alison Riske to close out Monday's play at Arthur Ashe Stadium on a busy opening day for the home contingent at the US Open.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
IMAGES from Day 8 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, on Sunday.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal progressed to the second round of the US Open after fellow Spaniard David Ferrer retired midway through the second set due to a calf injury.
The seventh-seeded Bulgarian advanced to his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Del Potro, who struggled with the intense heat in the closing stages of the one hour, 39 minute match.
Two years after Spain's stunning fall from grace in Davis Cup tennis, Rafael Nadal has hailed his nation's return to the World Group after victory in the playoff against India.
Serena Williams has been vulnerable this Grand Slam season but unbeaten in the year's first three major championships.
Rafael Nadal continued his perfect run on the North American hardcourts taming Czech Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to setup a final showdown with big-hitting American John Isner.
Bhambri, ranked 200th, recovered from a set down and registered what turned to be an emphatic 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over Pella in a match that lasted for two hours and 10 minutes.
The Romanian broke Williams's serve in the first game but that was the only one she managed for the rest of the opening set as the American bulldozed her way through the set in 20 minutes, serving it out with an ace.
Angelique Kerber's build-up for next week's Australian Open suffered a setback with the German world number one going down in straight sets to Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the Sydney International.
The draw for the first Grand Slam of the season was made on Thursday and the top seeds could face some early tests of their credentials when play gets underway in Melbourne on Monday.
Roger Federer glided to victory on another hot, steamy day at the US Open, the envy of a clutch of men's players made to work overtime on Tuesday at the season's final Grand Slam.
Serena Williams squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the decider to fall to seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4 4-6 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Grand Slam finalists Garbine Muguruza and Roberta Vinci stormed into the last four of the Wuhan Open in China on Thursday while Venus Williams ended the giant-killing run of Briton Johanna Konta.
Five-times champion Roger Federer reached his first US Open final in six years as he raced past fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 at Flushing Meadows in the semi-finals on Friday.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to beat Kazakhstan's rising star Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the second time on Saturday. In a battle that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, the match came down to a tiebreak where two shots that went agonisingly wide for Rybakina eventually decided the title in front of a noisy crowd that constantly chanted Halep's name.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber's bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles ended when 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova defeated the German 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open third round on Saturday.
Ana Konjuh was not a year old when Serena Williams played her first US Open match but both will be in the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight on Wednesday, with four gripping quarter-finals to take centre stage at the year's final Grand Slam.