Rafael nadal

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will start his bid to lift a record eighth Australian Open title against Jan-Lennard Struff. read more

The last time a player outside of the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic laid his hands on a Grand Slam title was Stan Wawrinka, at the 2016 US Open. It’s been 12 Grand Slams of renewed dominance of the familiar trio. read more

Federer is bidding for a seventh Australian Open title and a record-extending 21st Grand Slam trophy but will require a near-perfect fortnight and a slice of fortune to achieve it. read more

Qualifying for the first Grand Slam of the year started late due to the conditions and Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic did not cope well, bringing an early end to her match against Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele after a coughing fit. read more

Five players to watch in the men’s draw at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, which starts on Monday: read more

Alexander Zverev and David Goffin were due on the Melbourne Park courts first, followed by world number one Rafael Nadal. read more

Novak Djokovic won all eight of his matches last week and beat his rival 6-2, 7-6 (7\/4) in the final to close the gap between the world’s top two players to just 510 points. read more

Nadal won the International Tennis Federation’s revamped Davis Cup competition with Spain in November and lost Sunday’s final of the inaugural ATP Cup to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia. read more

The world number two was in fine touch at the ATP Cup, leading Serbia to victory over 23 other nations in the new men’s team event, overpowering Davis Cup champions Spain in the final in the early hours of Monday. read more

A fresh Djokovic returned to Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena for the deciding doubles but Nadal opted not to, saying his energy levels were too low, with Feliciano Lopez partnering Pablo Carreno Busta. read more

Djokovic won 6-2 7-6(4), extending his dominance over the Spaniard on hardcourts, a surface Nadal has not beaten him on since 2013. read more

World number one Nadal ground down pumped-up Australian Alex de Minaur to guide the Davis Cup champions through their semi-final while Djokovic battled past Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. read more

The tie will now be decided by a high-stakes doubles match, after Spain claimed the opening singles early in the evening when Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Kimmer Coppejans 6-1 6-4. read more

Rafael Nadal was heavily favoured to win the match and secure Spain a berth in the semi-finals after Roberto Bautista Agut eased past Kimmer Coppejans 6-1, 6-4 in the first singles match. read more

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