David Ferrer was made to work harder than expected but still progressed to the third round of the Australian Open today.

Spain relinquished their Davis Cup crown tonight after veteran Radek Stepanek guided the Czech Republic to a stunning triumph in Prague.

Roger Federer progressed to the quarter-finals of the US Open without hitting a ball on Monday as Mardy Fish pulled out of their scheduled fourth-round match for health reasons.

Andy Murray put on a dazzling display for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as he crushed Nicolas Almagro to move within one win of an Olympic medal.

Rafael Nadal powered past fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to reach the semi-finals and continue his bid for a seventh French Open title.

Defending champions Spain took complete control of their Davis Cup quarter-final against Austria as they moved into a 2-0 lead after the opening day in Castellon.

Rafael Nadal has hit the ground running at the Australian Open - winning through to the quarter-finals without dropping a set - yet he accepts an improvement is required over the next week if he is to land his 11th Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal avoided the shock of all shocks by coming from two sets to one down to beat John Isner 6-4 6-7 (2/7) 6-7 (2/7) 6-2 6-4 in the first round of the French Open today.

World number one Rafael Nadal chalked up his 500th tour-level victory by beating Ivan Dodig to book his place in the final of the Barcelona Open today.

David Ferrer successfully defended his Abierto Mexicano Telcel Open title with victory over Nicolas Almagro in the final in Acapulco.

Top seed David Ferrer of Spain survived a scare to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP Heineken Open in Auckland today but fourth-seeded compatriot Albert Montanes crashed out.

World number one Rafael Nadal was made to work hard to clinch his place in the third round of the ATP Rogers Cup before disposing of Stanislas Wawrinka yesterday.

Rafael Nadal tonight shook off dogged resistance from Nicolas Almagro to stay on course for a fifth French Open title.

Rafael Nadal comfortably brushed aside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, winning 6-3 6-2.

The top men’s seeds continued to make trouble-free progress at the Australian Open today as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko all secured comfortable straight-set wins.

Third seed Rafael Nadal advanced to the fourth round of the US Open today but not without an injury scare at Flushing Meadows.

Defending champion Andy Murray admitted he had found it difficult to impose himself in the first set before eventually dominating his match to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Masters with a 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 victory over Nicolas Almagro.

Roger Federer admitted he is facing an important week in his season after breezing into the third round of the Miami Masters.

It was a good day for the French at the Australian Open today as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon all progressed to the fourth round.

Novak Djokovic believes Ernests Gulbis could go on to become one of the world’s top players after recording a straight-sets victory over the Latvian to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

Andy Murray’s French Open challenge came to a sudden halt when he ran into one of the rising stars of clay court tennis at Roland Garros.

Top seed Carlos Moya advanced to his first championship match of the season and the 43rd of his career on Saturday as he defeated unseeded Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7/5) in the Brasil Open semi-finals.

Roger Federer struggled early with the John Isner’s booming serve before defeating the American wild card 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the US Open.

RAFAEL NADAL was one point away from losing the first set before rallying to take command of his first-round match with American Robert Kendrick to move into the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.