Second seed Nadal duly won 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the third round but his 307th Grand Slam match win, putting him one ahead of Martina Navratilova and fourth on the all-time list, will not linger long in his memory.
Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut joined Croatian Marin Cilic, the former U.S. Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up, and Italian eighth seed Matteo Berrettini, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final, on the list of players who have in withdrawn from the Grand Slam after contracting the virus.
The 20-year-old Nakashima, ranked 56th in the world, hit 22 winners while limiting his unforced errors to 14 to defeat Canadian left-hander and last year's semi-finalist Shapovalov 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.
Unlike the India-Australia contests, the India versus England rivalry has been devoid of personality clashes like Shane Warne vs Sachin Tendulkar or Glenn McGrath vs Tendulkar. There were only brief episodes in the early 2000s when Nasser Hussain and Sourav Ganguly clashed with their unique captaincy styles.
India on Thursday announced squads for the three-match T20I and ODI series against England, set to be played after the rescheduled fifth Test, with Rohit Sharma returning to lead both white-ball sides.
James Anderson thought he had seen it all over the course of an England career spanning nearly two decades but the Test team's transformation under new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes has caught the veteran seamer by surprise.
Big-hitting American John Isner sent two times champion Andy Murray crashing out of Wimbledon 6-4 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 6-4 with booming serves and a barrage of aces in a second round clash on Wednesday.
More than 60 aggrieved parents of the participants in Mohali shot a letter to the organizing secretary Tejinder Bedi, protesting the participation of overage players in the week-long tournament.
Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on Wednesday after completing a season-long loan move from Chelsea just a year after his flop transfer from Italy to the Premier League club.
All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das on Wednesday resigned from his post on "health grounds", ending his 12-year tenure which was often marred with controversies.
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday clarified that he did not have any health concerns in the wake of Italy's Matteo Berrettini, with whom he had practised on Thursday, testing positive for Covid-19.
Second seed Nadal, playing on grass for the first time since his 2019 Wimbledon semi-final loss to Roger Federer, triumphed 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over 41st-ranked Cerundolo, who was making his All England Club debut. But the 36-year-old Spaniard, who has already captured the Australian and French Opens this year to stand halfway to the first mens's calendar Slam since 1969, did it the hard way.
Serena Williams brushed off any talk of retirement on Tuesday by insisting she is "motivated" to play at the US Open later this year despite a shattering Wimbledon defeat.
England's smashing form, which has seen them clean sweep New Zealand 3-0 in the recent Test series at home, makes them the favourites for the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston, feels England allrounder Moeen Ali.
Seven-time champion Serena Williams suffered a second straight Wimbledon first-round exit as she was stunned by French debutant Harmony Tan in a late-night Centre Court epic on Tuesday.
Deepak Hooda hit a master-class maiden century as India survived a mighty scare before defeating Ireland by four runs in a nail-biting high-scoring second T20 International to sweep the two-match series on Tuesday.
If you were one of those who questioned the veracity of the statement that has been swirling around the tennis world like an unruly draft, that Novak Djokovic is not appreciated enough by the fandom, then the welcome Centre Court gave it's defending champion, would've sparked a smirk. Love was in the air.
When Madhya Pradesh lifted the Ranji Trophy on Sunday, there were celebrations across the state – and in one home in Kanpur. Maybe, now he will be back…Kumar Kartikeya, the standout bowler for the MP side with five wickets, had left home nine years ago, vowing, “Kuchh kar ke hi lautunga.
Six-time champion and top seed Djokovic saw off South Korea's Kwon Soo-woo in four sets. Meanwhile, Alcaraz, a potential quarter-final opponent for Djokovic, came back from two sets to one down to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff. Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins was knocked out by Marie Bouzkova.
West Indies claimed the last four wickets swiftly despite an entertaining, unbeaten 60 by Nurul Hasan to dismiss the visitors for 186 in their second innings. That left WI captain Kraigg Brathwaite and opening partner John Campbell with the formality of knocking off the 13 runs required for victory.
Former England off-spinner and forever Ashes hero Graeme Swann talks to TOI about all things spin ahead of the India-England Test in Birmingham.
Wales forward Gareth Bale has joined Los Angeles FC (LAFC) on a 12-month contract, with options through to 2024, after his departure from LaLiga champions Real Madrid, the Major League Soccer (MLS) side announced on Monday. The 32-year-old, who signed for Spanish giants Real from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then-record transfer fee of 100 million euros ($105.84 million), will join as a free agent.
Jack Leach hailed England's new leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and red-ball head coach Brendon McCullum for bolstering his self-belief after taking the first 10-wicket haul of his Test career on Sunday.
Sri Lanka secured a stunning 3-2 victory in the one-day international series last week and the hosts will count on a bowling attack packed with spinners to give them the edge in the two-Test series beginning June 29.
Of all the six Ranji titles that Chandrakant Pandit has won as a domestic coach, the one he won with Madhya Pradesh when his team beat Mumbai by six wickets in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium must have felt the closest to his heart.
Even as he didn't blame the umpires for his team's six-wicket defeat to Madhya Pradesh in the final to Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai coach Amol Muzumdar urged the BCCI to use the Decision Review System in the Ranji Trophy knockouts in the future.
Ireland put up a spirited fight but India proved too strong for the home team to win the rain-hit opening T20I by seven wickets on Sunday. Harry Tector's counter-attacking 64 not out off 33 balls took Ireland to 108 for four after the rain reduced the game to 12 overs a side
England are 113 runs away from completing a series whitewash against New Zealand after the hosts put themselves in a commanding position with eight wickets in hand in the final innings of the third Test on Sunday.
Murray, who won the grasscourt Grand Slam in 2013 and 2016, sustained an abdominal injury during his Stuttgart Open final defeat against Italian Matteo Berrettini earlier this month, after impressive wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios.
In a major transfer coup, ATK Mohun Bagan made it official on Saturday that Florentin, a defender, will join Juan Ferrando’s side from France’s second division (Ligue 2) side FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on a two-year contract.
Kyle Mayers's undiminished appetite for Bangladesh's bowling took him to a second Test century and lifted the West Indies to 340 for five on the second day of the second and final Test in St Lucia on Saturday.
Rohit, who was playing in India's ongoing four-day warm-up game against Leicestershire ahead of the rescheduled fifth Test against England, has gone into quarantine. His availability for the Test beginning July 1 in Edgbaston will now be subject to his recovery,
Aaron Finch has paid tribute to Sri Lankan cricket fans after they turned Colombo's largest stadium yellow on Friday night to thank Australia for touring the country despite the economic crisis.
Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell consolidated a dominant position for the West Indies in reaching 67 without loss at stumps after their bowlers dismissed Bangladesh for 234 on the first day of the second and final Test in St Lucia on Friday.
Emma Raducanu is poised for a return to the grass of Wimbledon next week as a Grand Slam winner -- under pressure to end Britain's 45-year-wait for a women's singles champion.
Petra Kvitova will play fellow former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the Wimbledon warm-up event at Eastbourne.
Yash Dubey (133), Shubham Sharma (116) and Rajat Patidar (67 not out) have been the cornerstone of MP’s batting unit this season and delivered yet again. At stumps on the third day, MP were at 368/3, just six runs away from Mumbai’s first-inning total of 374.
England centurion Johnny Bairstow and debutant Jamie Overton blazed a thrilling unbeaten seventh wicket stand of 209 in 223 balls to guide their teetering side to 264 for six at the close of the second day of the third Test with New Zealand on Friday.
Nicholls, on the stroke of tea, drove hard at Leach only for the ball to ricochet off non-striker Daryl Mitchell's bat and loop gently to Alex Lees at mid-off.
World number one Daniil Medvedev lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Open on Thursday, while second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the last four.
Ahead of the two-T20I series, Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie talks about putting pressure on anxious second-string Indian team, T20 leagues and opportunities.
Domestic and Mumbai cricket's latest 'run-machine' Sarfaraz Khan is set to reap the rewards of his sensational run in the Ranji Trophy in the past two seasons.
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have dismissed concerns over Eoin Morgan's form and backed England's "phenomenal" limited-overs captain to get back to his best.
Rafa Nadal played his first grasscourt match in three years on Wednesday and the Spaniard says a couple of exhibition games at the Hurlingham Club is the perfect preparation for Wimbledon, where he will bid for a third straight Grand Slam this season.
India's ace sprinter Dutee Chand - who was once accused of being a 'man' for failing the hyperandrogenism (male testosterone) test and later subjected to a gender verification test by the national athletics federation (AFI) - has spoken out in favour of the transgender athletes, who have been banned by global governing sports bodies like swimming, rugby and cycling from participating in the women's international competitions.
Serena Williams stepped up her comeback as the American star powered to a second successive victory in the Eastbourne doubles with her partner Ons Jabeur on Wednesday.
Eight medical personnel will stand trial for alleged criminal negligence in the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, according to a court ruling made public Wednesday.
The 'cost' factor for not using DRS, which can at least prevent howlers, looks lame when you consider that the BCCI just made a cool Rs 48,390 crore in its new telecast deal for the next five years of the IPL -- where DRS is used in all the games.