The 32-year-old Serb claimed his fifth Wimbledon title - and his 16th Grand Slam overall - just over two weeks ago following a five-set epic against fellow great Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic enjoyed a break from his hectic training schedule as he took a romantic stroll with wife Jelena in Marbella on Thursday.

Federer and Nadal have been outspoken critics of the direction in which the tour has been taken over the last year with their great on-court rival Novak Djokovic as council president.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal looked dominant in his first-round U.S. Open match, easily defeating Australian John Millman 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Rafael Nadal moved ominously into the last 16 at the US Open with a straight-sets win over Chung Hyeon.

Golfer Tiger Woods was on hand with girlfriend Erica Herman and his children in New York on Monday to see Rafael Nadal come back and beat Marin Cilic to advance to the US Open quarterfinal.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: The watching Tiger Woods could scarcely contain his excitement as Rafael Nadal moved ominously towards yet another Grand Slam final.

Rafael Nadal is taking nothing for granted as he bids to close in on Roger Federer's grand-slam record. Nadal is chasing a fourth US Open title which would move him to within one major win.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal survived an opening set scare to power his way through to a 27th Grand Slam final, defeating Matteo Berrettini in straight sets.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Nadal denied Medvedev one of the greatest comebacks when he finally forged a 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 victory that took a breathless four hours and 51 minutes.

Nadal won his 19th major title in dramatic fashion after holding off a remarkable comeback from Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's US Open final - he is now one off Roger Federer's record.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has told club members of his plan to host the event as he looks to smash the sport's attendance record.

Every sports fan loves a good stat. And Steve Smith's achievements this summer got us discussing the best  stats across a number of sports... here are some of the best we came up with.

MIKE DICKSON IN GENEVA: Roger Federer admitted on Thursday that he and Rafael Nadal have not discussed the Spaniard breathing down his neck in the Grand Slam race.

MIKE DICKSON IN PARIS: Rafael Nadal is already assured of returning to the world No 1 spot next week, but that did not stop him restricting his honeymoon to just one day.

Rafa Nadal dethroned Serbia's Novak Djokovic to reclaim the number one spot in the ATP rankings on Monday following the Spaniard's semi-final run at the Paris Masters.

On Saturday afternoon, following his remarkable takedown of Novak Djokovic on Thursday night, he will play in the last four of the ATP Finals before another adoring crowd at the 02 Arena.

At teatime on Friday Rafael Nadal was being feted at the 02 Arena with the presentation of the year-end world number one trophy.

He's not known for being a bad sport, but tennis ace Novak Djokovic flipped a table at comedian Andy Lee out of frustration on Monday.

Dylan Alcott and Chantelle Otten have revealed intimate details about their sex life on the Paralympian's podcast with Angus O'Loughlin, ListenABLE.

Dylan Alcott and and his girlfriend Chantelle Otten had a night of beauty therapy on Monday, and gave their fans an insight into their private lives in the process. 

Bolton Wanderers could lose prized asset Luca Connell for as little as £240,000 if the teenage star, who can play in defence or midfield, decides to move to a team outside of England.

Celtic are the only club to have made an offer for Bolton teen star Luca Connell. Sportsmail understands that while there is considerable interest in the 18-year-old, Celtic a

The three teams who dropped out of the Championship last season will all play away on the opening day in League One, after the 2019-20 fixture list was revealed on Thursday.

The 38-year-old, who retired from playing in 2018, is said to be one of multiple players prepared to join Dutch businessman Rob Jansen in a project to takeover an EFL side.

Wanderers, who are currently in administration after years of financial difficulties,  on Saturday accepted around £350,000 in compensation from the Scottish champions for 18-year-old Connell

Bolton's joint administrator has confirmed a 'heads of terms' agreement has been signed with the preferred bidder as the club edges closer to being sold. Wanderers were relegated last season.

GRAEME CROSER IN AUSTRIA: Neil Lennon backed £7million defender Christopher Jullien to make an instant impact at Celtic and then challenged fellow new boy Luca Connell to do the same.

The match was due to be played on July 27 but with Oldham now pulling the plug, it has left Phil Parkinson's without a single pre-season match ahead of the new term.

Former England Under-21 striker Marvin Sordell has described football as 'a beautiful game with an ugly persona' after citing his mental wellbeing as a big factor behind his decision to retire aged 28.

Crisis club Bolton Wanderers are in administration, forcing them to begin League One life with a 12-point deduction while they wait for a protracted takeover to go through.

The Trotters pulled the plug on their fixture at just 24 hours' notice due to welfare concerns for their young squad, who have been thrust into senior action amid the off-field problems at the club.

The EFL are dealing closely with Bury and Bolton and the latter are now at risk of being kicked out of the Football League if the protracted sale fails to materialise in the next 72 hours.

Bolton Wanderers will officially begin liquidation this week after a deal to sell the football club dramatically collapsed, leaving the former Premier League side in a perilous position.

Bury have been thrown out of the Football League in a move that is expected to spell the end for the 134-year-old outfit. Late on Tuesday night the EFL announced that the Shakers had been ejected.

The League One side were given a five-point deduction, suspended for 18 months after they failed to fulfil some of their matches, as well as being handed a fine, but that has been called lenient.

The family of tragic Premier League footballer Jlloyd Samuel have made the extraordinary claim that his wife 'faked' his death in a car crash to cash in on an insurance fraud.

AHEAD OF THE GAME - MATT HUGHES: The ongoing battle for control of Sheffield United is hindering attempts to tie manager Chris Wilder and key player John Lundstram to new deals.

American drug cheat Justin Gatlin won the 100m in Brussels on Friday evening with a years best time of 9.77s, amid controversy that the twice-banned sprinter shouldn't even be allowed to compete.

Athletics fans should lay off two-time drugs cheat Justin Gatlin and direct their ire at the sport’s governing body instead, according to former Olympic Champion Michael Johnson.

Justin Gatlin easily beat two big-name rivals by clocking 9.75 seconds in the 100 metres at the Athletissima Diamond League race on Thursday.

Next month’s World Championships men’s 100m final is in danger of rivalling the 1988 Olympic final in Seoul as the ‘Dirtiest Race in History’.

Justin Gatlin could win world championships and go undefeated for a second consecutive season but he would still not be ineligible for the sport's athlete of the year award.

MATT LAWTON: Seb Coe has said he will feel ‘queasy’ should Justin Gatlin, or any other convicted drugs cheat, win gold at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: Usain Bolt goes head to head with the two-time drug cheat over 100m and 200m at the World Championships in Beijing this weekend.

Justin Gatlin is the 100m Diamond League champion after taking a closely-fought victory in Brussels at the final Diamond League meeting of the year.

JONATHAN MCEVOY: 20 years on from becoming the only man to claim an Olympic 200m and 400m double, Michael Johnson opens up on the problems facing his friend Lord Coe and British hopes in Rio.

Usain Bolt and America’s Justin Gatlin have both won through their 100m semi-final heats to set-up an epic Olympic final later tonight.

Gatlin has rejected the allegations, for which he is considering suing the newspaper, and has sacked Mitchell, who won 4x100m relay gold for the USA in 1992 before being banned in 1998.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has taken to Instagram to show off how he is keeping his reflexes sharp during the football shutdown.