Spain started their World Cup qualifying campaign with a crushing 8-0 win over Liechtenstein, laying down a marker in Group G with a ruthless second-half display on Monday.
Rafael Nadal started his defence of the Barcelona Open with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Feliciano Lopez.
Roger Federer cruised into the semi-finals of the Qatar Open with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition Feliciano Lopez.
The semi-final line-up at the Rome Masters ATP tournament resembles a Davis Cup tie after Spanish and Argentine players claimed all four berths.
The world number one went down to Spain's Albert Costa in the second round of the Rome Masters.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The men's team beat Austria to move to joint-seventh place, while the women lost to Hungary and slumped to 14th place after the fifth round in the 32nd Chess Olympiad, in Dresden, Germany.
Federer's bid to win his first title on the clay courts of the Rome Masters juddered to a premature halt on Wednesday when he lost his second-round clash against Spain's Albert Costa 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
- Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili refused to compete against an Israeli on Sunday.
The 31-year-old South African rallied from the brink of defeat against Mardy Fish to earn a spot in the last 16 of the Australian Open.
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