Federer, Djokovic headline Day 2 at Flushing Meadows

World number one Simona Halep was upset 6-2, 6-4 by unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the U.S. Open first round on Monday, the second consecutive year the Romanian has lost her opening match at Flushing Meadows.

The 26-year-old first reached the top last October but lost the spot 16 weeks later having not hoisted a Grand Slam trophy.

Rafael Nadal was made to wait before his second-round Rogers Cup match due to several rain delays but did his part to put the schedule back on track with a speedy 6-2 6-3 win over Frenchman Benoit Paire on Wednesday.

Djokovic, the ninth seed, was originally scheduled to play Australian Open semi-finalist Chung Hyeon but the 22-year-old South Korean withdrew with a back injury about an hour before the match was due to start.

News of all that's transpired on and off the football field

A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.

Defending champion Donna Vekic, of Croatia, earned a hard-fought win over British wild card Gabriella Taylor 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(3).

IMAGES from matches on Day 8 at the French Open

IMAGES from matches played on Day 7 of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday

A rampant Rafael Nadal turned on the style to beat old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 on Saturday and reach his first Italian Open final since 2014. The top-seeded Spaniard will face defending champion Alexander Zverev who overcame fourth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(13), 7-5 in the other semi-final.

Rafael Nadal swept into the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday with a ruthless 6-4, 6-1 victory over Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov. The top seed, who will reclaim the world number one ranking from Roger Federer if he wins his eighth title in Rome, turned in a near-flawless performance, losing only five service points as he honed in on victory in an hour and 22 minutes.

World number one Rafael Nadal recorded his 20th straight win on clay as he began his quest for a sixth title in Madrid, defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-1.

A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday

Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan on Friday. The defending champion will face David Goffin on Saturday after the Belgian beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round exit at the Barcelona Open when the Serb was beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 by world number 140 Martin Klizan on Wednesday.

It will be the earliest meeting between the two since their first professional match in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open.

India's men shuttlers had a great day in office with reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap winning the Austrian Open Championship in Vienna while young Sameer Verma made it to the summit clash of the Swiss Open.

Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro became the first player through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as she dug herself out of a hole to beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 4-6, 6-4 ,8-6 on Sunday.

Images from matches played on Day 5 at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Friday

The two new markets are overwhelmingly dominated by US ride-hailing giant Uber, which has been able to edge out local start-ups

Manchester United climbed back up to second in the table after second-half goals by Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard earned a 2-0 victory at Everton -- their first win in five games in all competitions.

Riyad Mahrez scored one and set up another as Leicester City strolled to a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Monday.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are just one step away from a US Open semi-final clash but both face tricky challenges to set up what would be their maiden encounter at Flushing Meadows.

Rediff.com presents matches that shook up US Open.

Naomi Osaka suffered more pain during her post-match news conference at the US Open

PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Saturday

PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.

Images from Day 4 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday

The section affected was situated just below Court Philippe Chatrier, the main arena of the Paris stadium where defending champion Garbine Muguruza was playing Estonian Anett Kontaveit.

Five things to watch out for at the French Open on Wednesday.

She will now play Dutch 15th seed Kiki Bertens, who saw off Australian qualifier Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-3, in Saturday's semi-final on the red Foro Italico clay.

Venus Williams powered into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a dominant 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over fifth seed Johanna Konta.

Garbine Muguruza emerged as a favourite to win the Italian Open after beating Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round after world number one Angeliquer Kerber had earlier bowed out to Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit.

Wildcard entrant Sharapova returned to action this week following her 15-month ban, but has looked like she never really went away in winning her three matches so far without dropping a set.

The 30-year-old Russian, who has won five Grand Slams and is among the highest-paid athletes in the world, returned to action on Wednesday with a straight sets win over Roberta Vinci following her suspension for the use of banned substance meldonium.

'Islam insists on sameness, which is fine but can run the danger to jihad against those who are not the same.' 'Brahminical Hinduism insists on difference, which is fine but can run the danger of an oppressive internal hierarchy: Caste oppression, for instance.' 'In actual fact, humans need both sameness and difference to exist.'

India and the European Union have failed to arrive at any understanding on the four-year dispute involving two Italian marines accused of murdering two Indian fishermen

Photos from matches on Day 2 at the Australian Open on Tuesday

Serena faces hard-hitting Giorgi in first round while former World No Hewitt play his final grand slam