Nadal Family Welcomes Second Child, A Brother for Baby Rafa

Rafael Nadal and his wife Mery Perelló (Maria Francisca, or Xisca) have welcomed their second child at the Quirónsalud Palmaplanas Hospital in Palma, on October 7.

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The baby has been named Miquel. According to the Europa Press news agency the name is a special tribute Nadal and his wife wanted to make to Mery’s father, who passed away in April 2023 at the age of 63.

Rafa and Xisca’s first child, Rafael, was born on October 8, 2022

Karen Khachanov comments on Victoria Mboko win causing viral Toronto final stoppage

Ben Shelton

Karen Khachanov suggests he wasn't that surprised by the Toronto crowd's reaction to Victoria Mboko's Montreal triumph as the Russian says stuff like this is pretty common in Canada.

In case you missed it, the clock struck at 30 minutes of play in the Toronto Masters final when the crowd started going nuts – it happened as Khachanov was preparing to serve against Ben Shelton. The Russian stood there waiting for the spectators to calm down, while his American rival looked in disbelief and had no idea what was happening. The chair umpire provided quick explanation by telling the 22-year-old that the crowd was probably celebrating Mboko's win over Naomi Osaka in the Montreal final.

When the play continued, Khachanov managed to win a very tight opener against Shelton with a 7-6 (5) scoreline. Unfortunately for the Russian, he didn't manage to complete the job as Shelton came back from a set down to win 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3).

Khachanov comments on the viral Toronto final interruption

In his post-final presser, Khachanov was asked whether he had experienced anything like that before. And he said that something similar happened when Denis Shapovalov upset Rafael Nadal at the Canadian Open eight years ago.

"I think in Canada it's happening, but, yeah, if I remember, I think every year it happens, you know, from city to city they cheer for a local player, yeah. I remember I think in long time ago it was with Shapovalov, when he reached also like first time semifinals I think when he beat Rafa. I was playing I guess in Toronto, and then I remember something like this was happening, yeah," the 29-year-old said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas pumps brakes on Jannik Sinner/Carlos Alcaraz e Big 3 comparison

AlcarazSinner rivalry

Stefanos Tsitsipas says Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz undoubtedly play at "a very high level," but believes they cannot be declared better than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer until they emulate their accomplishments.

Since 2024, only two players have been winning Grand Slams in men's tennis. The 23-year-old Italian, who has been ranked at No. 1 since mid-2024, has four in his collection and all have come over the past 20 months. On the other side, the 22-year-old Spanish tennis star already has five Majors in his trophy cabinet.

The way Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the men's game for the past 20 months resembles the times when the Big Three were untouchable. Naturally, it led to comparisons between the two young stars and the three tennis icons.

Tsitsipas, who arrived on the Tour when the Big Three were still dominating tennis and lost two Grand Slam finals to Djokovic, suggests Sinner and Alcaraz can only be compared to the Big Three when they reach at least the 20-Major win mark. 

Tsitsipas: Until Sinner and Alcaraz win as many tournaments as the Big Three, we cannot say thay are better

“I don’t think we can say Sinner and Alcaraz are better than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic until they win as many tournaments and that will take a long time. What we can say is that the level from Jannik and Carlos is very high," the Greek told Tennis365.

After revealing his thoughts on the matter, Tsitsipas also stated that it was normal that new big stars would come and opinioned it would keep happening. Then, he concluded by higlighting that it would be extremely hard for anyone to beat the records set by the Big Three.

“What we can also say is Roger, Rafa and Novak raised the standards and the number of titles they won will be hard to beat," Tsitsipas noted.

Djokovic is still active and he has 24 Grand Slams, while Nadal finished with 22 and Federer concluded his career with 20.

Alexander Zverev confesses what he is trying to 'convince' Toni Nadal

Adam Walton

Alexander Zverev is very pleased with the help that Toni Nadal offered and admits he is working on "convincing" the legendary coach to do more work with him.

Following a latest Grand Slam heartbreak and losing in the Wimbledon first round, the German revealed that he was in a bad place mentally, which also negatively translated to his tennis. When making a candid mental health revelation, the world No. 3 also indicated that he may decide to put his tennis career on a pause.

After taking some time to figure out his next move, Zverev decided to reach out to Rafael Nadal's uncle. And Uncle Toni agreed to spend some time with the 28-year-old and invited him to the Nadal academy in Mallorca. However, not everything is great and ideal for the German as the 64-year-old coach has his own commitments, which make it impossible for the Spaniard to become the world No. 3's full-time traveling coach.

Zverev: I'm trying to convince Toni Nadal to do more weeks with me 

“I went there, I saw him and it was an amazing 10 days. I really enjoyed it and I’m very thankful to him and to Rafa also for welcoming me the way I did. It was really nice. The time in Mallorca was amazing. I'm trying to convince him to do more weeks with me, and we'll see how it goes, but he's a very busy man. Also he has a lot of dates that he already committed to this year, so I'm not sure how much of him you'll see this year," the three-time Grand Slam runner-up explained.

Meanhwile, Zverev is returning to action this week for the first time since his early Wimbledon exit. Since Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are not playing at the Toronto Masters, the German is the top seed. After a first-round bye, he is due to play against Adam Walton.