The Australian Open, Wimbledon and French Open champion will play the winner of Friday's match between Stepanek and Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko, conqueror of Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
Right across the four Grand Slam events -- the Australian Open, U.S. Open, Wimbledon and French Open -- comparative prize pools have been affected by volatile exchange rates, largely caused by the recession.
Nadal joins Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having swept the board, and also becomes the first man since Laver in 1969 to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year.
The good news is the player is considered a true contender for one of the four Grand Slam events: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
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But the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open finalist responded admirably, winning the second set before wrapping up proceedings in the third in 30 minutes.
There were 33 thirty-somethings in the Australian Open earlier this year, and last year there were 26 at the U.S. Open, 24 at Wimbledon and 21 at the French Open.
Nadal recovered from that disappointment in spectacular style by going unbeaten through the clay-court season and winning the French Open, Wimbledon - beating Murray in the semi-finals - and a first US Open title to complete the Grand Slam set.
It looks a bit like Paris and the French Open is a bit under pressure because Wimbledon and obviously the Australian Open both have roofs.
The other is a highly-regarded sportsman who holds the records (tied) for most U.S. Open (five) and Wimbledon (seven) titles in the Open era.
His famed "cannonball" serves worked particularly well on the fast grass surfaces on which the U.S. Open and Wimbledon were staged.
His famed "cannonball" services worked particularly well on the fast grass surfaces on which the U.S. Open and Wimbledon were staged.
The 28-year-old American captured two grand slam titles, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, to improve her collection to 11 majors.
French Open and Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal will face Jesse Levine after the American qualifier beat Canadian wildcard Peter Polansky 6-2 6-4.
But Venus admitted that her sibling is beginning to enjoy the competition after defeating her in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.
However, he made it to the semifinals at Roland Garros in June and also the last eight at January's Australian Open and Wimbledon in July.
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Having already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and with a 10-1 career record against Roddick, it was no surprise when Federer started superbly.
He has lost just once in 2011 as his 48-1 mark, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, rivals the 1984 season of John McEnroe when he began 52-1.
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Nadal is the the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back, and now has five Grand Slam titles.
Early exits at Wimbledon and the US Open followed and despite an all-round game that could make him a dominant force, questions remain over his desire and commitment.
Brokers also provided the respondents with gifts including premium tickets to the World Series, the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Rolling Stones concerts, and dozens of other sporting events and concerts.
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Nadal, who won both Wimbledon and the French Open this year, last played at the Paris Masters in October, when he was forced to pull out because of his injury problems.
Though not as accomplished as Andy Roddick at the same age, the hard-hitting, thickly built 20-year-old from Nebraska has an aggressive style that seems a perfect fit for the U.S. Open or Wimbledon.
It is the first time since 2007 that Murray has retired during a contest -- that was at the Hamburg Open where he suffered a wrist injury which ruled him out of the French Open and Wimbledon.
The French Open and Wimbledon champion, looking to join Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras as the only men to win the season-ending championships five times, powered through the set to win in one hour and 59 minutes.
After winning Wimbledon and the US Open last year, Williams' total of grand slam titles is only three fewer than Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, who together are second on the all-time list behind Steffi Graf with 22.
Her older sibling Venus, who is in the same half of the draw, bounced back from her early exits at the French Open and Wimbledon by thrashing Roland Garros runnerup Sara Errani 6-3 6-1 in her delayed first-round match.
He covered Spain's 2010 World Cup victory from Madrid and has broadcast live from Wimbledon, the US Open (both tennis and golf), the Ryder Cup, the Open Championship, the Rugby World Cup, the Tour de France, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and five consecutive Champions League finals.
Sampras' 14 Grand Slam singles wins are made up of seven Wimbledon titles, two Australian Open victories and five wins at Flushing Meadows.
The world No. 2 had to work hard for victory against Errani, who she defeated in last year's French Open to achieve her career grand slam, having previously won Wimbledon (2004), the U.S. Open (2006) and the Australian Open (2008).
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain also progressed with a 6-2 6-3 win over former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt.
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