Tennis

Eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Germany's Nastasja Schunk on Monday in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany. Bencic completed the victory over the 17-year-old Schunk in one hour and 28 minutes. Schunk made it into the main draw with two qualifying victories. The day's only other first-round match featured Maria Sakkari and the Greek recorded six aces while posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory over German wildcard Andrea Petkovic. Sakkari won

Roger Federer has confirmed he will play in this year's French Open as he continues his return from injury. Federer, 39, is making his comeback after two knee operations and has not played a Grand Slam since January 2020. The 20-time Grand Slam winner made his return after 14 months out at last month's Qatar Open but has not played since. On Sunday, he said will play the clay-court Geneva Open in May followed by Roland Garros, which begins on 30 May. Federer, who won his only

Great Britain moved a step closer to the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals after Katie Boulter clinched victory in their play-off tie against Mexico. With Britain leading 2-1 in the best-of-five tie, 24-year-old Boulter won 6-4 6-1 against Giuliana Olmos. Anne Keothavong's team progress to next year's qualifiers, where another win will put them in the 12-team finals. "We came in with high expectations and the players delivered," said Keothavong. "It is a special feeling at this stage of the competition to

British number one Dan Evans saw his run at the Monte Carlo Masters ended in the semi-finals by Greek world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas. Evans had previously enjoyed little success on clay until this week, when he shocked world number one Novak Djokovic on the way to the last four. However, beating Tsitsipas proved a step too far as 30-year-old Evans was outclassed in a 6-2 6-1 defeat. Tsitsipas will meet Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev in the final on Sunday. Despite the

Rafa Nadal suffered a shock quarter-final defeat by Russian Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday as he was overpowered 6-2 4-6 6-2, only his sixth ever loss at the tournament he has won 11 times. The Spaniard was in danger of being thrashed when Rublev led by a break in the second set, having dominated the opener, but showed his trademark grit to battle back. Rublev was unrelenting, however, and bludgeoned his way into a 5-1 lead in the second

British number one Dan Evans claimed the biggest win of his career by beating Novak Djokovic in the last 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters. Evans, who has struggled on clay in recent times, started superbly against the world number one, breaking him in his first two service games. He was able to wrap up the opening set before Djokovic fought back at the start of the second. But Evans recovered and held his nerve to wrap up a 6-4 7-5 win. It

Empty stands has been the new normal for tennis since last year due to COVID-19 restrictions but top men's players like Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic said they still find it difficult to maintain their intensity during matches in the absence of fans. The professional circuit was shut down for several months last year before tournament organisers set up 'biosecure bubbles' for players and support staff while keeping fans away from stadiums. Barring the swing in Australia in February, tournaments continue to be

Rafa Nadal said he was not worried about contracting COVID-19 despite having trained with Daniil Medvedev, who was forced to withdraw from this week’s Monte Carlo Masters after a positive test. Russian Medvedev, who was seeded second at the ATP Masters 1000 event, was put in isolation on Tuesday, a day after he practised with world number three Nadal. “I was not worried because I practised with him, but I was never close to him,” Nadal said after his second-round victory over Federico

British number one Dan Evans will face Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters after easing past Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. Evans, who sealed his first tour-level win on clay in four years on Tuesday, beat the Polish 13th seed 6-4 6-1. Djokovic beat Italian teenager Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 in what was the world number one's first match since winning the Australian Open in February. "It was a very good encounter," said the Serb, 33. "I thought

Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Tuesday in their second-round match at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Tsitsipas smashed four aces en route to dispatching Karatsev in one hour, 24 minutes. He advanced to the third round of the tournament for the second straight edition. “I’m putting (in) hours on the court, trying to become consistent (and) get close to the legends of our sport,” Tsitsipas said. “I am working every

Mixed doubles will return for the 2021 French Open after being cancelled last year because of Covid-19 restrictions. The draw will feature 16 pairs, rather than the usual 32, when the tournament begins in May. Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Croatia's Ivan Dodig are the two-time defending champions on the Roland Garros clay. The French Open will run from 30 May to 13 June after being pushed back by a week in the hope that more spectators will be able to attend. Source:

Top-seeded Daniel Evans of England fell in three sets to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on the clay courts of the Sardegna Open on Thursday in Cagliari, Italy. Musetti won 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (8). Australian and No. 6 seed John Millman was also upset, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Laslo Djere of Serbia. Third-seeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy defeated Gilles Simon of France in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Also, Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann defeated Marco Cecchinato of Italy 7-5, 6-1. Andalucia Open Third-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway

MADRID: Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal, has confirmed he will work with the 20-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Auger-Aliassime is 22nd in the ATP world rankings and one of the rising stars of men's tennis. "When the offer reached me, I told him to come to the Academy (the Rafa Nadal Academy) for 10 days so that he could see if what I could offer him may or may not suit him," Toni Nadal told Marca on Thursday, adding

The French Open has been postponed by a week in the hope that more spectators will be permitted to attend. The Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros will now run from 30 May to 13 June with qualifying the week before. France is in a third nationwide lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which president Emmanuel Macron previously said he expected to end in mid-May. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) said postponing was the "best solution". "I am delighted that the discussions

Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, has joined the coaching team of Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Nadal, widely known as 'Uncle Toni', coached his nephew from childhood and through his adult career until he stood down in 2017. He will now join the team of highly-rated Auger-Aliassime, 20, starting at next week's Monte Carlo Masters. "I never considered before to work for someone else," Nadal, 60, said. Nadal left his nephew's team after helping him to

Sloane Stephens, looking to shake off a poor start to the season, notched her biggest victory of 2021 on Wednesday, upsetting eighth-seeded Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Volvo Car Open at Charleston, S.C. Stephens lost in the first round of each of her first four events of the year, including the Australian Open, before falling in the second round at the recent Miami Open. On Tuesday, she defeated China’s Xinyu Wang in straight sets before winning an all-United

Heather Watson will lead Great Britain squad for their Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie against Mexico. British number one Johanna Konta was not available for selection as she continues to manage a longstanding knee problem. Heather Watson is the highest-ranked player in the squad, which also includes Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter. The tie will take place behind closed doors in Roehampton on 16-17 April. With the WTA season about to enter the clay swing, Konta did not

American teenage prodigy Coco Gauff says she is spending less time on social media now as she focuses on charting her own course to success in tennis. Gauff has been in the spotlight ever since her astounding run as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon in 2019, where she knocked out her idol and five-time champion Venus Williams after becoming the youngest player in the professional era to survive the qualifying draw. Her dream run at the grass court Grand Slam continued until the fourth

Britain's Beth Potter ran the second-fastest road 5km ever by a female athlete at a race in the Lancashire village of Barrowford. Scottish runner Potter, 29, who competed at the 2016 Olympics, clocked a time of 14 minutes 41 seconds on Saturday. Potter's time may also eventually be classified as a world record. Only Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei has ever run faster - recording 14:32 during a 10km race in Prague in 2017. However, 5km road racing has only been recognised as an official

The No. 1-ranked Ash Barty won her second successive Miami title. Ash Barty pushed a forehand winner into the open court as her opponent, Bianca Andreescu, laid on her back in the far corner, injured yet again. With that, the Miami Open final was decided. Andreescu limped through 11 more points before she retired, crying, shaking her head and trailing 6-3, 4-0. The No. 1-ranked Barty won her second successive Miami title Saturday, and the Australian was already in control of the match