Tennis

Norway's Casper Ruud and Denmark's Holger Rune led a Viking charge into the last 16 of the French Open with impressive wins at Roland Garros on Saturday. Eighth seed Ruud battled back to beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego to take his place in the fourth round in Paris for the first time having reached round three for the past three years. A little later, Danish 19-year-old Rune continued his sensational progress as he trounced France's Hugo Gaston. Things looked bad for Ruud when a

World number two Daniil Medvedev has downplayed his chances of mounting a serious challenge at the French Open after the Russian went down to Richard Gasquet at the Geneva Open on Tuesday in his first match back since hernia surgery. The U.S. Open champion, who last played at the Miami Open at the end of March, was beaten 6-2 7-6(5) by Gasquet at the ATP 250 claycourt event. "I don't play my best tennis on clay courts," he told reporters. "I know that

World number two Daniil Medvedev has not given up hope of competing at Wimbledon next month even though tournament organisers have banned Russians and Belarusians from playing at the grasscourt Grand Slam due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The decision was swiftly condemned by the men's and women's tours and a number of players, with Rafa Nadal calling the ruling "unfair". Over the past week, there have also been suggestions that Wimbledon could be stripped of its ranking points by the two tours

Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for a sixth Italian Open title and the defence of his world number one ranking with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Aslan Karatsev in the second round on Tuesday. Top seed Djokovic, who received a bye into the second round, is still seeking his first title of the year. If Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals in Rome, he will surrender top spot in the rankings to Russian Daniil Medvedev for a second time this year. The

David Goffin was impressive in his 6-4 6-2 win against Botic van de Zandschulp - earning a third round fixture against Rafael Nadal on the clay courts of the Madrid Open. The Belgian was stronger both on serve and in the return game, winning 66 per cent of his service points compared to Van de Zandschulp's 53 per cent, and 47 per cent of his return points to the Dutchman's 34 per cent. Goffin will face Nadal next for a place in the

Rafa Nadal returned from an injury layoff to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1 7-6(4) on Wednesday and reach the last 16 in the Madrid Open claycourt tournament. Nadal, competing in his first match since March following a rib injury, quickly found his rhythm in a strong start against Serbian Kecmanovic. Rain suspended play early in the second set and 21-times Grand Slam champion Nadal lost momentum. The 35-year-old Spaniard, hitting with explosive power, recovered from failing to serve out the match at 6-5 in

World number one Novak Djokovic began his quest for a fourth Madrid Open title with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday, improving his unbeaten record to 18-0 against the Frenchman. The result ensures Djokovic remains at the top of the rankings while it earned Monfils the ignominy of having the worst record against a single opponent without winning in the Open era. "I would probably rate it as the best performance of the year," Djokovic told reporters. "I felt very

Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal will make his return from a month-long absence due to injury at this week's ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open that begins later this week, the Spaniard announced on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who last played in the final of Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz on March 20, suffered a stress fracture in his rib during the tournament, forcing him to miss claycourt events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. "Despite arriving just before the tournament and preparation being difficult, I

World number one Novak Djokovic's barren title spell in 2022 continued as he went down 6-2 6-7(4) 6-0 to Russian Andrey Rublev in the final of the ATP 250 Serbia Open in Belgrade on Sunday. Playing his second tournament on clay this season after being knocked out by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte Carlo earlier this month, Djokovic was off to a slow start as second seed Rublev broke him twice to clinch the opening set 6-2. Djokovic had prevailed from a set

Russian players will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to a report in sports industry news site Sportico on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises the grasscourt Grand Slam, said it was in talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus. The organisers said it planned to announce a decision in mid-May ahead of the entry deadline for the June

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas showed no signs of fatigue following Friday's marathon battle as he eased past German Alexander Zverev 6-4 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday. Tsitsipas and Zverev had both survived three-hour tussles on Friday to reach the last four but it was the Greek third seed who appeared to have made a quick recovery as he tormented a lethargic Zverev with a barrage of baseline winners. Tsitsipas, who has now won all three of his claycourt

Thoughts of the war in Ukraine were front and centre during an emotional opening ceremony for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier tie between the United States and Ukraine in the North Carolina mountains on Friday. With 78-year-old American great King in attendance, Ukraine-born North Carolina resident Yuliia Kashirets gave an emotional rendition of the war-torn country's national anthem. As Kashirets, who was introduced as having a brother serving in the Ukraine military, belted out the anthem, players from the Ukrainian and U.S.

Second seed Iga Swiatek will face Naomi Osaka for the Miami Open title after the Pole defeated American Jessica Pegula in Thursday's semi-finals. After Japan's Osaka battled past Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-3 6-4 earlier in the day, Swiatek, who will become world number one on Monday, claimed her 16th straight win with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Pegula to reach a third straight WTA 1000 final. Swiatek sailed through the opening set but had to fight back from an early break down in

Top seed Daniil Medvedev moved a step closer to reclaiming the world number one ranking as he beat Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 on Monday to reach the last 16 at the Miami Open, while Naomi Osaka cruised into the quarter-finals of the women's draw. Medvedev, who can replace Novak Djokovic in the rankings if he reaches the Miami semi-finals, fired down 14 aces and broke Martinez three times to secure victory in 84 minutes. "I just felt like I had to be

Australian Nick Kyrgios sealed a comfortable victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, while former world number one Naomi Osaka defeated Astra Sharma. Wildcard Kyrgios fired down 12 aces and did not face a single break point in his 7-6(3) 6-3 win. "It was a hell of a performance," Kyrgios said. "Getting on late, it wasn’t easy. So I'm really proud of myself with the way I responded. I felt good, I competed well today

Australia's world number one Ash Barty has retired at the age of 25 and at the peak of her game, citing the fulfilment of her tennis goals and fatigue with life on the Tour. She quits with 15 titles, less than two months after winning the Australian Open, her third Grand Slam singles triumph following Wimbledon in 2021 and the 2019 French Open. "I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself … I don't have that in

World number four Iga Swiatek reached her first Indian Wells final on Friday after overpowering former champion Simona Halep 7-6(6) 6-4 in just under two hours. Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, prevailed in a topsy-turvy first set, saving two set points and hitting 19 winners to Halep's five to close out the opener. Halep swung the momentum back in her favour in the second set but was unable to fight past the 20-year-old Swiatek, who rallied from 4-2 down before winning 16

Australia will replace the suspended Russian team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, governing body International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Monday. Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, a key staging area for the invasion, which Russia says is a "special operation", has also been banned from the international team competitions. The Australian team were the highest ranked side among the losing semi-finalists in 2021 and

MEXICO CITY - Elina Svitolina put on the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine and beat Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Monterrey Open, deciding she could do more for her country by playing than boycotting the match. Top-seeded Svitolina earlier said she wouldn't play against Potapova in Mexico or against any Russian or Belarusian opponents until the International Tennis Federation and the men's and women's tennis tours barred competitors from those countries using any

"At this stage, one understands that tennis is sometimes not so important," said Medvedev after winning his quarter-final in the Acapulco Open. Daniil Medvedev confirmed to become new World No. 1 in men's singlesMedvedev spoke about the Russian invasion of UkraineHe will face Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of Mexican Open Daniil Medvedev was confirmed as the new World No. 1 in men's singles tennis on Thursday but the Russian star said it was not easy to focus on tennis as he was