Tennis

Russia took an unassailable 2-0 lead over Croatia in the Davis Cup final in Madrid on Sunday to secure their third title and first in 15 years. Reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev claimed the deciding second point by defeating Marin Cilic 7-6(7) 6-2 after compatriot Andrey Rublev beat Borna Gojo 6-4 7-6(5). Source: Reuters / Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Jan Harvey

World number one Novak Djokovic overpowered Dennis Novak after Dusan Lajovic battled past Gerald Melzer and Serbia went on to a 3-0 win in their opener against Group F hosts Austria in the Davis Cup Finals in Innsbruck on Friday. Djokovic, aiming to guide Serbia to their first title since 2010 and second overall, made light work of his opponent as he dropped just six points on serve and did not face a break point while claiming a 6-3 6-2 victory in under

Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut has been ruled out of the Davis Cup after suffering an abdominal injury in training and will be replaced by Albert Ramos, the Spanish tennis federation said. World number 19 Bautista Agut, who helped Spain clinch the 2019 title against Canada in the inaugural edition of the revamped event, was the highest-ranked singles player in the team. Ramos, 33, will join Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez, Marcel Granollers and 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who will be making his Davis Cup

Chinese player Peng Shuai has still not directly been in contact with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which says "no amount of money" would stop it pulling events out of China. Peng, 35, made sexual assault allegations against a former China vice-premier two weeks ago. WTA chairman Steve Simon told the BBC there will be no events in China next year without proof that Peng is safe. "We cannot stand by compromises. This is a right and wrong issue," he said. The WTA

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka said she was concerned over the wherabouts of fellow tennis player Peng Shuai, who has not been heard from since making allegations of sexual assault against a former Chinese vice premier. Peng, one of China's biggest sport stars, said on social media earlier this month that a former member of China's Politburo Standing Committee, Zhang Gaoli, coerced her into sex and that they later had an on-off consensual relationship. The global tennis community has grown alarmed as

Italy's Matteo Berrettini broke down in tears after an abdominal injury forced him to retire from his opening ATP Finals match against Alexander Zverev, casting doubt over his participation for the rest of the season-ending tournament. Olympic champion Zverev was awarded a win after Berrettini pulled out injured early in the second set, with the German leading 7-6(7) 1-0 on Sunday. Berrettini was sidelined for two months due to an abdominal injury he suffered at the Australian Open in February. The 25-year-old was

World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas retired injured from his second-round match against Australian Alexei Popyrin with what appeared to be a right arm problem on a bad day for seeds at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Greek was trailing 4-2 during the first set when he called the trainer on court before shaking hands with his opponent to signal his retirement. Tsitsipas declined to share details of his physical condition but added that he did not want to aggravate the problem

Top-seeded Simona Halep recorded six aces while knocking off Romanian countrymate Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Transylvania Open at Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Halep needed just 73 minutes to finish off Ruse, who committed six double faults without notching an ace. Halep won 25 of 30 first-serve points (83.3 percent). Second-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia was a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic, while Romania's Jaqueline Cristian posted a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over fifth-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece saved three set points in the first set to take down Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a first-round match Tuesday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. Tsitsipas withstood 10 aces from Dmitrov and saved all four break points he faced in the one-hour, 42-minute win. He next faces Frances Tiafoe, who defeated Tsitsipas earlier this year in straight sets at Wimbledon. Tiafoe reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Serbian

Ons Jabeur will become the first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings after reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals on Thursday and the Tunisian said she is just getting started. Jabeur, currently ranked 14th, reached the final of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic earlier this month and became the first Arab player to win a WTA title at the Birmingham Classic in June. The 27-year-old defeated Estonia's Anett Kontaveit 7-5 6-3 in Thursday's quarter-final in the California desert, converting

Daniil Medvedev was knocked out in the fourth round of Indian Wells by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday as the world number two's near-flawless start turned nightmarish in a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat. Medvedev broke Dimitrov’s serve to open the match, easing through a near-perfect first set in which he won all but four of his first-serve points and fired off three aces with just five unforced errors. The Russian, who won his maiden major title at the U.S. Open last month, was

Alexander Zverev notched his first career win against Andy Murray on Tuesday with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory that moved him into the fourth round at Indian Wells. Former world number one Murray, who got the better of the German in their two previous meetings, jumped out to a 3-0 lead and seemed to unnerve the 24-year-old by standing well inside the court when returning his second serves. But Zverev, seeded third, regrouped to win six of the next seven games and took the

Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu would face two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep if both win their opening matches at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Raducanu, an 18-year-old from Great Britain, stunned the tennis world while emerging from relative obscurity to win the major in New York last month. She arrived at the U.S. Open ranked 150th in the world and needed to get through qualifying just to reach the main draw. Currently ranked 22nd in the world,

REUTERS MUMBAI, Sept 16 - Inordinately long toilets breaks or medical timeouts at critical moments could soon be a thing of the past in men's tennis with the ATP Tour planning to impose stricter rules, a source at the men's governing body told. The practice has long been a bugbear of players, most recently at the U.S. Open where Stefanos Tsitsipas was accused of gamesmanship by Andy Murray for taking a lengthy trip to the bathroom at a critical point in their first-round

REUTERS Sept 15  - Tennys Sandgren was defaulted from a tournament on Tuesday when the American accidentally struck a line judge with a ball after himself being hit in the groin. Sandgren, ranked 103rd in the world and top seed at the ATP Challenger event in Cary, North Carolina, doubled over after being struck by a ball bounced to him by a ball boy as he prepared to serve in the second game of the match against Christopher Eubanks. Sandgren then swiped his

Russia's Daniil Medvedev won his first Grand Slam title by shattering Novak Djokovic's hopes of completing a calendar sweep of the majors in a one-sided US Open final. Second seed Medvedev, 25, lost his two previous Grand Slam finals but was composed throughout a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win. World number one Djokovic had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year. The 34-year-old Serb was also chasing a record 21st Grand Slam men's title. Victory would have moved him

World number one Novak Djokovic won a gruelling five-setter against Alexander Zverev to set up a US Open final against Daniil Medvedev and keep his bid for a calendar Grand Slam on track. Russian second seed Medvedev had earlier kept alive his hopes of a first major title with a 6-4 7-5 6-2 win over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic then recovered from falling a set behind to win 4-6 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-2. He now has the chance to win a record 21st

REUTERS NEW YORK,- British teen Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final by beating Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-1 6-4 in her U.S. Open semi-final on Thursday. With British tennis royalty Tim Henman and Virginia Wade looking on, Raducanu fended off seven break points across her first two service games and capitalized on a trio of double faults from Sakkari on the way to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Down a break in the second set, Sakkari

British teenager Emma Raducanu continued her fairytale run at the US Open by reaching the semi-finals with a dominant straight set win over Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic. Raducanu, 18, again showed all of her quality and composure in a 6-3 6-4 win. Victory means she will rise to the cusp of the world's top 50 and become the British women's number one. Raducanu will play Maria Sakkari in Thursday's semis after the Greek beat Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova. It will be the second

CNA NEW YORK : After the COVID-19 pandemic left the stands empty last year, the U.S. Open has welcomed tennis-starved fans back to Flushing Meadows and Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez has ridden a wave of support all the way to the semi-finals. Harnessing the energy generated by New York's raucous fans, Fernandez has knocked out a string of big names, including former champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber. On Tuesday it was fifth seed Elina Svitolina's turn to be sent packing by the