Tennis

For the second time in six years Novak Djokovic is halfway to a calendar year sweep of all four Grand Slam titles after winning the French Open for a second time on Sunday. The 34-year-old dug deep into his reserves of resilience to hit back from two sets down against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 and increase his Grand Slam tally to 19. That takes him only one behind the men's record 20 held by Rafa Nadal and

Unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova sealed her rapid rise in the singles game by claiming a first Grand Slam title in an emotional French Open win. Krejcikova beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 in only her fifth major singles draw appearance. The former doubles world number one paid tribute to mentor Jana Novotna, who died in 2017 at the age of 49, saying she owed her success to her. "She is looking after me from up there," said 25-year-old Krejcikova. Krejcikova has often

PARIS: A fired-up Novak Djokovic repelled a stirring fightback by Italian Matteo Berrettini to claim a 6-3 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5 victory on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final showdown with defending champion Rafa Nadal. The 34-year-old bellowed a series of frightening roars after completing a victory that at one stage looked like a formality but became increasingly fraught as Berrettini threw the kitchen sink at the Serb who becomes only the second man to reach 40 Grand Slam semi-finals after Roger Federer.

Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev says French Open organisers "preferred Amazon to people" by putting his quarter-final against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas on at night without fans. Medvedev, 25, lost in straight sets in a match played behind closed doors because of France's coronavirus curfew. Asked if he was disappointed there were no fans, Medvedev said: "Yes, 100%. "Our match was definitely the match of the day, so Roland Garros preferred Amazon to people. It's easy as that." This year's French Open has featured

Taking a hard line with elite athletes – that they are contractually bound to show up before the media - can backfire when there is anxiety among the best performers, says a psychologist. QUEENSLAND: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka took a stand this week that called attention to the mental health of professional athletes. She refused to conduct interviews with the media after her matches at the French Open, citing concerns over her own mental well-being. And, in return, the tennis authorities fined

American 17-year-old Coco Gauff clinched her second WTA title by beating Wang Qiang 6-1 6-3 in the final of the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma. Third seed Gauff - ranked a career-high 30th in the world - needed just one hour 14 minutes to overcome Wang - a player 12 years her senior. Gauff saved three break points at 5-1 before sealing the first set. She then broke Wang in the fifth game of the second set to cruise to her first clay-court title

Rafael Nadal won his 10th Italian Open with a 7-5 1-6 6-3 victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in Rome. Both players dropped serve early on in the first set before Nadal took it after securing the key break at 5-5. Djokovic dominated the second set but paid for not taking two break points in the fifth game of the decider. A stunning backhand from Spaniard Nadal saw him break the Serb in the next game before he went on to hold

Aryna Sabalenka put on a powerful display to beat world number one Ashleigh Barty 6-0 3-6 6-4 and win the Madrid Open. The Belarusian raced through the opening set in just 25 minutes as Barty failed to win a game in a set for the first time in four years. Sabalenka's standard dropped in the second set as Barty dug in to level it. A sloppy service game from Barty at 4-4 in the third handed the advantage to Sabalenka who served out

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt's induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame will be deferred by a year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions from Australia to the United States, the Hall of Fame said on Thursday. Australian great Hewitt, who won two Grand Slam titles during his career, was named to the Class of 2021 in February and was to be honoured at a July 17 induction ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame. "Unfortunately due to the circumstances

Britain's Dan Evans reached the second round of the Madrid Open with victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. The British number one, who had never won in Madrid, came through 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (7-9) 6-2. Evans had three match points in the second set but the world number 51 saved them to send it to a decider. However, the world number 26 started the third set positively and broke his opponent twice, sealing it with an ace to go through to the last 32.

Britain's Cameron Norrie fought back to beat second seed Cristian Garin and reach the Estoril Open semi-finals. Norrie, who came through a three-hour match in Portugal on Thursday, beat the 22nd-ranked Chilean 3-6 7-5 6-3. The British number two received treatment on his left wrist after the first set but rallied to register his 17th win of the season and reach a second semi-final of the year. He will face sixth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia for a place in the final. Norrie,

World number one Ash Barty said her tennis had reached a new level during a "phenomenal" week in Stuttgart where she pulled off three successive comeback wins to claim her second title on clay. The Australian, who turned 25 on Saturday, defeated fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-0 6-3 in the final to hoist her third WTA trophy this season and cement her place at the top of the rankings. The Sabalenka win followed victories over fourth seed Elina Svitolina and sixth seed

Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP's longest match of 2021. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week. Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon

Rafael Nadal stayed on course for his 12th Barcelona Open title with a 6-1 6-4 win over British number two Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals. The 34-year-old had far too much skill and guile on his favoured clay surface. The world number three swept through the opening set but although Norrie made more of a fight of it in the second, Nadal was too good. "I played well at the beginning then I stopped a little bit in the second," said the Spaniard.

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

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

Jack Draper’s ATP main-draw debut at the Miami Open ended bitterly after he collapsed with a heat-related illness and was forced to retire from his first-round match against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin. Draper, the 2018 Wimbledon boys’ runner-up and one of the UK’s best young prospects, was granted a wildcard into the tournament due to his status as a promising client of the sports agency IMG, which runs the event. During the time he did spend on court the world No 316 handled himself

World number three Simona Halep withdrew from the WTA and ATP Miami Open on Saturday because of a right shoulder injury, sending Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova into the round of 16. The 29-year-old Romanian isn't set to play again until next month's Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup. "I'm very sorry I have to pull out of singles and doubles at the Miami Open, but my injury doesn't let me play here as expected," Halep said in a statement. "I'm sad that I can't