Category: Tennis

A thrilling first-round encounter between Shang Juncheng and Corentin Moutet at the Madrid Open descended into controversy. Early on, Moutet clashed with the umpire after accusing a fan of verbal abuse and demanding their removal. He then claimed a fan spilled water on him mid-point in the third set. Adding to the drama, the Frenchman produced a bizarre moment in the decisive tiebreaker, attempting a foot return after his racquet fell while serving. Moutet ended up losing the marathon 3hr 59min match 6(9)-7, 6-2, 7-6(10) to the Chinese youngster.

"It's gotta be the longest match I have ever played in my life," said Shang after his victory. "On clay it was very tough physically against an amazing player like Corentin ... It was almost the perfect match for me.”

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Rafael Nadal was downbeat on his chances appearing at the French Open next month despite playing this week's Madrid Open. "The sensations haven't been perfect this week," Nadal said before facing the 16-year-old wildcard Darwin Blanch on Thursday.

"If it wasn't Madrid, maybe I wouldn't play ... I'll keep fighting and doing the things that I think I need to do to play in Paris." The 37-year-old Nadal has said this is likely to be his final year on tour.

• Rafael Nadal reveals fear for French Open hopes amid ongoing ‘limitations’

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Casper Ruud earned the 11th and biggest ATP Tour title of his career at the Barcelona Open as he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3 to lift the trophy at the clay-court ATP 500. Ruud's victory comes only seven days after Tsitsipas prevailed in the pair’s championship-match meeting in Monte Carlo. Ruud delivered a classy all-round display to clinch his first ATP Tour title of the season. The third seed converted three of six break points he earned during the match.

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• Spanish player beat Venus Williams in the 2017 final
• Muguruza won 2016 French Open, beating Serena Williams

Spain’s former world number 1 and Wimbledon and French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza announced her retirement at a news conference on Saturday, making the extended break she had announced a year ago a permanent step.

Venezuelan-born Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, and she reached the final of the Australian Open in 2020. Last April she said she would take a break from competition to spend more time with her family.

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• World No 1 beats Raducanu 7-6 (2), 6-3 at Stuttgart Open
• Swiatek will face Elena Rybakina in semi-final

Emma Raducanu’s progress in the Stuttgart Open was halted in straight sets by the world No 1, Iga Swiatek.

The Polish four-time grand slam champion, in her 100th week on top of the world rankings, prevailed 7-6 (2), 6-3 to set up a semi-final with Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. It was, however, an encouraging quarter-final performance from Raducanu, who has slipped to 303 in the rankings after a torrid 2023.

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• Briton wins 6-0, 7-5 to set up quarter-final with Iga Swiatek
• Raducanu ‘not surprised’ by her fine recent run of form

Emma Raducanu says the best is yet to come as she continued her excellent form by making it through to the quarter-final of the Stuttgart Open. The 2021 US Open champion beat Linda Noskova 6-0, 7-5 in Germany to set up a mouth-watering last-eight tie with the world No 1, Iga Swiatek, on Friday.

Raducanu is making her way back after a torrid 2023 but looked excellent in winning her two ties in the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend and then followed that up by swatting home favourite Angelique Kerber aside in Wednesday’s first round.

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• Spaniard ran out of steam against Australian in Barcelona
• The 37-year-old 22-time slam winner went down 7-5, 6-1

Rafael Nadal’s comeback effort ended on Wednesday with a second-round loss to the No 4 seed Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open.

Competing for the first time since early January, Nadal began his Spanish homecoming on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

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• The 36-year-old Scot has been struggling with injury
• Former US Open champion may need a wild-card entry

Andy Murray has been included in the entry list for next month’s French Open but Emma Raducanu, fresh from her success in Great Britain’s qualification for the Billie Jean King Cup finals, may yet need a wild card for Roland Garrros.

The 36-year-old Murray has been struggling with injury since he was forced to withdraw from last year’s French Open and he ruptured ankle ligaments at the Miami Open last month. But the former Wimbledon champion is listed at 56 in the 99 players named with five weeks to go before the qualifying rounds begin.

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• 37-year-old beats Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in first match since January
• ‘I’m just having fun and happy to start with a victory’

Rafael Nadal made a winning return to the court with victory over Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Barcelona Open.

The 37-year-old was playing his second tournament in 15 months after suffering another injury problem in his hip at his comeback event in Brisbane in January.

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• New tournament would take place week before men’s event
• LTA confident quality of grass courts makes two events viable

The Lawn Tennis Association is in discussions to bring women’s tennis back to the Queen’s Club in Barons Court, west London, for the first time since 1973 with a new high-profile event at the beginning of the grass-court season.

A new women’s tournament at Queen’s would take place a week before the men’s event begins and a week after Roland Garros. Since Queen’s is a relatively small club, it has neither a sufficient number of courts or space in its clubhouse to accommodate the number of players that would be on-site for a joint men’s and women’s event in the same week.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas made short work of the Norwegian eighth seed, Casper Ruud, as he seized a third Monte Carlo Masters title in four years with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on Sunday. Tsitsipas dominated proceedings against his fellow 25-year-old from the onset, cruising through six consecutive games to wrap up the opening set in 36 minutes. The second set was a much closer affair but Tsitsipas proved too strong for Ruud, as the Greek became the first player in the professional era to win his first three Monte Carlo finals in straight sets. Tsitsipas, who handed the Australian Open champion, Jannik Sinner, his second defeat of the year in the semi-finals, secured his first title of 2024.

• Stefanos Tsitsipas dismantles Ruud to secure third Monte Carlo Masters title

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• Greek player rolls to 6-1, 6-4 triumph for first trophy of 2024
• Carlos Alcaraz forced out of next week’s Barcelona Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas made short work of Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud as he seized a third Monte Carlo Masters title in four years with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on Sunday.

Tsitsipas dominated proceedings against fellow 25-year-old Ruud from the onset, cruising through six consecutive games to wrap up the opening set in 36 minutes.

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• Taylah Preston beat Marcela Zacarias 6-1 6-1 at Pat Rafter Arena
• Hosts book place in 12-team tennis tournament in November

Australia are through to the Billie Jean King Cup finals after 18-year-old Taylah Preston crushed Mexico’s Marcela Zacarias 6-1 6-1 at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena. Preston’s win on Saturday afternoon gave Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the qualifying tie.

Daria Saville and Ellen Perez later made it 4-0 to Australia with a 6-3 6-1 win over Jessica Hinojosa Gomez and Maria Navarro in the dead rubber doubles match.

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• Khachanov beats fellow Russian 6-3, 7-5 in last 16
• Medvedev launches outburst at officials during second set

Daniil Medvedev was once again drawn into a heated exchange with an umpire before crashing out of the Monte Carlo Masters following a 6-3, 7-5 defeat by his fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in the last 16 on Thursday.

The fourth seed, Medvedev, who had reached at least the quarter-finals in the past two editions at Monte Carlo, never truly got going against Khachanov. After a topsy-turvy start with four breaks in the first four games, Medvedev double-faulted to gift Khachanov the lead at 5-3, with the world No 17 holding serve comfortably to clinch the opening set.

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Daniil Medvedev had two separate outbursts during his Monte Carlo Masters run. During his match against Gaël Monfils he was a set up when he angrily disagreed with two calls on the baseline and vented his displeasure at the line judge. Umpire Mohamed Lahyani twice came on court to check calls and calm down the Russian fourth seed. Medvedev was 40-15 up but lost his serve and then went 4-1 down in the second set before winning five games in a row to seal a 6-2, 6-4 success and progress to a last-16 meeting with compatriot Karen Khachanov. Medvedev was proved correct both times and after the game, when Lahyani said he would apologise, Medvedev replied: 'How can you apologise, I lost the freaking game. How did I lose the game when it's out? It's out, it's out.' The next day, during his match against Khachanov, Medvedev was once again upset by officials after a bad line call while he was serving, this was after he hit a double fault losing his serve. Medvedev told the officials to 'open [their] fricken eyes' and questioned who would 'take action' against the bad calls.

• Daniil Medvedev loses cool again in Monte Carlo defeat by Karen Khachanov

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