Category: Tennis

World number one Aryna Sabalenka overcame Naomi Osaka 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-2 in a gripping battle on Monday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.

Sabalenka, who has claimed titles at Miami, Indian Wells and Brisbane this year, was tested by her Japanese opponent but came back from a set and a break down to triumph.

“I’m really happy that I didn’t give up and I was pushing until the very last point,” said Sabalenka on court.

She later told reporters: “When (she) put me under pressure, I was able to pull out really incredible shots and incredible tennis. So I’m happy.”

The first set between the two four-time Grand Slam winners was tight, with only one break point forced by Sabalenka, which Osaka saved to hold for 2-1.

Osaka dominated in the tie-break, ripping into a 5-0 lead and then triumphing when Sabalenka lashed a return wide.

Reigning champion Sabalenka stepped up a gear in the second frame, although world number 15 Osaka dug deep to survive three break points and then managed to engineer a break for herself to take a 2-1 lead.

However, the Belarusian immediately broke to love and then again in the eighth game, serving out to take the second set.

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Only Elena Rybakina has beaten Sabalenka this year, in the Australian Open final, and the 27-year-old dominated in the third set, securing breaks in the fifth and seventh games while Osaka could not put pressure on her opponent’s serve.

Sabalenka sealed her victory by serving to love with an ace to reach the last eight, where she will face American Hailey Baptiste, who beat Belinda Bencic in three sets, including losing a tie-break 16-14 in the second.

Osaka said she was happy with pushing Sabalenka to the wire after going down in straight sets when they met at Indian Wells.

“I feel like every game was super close. I think… I could potentially match her in power,” said Osaka.

“I feel like in Indian Wells I was a little overwhelmed. Here I did a little bit better.

“Obviously she’s the number one player in the world, so it was a really cool match for me to know that I’m kind of there.”

World number three Gauff, who had been dealing with a stomach bug this week, fell to a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/5) defeat by Noskova.

The Czech earned a decisive break in the fifth game of the first set, but American Gauff secured two of her own to claim the second.

Gauff moved two breaks up in the third but let the match slip away from her as Noskova pulled back to level 4-4.

The American led 3-0 in the tie-break before again she could not hold on.

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Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a smooth 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday.

The world number one extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has also captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October.

Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against the 169th-ranked Moller.

The Italian broke Moller four times and dropped serve just once late in the opening set to book a last-16 meeting with Cameron Norrie or Thiago Agustin Tirante.

“I tried to stay calm, trying to serve well in the important moments,” Sinner told Tennis TV on court after the win.

“I think today that was the key. And not a lot of rhythm, so I tried to stay quite compact and let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”

Another Italian enjoyed a successful Sunday in the form of Lorenzo Musetti, who overcame Dutch 29th seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5.

The sixth-seeded Musetti will face Czech 11th seed Jiri Lehecka for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff became the latest victim of the stomach virus that has been sweeping through the draw in Madrid but the ailing American still found a way to beat Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 and reach the round of 16.

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Several players have been struggling with illness in the Spanish capital this week, including Iga Swiatek, who was forced to retire from her match against Ann Li on Saturday, and Marin Cilic, who had to withdraw ahead of his second-round meeting with Joao Fonseca on Friday.

Liudmila Samsonova also pulled out of the tournament on Sunday citing illness ahead of her third-round match with Linda Noskova.

Gauff vomited in a bin on the court during her clash with Cirstea, and asked for a medical timeout during the latter stages of the match before she completed the win in two hours and 21 minutes.

“Yeah, I don’t know, honestly (how I got through that),” said Gauff, who will face Noskova in the last 16.

“I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So, I’m just going to try to push through for tomorrow.”

A runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in the Spanish capital 12 months ago, Gauff has 3,300 points to defend on clay from Madrid through to her Roland Garros title defence in early June.

“I pulled out in Indian Wells. I’m not someone who likes to pull out, so I didn’t want to pull out again today. So, I’m glad that I was able to get through it,” added the two-time Grand Slam champion.

“I did start to feel better, not feeling like I had to throw up. They gave me some pills, so that definitely helped.

“But I was really tired.”

Fellow American Jessica Pegula was unable to join Gauff in the next round as the fifth seed suffered a 6-1, 6-4 upset at the hands of Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Both players entered the contest riding six-match winning streaks, with Kostyuk clinching a title on red clay in Rouen last week and Pegula successfully defending her Charleston title on green clay earlier this month.

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Jannik Sinner took a first step towards a potential record fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title with a 6-7 (6/8), 6-1, 6-4 victory over Benjamin Bonzi in the Madrid Open second round on Friday.

The Italian world number one is looking to beat the record of four consecutive triumphs held by all-time greats Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal this week in the Spanish capital.

Sinner dropped only one set on the way to trophies in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, but Bonzi battled brilliantly to claim the first at the Manolo Santana stadium.

The Frenchman survived five break points to reach a tie-break, where he also saved a set point before edging ahead.

However, Sinner stepped up a gear in the second set, securing breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and another in the third on his way to the third round.

“It was a tough match, I had some chances early on, and I couldn’t use them, but this is tennis,” said four-time Grand Slam winner Sinner.

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“It’s not bad to start the tournament like this, two and a half hours on court, it gives me good feedback on where we need to improve for the next round. Of course, we need to improve, but I’m also happy when you’re not playing your best tennis and win, it’s still a good result.”

With Sinner’s biggest rival, Carlos Alcaraz, injured and unable to compete either this week or in the upcoming French Open, the Italian is the overwhelming favourite for every competition he enters in the weeks ahead.

Earlier, Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic sent world number six Ben Shelton crashing out with a 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5) victory.

Promising 20-year-old Prizmic, ranked 87th, secured his first-ever win over a top-10 player in a three-hour battle in the Spanish capital.

American Shelton triumphed at the Munich Open on Sunday on clay but was unable to force a single break point on Prizmic’s serve.

Italian Lorenzo Musetti, ranked ninth, defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

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Reigning two-time French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday he will not play at this year’s tournament as he recovers from a wrist injury.

The Spaniard said the call to shut down his clay season was made after he received the results of tests on his right wrist, also ruling him out of the Italian Open.

“We have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros,” Alcaraz said on social media.

“This is a difficult time for me, but I’m sure we will come out of it stronger,” Alcaraz added, saying that he and his team would monitor his recovery before deciding when and where he would return.

Alcaraz sustained the injury during the first round of the Barcelona Open last week, where he beat Otto Virtanen but subsequently pulled out of the tournament.

The 22-year-old announced his withdrawal from the Madrid Masters on April 17, increasing concerns over whether he would be able to appear at the French Open.

Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in January with his triumph at the Australian Open. He holds a 22-3 record this season and also won a title in Doha.

Ranked second in the world, Alcaraz lost top spot following his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final on April 12.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner triumphed at Roland Garros in 2024 and 2025. He saved three championship points against Sinner last year in the longest French Open final in history.

The Italian, who has never won the French Open, may be able to capitalise on Alcaraz’s absence. This year’s tournament runs from May 24 to June 7.

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“It’s sad news for all of us, me being a competitor you want to play against the best players in the world and he’s definitely the best player on this surface,” said Sinner, after winning a second round match at the Madrid Open on Friday.

“Being that young like he is and like I am, we need to look at our bodies first before worse things (happen).”

Sinner said he hoped Carlos Alcaraz would be back playing by the time the year’s third Grand Slam, at Wimbledon, arrives.

“It is very sad news, I was not expecting it but he and his team know very well (what they are doing),” continued the 24-year-old.

“Hopefully he can be back for Wimbledon and we all hope for great battles in the future.”

Alcaraz admitted earlier this week that if it was better for his long-term career not to play in Paris then he would take that decision.

“I’d rather come back maybe a bit later, but in great shape, than come back quickly and risk making this injury worse,” he explained on Monday.

“I have a long career ahead of me, so I’m not afraid to miss what I have to miss in order to recover as well as possible.

“I hope it’s nothing serious, but I need to fully recover if I don’t want this to cause me problems in the future.”

It will be just the second Grand Slam that Alcaraz has missed since making his main draw debut at the 2021 Australian Open. The Spaniard withdrew from the 2023 edition in Melbourne with a hamstring injury.

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Venus Williams was knocked out of the Madrid Open in the first round on Tuesday as the 45-year-old went down in straight sets to Kaitlin Quevedo.

The 20-year-old Spanish wild card beat the seven-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 6-4.

Ranked 479th in the world, Williams has now lost all seven matches she has played this season. It was her first match on clay since Roland Garros five years ago.

Every game was closely contested in a first set marked by numerous unforced errors due to the wind blowing across the Estadio Manolo Santana, but the world number 140, playing in her first 1000-level event, was the more consistent of the two.

Williams got off to a better start in the second set, taking a 3-0 lead, before Quevedo began to fight back and the match was then interrupted by rain while the roof over the centre court was closed.

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Quevedo won five consecutive games to seal her passage to the second round.

Last year’s French Open sensation Lois Boisson lost 6-1, 6-3 to American Peyton Stearns in just over an hour on her return from injury.

Boisson, who lit up Roland Garros with her stunning run to the semi-finals as the world number 361, won only four games in her first match since September.

Stearns goes on to play top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning champion and three-time winner in Madrid.

Earlier, former world number two Paula Badosa lost 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-0 to Julia Grabher as the Spaniard exited her hometown event in the opening round.

Beatriz Haddad Maia, a 2023 Roland Garros semi-finalist, went out 6-1, 6-1 to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

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French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz insisted Monday he would rather miss defending the Roland Garros title in May rather than rush treatment on a “serious” wrist injury.

The 22-year-old pulled out of the Barcelona clay-court tournament last week when he felt his wrist “give out on a return” and then revealed the injury to be “a more serious injury than any of us expected”.

He then pulled out of the Madrid Open on Friday, casting doubt on his participation in Paris as of May 18.

On Monday, that doubt deepened when he told the press at an award ceremony he was taking a long-term view.

“I’d rather come back a little later but in great shape than come back early, rushing around, and unwell.”

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“God willing, I have a very long career ahead of me, many years, and pushing myself too hard at this Roland Garros could seriously harm me in future tournaments,” he said Monday.

“Things happen in the professional world. You have to accept them,” he said. “I need to recover really well if I don’t want it to affect me later on.”

The world number two lost his top ranking following his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final on April 12.

Before that, Alcaraz had won his past 17 matches on clay, dating back to last season when he lifted titles in Rome and at Roland Garros.

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Former three-time winner Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Madrid Open beginning next week as he needs more time to recover from a shoulder injury.

The former world number one and 24-time Grand Slam winner has not played since losing to Briton Jack Draper in the Indian Wells fourth round just over a month ago.

“Madrid, unfortunately I won’t be able to compete this year,” the Serbian 38-year-old posted on Instagram on Friday.

“I’m continuing my recovery in order to be back soon. Hasta pronto!”

The current world number four lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final at the beginning of February before hinting that retirement may be just around the corner.

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He pulled out of the Doha Open later that month due to fatigue.

He reached the fourth round in Indian Wells but then pulled out of the Masters 1000 events in Miami and Monte Carlo due to his shoulder injury.

He has played just two tournaments this year.

The news is another blow for Djokovic with time running out to be fit for the year’s second Grand Slam, the French Open, which begins in Paris in a month’s time.

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Carlos Alcaraz withdrew on Wednesday from the Barcelona Open because of a wrist injury that troubled him in his first-round match, potentially casting doubt over his Roland Garros defence.

“I won’t be able to continue in the tournament,” Alcaraz told reporters a day after his win over Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen.

“I felt my wrist give out on a return during the match. After the tests, we saw that it’s a more serious injury than any of us expected, and I have to listen to my body so it doesn’t affect me in the future.”

It is the second time in three years injury has forced Alcaraz to withdraw from the Barcelona tournament. He won it in 2022 and 2023, and finished runner-up to Holger Rune 12 months ago.

Alcaraz had been scheduled to face Tomas Machac on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I have to go home to start my recovery as soon as possible with my team, the doctors, and the physical therapist, and get — or try to get — as healthy as possible as soon as possible for the tournaments I have coming up,” the Spaniard said.

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“I hope you’ll be able to see me on the court again as soon as possible.”

Alcaraz received a medical timeout at the end of the first set during his 6-4, 6-3 win over Virtanen on Tuesday but did not show any signs of physical discomfort.

He said he hoped it was “nothing” after the match and that without time to rest between tournaments that it was normal to have “little niggles”.

Alcaraz lost his world number one ranking this week following his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday. He would have had a chance to regain it by winning the title in Barcelona, with Sinner not playing this week.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in January with his triumph at the Australian Open.

He holds a 22-3 record this season and also won a title in Doha.

Alcaraz said earlier this month he was hoping to play a full season on clay before starting his French Open title defence in late May.

Last year he won in Monte Carlo but skipped the Madrid Open, returning in Rome to lift the trophy there for the first time.

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World number two Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Tuesday to begin his push for a third Barcelona Open title.

The Spaniard, who lost the Monte Carlo Masters final to new number one Jannik Sinner on Sunday, can reclaim top spot if he triumphs this week in Barcelona, as he did in 2022 and 2023.

Alcaraz, who finished as runner-up last year in Catalonia, started the first round clash slowly but found his rhythm in a dominant second set.

“I didn’t have much time to adjust in terms of training — this morning was the first practice session I’d done here in Barcelona, which makes it a bit hard to find good sensations at the start,” said Alcaraz afterwards.

“I’m happy to have come through the problems I had in the first set. Little by little, I started feeling maybe a bit better, and I’m happy to win the match in straight sets and give myself another chance to try to feel a bit better in the next round.”

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Alcaraz received some treatment from the physio on his forearm, but said he hoped it was “nothing” and, without time to rest between tournaments, that it was normal to have “little niggles”.

World number 130 Virtanen started strongly in front of a full crowd at the court named after Spanish great Rafael Nadal, pushing hard on Alcaraz’s serve, while holding his own relatively comfortably.

However, Carlos Alcaraz broke in the 10th and final game of the first set to take the lead.

In the second set, the players exchanged breaks before Alcaraz broke to love and consolidated for a 4-1 lead. Alcaraz opened up a triple match point on Virtanen’s serve and hit a cross-court winner to capitalise on the first of those.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner will face Czech Tomas Machac in the second round.

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Carlos Alcaraz lined up a blockbuster Monte Carlo Masters final with chief rival Jannik Sinner after the Spaniard ended the run of local boy Valentin Vacherot in the last four on Saturday.

Alcaraz saw off Vacherot 6-4, 6-4 to stay on track to defend his title and set up a Sunday showdown with Sinner for the world number one ranking.

It will be the first meeting this season between the world’s top two players and will decide who will be world No.1 come Monday when the new ATP rankings are released.

“I think it’s the dream spot for everyone I would say. I’m fighting for a second Monte Carlo title, he’s fighting for his first one,” said Alcaraz of Sunday’s final.

“It’s going to be a really special one. The No.1 is on the line, which will make tomorrow even more special.”

The 22-year-old Alcaraz is trying to keep hold of top spot and holds a 10-6 lead over Sinner in the head-to-head series.

Alcaraz broke Vacherot three times to wrap up victory in 84 minutes and is bidding for his third title of the season after winning the Australian Open and in Doha.

“I’m just happy to win this really difficult match against Valentin,” said Alcaraz.

“He’s playing great tennis with a lot of confidence right now, playing in his hometown. It was really tough to get the win, but I’m really excited about my first meeting with Jannik in 2026.”

Sinner eased his way into the Monte Carlo final for the first time with a clinical 6-1, 6-4 semi-final win over Alexander Zverev earlier on Saturday.

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The 24-year-old Italian becomes the first player to reach all three finals of the season’s first three Masters 1000 events since Novak Djokovic in 2015.

Roger Federer, in 2006, and Rafael Nadal, 2011, are the only two other players to achieve the feat.

“I’m very happy,” said Sinner.

“We came here trying to give myself some feedback (on clay) and now finding myself in the final means a lot to me.”

Sinner said he had felt in top form right from the outset of the match against his German opponent, ranked third in the world.

“Obviously every match, every day is different, so I’m very happy about today’s performance. I felt really solid from the beginning.

“When you are a break up straight away, it changes the dynamic of the match, so very happy and let’s see what’s coming in the final.”

As in Indian Wells and Miami, Sinner, 24, had the measure of Zverev who has not prevailed in their meetings since the round of 16 at the US Open in September 2023.

Extremely aggressive from the start, Sinner blew the German away in the opening set, breaking him three times and wrapping it up in 34 minutes.

In the second set, Zverev put up more resistance, finding his first serve again, but he still had to battle every time to hold.

He finally folded after 82 minutes on another blistering forehand from Sinner, who has lost only one set in his last 21 matches at Masters 1000 events.

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