Category: Tennis

World number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka powered past second-ranked Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to line up a Miami Open title clash with Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka, who fell to Rybakina in the Australian Open final before turning the tables on the Kazakh in the Indian Wells title match earlier this month, broke the big-serving Rybakina twice in each set to come out on top in the blockbuster semi-final and keep her bid for the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and Miami on track.

“I think I did everything right,” said Sabalenka, who applied ruthless pressure on Rybakina’s serve while delivering a sterling service performance that featured nine aces — including four in a row across the seventh and ninth games of the opening set.

“She’s an incredible player, always pushes me to the limit,” Sabalenka said. “With her, you have to bring your best tennis, and that’s why I was able to pull out such great tennis today.”

Sabalenka had to save a match point to beat Rybakina in Indian Wells, but she was on the front foot on Thursday, seizing a break for a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

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Rybakina recouped the break immediately, but Sabalenka broke again to pocket the set and took command in the second with a break for 2-0 in a game which Rybakina led 40-0.

Trailing 0-4, Rybakina clawed back a break for 4-1, but Sabalenka wouldn’t flinch again. Rybakina saved one match point on her own serve before Sabalenka served it out with a love game punctuated by a fierce forehand winner.

The match marked the first time outside the WTA Finals that the world’s two top-ranked players met before a final since Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna in the 1998 US Open semi-finals.

It could only come about because Rybakina was seeded third, her rise to second in the rankings on Monday coming a day after the Miami draw was made.

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Jannik Sinner powered into the Miami Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, defeating unseeded American Alex Michelsen in straight sets to stay on course for the “Sunshine Double”.

Italian second seed Sinner, who is bidding to follow up his triumph at Indian Wells with victory in Miami, bided his time before completing a 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) win in 1hr 41min.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who will face 19th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last eight, was made to work hard by the 40th-ranked Michelsen.

After a cagey opening, Sinner began to put pressure on Michelsen’s serve in the ninth game of the first set, carving out three break points.

Michelsen rode out that storm, but Sinner finally broke through in the 11th game before serving out for the first set.

Michelsen hit back in the second set, breaking Sinner for a 4-2 lead before holding to go 5-2 up.

Michelsen appeared to struggle with the bright late afternoon sunlight on the Hard Rock Stadium’s main court, and Sinner came roaring back to force a tiebreak.

Sinner sealed the win with a thumping serve that Michelsen could only return wide.

“I feel like I served very well in important moments and that helped me out, especially in the tough moments,” said Sinner, who unfurled 15 aces to Michelsen’s three.

“But today was not easy, I played a night match yesterday and today in the daytime, so the conditions were very different.”

Home hope Tiafoe advanced to his quarter-final date with Sinner after battling past France’s Terence Atmane 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

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Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce, ranked 151st in the world, upset American 32nd seed Sebastian Korda to score a 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory.

The win marked another impressive victory for the 20-year-old Landaluce, who eliminated Russian 14th seed Karen Khachanov.

Korda, who had beaten world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round, had a match point late in the second set, but Landaluce survived to set up a quarter-final against Czech 21st seed Jiri Lehecka.

Landaluce, who had failed to register a single win at tour level in 2026 before arriving in Miami, dedicated his latest success to his late grandmother.

“She would have been 101 last week, and she passed away a few months ago. I wanted to give her the victory,” Landaluce said.

Lehecka booked his place in the quarter-finals by ousting sixth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 in 2hr 25min.

“I just felt that in the third set, if I wanted to beat a guy like Taylor, I just needed to go for it and be aggressive,” Lehecka said.

American 22nd seed Tommy Paul set up a quarter-final against France’s Arthur Fils after cruising past Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry 6-1, 6-3.

Fils beat Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4.

Argentina’s 18th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo followed up his upset of Daniil Medvedev on Monday with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 defeat of French 31st seed Ugo Humbert.

Cerundolo will face Alexander Zverev in the last eight after the German third seed defeated France’s Quentin Halys 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1).

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World No. 2 Jannik Sinner continued his dominant run, cruising into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a commanding straight-sets victory while also rewriting the record books.

The Italian star brushed aside France’s Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-4 in a one-sided third-round encounter, extending his remarkable streak at Masters 1000 events.

In doing so, Sinner registered his 25th and 26th consecutive sets won at this level, surpassing the previous record of 24 set by Novak Djokovic in 2016.

The 23-year-old has now won his last two Masters 1000 titles, Indian Wells and Paris, without dropping a single set.

“I am very happy,” Sinner said after the match. “This sport is unpredictable, so we try to keep attention as much as we can, and we’ll see what is coming in the next round.”

Jannik Sinner was in complete control from the outset on the Hard Rock Stadium’s main court, racing to a 4-1 lead after winning 19 of the first 26 points.

He wrapped up the opening set in just 22 minutes and never allowed Moutet a foothold in the contest.

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The second seed fired seven aces, converted three of six break points, and saved the only break opportunity he faced. He will next take on American Alex Michelsen, who staged a comeback win over Alejandro Tabilo.

While Sinner’s campaign gathers momentum, the tournament has seen a wave of high-profile exits.

Defending champion Jakub Mensik was knocked out in a marathon clash against Frances Tiafoe, who edged a gripping three-set battle 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11).

The nearly three-hour encounter saw Mensik save six match points before eventually succumbing, while Tiafoe himself held his nerve after saving two match points in the final-set tiebreak.

The American will now face France’s Terence Atmane in the next round.

Atmane progressed with a notable upset over Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, adding to a growing list of seeded casualties in Miami.

Among the biggest shocks was the early exit of Daniil Medvedev, who fell to Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in three sets. The tournament had already seen world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Alex De Minaur and Ben Shelton bow out earlier.

READ: Sabalenka downs Zheng to reach Miami Open quarters

World number one Aryna Sabalenka stayed on course for a rare “Sunshine Double” on Monday, downing China’s Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.

Sabalenka, who is aiming to defend the Miami title she won for the first time last year, eased past 2024 Olympic champion and 23rd seed Zheng 6-3, 6-4 in 1hr 25min to book her place in the last eight.

The 27-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion is bidding to join an elite group of women who have won both the WTA Indian Wells and Miami Open in the same year.

Only four other women — Steffi Graf in 1994 and 1996, Kim Clijsters in 2005, Victoria Azarenka in 2016 and Iga Swiatek in 2022 — have achieved the feat.

Sabalenka, who beat Elena Rybakina to win in Indian Wells earlier this month, will face unseeded American Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-finals.

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On Monday’s form, few would bet against the big-hitting four-time Grand Slam champion from Belarus, who comfortably disposed of 23rd seed Zheng in 1hr 25min.

“She’s a tough opponent, and I’m super happy with the level I played at today,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “I can definitely say that it felt like home.

“I feel like I’m getting better, serving better, getting used to these conditions, which are tricky. But I’m getting more and more comfortable with every match,” added Sabalenka, who faces unseeded American Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-finals.

Baptiste was one of three American women to advance to the last eight on Monday.

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World number one Carlos Alcaraz was dialed in on Friday, powering past rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Miami Open.

The 22-year-old Spaniard used an early break in each set and saved all three break points he faced in a confident performance at Hard Rock Stadium, where 19-year-old Fonseca was cheered by a raucous contingent of fans.

“I was really good from the beginning until the last ball,” Alcaraz said. “I know how good Joao is and that’s why I was really focused, every point, every shot, trying to figure out what is the best possible shot for me.”

Alcaraz bounced back from his semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells last week to improve to 17-1 in 2026.

That includes an Australian Open title that made him the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam and a title in Doha.

Alcaraz gained the upper hand against 39th-ranked Fonseca with a break for 2-1 in the opening set, delivering a blistering forehand service return winner on break point.

He closed out the set with a love game, broke Fonseca to open the second and secured the victory with his eighth ace on match point.

It was extra satisfying since Alcaraz was stunned in his Miami opener by David Goffin last year.

“He had a lot of chances to stay in the match to (keep it) tight, so I’m just happy to stay calm, stay positive at these moments,” said Alcaraz, who next faces American Sebastian Korda, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Camilo Ugo.

Women’s number one Aryna Sabalenka held off determined American Ann Li 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to launch her Miami title defense.

The Belarusian was pleased to get through in straight sets against her 39th-ranked foe in a match moved to the third show court as organizers hustled to get the rain-hit tournament back on schedule.

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She needed more than an hour to pocket a first set in which she led 4-1 and wasted seven break points in the eighth game.

“I was there, I was fighting no matter what, even though my game probably wasn’t the best one that I have,” Sabalenka said.

Third-seeded Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff and sixth-seeded compatriot Amanda Anisimova also reached the third round.

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, who stunned Sabalenka in the final in Melbourne but fell to the world number one in the Indian Wells final, beat compatriot Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-3.

French Open champion Gauff rallied to beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match delayed several hours by rain.

Anisimova outlasted Australian veteran Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

It was Gauff’s first match since she retired during her third-round match at Indian Wells with “scary” pain in her left arm.

Gauff said the injury was improving.

“I might feel it sometimes on court, but I definitely feel it less and less every day,” said Gauff, who took some time to find her rhythm against the aggressive Cocciaretto.

“She takes the ball so early, you don’t have a lot of time to react,” Gauff said. “Today, once I got adjusted to the tempo of play I was able to control the rallies when they went the distance.”

In other men’s action, 56th-ranked American Ethan Quinn upset Norway’s 11th-seeded Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), saving seven set points in the second set on the way to victory.

Japanese wildcard Rei Sakamoto bagged his maiden ATP match win, converting his fifth match point in a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) first-round victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic.

The 19-year-old ranked 164th booked a showdown with in-form Indian Wells finalist Medvedev.

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Carlos Alcaraz had to dig deep to extend his 2026 unbeaten run, rallying from a set and a break down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 in the third round at Indian Wells on Monday.

The big-serving Frenchman’s aggressive game forced world number one Alcaraz to call on every shot in his arsenal to turn a tense contest his way.

Alcaraz will face 13th-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud for a place in the quarter-finals.

“Really happy that I was able to turn things around,” said Alcaraz.

The Spaniard nearly managed to steal the first-set tiebreaker, in which he had trailed 2-5, but a wayward forehand on set point gave Rinderknech his chance to pocket the set with a pair of winners.

Rinderknech then produced the first service break of the match to put the top seed in a hole in the opening game of the second set.

Alcaraz responded with an immediate break back, ramping up the pressure on Rinderknech’s serve on the way to a decisive break in the sixth game.

When Alcaraz broke again to open the third set, he was on his way, rolling to his sixth win over 26th-ranked Rinderknech in six career meetings.

“In the beginning, I was a little bit mad with myself because I just had a lot of chances in the first set, a few break points, a set point, and I couldn’t make it,” Alcaraz said.

“I got in trouble, to be honest. But I’m just really happy with the way that I just dealt with everything that was happening, accepted it, kept going, stayed strong mentally.”

Rinderknech had never won a match in Indian Wells in three prior appearances, and he leaves this edition without an on-court victory after enjoying a first-round bye and advancing to the third round by walkover.

Carlos Alcaraz, 22, became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with his victory at the Australian Open.

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He followed that up with the Qatar Open title, and with two wins under his belt in Indian Wells, is now 14-0 on the season.

He next faces Ruud, who beat Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was hard going for world number three Novak Djokovic in his 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory over 72nd-ranked American Aleksandar Kovacevic, who peppered Djokovic with 16 aces.

Djokovic made an early break to take the first set, but Kovacevic found his groove and rolled through the second against the clearly frustrated Serb.

Djokovic regrouped in the third but didn’t find the break he needed until the final game.

“Today was really anybody’s game until the last couple of points,” Djokovic said. “That last game in the third, where he missed some first serves, gave me looks on the second, and I used it. That’s pretty much it.”

With five Indian Wells titles, Djokovic is tied for the record with Swiss great Roger Federer, but he’s in the fourth round for the first time since 2017.

Djokovic next faces defending champion Jack Draper, who beat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5.

Draper’s victory here last year launched his rise to fourth in the world.

But he then missed the better part of six months with an arm injury and arrived in California ranked 14th, his win over Cerundolo marking the first time since June that he’s posted back-to-back ATP victories.

A trio of top-10 players were sent packing.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie ousted sixth-ranked Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4, Alex Michelsen beat seventh-ranked fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) and Australian qualifier Rinki Hijikata, ranked 117th in the world, shocked 10th-ranked Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

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INDIAN WELLS: World number one Aryna Sabalenka made a sparkling appearance at the Indian Wells Open on Friday, not only cruising into the next round but also debuting her engagement ring during her second-round victory.

The Belarusian star defeated Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume 6-4, 6-2 in a commanding performance, but much of the attention also fell on the striking oval-cut diamond ring she wore during the match.

Sabalenka recently got engaged to her Brazilian fiance, Georgios Franguli, with the proposal taking place earlier this week.

The 27-year-old revealed after the match that she felt confident wearing the ring during competition and had taken precautions to ensure it was safe.

“I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” Sabalenka told reporters. “It feels super comfortable and shiny.”

She added that her team had carefully checked whether there was any risk of the diamond coming loose during play.

“We double-checked if there was a possibility to lose the diamond, and there was none,” she said with a smile. “I was pretty confident wearing it, hoping it might even distract my opponent.”

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Sabalenka, who has reached the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 event twice in the past three years, also shared details about the emotional moment when Franguli proposed.

According to the world number one, the proposal came as a complete surprise, although members of her team were aware of the plan beforehand.

“I saw Georgios, and I was crying half the time,” she said. “I thought I looked ugly and not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment.”

Aryna Sabalenka joked that she even tried to control how the moment was captured on camera.

“I asked the videographer and photographer to make sure my face wasn’t in the pictures, just the ring or side views, because I didn’t want people to see how I looked,” she said. “But it was a beautiful moment.”

Franguli is the chief executive of global health-food brand OakBerry, and Sabalenka lightheartedly reflected on what they have learned about each other since they began dating in 2024.

“What have I learned about him? He likes OakBerry a lot,” she joked. “And what he has learned about me? That I’m crazy.”

READ: Aryna Sabalenka opens Indian Wells bid with dominant win

World number one Aryna Sabalenka launched her bid for an elusive first Indian Wells title with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory over Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume on Friday.

Sabalenka and men’s world number two Jannik Sinner headlined the day’s play as seeded players swung into action after enjoying first-round byes.

Sabalenka, playing her first tournament since a runner-up finish to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open, showed no sign of rust as she overpowered 136th-ranked Sakatsume, who was playing her first career match against a top-20 player.

“I’m really happy with the way I was serving, with the way I was putting her on the back foot,” said Sabalenka, who has twice reached the Indian Wells final but lost to Rybakina in 2023 and to Mirra Andreeva last year.

A nervous Sakatsume dropped her serve in the opening game but steadied after saving four break points to hold in the fifth.

Even so, she had no real answer to the Belarusian’s power and the lone break was enough for Sabalenka to seize the opening set.

After Sakatsume held serve to open the second, Sabalenka won five straight games, closing out the match after 72 minutes without facing a break point.

“I haven’t played for a while after the Australian Open, and happy with the performance today,” said Sabalenka, who was cheered on by Brazilian fiance Georgios Frangulis.

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She said the ring he surprised her with was “very comfy,” although she’d taken care to ascertain there was no danger of losing the impressive diamond solitaire during the rigours of a match.

“I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” she said. “It feels comfy, it feels shiny.

“I hope that my opponent will get distracted with this diamond and it’s going to benefit me,” she added with a laugh.

Men’s fourth-seed Alexander Zverev also sailed into the third round, beating Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.

It was an encouraging start for the German, who fell in his opening match last year and has never made it past the quarter-finals in the California desert.

“I have struggled in Indian Wells before, but I feel different this year,” he said.

Hungarian veteran Marton Fucsovics pulled the first big upset of the week, ousting fifth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-1.

It was another disappointing setback for Musetti, who was playing his first tournament since he retired with a right leg injury while leading 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic by two sets in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

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Novak Djokovic is convinced US tennis great Serena Williams will return to competition, and the 24-time Grand Slam champion is itching to see “one of the greatest athletes” back on court.

“I think she’s coming back,” Djokovic said Wednesday at the ATP/WTA Indian Wells Masters.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her, but I guess the sentiment is that she’s coming back. Where and how, singles, doubles, we don’t know, and if I’m in her position, I would hide it too.”

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t competed since a third-round loss at the 2022 US Open.

But the 44-year-old mother of two re-entered the anti-doping testing pool in December and regained eligibility.

Initially she denied she planned a comeback, but in January she declined to rule it out, telling NBC’s “Today” show: “That’s not a yes or a no. I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens.”

Djokovic said players were buzzing at the prospect.

“Everybody is excited, and it’s definitely something that’s very highly anticipated,” he said.

Williams’s sister Venus, 45, accepted a wild card into the Indian Wells singles draw and will face France’s Diane Parry in the first round.

Djokovic suggested Serena could return for Wimbledon — where she is a seven-time singles champion.

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“I pick that one as well as her comeback,” he said. “I don’t know. I think she might maybe play a doubles tournament or two with Venus. That would be nice to see, just from my point of view and tennis fans’, for sure.

“She’s one of the greatest athletes, really. It would be great to have her back too.”

Djokovic is seeded third in Indian Wells as he plays his first event since he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, after toppling Jannik Sinner in the semis.

“For me that has been a phenomenal result,” the 38-year-old said. “I have proven to myself primarily and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys.

“So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and also motivation to do that.

“There are objectives and goals that are always there. You want to win, so you want to get another title and get another Slam, hopefully,” he said. “I was close in Australia.”

Djokovic’s five Indian Wells titles are tied for the most with Swiss great Roger Federer.

But he hasn’t reached the quarter-finals since his last title run in 2016.

He’ll launch his latest desert campaign on Saturday against either France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.

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Daniil Medvedev claimed his second Dubai title on Saturday following the withdrawal of his opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, due to a left hamstring injury.

The Russian also said he was unsure if he would be able to play next week’s ATP 1000 event in California after UAE airspace was partially closed due to Iranian strikes on the country, following the United States’ and Israel’s attacks on Iran.

Dutchman Griekspoor picked up the injury towards the end of the opening set of his semi-final win over Andrey Rublev on Friday and looked doubtful for the final when he limped into his post-match press conference.

The tournament announced on Saturday that Griekspoor “was deemed unfit to play in the ATP 500 men’s final following a medical assessment”.

“Of course, unfortunate, but Tallon, I could see yesterday that maybe he had an injury,” said Medvedev in audio quotes provided by the ATP.

“You never know how these injuries develop through the night. Sometimes they get easier, and you can play, like with some soreness. Sometimes they get worse, so I guess it got worse.

“I cannot do anything about it. I played a great tournament, the four matches I played. Of course, I wanted to play the final, but it is what it is.

“I played an unbelievable match yesterday, so I would, either way, take it as a final for me, and I’m happy to win the tournament.”

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This is the first time Medvedev has been able to repeat a title. The 30-year-old Russian had won 22 trophies in 22 different events before clinching a second Dubai crown on Saturday to go with the one he captured in 2023.

“Of course, I take a lot of confidence. But tennis is a very fast-paced sport, so one week you can play not the way you want, and the other week you’re playing amazingly. So I just hope to bring this confidence from the four matches I played in Indian Wells, for sure.

“I played unreal the whole week, so I was actually really looking forward to the final and trying to play even better than I did. But it is what it is, and I’m really happy with how the week turned out in general.”

The Dubai doubles final went ahead as scheduled, and the singles final was set to be played despite Iran’s ongoing attacks on the UAE on Saturday.

The players are meant to fly straight to California for the upcoming Indian Wells Masters, but their travel plans have been disrupted due to regional airspace closures and the suspension of all flight operations at all Dubai airports until further notice.

Medvedev said he still didn’t know how he was going to make it to California and will be waiting on updates regarding the reopening of the Gulf region’s airspace.

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