American teen sensation Coco Gauff put together one of her best wins stunning the red-hot Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-3.

Sabalenka had won 11 of her last 12 matches including the Madrid title on Saturday, but the Belrussian has struggled against young Americans losing twice to Amanda Anisimova and now a second to Coco Gauff. And today, after just 22 errors to 36 unforced, it was Gauff securing her second Top 5 …

It was a tough day for the favorites at the Rome Masters on Wednesday. Four-time tournament champion Serena Williams made her 2021 clay debut but fell short against French semifinalist Nadia Podoroska 7-6(6), 7-5.

Podoroska was in charge most of the way, leading with breaks in both sets, but Serena was able to take advantage of the Argentine’s nerve, but not enough.

Podoroska hung on for the first set, then in a …

Rafael Nadal was down a break three times to the teen prodigy Jannik Sinner but rallied to win it 7-5, 6-4 at the Rome Masters on Wednesday.

Sinner, who played Nadal tough at the French Open last fall, came out connecting on his flat, heavy shots but the 19-year-old came up short in crunch time. Too many errors with a couple double faults helped Nadal.

Nadal finally took the opener on his …

A pair of former French Open champions rolled on a rainy Tuesday at the Rome Masters.

Garbine Muguruza cruised past Patricia Maria Tig 6-1, 6-2. Muguruza has never made the finals in Rome, reaching the semifinals three times.

“It was a weird day,” Muguruza said. “I woke up sunny, had an opponent. Then it turned out I had another opponent and it was raining the whole match. Yeah, we had a little …

Novak Djokovic began his Rome defense in a positive manner beating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-6(5) to advance to the third round.

About the only blip came when Djokovic failed to serve the match out in the second. Then, moments later, the rains stopped play for about three hours at 5-all. But Djokovic was able to finally close out the American in a breaker.

“It was a very strange match with strange conditions,” …

Both Grand Slam champions were opening day winners in the women’s draw at the Rome Masters.

Petra Kvitova began slowly before cruising past Magda Linette 1-6, 6-0, 6-2. Kvitova donated 16 unforced errors in the first before righting things thereafter.

“The first set I started very badly,” Kvitova said. “I was missing almost everything. On the court, not really court, it was bouncing everywhere as well. A little bit windy.

“The beginning of …

Young Italians Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti starred on the first full day of men’s play at the Rome Masters on Monday.

Sinner rolled past the tricky Ugo Humber 6-2, 6-4 to earn his 20th win of 2021. The win also sets him up for a big second meeting Wednesday against 9-time champion Rafael Nadal.

In the evening, Sinner’s fellow 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti was leading 6-4, 2-0, 40-0 when Miami champion Hubert …

Just a few days away from his 34th birthday, Novak Djokovic knows the clock is ticking on his time and his fellow Big 3 at the top of the men’s rankings.

Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and others are all closing in on Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. And Djokovic knows it’s not if, but when.

“There are guys like Tsitsipas, Zverev, Berrettini, Rublev that are winning against all of us and …

Last week, Sofia Kenin dropped the news that she will no longer have her father, Alexander, on her coaching team going forward.

Kenin’s Dad led Sofia to a breakout 2020 which saw her win the Australian Open then make the French Open final in October in her last event of the year.

This season, has been a different story. The 22-year-old who is ranked as the No. American is just 7-7 on …

Ash Barty does things a little differently than most players on the tour. The Australian is often frank and open about how things operate in her world, even as a No. 1 player in the spotlight.

In this COVID environment, there’s even less of the glamour-ish lifestyle for top players, especially for Barty who simply goes about her business, day-in, day-out, with little fanfare or celebrity.

After her runner-up in Madrid …

Serena Williams is set for her return to tennis this week in Rome, an event she’s won four times prior. The 39-year-old Williams hasn’t played since her semifinal loss to Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open in February.

In her first clay match since the French Open last October when she withdrew in the second round because of an Achilles, Serena will face the winner of French finalist Nadia …

The Rome Masters kicks into gear Monday with a loaded schedule featuring Italian favorite Fognini Fognini colliding with Kei Nishikori.

Also on the men’s side, new home hope Jannik Sinner opens play against tough Frenchman Ugo Humbert, Lorenzo Musetti meets Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz and Dan Evans faces Taylor Fritz.

“Here in Rome is, you know, especially for Italian player, it’s like a home tournament, you know. At the end of the …

Alexander Zverev capped his terrific run in Spain today rallying to beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3 to collect his second Masters title in Madrid.

Zverev beat three Top 10 players in a row, stunning Rafael Nadal, then 2-time finalist Dominic Thiem before his third career win over Berrettini.

“I think it was a good week for me,” Zverev said. “Matteo today was extremely difficult for me in a way that I …

The US Open rematch went the way of Alexander Zverev who bested Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second Madrid Masters final.

Zverev, who just stunned Rafael Nadal yesterday, was able to break Thiem three times and hit 25 winners to pace the victory, his third over the Austrian.

“Been two great matches for me. I think today was a little bit of a weirder match because of the wind …

Aryna Sabalenka did something Saturday no one has done in nearly two years: Beat Ash Barty on red clay. The big-hitting Belarussian authored a surprising finish in the Madrid Masters upsetting World No. 1 Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.

Barty entered the match having won her last 16 matches on red clay and 10 straight overall against Top 10s. But all week Sabalenka has been the best player. En route to the …