Novak Djokovic will seek a record 36th career Masters title Monday against Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the Rome final.

Djokovic, a 4-time Rome champion, reached his 10th final cruising past surprise semifinalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3.

Djokovic overcame multiple set points with Ruud serving 5-4, 40-15 in the first. From there, Djokovic ran off 9 of the next 12 games to deny to Norwegian who had never reached this far at a …

Rafael Nadal suffered a rare clay loss Saturday in the Rome Masters quarterfinals. The 9-time Rome champion fell for the first time in his career to Diego Schwartzman in convincing fashion 6-2, 7-5.

Schwartzman, who was 0-9 against Nadal coming in, was simply the better player from start to finish. Schartzman hung firm from the baseline, going strong off the ground. Nadal was on his best day, spraying errors which amounted …

In a battle of multi-Grand Slam champions, Garbine Muguruza stopped Victoria Azarenka coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Azarenka had won 14 of her last 15 coming in, but Muguruza was able to outlast the Belarussian in a tough three sets.

“I think it was a tough match. I knew it was going to be a tough match. She’s a good player, she’s playing good, she’s with a …

Tournament favorites Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both powered into the Rome Masters quarterfinals on Friday.

With a potential Monday final looming between the two, Nadal jumped out quick then fought off Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3. The Serb got a break back in the second but Rafa returned to a 15th Rome quarter.

“I played at I think a very positive level of tennis. Of course it needs to keep improving. I …

The top seeds at the Rome Masters rolled into the quarterfinals on Friday.

Seeds went 6-2 on the day led by former French Open winners Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza.

Halep overcame a break deficit in the first to beat Ukrainian youngster Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-4.

“It was not easy against her because you don’t really have the rhythm,” said Halep. “She hits it very strong and it’s tough to return her …

Just days after winning her second US Open title, Naomi Osaka opted out of the upcoming French Open citing her left hamstring.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play the French Open this year,” Osaka posted on social media. “My hamstring is still sore so I won’t have enough time to prepare for the clay – these 2 tournaments came too close to each other for me this time.”

Osaka, who …

The lights went out and so did many seeds Thursday at the Rome Masters. Upsets were the norm as seeds went 2-4 plus Kei Nishikori was upset by 18-year-old Italian qualifier Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-4.

A round after stunning Stan Wawrinka, Musetti knocked out another former Top 5.

“It was an incredible match,” said the 249th-ranked Musetti. “I think I played really smart, as he was playing close to the baseline. It …

Garbine Muguruza had to fight from a break down in the third to fend off teen Coco Gauff 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 in the second round at the Rome Masters.

Playing in her first WTA-level clay event, the 16-year-old Gauff led the former French champion 2-0 in the third set before the Spaniard won six of the last seven games.

“It was a tough match,” Muguruza said. “The first set was tight, it …

For the second time in less than a week, Victoria Azarenka beat a Williams sister. Last Thursday, the Belarussian toppled Serena in the US Open semifinals, today she ousted elder sister Venus from the Rome Masters 7-6(7), 6-2. It was a quick but successful turnaround from hard courts on Saturday to clay on Wednesday for Azarenka.

“Different surface was definitely challenging, but I feel like I adapted very well,” Azarenka said. …

Tournament favorites Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic rolled in their Rome openers on Wednesday.

Nadal, a 9-time champion, blew away countryman and US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-1 in just 73 minutes. In his first match in 200 days, Nadal only lost 8 points on his serve.

“It’s good to be back on the Tour,” said Nadal on court. “I miss the crowds. I played a good match, maybe he …

There’s no time to catch your breath. After an incredibly unusual finish to the US Open yesterday, this truncated tour rolls on with the Rome Masters which begins today.

The field is led by Rafael Nadal who seeks his 10th Rome title. For Nadal, it’s his first event since Mexico back in February just before the shutdown.

Novak Djokovic, who thought he’d be playing yesterday in New York, is now the top …

Dominic Thiem is finally on the board as a Grand Slam champion. The Austrian became the first from his country to win a US Open title Sunday coming from two sets down to stun Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in just over four hours in a fan-less Arthur Ashe Stadium

”We started to know each other back in 2014 and straight away started to develop a great friendship… and …

So it’s Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev in a Big 4-less final at the US Open on Sunday. The title match will crown the first new Grand Slam champion in six years since Marin Cilic beat Kei Nishikori way back in 2014 in New York. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another six after tomorrow. I don’t think we will.

Thiem, though, is the class of the post-Big 4. He’s …

Third time wasn’t a charm for Victoria Azarenka Saturday in the women’s final of the US Open. The 31-year-old had reached this stage twice before on Arthur Ashe only to get denied, most recently seven years ago by Serena Williams.

Today, in a fan-less environment, Azarenka led 6-1, 2-0 with game point on her serve at 40-30. But her opponent, Naomi Osaka, got up off the mat and stormed back, winning …

Alexander Zverev had to do something he’s never done before to reach his first Grand Slam final. The much-hyped German finally made a Slam final but had to overcome an 0-2 set deficit to do it beating Pablo Carreno Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

The 23-year-old Zverev played a miserable first two sets before find some form to edge a tightening Spaniard.

“I looked at the scoreboard after two sets,” Zverev …