Four of the Top 5 players post this week in Stuttgart, led by world No. 1 Simona Halep.

Wildcards Maria Sharapova and CoCo Vandeweghe will look to shake up the top seeds, both meeting a seed in the opening round.

PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX
STUTTGART, Germany; surface: clay

Seeds: Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenko, Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Garcia, Sloane Stephens, Petra Kvitova

Floaters: (WC) CoCo Vandeweghe, (WC) Maria Sharapova, Kiki Bertens, Angie …

Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and former world No. 2s Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska are the leading favorites on paper this week in Istanbul, but all face early-round challenges at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.

TEB BNP PARIBAS ISTANBUL CUP
ISTANBUL, Turkey; surface: clay

Seeds: Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Zhang Shuai, Ekaterina Makarova, Sorana Cirstea, Irina-Camelia Begu, Aryna Sabalenka

Floaters: Sara Errani, Kirsten Flipkens, Donna Vekic, Qiang Wang

Notes:

The former No. …

Top seed Lucas Pouille and veteran Richard Gasquet see opportunity on the clay this week at the Hungarian Open, celebrating its second edition in Budapest.

GAZPROM HUNGARIAN OPEN
BUDAPEST, Hungary; surface: clay

Seeds: Lucas Pouille, Damir Dzumhur, Richard Gasquet, Denis Shapovalov, Aljaz Beden, Marton Fucsovics, Jan-Lennard Struff, Andreas Seppi

Floaters: Viktor Troicki

Notes:

No Top 10 players and only one Top 30 player at the 2nd edition of the Hungarian Open…

(6) Fucsovics looking at the veteran …

Two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal will attempt a record-setting 11th title at the Barcelona Open, where Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic attempt to find their games on the dirt after returns from injury.

BARCELONA OPEN BANC SABADELL
BARCELONA, Spain; surface: clay

Seeds: Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta, Novak Djokovic, Diego Schwartzman, Roberto Bautista Agut, Chung Hyeon, Albert Ramos Vinolas, Adrian Mannarino, Feliciano Lopez, Andrey Rublev, Kei Nishikori, …

Rafael Nadal is already in ruthless clay form. Today, the Spaniard demolished who many consider to be the second best player on clay, Dominic Thiem, by a margin of 6-0, 6-2.

The 10-time Monte Carlo champion has lost just 11 games in six sets so far and has taken his last 32 sets on clay with 12 straight wins.

It has been a great result for me, but it isn’t a normal …

The marquee showdown Thursday in Monte Carlo between 2-time champion Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic lived up to the billing with the Austrian again taking down the former World No. 1 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.

The 2-hour, 29-minute affair looked Thiem’s way early as he was the aggressor early taking a quick 3-0 lead and then held set points at 5-3. But Djokovic clawed back and took a tight breaker.

Thiem got the …

The first marquee match of the clay season takes place Thursday in Monte Carlo as 2-time champion Novak Djokovic takes on his French Open conqueror from a year ago, Dominic Thiem.

In one his best matches of a poor year, Djokovic gutted out a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over the hot-handed Borna Coria on Wednesday. The Serb actually served for the match in the second but couldn’t close it out, but finally …

The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, begins yet another clay season Wednesday in Monte Carlo where the Spaniard seeks an unprecedented 11th title. In his first tour match on clay since winning a 10th French Open last year, Nadal will meet German Aljaz Bedene.

“It’s been a love story between me and this event, the people who run the tournament,” said Nadal who is 64-3 lifetime at the event, which includes …

After a disappointing March at Indian Wells and Miami, Novak Djokovic let go of star-studded coaching team in favor of his old confidant Marian Vajda. And so far so good after Djokovic destroyed his hapless countryman Duas Lajovic 6-0, 6-1 in the first round today at Monte Carlo.

“I thought it was good considering the amount of matches I’ve played in the last almost 12 months,” said Djokovic who resides in …

Steve Johnson repeated as the winner at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Sunday, beating fellow American and ATP final debutante Tennys Sandgren 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4.

The 28-year-old American teared-up after match point, claiming the title roughly a year after the passing of his father.

Johnson became the first American to go back-to-back in Houston since Andy Roddick in 2001-02.

The 26-year-old Sandgren, who broke out by …

World No. 355 Pablo Andujar became the lowest-ranked ATP winner in 20 years on Sunday when he beat first-time finalist Kyle Edmund 6-2, 6-2 for the Grand Prix Hassan II title.

He became the first player to win the title three times after wins in 2011-12.

“[I was] trying to make him move as much as I could,” Andujar told the media afterwards. “He attacks a lot and is a very strong …

Ranked outside the Top 100, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia found her form during the week at the Claro Open Colsanitas in Bogota, beating 2012 champion Lara Arruabarrena 6-2, 6-4 for a third career title.

“It was tough for me to finish it today, and I don’t know what happened,” said Schmiedlova, who led 5-1 in the second set. “I just wanted to end it, and I maybe played a little …

Ironwoman and this year’s breakout Australian Open semifinalist Elise Mertens won her first claycourt title in singles and the doubles on Sunday at the Samsung Open in Lugano, Switzerland, after spending approximately six hours on the court the previous day.

The No. 2 seed in the singles final beat Belarusian teen Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-2, for her second title of 2018 after Hobart.

“[Sabalenka is] very powerful and also has a great …

The clay is here! And that mean’s Rafa time. So the question for the 2,034th straight year, is…can anyone stop Rafael Nadal? With his rivals either injured, on vacation or busy firing coaches, the only answer to that question is no, no?

Well, there is a catch. Nadal is coming off a hip injury which was supposed to be ok for Indian Wells/Miami but it wasn’t. He looked good at Davis …

The endorsement money is starting roll in for 2018 break out star Hyeon Chung. The 21-year-old Australian Open semifinalist just signed a 5-year deal with Korean luxury car maker Genesis to become the brand’s first global ambassador.

“Ever since I was young, I always dreamed of playing tennis on a global stage while representing my Korean roots,” Chung said. “To be a part of an exciting Korean brand like Genesis allows …