Juan Martin del Potro ran his record to 4-0 against Dominic Thiem taming the Austrian 6-2, 7-6(7).

In a rematch of the US Open epic, Del Potro raced out to a quick break in the first set. He earned another break early in the second but the Argentine failed to close it out serving at 5-4.

Thiem pushed for the breaker, and led 6-4 and again had set point with Del …

Stan Wawrinka has officially withdrawn from upcoming Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami, the Swiss announced today.

Wawrinka, who made the Indian Wells final last year, underwent left knee surgery last August, and despite playing in Australia, still needs more time for recovery. He withdrew last week from Marseille.

“Unfortunately I need to announce that I won’t be able to play in Indian Wells and Miami,” Wawrinka said. “They are both …

According to media speculation out of England, Andy Murray could be back as early as May after undergoing hip surgery in January.

Murray’s not on a tennis court yet, but is in the gym and doing Pilates. But there is hope he’ll be hitting tennis balls again next month, perhaps in Miami. And if things go well, some are expecting an early return maybe in Paris.

Former coach Boris …

Following surgery on his right hand/elbow earlier this month, Novak Djokovic returned to practice on Tuesday. The Serb posted a video on social media of him hitting at the Piatti Tennis Center in Italy.

While he looks fine on groundstrokes, his big issue with the elbow was the serve.

As of now, there’s no date for Djokovic’s return….

Roger Federer once again walked away a winner last night at the Laureus Awards show in Monaco.

The 36-year-old took home the Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year honors, giving him a total of six Laureus awards during his career.

“This is a very special moment for me,” Federer said. “Everyone knows how highly I value my Laureus Awards, so to win another would have been wonderful, but to …

Rafael Nadal’s return from a hip injury has been delayed. The star was to play this week in Acapulco but the hip injury he sustained at the Australian Open hasn’t fully healed forcing him out of the event yesterday.

“I believe that all the necessary cares had been taken, I arrived to Cozumel to work on my adaptation, but yesterday in the last training before starting the tournament,” Nadal said Tuesday. …

Six-foot-six Russian Karen Khachanov won his second career ATP title on Sunday, edging red-hot local favorite Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 for the Open 13 Provence crown.

“I just need to keep working and keep going,” the 21-year-old Khachanov said afterwards. “I felt I was playing good here from the first day. It’s nice to play on a full court in the final, and I hope to come back next year.”

The …

American Frances Tiafoe made his breakthrough on Sunday at the Delray Beach Open, winning his first career title after cruising past unseeded Peter Gojowczyk 6-1, 6-4.

The 20 year old became the youngest American to win an ATP title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston. He also became the first-ever wildcard to raise the trophy in Delray Beach.

“I was not expecting this week, especially with how the year started and …

The diminutive Diego Schwartzman won his second career title, and the biggest of his career Sunday when he defeated veteran Fernando Versasco 6-2, 6-2 for the ATP 500-level Rio Open crown.

He will make his Top 20 debut when the next ATP rankings are released on Monday.

“Everything was perfect — every match, every set was perfect for me, playing my best tennis,” Schwartzman said afterwards. “I think he was a little …

Pablo Cuevas goes for a fourth title in a row this week at the Brasil Open. Last year Cuevas denied this year’s top seed, Al Ramos Vinolas, in the final.

Also in the mix are Gael Monfils and the outspoken social media critic Tennys Sandgren.

BRASIL OPEN
SAO PAULO, Brazil; surface: clay

Seeds: Albert Ramos Vinolas, Fabio Fognini, Pablo Cuevas, Gael Monfils, Leonardo Mayer, Guido Pella, Tennys Sandgren, Federico Delbonis

Floaters: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Notes:

Only one …

Without defending champion Andy Murray, seven-time champion Roger Federer, four-time champion Novak Djokovic or former champ Stan Wawrinka, the Dubai Duty Free title is up for grabs this week.

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
DUBAI, UAE; surface: hard

Seeds: Grigor Dimitrov, Lucas Pouille, Roberto Bautista Agut, Damir Dzumhur, Richard Gasquet, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Filip Krajinovic, Yuichi Sugita

Floaters: Borna Coric, Benoit Paire

Notes:

Dimitrov the lone Top 10er in the field…

Tough start for (5) Gasquet vs. Coric, …

The ATP and WTA men and women converge on Acapulco for a joint event that features a loaded men’s field, and former champion Sloane Stephens leading the women’s field.

Six of the Top 10 men are lead by Rafael Nadal who is chasing the idle Roger Federer in an attempt to close the gap for the No. 1 ranking.

Defending champion Sam Querrey is joined by fellow seeded Americans Jack Sock and …

Top-seeded Elina Svitolina successfully defended her Dubai title from last year on Saturday and continued to keep herself in the No. 1 conversation for 2018. She captured her second title of the year with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against unseeded Daria Kasatkina for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy.

It was the first time Svitolina successfully defended a title since the small WTA Baku event in 2013-14.

“Coming here I didn’t …

The young guns are making their presence felt in Delray Beach this week. With favorites Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Milos Raonic and Juan Martin del Potro all out, the semifinals tomorrow feature 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov against either 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe or Hyeon Chung.

Tiafoe and Chung were suspended after a late evening rain delay called their match with Chung serving down 3-5, 40-40 in the third set. The American …

Elina Svitolina kept her domination over fellow former No. 1 Angelique Kerber taking out the German 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Dubai final.

“I’m happy that it was in two sets because before we had such a tough battles. Physically, it was very tough,” the 4th-ranked Svitolina said. “I was really pleased the way I was playing the tough moments. There were one, two points that decided the first set, …