Two-time French champion Iga Swiatek made a strong start on her favorite surface easing past 20-year-old Qinwen Zheng straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Swiatek improved to 3-0 against the Chinese star.

In the win, Swiatek lost just six points on first serve and broke four times. She’ll now face former champion Karolina Pliskova tomorrow in the quarters.

“I felt like I needed to be 100% focused from the beginning to the end, to …

In Banja Luka in second round action second-seeded Andrey Rublev enjoyed an easy victory over Juan Pablo Varillas 6-2, 6-2.

Rublev dropped just six points on first serve and never lost serve in the comfortable win. The Monte Carlo champion has won his last six matches and tomorrow takes on Damir Dzumhur in the quarters. …

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz eased past his countryman Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz is now 20-2 on the season and will now take on another fellow Spaniard in Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

On a windy day, Alcaraz finished 5 of 10 on break chances while he was broken five times by the veteran. But Bautista Agut managed to win just 19/42 (45%) on first serve points.

Bautista …

On a cold day in Munich, German star Alexander Zverev tumbled out of the event falling to Christopher O’Connell 7-6(7-2), 6-4.

Zverev, a 2-time Munich champion, had nice aces with five doubles, but won just 41% on second serve. He’ll now head to Madrid, a event he’s also won twice.

TOp seed Holger Rune ousted Zverev’s countryman Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4.

The 9th-ranked Rune tossed in four doubles, lost only seven points on …

Star attraction Novak Djokovic had to rally from a set down to deny teen Luca Van Assche 6-7(4-7), 6-3, 6-2.

The 18-year-old Van Assche in stunning fashion served for the set but needed a breaker to finally take the opener against the World No.1

Djokovic mounted a charge in the second breaking for 2-1, and that was all he would need. In the third
Djokovic, the two traded early breaks before Djokovic …

Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas won in his debut in Barcelona topping Pedro Cachin of Argentina 6-4, 6-2. The Greek star lost just 5 points on first serve and never faced a break point.

“I was able to bring good tennis out there on the court,” said Tsitsipas. “I kept mixing it up. I kept being very aggressive, more than I’m used to, so the whole evaluation is positive. I’m happy with how …

Things heated up in Stuttgart with the top stars in action.

Australian Open champion and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka eased past former French winner Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3.

In her 2023 clay debut, Sabalenka, a finalist the last two years, finished with 11 aces, won 31/38 (82%) on first service points.

“I’m super happy with this win, it’s always a tough match against Barbora,” Sabalenka stated. “I think serve was …

A loaded field officially opens the European clay swing this week on the WTA Tour in Stuttgart where eight of the Top 10 women have assembled for the 500 level event.

The tournament has seen six different winners the last six years, but Iga Swiatek comes in as the tournament favorite.

Swiatek beat her top threat Aryna Sabalenka in a final last year as part of her incredible win streak.

Top seeds …

Germany hosts its first ATP stop of the season with a strong field in Munich feature defending champion Holger Rune, American No. 1 Taylor Fritz and home hero Alexander Zverev.

All three played well in Monte Carlo with Rune coming up just short in the title match. And Zverev is a 2-time champion.

The seeded list is: 1 Holger Rune, 2 Taylor Fritz, 3 Alexander Zverev, 4 Botic Van De Zandschulp, …

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic headlines a new tour stop in Banja Luka. The Serb will hope to rebound after a tough loss last week in Monte Carlo to Lorenzo Musetti.

“Feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly. But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that’s it,” Djokovic said in Monte Carlo.

“I don’t think it’s catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because …

With Rafael Nadal still recovering from an ailing hip, Carlos Alcaraz hopes to make his European clay debut. The teen who turns 20 in a few weeks is the top seed and defending champion at a loaded Barcelona event which also includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner in the field of 48.

“We’ll be thinking about everything, apart from defending the title,” Alcaraz told the ATP. “Barcelona is a …

It looked like Andrey Rublev was headed for a third straight loss in a Masters final but the Russian turned this around late rallying from 4-1 down in the third to defeat Holger Rune 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.

“I have tears,” Rublev said after. “I don’t know what to say. I am so happy. I have been struggling so much to win a Masters 1000 tournament. Trailing 1-4, 0-30, then saving break …

The first clay Masters title of 2023 is set in a new champion in Monte Carlo will be crowned between Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune.

Rublev was the first to make the title match on semifinal Saturday. The Russian, a former finalist on Monaco, came from a set down to defeat the 8th-seeded Taylor Fritz 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.

“It was really tough, especially against Taylor,” Rublev said. “I lost past three times …

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas was shocked by Taylor Fritz on the red clay today at the Monte Carlo Masters in quarterfinal action.

The American Fritz, not known for his clay prowess, comfortably dismissed Tsitsipas who had won the title the last two years 6-2, 6-4.

“I thought my level today was very high. I think I played a very good match. Beating him here gives me a lot of confidence,” Fritz said …

After four days of straightforward tennis, things changed on Thursday at the Monte Carlo Masters as top seed Novak Djokovic fell and the streaking Daniil Medvedev had to save match points.

Djokovic had won all three meetings against the young Italian Lorenzo Musetti but the 21-year-old turned the tables today in a stunned comeback 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.

“I am struggling not to cry,” Musetti said on court. “It is an emotional …