1:24 PM ET A rusty Roger Federer was beaten 6-4 4-6 6-4 by Spaniard Pablo Andujar on his return to the ATP Tour at the claycourt Geneva Open on Tuesday, but there were still plenty of positives for the Swiss in his performance. 1 Related Federer missed nearly the entire 2020 season after twice having
Tennis
12:12 PM ET Associated Press PARMA, Italy — Serena Williams‘ disappointing return to tennis continued when she lost in straight sets to 68th-ranked Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the Emilia-Romagna Open on Tuesday. Top-seeded Williams, who accepted a wild-card invitation for the Parma tournament after losing her opening match at the Italian Open
8:53 AM ET Associated Press PARMA, Italy — Serena Williams earned her first victory in more than three months by beating 17-year-old qualifier Lisa Pigato 6-3, 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Emilia-Romagna Open. Williams, who accepted a wild-card invitation for the Parma tournament after losing her opening match at the Italian Open
12:02 AM ET Australian Open boss Craig Tiley is optimistic the grand slam will remain in Melbourne next year despite fears the tournament could be moved overseas. The federal government’s prediction in last week’s budget of international borders remaining closed until mid-2022 was a worrying development. Despite an ABC report on Monday identifying Dubai and
9:55 AM ET Associated Press If Iga Swiatek continues playing like this, she might have no problem defending her French Open title when the year’s second Grand Slam starts in two weeks. The 19-year-old Pole routed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 with what is known as a “double bagel” score in an Italian Open final that
2:23 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Rafael Nadal beat a tired Novak Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 on Sunday for a record-extending 10th Italian Open title. The Spaniard recovered from a potentially dangerous fall after tripping over a raised line to take the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men’s tennis. It also
8:27 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic regained his cool after throwing his racket off the court in a grueling, rain-delayed 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Italian Open on Saturday. Djokovic fought back from breaks of his serve in each of the final two sets to reach
9:47 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Rafael Nadal ended a run of three straight losses to Alexander Zverev with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over the German player Friday to reach the Italian Open semifinals. Zverev had beaten Nadal in straight sets at the same stage in Madrid a week ago, but their latest
1:05 PM ET Associated Press ROME — When it comes to long, grueling clay-court battles, nobody is better than Rafael Nadal. Nearing his 35th birthday, the Spanish great showed he still has the stamina to withstand much younger challengers in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) comeback win over 22-year-old Denis Shapovalov on Thursday that secured
8:17 AM ET Andy Murray has entered the qualifying rounds for the French Open later this month but tournament director Guy Forget said the former world No. 1 “deserves” a wildcard spot for the claycourt Grand Slam. Three-times Grand Slam champion Murray has fallen to 123rd in the world rankings after long injury lay-offs because
6:03 AM ET Associated Press PARMA, Italy — Serena Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma starting this weekend. The move came immediately after Williams lost in straight sets to Nadia Podoroska at the Italian Open on Wednesday in her first match in nearly three months. “Maybe I
7:00 AM ET It’s time for the 10th Annual Luke Walton All-Stars, honoring journeymen and guys who have fought to stick in the NBA. (Learn about the origins of the column here.) Brown walked into the Detroit Pistons practice facility in November when his phone blew up: After a solid second season, the Pistons were
1:05 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Serena Williams‘ 1,000th tour-level match ended in defeat as she marked her return to action with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 loss to Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open. The eighth-seeded Williams, who is 851-149 for her career but hadn’t played since the
10:01 AM ET Associated Press Players at the French Open will be allowed a daily one-hour window outside their social-distancing bubble, tournament organizers said Wednesday. Guy Forget, the director of the clay-court Grand Slam, said players will have the chance to get out for a jog or enjoy some fresh air during their stay in
4:05 PM ET ESPN News Services ROME — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was furious with the chair umpire for not suspending play as rain trickled down during his Italian Open second-round match against American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. The 33-year-old Serb made his feelings clear after he was broken when serving for victory in
4:49 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Rafael Nadal joined the growing number of tennis players expressing doubts about competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Third-ranked Nadal, in Rome for the Italian Open, said Tuesday that his status for the Tokyo Games is uncertain. “I don’t know yet. Honestly, I can’t give you a clear answer
10:46 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori has doubts about whether the IOC and local organizers are doing enough to plan for a worst-case scenario of “hundreds” or “thousands” of coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics. Or whether it’s even still feasible to hold the games when a state of
7:44 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Seven months ago, Jannik Sinner twice had chances to accomplish something few tennis players have been capable of: taking a set from Rafael Nadal at the French Open. The Italian teenager served for the first set at 6-5 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and was up a break