2:22 PM ET Associated Press Eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur comfortably defeated qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour Thursday to advance to the final of the Madrid Open. The 10th-ranked Jabeur, the only top-10 player left in the women’s draw, had lost five of her six matches against Alexandrova from 2016 to 2018.
Tennis
5:59 AM ET Andy Murray has withdrawn ahead of his match against Novak Djokovic in the round-of-16 at the Madrid Open on Thursday, citing an illness. Three-times major winner Murray was set to face Djokovic for the 37th time in a highly anticipated clash on clay at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish
2:07 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur reached her second WTA 1000 semifinal on Wednesday by defeating two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-2. “It’s never easy to play Simona,” said Jabeur, who lost to Halep in Dubai earlier this year. “Really happy with the fact that I took my
2:22 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal got off to a good start in his return from injury, defeating Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Nadal showed few signs of rustiness in his 6-1, 7-6 (4) opening win at home. He cruised in
9:37 AM ET Associated Press PARIS — French Open prize money is set to increase by nearly 7% to 43.6 million euros ($46 million) compared to the pre-coronavirus tournament of 2019. The French Tennis Federation said Wednesday that the rise is 6.8% overall compared to three years ago, when the tournament was last held in
2:16 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Novak Djokovic got off to a good start at the Madrid Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gael Monfils in the second round on Tuesday. The top-ranked Djokovic, looking to regain his best form ahead of the French Open, saved all five break points he faced and
11:37 AM ET Associated Press Two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson, 35, announced his retirement from professional tennis on Tuesday. The 6-foot-8 player from South Africa was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open in 2017 — No. 32 at the time, Anderson was the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history — and to
1:23 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Simona Halep continued to impress at the Madrid Open by overpowering American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 to make the quarterfinals on Monday. A two-time Madrid Open champion, Halep upset No. 2-ranked Paula Badosa in the second round. The 21st-ranked Halep converted three of her five break
1:36 PM ET ESPN News Services Jannik Sinner saved three match points in beating Tommy Paul 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3. The American squandered two match points on serve at 5-3 in the second set, and another while trying to break at 6-5. “It was a very difficult situation,” Sinner said after the three-hour match
10:33 AM ET Andy Murray has said he is “not supportive” of Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Championships but added that there is “no right answer.” The All England Club (AELTC) announced last month that stars such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Aryna Sabalenka will not be able