Cameron Norrie won the title in Rio, after back-to-back finals against Carlos Alcaraz. Sounds like Alcaraz was unable to move well by the end, but either way it's nice to see Norrie get a win rather than going 0-3 in finals this year.

Norrie was a set and 0-3 down and then 0-30 down on his serve in the next game so he did well to come back from that position. Alcaraz was injured and using the drop shot a lot in the final set but was still playing really well and not giving up.

 

Also good to see Camila Giorgi win her fourth WTA title in Merida.

Alcaraz was injured, otherwise...

Novak Djokovic continued his perfect start to 2023 by beating Hubert Hurkacz to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals.

 

The 35-year-old Serb took his record to 15-0 so far this year with a 6-3 7-5 win over Poland's Hurkacz.

 

Djokovic, who is chasing a sixth win in Dubai, will next face Daniil Medvedev for a place in Saturday's final.

 

Australian Open finalist Medvedev defeated Borna Coric 6-3 6-2 to stay on track for a third title this year.

 

Meanwhile, defending champion Andrey Rublev beat Botic van de Zandschulp to progress.

 

The second seed defeated his Dutch opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-3) and will play Alexander Zverev in the last four as the German overcame Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4.

Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France will be played in Coventry from 14-15 April.

 

The indoor match at the Coventry Building Society Arena will decide who reaches November's Finals tournament.

Medvedev has peaked.

 

This aged.

 

Three titles on the trot

Titles no one cares about :P let's see if he ever wins another Open.

 

Saw the Djokovic news and I'm shocked the US actually still mandates vaccination especially when even ultra-strict OZ & NZ don't even do that anymore. Logic level at zero...

Jack Draper needed just 55 minutes to win on his comeback at Indian Wells and set up a second-round match against compatriot Dan Evans.

 

Draper, 21, thrashed Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 6-1 6-1.

 

The left-hander had not played since mid-January when he lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.

 

Showing no signs of the leg injury which had kept him out, Draper looked sharp and confident as he dismantled 135th-ranked Riedi's serve.

Raducanu through to the fourth round of Indian Wells! Will likely face Swiatek next. Finally another decent run at a big tournament.

 

That makes it three Brits through to the fourth round, joining Norrie and whoever wins out of Murray/Draper later.

Alcaraz back at #1 for the time being after winning Indian Wells and ending Medvedev's winning streak at 19 matches.

 

The first set (the tie-break especially) of Sabalenka vs Rybakina was wild. So happy for Rybakina, would love for this rivalry to continue and get another repeat in Miami :D

Muchova (0 & 2) and Noskova (3 & 4) comfortably through to R2. They will play Zhu and Kvitova respectively.

Emma Raducanu crashes out of the Miami Open in the first round.

@1638613277474422784

Britain's top ranked duo Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans have been knocked out of the Miami Open in the second round.

 

British number one Norrie, ranked 12th in the world, suffered a 6-3 6-2 defeat by France's world number 65 Gregoire Barrere.

 

Evans, seeded 23 and ranked 30 places higher than Lorenzo Sonego, was beaten 6-4 3-6 2-6 by the Italian.

Good to see Wimbledon making the sensible decision to lift for ban for Russian & Belarusian players.

The International Tennis Federation will offer record prize money in women's events over the next three months and allow a return to China this year.

 

There will be $5m (£4m) on offer across 164 women's ITF events in April, May and June, a 10% increase on 2022.

 

ITF tournaments, the level below the ATP and WTA Tours, have not taken place in China since the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The ITF said tournaments would resume "later this year" but gave no details.

 

The WTA, which has not held tournaments in China since 2019, in 2021 suspended events there over concerns for Chinese former doubles world number one Peng Shuai.

Emma Raducanu dropping out of the top 100 next week, and missing both the French Open and Wimbledon due to surgery on her wrist.

I'm disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it I will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle," said Raducanu, who rolled her left ankle playing on a slick indoor court in her first event of the year in Auckland.

 

"Looking forward to seeing you all back out there."

 

While the hope is that she will be back on the training court at the end of the summer, it means that her participation remains doubtful for the US Open, which gets under way at the end of August.

 

Raducanu's management team say Wednesday's procedure on her right, racquet-playing hand was straightforward and there should be no concerns about her long-term recovery.

 

She is likely to have the operation on her left ankle before the procedure on her left hand. The second hand operation is expected to take place in the next two weeks, to ensure she always has one hand free for everyday tasks.

Injuries have finished her off already :/ terrible misfortune

British number one Cameron Norrie got off to a winning start at the Italian Open with a straight-set victory over France's Alexandre Muller.

 

World number 13 Norrie won 6-2 6-3 at the Foro Italico in Rome.

 

Norrie, 27, will play Australia's Alex de Minaur or Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the third round on Sunday.

Rafael Nadal will miss the French Open for the first time in 19 years after a hip injury ruled out the record 14-time men's singles champion.

 

The 36-year-old Spaniard, who has won 22 major men's titles, also said he plans to retire after the 2024 season.

 

"I didn't make the decision, my body made the decision. To play Roland Garros is impossible," he said.

 

"Next year will be my last year on tour - that is my idea. If I keep going now I won't be able to make that happen."

 

Nadal, who turns 37 next month, has not played since sustaining the problem at the Australian Open in January.

 

Nadal has been practising in recent weeks, but not been fit enough to play a tournament in the run-up to Roland Garros.

 

The French Open starts in Paris on 28 May and runs until 11 June.

 

"I was working as much as possible every single day for the past four months and they have been difficult because I've not been not able to find a solution to the problem I had in Australia," said the former world number one.

 

"I'm not in the position to be able to compete to be at the standard to play Roland Garros.

 

"I'm not a guy who will just be at Roland Garros."

 

Nadal said he needs to stop playing for the foreseeable future in order to make a full recovery and return healthy to complete a farewell season in 2024.