'We heard it was like the Hollywood of mixed doubles.'
Norway's Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title on Sunday, as he stormed to a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over fifth seed Jack Draper in the Madrid Open final with a gutsy performance that showcased his clay-court mettle.
As the spotlight shines on Carlos Alcaraz's title defence and Novak Djokovic's pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam, a determined group of challengers is quietly preparing to shake up the draw.
He also overtook his career-best 65-season win tally of 2023 with this win.
Ruud criticises ATP rankings 'rat race'
Rangy 19-year-old Mensik, the 2022 boy's singles finalist at Melbourne Park, sealed the match in style with a searing forehand winner to push the three-times Grand Slam finalist and sixth seed to the exit.
Iga Swiatek captured her first Cincinnati Open title on Monday by beating Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Norwegian Casper Ruud did not let a rib injury get in the way of setting up a Madrid Open final showdown with fifth seed Jack Draper as he reached the title match without dropping a set following a 6-4 7-5 win over Francisco Cerundolo on Friday.
World number two Gauff clawed her way back from a set down to defeat Russian Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a match that stretched over two and a half hours.
Michelsen, seeded 26th, will face hard-hitting 11th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, who upset eighth seed Casper Ruud in their fourth round match 6-4, 7-5.
Three-time major champion Billy Casper died on Saturday at the age of 83, the US PGA Tour has announced.
The Frenchman clinched his first victory in the Tour de France when he won Sunday's first stage.
The Dane revealed he had taken notes from how Novak Djokovic beat Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros.
Factbox on Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Italian world number one Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) in the French Open final on Sunday to win his fifth Grand Slam title.
Carlos Alcaraz demolished Mattia Bellucci to banish memories of last year's shock early exit at the US Open on Wednesday.
Get your lowdown on what's going on in the world of Hollywood, right here!
Tenth seed Lorenzo Musetti rallied from a set down to beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday even as Carlos Alcaraz mauled big-serving American Reilly Opelka and veteran Venus Williams made an emotional exit.
Nine of the world's top-10 men and nine of the top-10 women have officially entered into the U.S. Open's revamped mixed doubles event, tournament organisers said on Tuesday, with former singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu teaming up.
Alexander Zverev will be third seed for the French Open but the 28-year-old German's prospects of winning his first Grand Slam title in Paris are not looking especially bright.
Defending champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz powered into the second round of the French Open on Monday.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who is gearing up to defend the French Open title later this month, fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to seal victory.
An off-colour Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5 to Norway's Casper Ruud in his opening match on Monday and the 21-year-old cancelled a public training session the following day.
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock 6-1, 7-5 defeat against Norway's Casper Ruud in his opening match at the ATP Finals
The Dutchman collapsed on the court after converting his sixth match-point to end an absorbing three hour, seven minute affair under sunny skies on Stadium One court.
World number two Carlos Alcaraz beat seventh seed Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to advance into his third Barcelona Open final, where the Spaniard will face Denmark's Holger Rune for the title.
Coco Gauff dismantled defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday with a ruthless display to storm into her first Madrid Open final, where she will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka for the WTA 1000 title.
Alexander Zverev cruised past Frenchman Lucas Pouille in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Defending ATP Finals champion Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the season-ending event in Turin through injury, the Serbian said on Tuesday.
Zverev cruised past home favorite Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-2, while Sabalenka triumphed over qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-4.
Eighth seed Machac, who won gold in mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics, became the third player from his country to win an ATP 500 title, following Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.
Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games of his match against Lorenzo Musetti to crush the Italian 6-2, 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in his best performance since the Australian Open.
No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain was pushed to three sets before finishing off Dutch wild card Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round of the ABN AMRO Open.
Jannik Sinner's stupendous year may have been clouded by an anti-doping controversy but on the court he is finishing the season like an express train and has won 25 of his last 26 matches.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will clash in the ABN Amro Open semi-finals on Saturday after both posted victories on Friday in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2023 Miami champion who arrived this year fresh off a run to the Indian Wells semi-finals, crashed out at the first hurdle as he fell 6-2, 6-3 to Spaniard Jaume Munar.
Alex Michelsen hung on to defeat Tung-Lin Wu and help the United States take a 2-0 lead against Taiwan in the Davis Cup qualifier in Taipei City on Friday.
No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway will take on unseeded Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the Dallas Open final on Sunday after both notched semi-final victories.
Taylor Fritz became the first American since 2006 to reach the title match at the ATP Finals after winning a slugfest against world number two Alexander Zverev in on Saturday.
