Versatility is essential and it has come to the fore for Sabalenka in recent tournaments, where she has used not just her brutal strength to put opponents on the back foot but also applied a touch of finesse to leave them wrong-footed.
Roger Federer will kickstart his claycourt campaign at next month's Geneva Open as he steps up his preparations for the French Open.
Zverev also collected the keys to a shiny new BMW on his 28th birthday and will now look to leave his disappointing spell in the rear-view mirror.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the quarter-finals of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris.
Novak Djokovic said winning a record 23rd men's singles Grand Slam title at the French Open was special given that it was always the toughest one to win for him.
With this win, he has improved his record in Rome to nine wins and four losses.
* Swiatek started playing tennis in an attempt to emulate her older sister, who competed briefly on the junior circuit.
Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 16th time but it proved a hard day's work at his Centre Court office.
Medvedev outlasts Zverev to reach Halle final
N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of India, who were entered in the main draw as alternates, were defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Ilya Ivashka and Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the opening round.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bagged the biggest title of their career, winning the French Open Super 750 crown with a straight-game decimation of Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in the men's doubles final in Paris on Sunday.
Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban
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.
Marie Bouzkova has withdrawn from the French Open before her second-round match after she reported that she has tested positive for COVID-19
Fears that Rafael Nadak may miss the French Open grew after he pulled out of this week's Italian Open.
Djokovic raced into a 3-0 lead before his opponent found his rhythm to set up three break points at 4-2.
Rafael Nadal has not played since sustaining a hip injury at the Australian Open in January.
Novak Djokovic says he is still dealing with an elbow issue heading into this week's Srpska Open as the Serb looks to get his French Open preparations back on track.
Swiatek will face Czech Karolina Muchova in the final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas enjoyed an incident-free path into the third round of the French Open with a win over Roberto Carballes Baena.
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.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza notched up contrasting wins along with their respective partners in the men's and women's doubles competitions at the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
Russian-born world number 12 Daria Kasatkina on Friday announced that she will now represent Australia after her application for permanent residency was accepted by the government.
'Whilst I feel fit and healthy, I would like to give it a go.'
World No 1 Novak Djokovic said Carlos Alcaraz is the man to beat on clay and is one of the top title contenders for the French Open.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Thursday.
Coco Gauff, 18, is the youngest finalist at Roland Garros since Kim Clijsters in 2001.
However, Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bowed out of the tournament after losing their opening women's doubles match in straight games.
Monfils, 35, reached the last four at the 2008 French Open and repeated the feat eight years later at the 2016 US Open but has never reached a Grand Slam final.
The 24-year-old, who will be hoping to claim a first Grand Slam title at this year's French Open, said he has been trying to play with the same mindset he had during his run to the 2021 Roland Garros final.
Swiatek took the prestigious Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen for a joyous spin around the enchanting Paris.
Although hampered by a chronic foot injury that saw him out in the last 16 of the Italian Open, an event that precedes the French Open, the 21-time Grand Slam champion has looked pain-free in his bid for a 14th French Open crown.
In the men's doubles, seventh-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat the Malaysian duo of Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee 21-16 21-14 in a round of 16 match, that lasted 40 minutes.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek made it to her third final in four years at Roland Garros.
It was sweet victory for Japan's Miyu Kato as she bagged the mixed doubles crown with Tim Puetz after being disqualied from the women's doubles.
The duo will face El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo and Netherlands' Jean-Julien Rojer in the semi-finals.
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal resumed training on Monday after four weeks out due a stress fracture in his rib, a month out from the French Open where the Spaniard will bid for a record-extending 14th title.
Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz steamrolled past Argentine lucky loser Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 to kick off his French Open campaign in solid
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