Andy Murray is more afraid of losing his wedding ring than a tennis match these days but that did not stop him from storming to a 10th successive win on clay at the Rome Masters on Wednesday.
Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban
Carlos Alcaraz heads to Paris for his French Open title defence having laid down a marker with his victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in Rome
Britain's Cameron Norrie stunned world number one Carlos Alcaraz to reach the third round of the Paris Masters.
Maria Sharapova saved a match point to beat Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in the Italian Open final on Sunday after a two-hour rain break effectively turned the match into a tiebreak shootout.
There will be a lot of excitement in the theatres in December but OTT entertainment looks good too.
World number two Rafael Nadal's bid to win the Rome Masters for the fourth successive year was buried on Wednesday when he lost 7-5 6-1 to Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The bonus amount, a 177% increase on the previous season's payout, will be distributed to players based on performance at the nine ATP 1000 tournaments, which rank just below the four Grand Slams in prestige.
Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy crashed out of the ATP Rome Masters after being handed a straight-set defeat by the seventh seeded Polish-Austrian pair of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach in the quarter-finals in Rome.
In the evening session, men's third seed Alexander Zverev and women's fourth seed Jessica Pegula were forced off the court mid-match due to rain and the threat of lightning.
Rafael Nadal showed his ruthless streak to overcome an early test from Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in a 6-4, 6-1 win on Friday and helped Spain to secure three of the four semi-final spots at the Rome Masters.
Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo advanced into the final of the Rome Masters by brushing aside sixth seed Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
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.
Holder Rafael Nadal provided more evidence that he is regaining his old dominance on clay after an injury-hit 2009 by cruising past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 at the Rome Masters on Thursday. British world number five Andy Murray struggled, however, and lost 6-3, 6-4 to Nadal's Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.
The 26-year-old then made first round exits from the Bordeaux Challenger and Geneva Open earlier this month.
Roger Federer's 2009 claycourt season ended in a blaze of glory, capturing an elusive French Open crown on an unforgettable Paris afternoon last June. His 2010 bow could hardly have been more dreary in comparison.
Roger Federer slumped to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat against Italian wild card Filippo Volandri in the last 16.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will clash for the Italian Open title after the top two seeds advanced to the final of the Masters tournament on Saturday.
The Russian registered an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory in the second round of the Rome Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open after top seed Jannik Sinner retired while trailing 5-0 in the first set of their final on Monday.
With this win, he has improved his record in Rome to nine wins and four losses.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka will meet in the final of the Rome Masters on Sunday after their semi-final opponents retired injured on Saturday. Serbian third seed Djokovic went through after unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek, pulled out when 6-0 1-0 down while Wawrinka made the final after American sixth seed Andy Roddick withdrew at 3-0 down in the first set because of a back injury.
Felix Mantilla defeated Roger Federer to become the first unseeded player to win in Rome since the Open Era began in 1968.
Swiatek downs Gauff to meet Sabalenka in Italian Open final
Spain's Fernando Verdasco came back from the brink of defeat to beat the top seed 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 in the last 16 of the Rome Masters.
The semi-final line-up at the Rome Masters ATP tournament resembles a Davis Cup tie after Spanish and Argentine players claimed all four berths.
Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, to snap the world number one's 26-match winning streak.
Rafael Nadal overcame a stern challenge from Ernests Gulbis to reach the Rome Masters final on Saturday, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after the Latvian had exposed chinks in the clay master's armour.
The Belgian rallied from the brink of defeat to beat Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Romes Masters.
Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 51 matches by cruising past Chile's Fernando Gonzalez at the Rome Masters.
World No 1 Serena Williams inflicted swift revenge on behalf of her older sister when she beat Britain's Laura Robson 6-2, 6-2 in the Rome Masters on Tuesday.
Last year's winner Carlos Moya was beaten 6-4, 7-6 by local wildcard Potito Starace.
The former world number one struggled to a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Spain's Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo in the second round of the Rome Masters.
Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal moved a step closer to another possible final showdown after recording straight-set wins in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters on Friday.
World number one Rafael Nadal overcame stubborn early resistance from defending champion Novak Djokovic to claim a record fourth Rome Masters title with a 7-6, 6-2 win on Sunday. The result also meant Djokovic would surrender the number three spot in the world rankings to Andy Murray on May 11 even though the 21-year-old Scot lost his opening match in Rome to Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco.
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