tennis

The Japanese player had defeated Romania's Patricia Maria Tig 6-4 7-6 (7-4) late on Sunday but did not turn up to face media. The rules of Grand Slam tournaments state that players can be fined up to $20,000 for failing to meet media obligations which includes speaking at a post-match press conference.

Staring down 30-40 at 6-5 in the second set, Kvitova finished off a seven-shot rally with a crosscourt backhand winner to stay in it and hardly looked back to seal the win in two-hour, 16 minutes. She forced a final set by winning the last three points of the tiebreak and surrendered just three points on serve in the decider.

The four-time Grand Slam title winner, seeking her first second-week showing at the clay court major, fended off a spirited challenge from Patricia in one hour and 47 minutes. Naomi, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion, is playing in Paris for the first time since 2019, after withdrawing from last year's event with a hamstring injury prior to the tournament.

Having never progressed beyond the fourth round of a women's major, 19-year-old Iga broke through for her maiden Grand Slam title last year, upstaging American Sofia Kenin at the French Open in Paris. Only three players have won multiple titles in the women's tournament at the French Open in this century -- Justine (4), American Serena Williams (3) and Russia's Maria Sharapova (2).

The Serbian star lost his serve thrice in the first set before upping his game to defeat Molcan -- the first-time ATP Tour finalist -- in 88 minutes. "It's been a while since I last played here in front of a [home] crowd," said Djokovic. "We played here one month ago [at the Serbia Open], without a crowd. To hold a trophy here after 10 years is really special, and it couldn't be better ahead of Roland Garros."

Djokovic was stretched to three sets by Slovakian qualifier Andrej Martin in the semi-finals before the Serbian won 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. The win helped Djokovic secure his maiden entry into an ATP Tour final on home soil since 2011. In the other semi-final match, Molcan defeated eighth seed Argentinian Federico Delbonis 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Cirstea overcame No.8 seed Magda Linette of Poland, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, as the Romanian aims to collect her second title of the season on Saturday. World No.61 Cirstea earned her second career WTA singles title -- her first in almost 13 years -- in Istanbul last month. No.5 seed Krejcikova joined her in the final after the Czech ended the breakthrough run of German qualifier Jule Niemeier, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Djokovic will face the winner of eighth seed Argentinian Federico Delbonis and qualifier Alex Molcan as he seeks his 83rd Tour-level title, and his third in Belgrade. "I'm super excited to play in front of a Serbian crowd. This is my hometown. I'm always excited, but also nervous, coming out on the court and playing in front of my home crowd," Djokovic told atptour.com

Naomi won the 2020 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open to take her total Grand Slam wins to four. Additionally, she has repeatedly spoken publicly in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, sporting names of victims of police brutality on the masks she wore throughout the US Open. Apart from this, Naomi also partnered with two dozen brands that range from HR software (Workday) to watches (Tag Heuer).

Djokovic beat Coria 6-1, 6-0 in just 56 minutes to record his 952nd career win as a professional. This put him fifth on the all-time list for match wins in the Open Era, ahead of Argentine great Guillermo Vilas (951). Djokovic will now face either compatriot Dusan Lajovic or qualifier Andrej Martin.