tennis

Barty won in Paris in 2019 and Swiatek in 2020 and both players went into the clash with long unbeaten runs on clay, with Barty not losing her last 19 matches, while Swiatek 18. Swiatek started out better of the two and raced into a 3-0 lead, but she failed to beat the Australian's serve and although Barty's first serve wasn't at her best, she still won almost 80 per cent of her service points, Xinhua news agency reports.

The Belarusian broke Zverev's serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set and won nine of the final 12 games of the match to clinch a 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3 victory on Centre Court. Ivashka capitalised on double faults late in the second set from the two-time champion and claimed the crucial break of the decider at 4-3 to earn his maiden top-10 win.

Playing in his first final since Stuttgart in 2019, Berrettini improved to 4-1 in ATP Tour championship matches after taking down Karatsev. The World No. 10 fired nine aces and broke Karatsev three times during the two-hour, 30-minute battle.

Nadal had knocked Ilya Ivashka, Kei Nishikori, Cameron Norrie, and Pablo Carreno Busta on his way to the final, playing on his favoured clay surface, Xinhua reports. Rafael Nadal beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in the final of the 68th edition of the Banco Sabadell Barcelona Open, which is better known as the Conde de Godo Trophy, to claim the title for the 12th time in his career.

Djokovic easily overcame the South Korean in less than 90 minutes to qualify for the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament, which was reinstituted this year after a pause of eight years, Xinhua reports. In the next stage, Djokovic will face compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic who defeated Arthur Rinderknech.

"Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva and Paris," Federer tweeted, DPA reports. "Until then, I will use the time to train. Can't wait to play in Switzerland again." The 20-time Grand Slam winner, who will turn 40 in August, underwent two arthroscopic right knee surgeries last year and skipped the season after the Australian Open in January.

The 136th-ranked Nagal, who is aiming to get into the top-100 on the ATP rankings, will now take on Italy's Thomas Fabbiano for a place in the main draw of the tournament, which is one of the most important events in Spanish tennis. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the joint Grand Slam record holder with Roger Federer with 20 titles each, has won 11 trophies at the Barcelona Open.

Zeel and Rutuja defeated Daniela Vismane and Patricija Spaka in a tough three-setter 6-4, 5-7, 10-2 in the last match on Saturday. After losing the rubber 1-3, India has slipped back to the Asia/Oceania zone. India's tennis ace and winner of six Grand Slam titles in doubles, Sania Mirza, was rested for the match and the team management decided to field Zeel and Rutuja.

The Russian has had a remarkable week at the Masters 1000 event that included a stunning win over 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, DPA reported. Rublev continued his fine run with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Casper Ruud on Saturday to ensure he will do battle against Tsitsipas in his first final at this level.

Nadal went into the meeting with a 73-5 record at the event but Russian Rublev was in inspired form and stunned his Spanish opponent, DPA reported. The 11-time champion looked set to complete a trademark comeback after taking the second set in 74 minutes. But Rublev held firm in the decider to claim a memorable victory after two hours and 33 minutes.