World no 1 wins epic 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) in three hours and 11 minutes Swiatek saves three match points to earn first title in Madrid Iga Swiatek may still be in the early years of her career, still in the process of learning her craft, gaining new tools while yet to reach her peak, but at the same time she continues to make her mark in tennis’s history books at a startling pace. At 22, Swiatek has now won every single significant clay court event on the WTA tour, an achievement she earned on Saturday evening by outlasting Aryna Sabalenka in an incredible battle of the highest quality between ..read more

I played on tour for 16 years and I was ready for Luca Guadagnino’s new movie to fail. But it’s the most accurate depiction of the tennis life I have seen on screen On a hot spring day in Munich, I went to a small movie theatre in the basement of an apartment building, dreading the prospect of missing an evening in the setting sun, possibly with a Bavarian beer in hand. The whole city seemed to be anxiously anticipating the upcoming Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. People roamed the streets, trying to find a place to watch football with their friends. I, on th ..read more

Swiatek eases past Madison Keys 6-1, 6-3 in just 70 minutes Jiri Lehecka into semis after Medvedev retires at one set down Iga Swiatek made light work of Madison Keys to book her return to the Madrid Open final. The top seed beat her American opponent 6-1, 6-3 in just 70 minutes in their semi-final on Thursday. Heading into the contest having won two of their last three meetings, the 22-year-old Pole dominated from the start and wrapped up the opener in just over half an hour against the 18th seed, who defeated Ons Jabeur to reach the semi-finals ..read more

Carlos Alcaraz’s hopes of becoming the first player to win three straight Madrid Open titles came undone as the second seed was beaten in front of his home crowd 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 by the Russian seventh seed, Andrey Rublev, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. It will be Rublev’s first semi-final in Madrid. The 26-year-old had entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak, including defeats in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. “Maybe this week is a relief but then next week we go back to the same … so better not to think this way because when you start to think: ‘Oh, how good everything is ..read more

Home hope beaten 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in quarter-final No 1 men’s seed Jannik Sinner pulls out with hip injury Carlos Alcaraz’s hopes of becoming the first player to win three straight Madrid Open titles came undone as the second seed was beaten in front of his home crowd 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 by the Russian seventh seed, Andrey Rublev, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The 20-year-old two-time grand slam champion was not at his best despite taking the opening set in 41 minutes. Rublev put in a dominant performance to end Alcaraz’s 14-match winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament ..read more

The former player, once a world No 1, also inspired a defining Adidas shoe and is the subject of a revealing new documentary For sports fans of a certain age, the seasonal queues that form around shoe stores in anticipation of the latest Jordan sneakers are a painful reminder of the many young people who only know of the hoops legend as an athletic brand. But well before Nike reduced Michael to a Jumpman silhouette, Adidas was hawking Stan Smiths – the leather, low-top kicks that became such a fashion statement among rockers and rappers that perhaps more young people have no idea the mustachio ..read more

Play was interrupted during Pavel Kotov and Jordan Thompson's second round match at the Madrid Open after a goose landed on the court. Despite being chased and having tennis balls rolled towards it, the goose refused to fly away and eventually wandered off in its own time ..read more

Rafael Nadal's spirited run at his final Madrid Masters came to an end when Jiri Lehecka defeated the 37-year-old 7-5, 6-4. Following the match, a ceremony took place celebrating the Spaniard's previous successes at the tournament, as five banners – one for each year he has won the title – were unfurled and a trophy presented. Nadal spoke after the match saying he hopes he has 'generated emotion and illusion' in those watching throughout his career. He is likely to retire later this year but the 'King of Clay' hasn't finished yet. It remains to be seen if the 14-time Roland Garros champion wil ..read more

Five-times winner is honoured by event after 7-5, 6-4 defeat World No 1 Iga Swiatek to face Madison Keys in semi-finals Rafael Nadal’s rousing, dramatic last stand on home soil came to an end just after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday morning as he was outhit and outplayed by Jiri Lehecka, a talented young Czech, who seized one of the biggest moments of his career so far by ­toppling the Spaniard 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open. The defeat will likely mark Nadal’s final time competing at the tournament he has won a record five times, with the 37-year-old expe ..read more

Rafael Nadal took a step forward in his comeback in a nervy, turbulent contest against Pedro Cachín of Argentina at the Madrid Open. The Spaniard won 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 against the world No 91 to reach the fourth round. ‘There is progress’: Nadal continues comeback to reach last 16 in Madrid ..read more