Jan 13, 2021 Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — – Aryna Sabalenka won her third straight tour title and 15th straight match by beating Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2 Wednesday in the Abu Dhabi Open final. The fourth-seeded Belarusian, who won indoor tournaments in Ostrava and Linz at the end of last season, last
Tennis
9:20 AM ET Britain’s Francesca Jones, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, reached her maiden Grand Slam main draw on Wednesday when she beat China’s Lu Jiajing in the final round of Australian Open qualifying in Dubai. Jones suffers from ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia syndrome, a condition which meant she was born with three fingers
5:30 AM ET Australian tennis star Alex De Minaur has opened his 2021 season in style, winning his fourth ATP title at the Antalya Open in Turkey. De Minaur was leading Alexander Bublik 2-0 in Wednesday’s final when the Kazakh retired injured just seven minutes into the match. The 21-year-old world No.23 dropped only one
5:39 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — No. 4-seeded Hubert Hurkacz advanced to his second career ATP Tour final by beating American qualifier Christian Harrison 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Tuesday at the Delray Beach Open. Hurkacz’s only other final was in 2019, when he won at Winston-Salem to become the second Polish tour-level
9:05 AM ET American tennis player Christian Harrison has been fined $3,000 by the ATP after refusing to take part in a mandatory on-court interview at the Delray Beach Open in Florida as it required him to wear a mask. The qualifier, ranked No. 789 in the world, stunned top seed Cristian Garin of Chile
9:35 PM ET ESPN News Services DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — John Isner says he’ll skip the Australian Open because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Isner disclosed his decision Monday night after losing to fellow American Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open. Isner, 35, has two young children and said he wanted his
4:57 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — American Christian Harrison won playing in his first career quarterfinal Monday, beating Gianluca Mager of Italy 7-6 (2), 6-4 at the Delray Beach Open. Harrison’s opponent Tuesday will be No. 4-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who swept qualifier Roberto Quiroz of Ecuador 6-4, 6-4. The 26-year-old
11:13 AM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and second-seeded Elina Svitolina were eliminated from the season-opening Abu Dhabi Open on Monday. Kenin lost to ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Svitolina lost to unseeded Russian Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Sakkari hit
5:57 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Frances Tiafoe gained momentum Sunday in his bid for another Delray Beach Open title by winning a seesaw match against fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Tiafoe won his first ATP Tour title as a 20-year-old wild card at Delray Beach in 2018. His career
3:47 PM ET Top seed Matteo Berrettini cruised into the quarterfinals of the Antalya Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Dimitar Kuzmanov. The world No. 10 broke serve on five occasions to win the match in 68 minutes. Berrettini will meet Alexander Bublik for a place in the last four after he overcame Frenchman
5:26 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — American qualifier Christian Harrison upset top-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile 7-6 (3), 6-2 Saturday in the second round at the Delray Beach Open. Harrison, ranked No. 789, squandered three consecutive set points serving at 6-5 in the first set and lost serve, but regrouped to dominate
9:56 AM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Elina Svitolina reached the third round of the Abu Dhabi Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva on Saturday, and Karolina Pliskova was eliminated in straight sets by a qualifier. Svitolina will play 17th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round
6:09 AM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin reached the third round of the Abu Dhabi Open on Friday after her opponent Kirsten Flipkens injured her ankle and had to retire. Flipkens won the first set 7-5 and was 5-4 down in the second when she jumped
5:56 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Tommy Paul made the most of his home-court advantage Thursday, sweeping Ji Sung Nam of South Korea 6-1, 6-4 in the first round at the Delray Beach Open. Paul, who lives in Delray Beach, came into the tournament seeded fifth and ranked a career-high No. 52.
4:18 PM ET It was an emphatic start to David Goffin’s 2021 ATP Tour as he beat doubles partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert and saved five match points in the process at the Antalya Open. Goffin handed Herbert a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss, saving those five match points at 4-5 in the second set. He then won
8:08 AM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia Kenin opened her season Thursday by beating Yang Zhaoxuan 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open. The American hit 11 aces against Yang to set up a second-round match against Kirsten Flipkens. “Obviously a little bit of nerves.
8:00 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com After an offseason filled with more uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 tennis season is finally upon us, and the start of the Australian Open is mere weeks away. While many of the game’s perennial favorites will likely continue to dominate in the new year, the next crop
7:55 AM ET American Sam Querrey, who was sanctioned by the ATP for breaching COVID-19 protocols at the St Petersburg Open in October, has defended his actions and said he did what he felt was right as a father and a husband. Querrey left Russia in a private jet with his wife and baby son