Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the 12th time after saving a championship point in a to end Stefanos Tsitsipas' perfect record on clay this year in a thrilling final.

World number three Nadal, playing just his third tournament of the year, is gearing up for a tilt at a record-extending 14th French Open title.

By defeating the man who landed the Monte Carlo Masters title last week, Nadal showed he is moving through the gears on his favourite surface before heading to Paris.

He won 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 to maintain his 100 per cent record in finals at this tournament on home soil, but Tsitsipas was left to reflect on a missed opportunity after the 20-time grand slam champion fended off a championship point at 5-4 in the final set.

Nadal trailed 4-2 in the opening set as Tsitsipas signalled he was up for the challenge and brimming with confidence, but back came the 34-year-old to sweep up the next four games.

Tsitsipas broke first in the second set too, inching 2-1 in front, and the Greek looked every bit a warrior capable of living with the best for much of the contest.

It was a rout when these two met in the Barcelona final three years ago, Nadal dropping only three games, but here he needed to work far harder, in what was the 69th clay-court final of his stellar career.

Tsitsipas beat Nadal from two sets down in the Australian Open quarter-finals in February, so dropping the opener here was not cause for panic, but nor was gaining the early break in the second any reason to be confident he would be taking the match to a decider.

Nadal duly broke back but then let two championship points slip by in the 10th game, with Tsitsipas serving. A smash followed by a superb drop volley from Tsitsipas meant the match remained alive.

Tsitsipas could not convert 0-40 on Nadal's serve in the next game, but he won a thrilling tie-break to take the contest all the way.

There was not a solitary break point in the decider until Tsitsipas was a point away from claiming the title in the 10th game, but the King of Clay dug in to hold.

He rubbed salt in the wounds by securing the elusive break in the next game and dropped to the clay in delight after serving it out, ending a pulsating showdown that was finally settled in three hours and 38 minutes.

Antoine Griezmann is proud to be playing his part in Barcelona's LaLiga title push, even if it means continuing to play out of position.

The France international scored twice to earn Barca a 2-1 comeback win away at Villarreal on Sunday after Samuel Chukwueze opened the scoring at Estadio de la Ceramica.

He has 13 goals and nine assists in all competitions in 2021 - only team-mate Lionel Messi (32) and Villarreal's Gerard Moreno (24) have been involved in more among LaLiga players.

Griezmann was once again paired with Messi up top against Villarreal, with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri positioned just behind in a 3-5-2 formation now favoured by Ronald Koeman.

While the 30-year-old was more accustomed to being the focal point in attack during his Atletico Madrid days, he is happy to put the team first in Barcelona's quest for more silverware.

"I try to be there, among the opposition centre-backs," he told LaLiga TV. "I need to make space and create room for my team-mates.

"It's not my natural position, but I'm proud to be at Barcelona and play with these team-mates. Sometimes I'm asked to mark, other times I lead, but I always work for the team."

Griezmann has now scored in three successive matches, his latest brace helping Barca to close the gap on league leaders and former side Atletico to two points.

Barca have taken 46 points from the 51 on offer this calendar year, compared to 38 points in one game fewer for Atletico ahead of their trip to Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday.

The two sides are scheduled to meet at Camp Nou on May 8 and Griezmann acknowledged Barca's fate is in their own hands with six matches to go. 

"We all want to win LaLiga. There are four teams, including Sevilla, that are fighting for it," he said. "We have to try to win every game - that is the only way to be champions.

"It will not be ease but we have the group of players needed to achieve it.

"Atletico are having an incredible season. We are close behind them and trying our best to be champions. We have it in our hands. We just need to win all the games we have."

All five of Barca's shot on target against Villarreal were in the first half, with Frenkie de Jong being denied by a fine Sergio Asenjo save with the game scoreless.

De Jong also missed from a one-on-one late on after the hosts had Manu Trigueros sent off for a challenge on Messi, but the Dutchman impressed compatriot Koeman with his overall play.

"For me, this De Jong is better than the Netherlands and Ajax version," he said at his post-match news conference. "He attacks, defends and is a very important player for this team."

Barcelona, who won their first piece of silverware of the Koeman era with victory over Athletic Bilbao in last week's Copa del Rey final, have a four-day rest before facing Granada in their next LaLiga outing.

Koeman only made one change to his starting line-up for the Villarreal match and does not believe fatigue is a major issue for his side.

"It is more about mentality than freshness," he said. "We have two games this week. The players are use to that.

"Sometimes you have to suffer. We faced a good opponent and did not panic when they scored.

"This is a big step towards the title, as is every victory. Every match is difficult, but we reacted well and defended well, even if we were tired in the final stages."

Aymeric Laporte headed Manchester City to a 1-0 win over Tottenham in the EFL Cup final as Pep Guardiola's men landed their first trophy of what could be a treble-winning season.

City's attacking players rained attempts on the Tottenham goal in a one-sided Wembley clash, but it was defender Laporte who came up with the clinical finish in the 82nd minute, nodding Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick past Hugo Lloris.

The Spurs goalkeeper had been magnificent until then, but the quality of the delivery and the precision of Laporte's header gave the French goalkeeper little chance.

Top of the Premier League and chasing Champions League glory, a fourth consecutive triumph in the EFL Cup seems unlikely to be the pinnacle of City's achievements this term.

Garrick Higgo landed the second title of his European Tour career as the 21-year-old South African triumphed at the Gran Canaria Open.

After finishing in a tie for fourth at the Austrian Open last week, Higgo produced three sparkling rounds to lead going into Sunday's finale on the Spanish island.

Having gone 65-64-63 in his first three rounds, Higgo knew it was likely he would need to go low again to complete his task, and a seven-under 63, capped by a birdie at the 18th, gave him victory by three shots on 25 under par.

Germany's Maximilian Kieffer finished second after a closing 62 put him on 22 under, with Denmark's Jeff Winther third, a shot back, following a 64 to wrap up his week.

Higgo had a nerve-settling birdie at the second hole before making eagle at the par-five fourth for a second successive day, an expertly measured chip rolling around 25 foot across the green before dropping in. More gains at the ninth and 10th gave him a handy cushion over the field.

Kieffer was waiting for a slip-up from Higgo that never came over the closing holes.

The champion said in a European Tour post-round interview: "It's unreal. It just feels amazing. It's quite a relief finishing now. The birdies on nine and 10 were big for me in terms of my confidence."

Higgo's previous win on the tour came at the Portugal Open last September, and he said of his latest success: "It wasn't over until the last hole really. I knew anything could happen, and with the wind coming up it was a bit stressful.

"I'm just going to keep going forward. I'll see where my game goes."

Antonio Conte believes the Serie A title is "95 per cent" decided after Inter's slender 1-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday. 

The Nerrazzuri were far from their fluid best at San Siro, but sealed a 13th consecutive home league win for the second time in their history thanks to Matteo Darmian's goal 14 minutes from full-time. 

The result moved Inter 13 points clear at the top of the table with five games remaining, although neighbours Milan can scale that back to 10 with victory over Lazio on Monday. 

Conte is in no doubt his side will wrap up a first Scudetto since the 2009-10 season, but acknowledged some of his players have been feeling the pressure of the situation. 

"The ball is heavier now, many players have never lived this situation and it's undeniable a few players have been affected by this," Conte told DAZN.

"We played two good games against Napoli and Spezia [they drew both 1-1]. They said we had stopped ourselves, but it wasn't this like that.

"Managing to win this season makes these footballers become winners. Never forget the others are dropping points. We have been consistent. 

"Sometimes we suffer a little bit more, but we are keeping our foot on the gas pedal."

Conte sprinted to celebrate with his players after Darmian's goal and said he was motivated by the Serie A title being within touching distance. 

"It's easy to explain. In that run, I see 95 per cent of the Scudetto," he added. 

"I think it was an important win. We haven't won it yet, but it was important to win against a team that can create trouble; a very physical team that had nothing to lose.

"We've worked a lot over the last two seasons. As I said many times, Inter haven't been competitive for a long time. We tried [to win] last season. This term, we are close, but we need to work both on a mental and a footballing level.

"Sometimes I am heavy, but I found few people who can be both winners and light hearted. The path is extremely complicated. It takes hard work and sacrifice."

Inter limited Verona to just a solitary shot on target as they stretched their unbeaten Serie A home record against Ivan Juric's side to a club record 30 games, surpassing their 29-match unbeaten against Palermo. 

Conte highlighted the contribution of Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar, comparing them to the heralded triumvirate of Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgino Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, who he coached at Juventus. 

"When, in my first year at Juventus, I coached Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini, they were young, and they had won nothing before," he said. 

"We have begun a new project here, and I can see many similarities with De Vrij, Bastoni and Skriniar.

"If we win this season, they will begin a path where the Scudetto can bring more self-esteem. Never forget, Bonucci, Chiellini and Barzagli were virgins in terms of victories when I arrived.

"At Chelsea, it was different. Some players had already won, they had more experience."

Sorana Cirstea claimed the Istanbul Open title without dropping a set after overcoming top seed Elise Mertens 6-1 7-6 (7-3) in the final.

Cirstea secured just her second tournament triumph on the WTA Tour – and first since Tashkent in 2008 – in a contest of two contrasting sets on Sunday.

The Romanian dominated in the opener, breaking three times as her opponent committed 16 unforced errors while failing to hold serve.

However, Mertens responded impressively to seize control of the second set, some superb groundstrokes allowing her to open up a commanding 5-2 lead.

Cirstea hit back to take the next four games in a row and while unable to serve out for the match when 6-5 up, she would not be denied a long overdue success in the tie-break.

Victory was secured with a crunching backhand winner on the first of three match-point opportunities, ending a see-saw set that had spanned 67 minutes.

Mertens had reached the final by ending a nine-match winning run for Veronika Kudermetova, who just so happened to be her doubles partner at the event in Turkey.

Antonio Pirlo does not believe his bosses are happy with his efforts after Juventus were held to a 1-1 Serie A draw at Fiorentina.

Dusan Vlahovic gave the relegation-threatened Viola a deserved first-half lead from the penalty spot at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday after Adrien Rabiot handled in the area.

Bianconeri head coach Pirlo reacted to a lacklustre display in the opening 45 minutes by replacing Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala with Alvaro Morata and Dejan Kulusevski, changing the formation after starting with three at the back.

Morata made an instant impact, equalising with a sublime left-foot finish just 31 seconds after coming on, but the champions failed to go on and secure three precious points.

Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici stated ahead of the game that Pirlo's job would be safe if they finished in the top four, but fifth-placed Napoli can join them on 66 points with five games to play by beating Torino on Monday.

Pirlo says he is learning on the job but knows he has fallen short of expectations in his first season at the helm.

He told Sky Italia: "The initial expectations [when he took charge] were different and I don't think I did the job as intended.

"Every game that passes you learn something but I'm not happy and I don't think the club is either."

Morata's sublime strike was Juve's only shot on target and Pirlo says their first-half performance was not good enough.

"There was a very bad first half that had to be faced in a different way. It was fundamental for the Champions League race. In the second half we were better." said the former Italy playmaker.

"We decided to put Morata on to change pace and that happened. We had to deal with it in another way. The three-man defence didn't go well, we had tried one thing and another happened. We changed it and it was better."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer felt a dominant Manchester United performance just lacked a cutting edge in Sunday's 0-0 draw with Leeds United.

The Red Devils had won the reverse fixture 6-2 at Old Trafford back in December but there was to be no repeat of that high-scoring affair in the April sunshine at Elland Road.

A Marcus Rashford free-kick forced a smart save out of Illan Meslier in the first half, while Bruno Fernandes dragged a glorious opportunity wide not long after the interval.

The visitors had 16 attempts but managed to get just four on target, meaning a five-match winning run in the Premier League ground to a halt, pushing Manchester City a step closer to the title.

"I thought we played well. I thought we played really well," Solskjaer told Sky Sports after a seventh goalless draw in the league this season - only in 1980-81 have the club been involved in more.

"In the second half, I thought we dominated. We didn't really give any chances away, just didn't have the ball fall for us correctly. We had some decent chances but, unfortunately, couldn't take them.

"When two teams meet, you create problems and you solve problems. The opposition gives you things to think about and I think also we made them adjust to us, and we had to adjust to them because they are a unique team.

"I thought we did that really well. We put a really big shift down, worked hard. So many times I've seen Leeds run over teams in the second half, but I thought it was quite the opposite for us.

"Up until the last 18 yards, that's where we stopped. The quality, or the decision-making, let us down.

"Of course we are disappointed that we don't get three points, but I think the boys know they put a shift down and they really have a lot of respect for how Leeds play, plus the results they have had lately."

Leeds were restricted to only six shots in the match, their joint-fewest in a league game at Elland Road under Marcelo Bielsa.

The result also sees Solskjaer's squad extend their unbeaten league run on the road to 24 games, just three shy of Arsenal's record top-flight run of 27 between April 2003 and September 2004.

Manchester United are next in action on Thursday, hosting Roma at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win over 10-man Villarreal that keeps the pressure on LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid.

Barca are now unbeaten in 24 league meetings with Villarreal but were made to work hard for their latest victory at Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday.

Griezmann struck twice in the first half, but only after Samuel Chukwueze had opened the scoring for Villarreal against the run of play with his third goal in as many league appearances.

Manu Trigueros was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Lionel Messi in a quieter second period as Barca made it eight wins from their last nine LaLiga outings, moving them to within two points of Atletico after the same number of matches.

Frenkie de Jong was presented with a glorious opportunity to open the scoring after 16 minutes when teed up by Jordi Alba for what appeared to be a back-post tap-in, but the Dutchman got his feet in a mix and Sergio Asenjo clawed the shot off the line.

Asenjo was then equal to a Messi shot at his near post and that looked to be a pivotal moment early on as Chukwueze had the ball in the net at the other end eight minutes later, the winger rounding Marc-Andre ter Stegen and tucking in.

But Griezmann levelled things up 87 seconds later with a sublime chipped finish over Asenjo and he doubled his tally soon after with a first-time shot after pouncing on a weak Juan Foyth back-pass that did not reach his keeper.

Griezmann would have had a hat-trick before the midway point if not for a low save from Asenjo, while Etienne Capoue was denied by a Ter Stegen save from the game's next big moment just after the hour mark.

Villarreal were in the contest at that point, but Trigueros' red card for catching Messi on the shin with a follow-through challenge left the Europa League semi-finalists with an even tougher task on their hands.

Barca were able to see out the final 25 minutes in a stress-free manner – De Jong failing to beat Asenjo from a one-on-one in the best of the remaining chances – to stay firmly in the title hunt.

Ash Barty came from a set down for the third time this week as the world number one continued a superb 2021 with victory at the Stuttgart Open.

Barty overcame Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-0 6-3 to lift an 11th career title and her third of the season after successes at the Miami Open and the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne.

It proved to be another comeback triumph against a top-10 opponent for Barty, who saw off Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

Sabalenka was ready to seize upon another sluggish Barty start and forced three break points at 3-2 in the opener.

The Australian was able to hang on that time, but Sabalenka fashioned two more and a botched Barty drop shot meant it was fifth time lucky.

The rapid progress of set two suggested Barty had merely been warming up, snaffling her third break point at 1-0 and dispatching a magnificent forehand cross-court winner to surge 4-0 ahead.

A bagel felt inevitable from that point and, after a 20-minute second set, Sabalenka was sinking without a trace when she slipped 3-0 behind in the decider.

The fifth seed broke back before being undermined by an untimely double fault at 3-2 – one of 39 unforced errors – and Barty faced down three break points in the following game.

A superb display, featuring 26 winners and five break points converted from 12 opportunities, concluded when Barty wrapped things up on her second match point.

Alvaro Morata scored just 31 seconds after coming on as a substitute but Champions League hopefuls Juventus had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.

Dusan Vlahovic scored his 17th Serie A goal of the season with a first-half penalty to put the relegation-threatened Viola in front at Stadio Artemio Franchi, after Adrien Rabiot handled in the area.

Juve boss Andrea Pirlo made a double substitution at the break and it was Morata, one of the two introduced, who levelled with a stunning strike in the first minute of the second half.

The reigning champions were unable to secure a Sunday afternoon victory that would have moved them into second place and fifth-placed Napoli had the chance to join them on 66 points if they beat Torino on Monday.

Fiorentina made a promising start and Wojciech Szczesny raced out sharply to deny number Vlahovic after Franck Ribery played the striker in.

Juve had a huge stroke of luck when a deflected long-range drive from Erick Pulgar struck the post and bounced into the arms of Szczesny, but Vlahovic gave the Viola a deserved lead just before the half-hour mark.

Referee Davide Massa pointed to the spot following a check on the pitchside monitor, with the ball having struck Rabiot's arm as he jumped to try and head clear, and Vlahovic made the midfielder pay with a cheeky 'Panenka' penalty.

Aaron Ramsey missed a good opportunity to equalise late in the first half when Fiorentina were opened up by a slick move and the Wales international poked wide at full stretch with only Bartlomiej Dragowski to beat.

Pirlo reverted from a three-man defensive set-up to a back four for the second half, with Morata replacing Leonardo Bonucci and Dejan Kulusevski on for Paulo Dybala.

Morata made an instant impact, getting on the end of a ball down the right channel and cutting inside sharply before picking out the far corner of the net with a sublime left-footed finish.

Juve looked a different side after the break and Nikola Milenkovic nodded clear to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo from tapping in Giorgio Chiellini's header across goal.

Ronaldo failed to head home a brilliant cross from Kulusevski six minutes from time as Juve dropped points in the battle for a top-four finish.

Inter took another significant stride towards a first Serie A title since 2009-10 after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hellas Verona at San Siro on Sunday. 

The result means Antonio Conte's side are 13 points clear at the league summit, although that could be scaled back to 10 if Milan overcome Lazio on Monday. 

Inter struggled for long periods against Verona, but sealed a 13th consecutive Serie A home win for just the second time in their history 14 minutes from full-time courtesy of substitute Matteo Darmian. 

The wing-back powered forward, collected Achraf Hakimi's pass and slotted past Marco Silvestri from 10 yards to help his side return to winning ways after two draws in the top flight.

Inter started sluggishly and could have fallen behind shortly after the midway point of the first half.

Samir Handanovic got down well to keep out Daniel Bessa's initial effort before Federico Dimarco dragged his follow-up strike narrowly wide with the goal at his mercy.

The hosts rarely looked like scoring during a tepid opening 45 minutes and went in at the break having had just a solitary shot on target.

Lautaro Martinez was denied by Silvestri shortly after the hour as Inter continued to struggle following the restart.

Hakimi went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock after 69 minutes but his superb 25-yard free-kick crashed against Silvestri's left-hand post.

With Martinez and Romelu Lukaku misfiring, it was left to Darmian to snatch three points, the former Manchester United man showing superb composure to slot home his third league goal of the season in the 76th minute.

Manchester United saw a five-match winning run in the Premier League come to a halt as they had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Leeds United on Sunday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had been far too hot for their trans-Pennine rivals to handle in the December meeting at Old Trafford, Scott McTominay scoring twice inside the opening three minutes in a stunning 6-2 triumph.

However, a first league trip to Elland Road since October 2003 failed to provide anywhere near the same level of drama and excitement.

The Red Devils do extend their unbeaten away run in the Premier League to 24 games – Arsenal's domestic top-flight record of 27 is well within their sights – but the draw leaves them 10 points behind leaders Manchester City, who could now clinch the title as soon as next weekend.

Angus Kinnear provided more entertainment in his programme notes than a tepid first half played out in pleasant late-April sunshine, Leeds' CEO having heavily criticising the "self-proclaimed big six" of English football for their involvement in the breakaway European Super League.

Illan Meslier reacted quickly to turn away a powerfully struck Marcus Rashford free-kick, while the only attempt on target for the hosts before the interval saw Stuart Dallas shoot straight at Dean Henderson.

Leeds felt a penalty should have been awarded when a Jack Harrison cross struck Luke Shaw on the arm, but a check by video assistant referee Mike Dean ruled it not to be deliberate.

Bruno Fernandes – closely watched for much of the game by Kalvin Phillips – dragged an attempt wide of the target following good work by Aaron Wan-Bissaka as the visitors showed greater urgency after the interval.

Edinson Cavani was introduced late on to bolster the attack but there was no breakthrough, Leeds again showing they can compete with those connected to the failed Super League having previously drawn at home this season with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and champions-elect City.