Casper Ruud retained his Geneva Open title with a hard-fought defeat of Joao Sousa on Saturday.
Ruud had to dig deep in the deciding set, breaking Sousa when the Portuguese was serving for the title at 5-4, before going on to win 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-1).
The world number nine has now won six of his last seven ATP 250 events on clay, and is the first player since Stan Wawrinka (2016 and 2017) to win more than one Geneva Open title.
Ruud served five aces in the first set on his way to edging a tie-break, but a determined Sousa was able to level in a second set in which he won eight of 11 second-service points.
It looked like Sousa would cause an upset against the tournament's second seed when serving for the match, only for Ruud to break back and use that momentum to take the win.
The Norwegian made the semi-finals at the Internazionali d'Italia last week and maintained his momentum ahead of the French Open by lifting the trophy in Switzerland.
"It was one of the craziest matches that I have ever played," he said in his on-court interview. "It was a lot of up and down. Sousa was close to winning and then suddenly everything turns around and this is tennis.
"This win feels so good, but you have to give a lot of credit to Joao because he fought back from one set down and has been playing well all week.
"It was just a matter of one or two points today and luckily they went in my favour."
At the Lyon Open, it was Cameron Norrie who emerged triumphant as the Brit beat Alex Molcan 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-1.
Norrie – who was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in last year's final – was largely on top throughout, firing down six aces and boasting an impressive success rate of 72 per cent of first serve points won, while also saving five of seven break points against his Slovakian opponent.
The top seed could have won in straight sets, but was unable to convert two match points in the second before being forced to a decider by Molcan.
It is Norrie's second ATP title of the season and the fourth of his career. It is his first on clay as he prepares for the second grand slam of the year at Roland Garros.
"It is my first title on the clay so it means a lot to me," Norrie said. "I can't be happier with how I handled everything this week. This one feels the best so far. I don't know why, it is just so special and I couldn't be happier and am really speechless right now. It was an incredible atmosphere. Thanks to everyone for coming out.
"I had chances to close the matches in straight sets this week and get it done easier than usual and it didn't go that way and I was able to let that go and respond. In the third set I moved really well and it is nice to get over the line."
Dan Evans unhappy with foot-fault call in French Open loss to Thanasi Kokkinakis
Dan Evans branded his French Open defeat by Thanasi Kokkinakis “shocking” and hit out at officials for foot-faulting him at a key point in the first-round contest.
Evans finally won his first match at Roland Garros last year but could not achieve the same result here, going down 6-4 6-4 6-4 to big-hitting Kokkinakis – the player beaten by Andy Murray in an early morning Australian Open epic this year.
The British number two appeared to have turned the match around in the second set when he led 4-1 but, at 30-0 in the seventh game, he was foot-faulted for the unusual offence of his back foot crossing the centre line on serve by the line judge at the far end of the court.
Evans promptly lost four points in a row, slamming his water bottle to the ground in annoyance and earning a code violation, and he did not win another game in the set as the match slipped away.
The 33-year-old was clearly taken aback by the call, which he later said had never happened to him before.
“Disruptive, wrong, a few other things you could say about it,” said Evans. “It’s the game. But, once again, the players are held responsible, but the umpires and line judges are not held responsible. I’ll be getting fined, obviously, for breaking the water bottle.
“I obviously knew it was a rule but I tend to know where my feet are. It just totally threw me where I was then serving from. It was difficult from then on. I lost all trust in where my feet were. It’s a very minor thing, but it became a pretty big thing in my head.
“If they’re going to call that foot fault, it shouldn’t be from 35 metres away, from fence to fence through a net. That’s not the reason I lost, but I was right in the match at that point.”
Evans remains close to his highest ranking at 25 and has had some decent results this season, notably reaching the semi-finals on clay in Barcelona last month, but he has also lost his opening match at tournaments eight times and is currently on a four-match losing streak.
He will hope to turn things around on grass, where he has traditionally been strong, but he made no attempt to sugar-coat things.
“I’ve been very poor in the big tournaments this year,” he said. “Incredibly kind draw in Australia and I came through a few matches, but I’ve been poor in the Masters, one good tournament this year.
“I said the other day there’s some soul-searching. There will be plenty of that tonight.
“I’ve got to get on and try and get my game in a good spot. It’s shocking right now how I played today. The frustrating thing is I’m playing well in practice and then not putting it on the court.
“It’s a hard sport. That’s the bottom line. I’ve never missed a shot from inside the living room, and I’m guessing no one missed at home today. It’s just incredibly frustrating. I’ll keep going, trying, and get back practising.”
The defeat means Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper are the only British players left in the main singles draws, and Evans launched his latest broadside against the Lawn Tennis Association in his pre-tournament press conference on Friday, criticising the way young players are funded.
View this post on InstagramDavis Cup captain Leon Smith and LTA performance director Michael Bourne were both in the stands watching Evans, and he said: “The problem with it all is everybody takes it personally.
“It’s not anything personal. If you’re taking it personally, then maybe you’re guilty of what I’m saying. They were supporting me fine today.
“I voice my opinions because I want working-class kids to get the support they deserve. In any other sport, when people voice their opinions about a system, it goes forward, but, in tennis, because we’re so elitist in England, it doesn’t get put forward. I’m doing it for working-class people like I was.”
Dan Evans crashes out of French Open in first round
A frustrated Dan Evans was beaten in straight sets by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the opening round of the French Open.
Evans finally won his first match at Roland Garros last year but could not achieve the same result here, going down 6-4 6-4 6-4 to the powerful Australian in hot and lively conditions.
The British number two appeared to have turned the match around in the second set when he led 4-1 but, at 30-0 in the next game, he was faulted for his foot crossing the centre line.
Evans promptly lost four points in a row, slamming his water bottle to the ground in annoyance and earning a code violation, and he did not win another game in the set as the match slipped away.
He gave himself a chance by breaking Kokkinakis, the player beaten by Andy Murray from two sets down in the early hours of the morning at the Australian Open, to pull himself back to 4-4 in the third set.
But Evans promptly dropped serve again and Kokkinakis did not allow him a second chance.
The 33-year-old’s defeat means Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper are the only British players left in the singles main draws.
Marta Kostyuk booed for not shaking Aryna Sabalenka’s hand in French Open defeat
Marta Kostyuk was booed off court after refusing to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka at the end of her first-round French Open defeat.
There was particular interest in the opening clash of the tournament on Philippe Chatrier given Ukrainian Kostyuk has been the most outspoken critic both of allowing Russian and Belarusian players to continue competing and of athletes from those two countries for not speaking out against their nations.
Sabalenka knew Kostyuk would not shake her hand at the end of the match, and the Belarusian said in her pre-tournament press conference: “If she hates me, OK. I can’t do anything about that.”
The pair kept well apart ahead of the contest, not posing together for the usual pre-match picture, and at the end of the 6-3 6-2 victory for the second seed, Kostyuk walked to shake hands with the umpire before heading to her seat.
A section of the crowd began booing, startling Sabalenka, who appeared unsure whether the gesture was directed at her, but the fans then cheered for her before jeering Kostyuk when she walked off.
Sabalenka said: “It was a very tough match, tough emotionally. I didn’t know if the booing was against me but thank you so much for your support, it’s really important.”
The Australian Open champion is one of three big favourites for the women’s title along with defending champion Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
She looked tight to start with and two double faults contributed to a loss of serve as Kostyuk took a 3-2 advantage in the first set.
But Sabalenka got back on level terms immediately and from there relaxed into the match, losing just two of the last 12 games.
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