Andy Murray reached his first tour-level final on grass since 2016 with a straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.

The three-time major winner stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round – his first win over a top-five opponent in six years – and followed that up with another fine victory.

Murray, who last contested a final on grass when winning Wimbledon for a second time, prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 against Kyrgios.

He moves up to 47th in the live ATP rankings – the first time he has been in the top 50 since May 2018 – and will face Matteo Berrettini in what will be his 70th career final.

Aiming to keep alive his hopes of a ninth career title on grass, Murray saved both break points faced in the first set and showed good resolve to edge Kyrgios in the tie-break.

The second set was not as tightly contested, with the 35-year-old showing few signs of fatigue as he twice broke Kyrgios' serve to reach Sunday's final in Germany.

 

Berrettini had earlier defeated Oscar Otte 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) to reach his first tour-level final of an injury-hit season.

The world number 10 fired 18 aces en route to overcoming home favourite Otte in a time of one hour and 48 minutes.

"I am really happy," Berrettini said in his on-court interview. "Arriving at the tournament, that was the goal [to reach the final].

"From thinking about it and actually making it is a big difference. I am happy I am here and have another chance to play another final after months without playing.

"This means this is my level and I have proved once again I am comfortable at this level and on this surface. I really like it here at Stuttgart."

Aryna Sabalenka will meet Ekaterina Alexandrova in The Rosmalen Grass Court Championship final, while Beatriz Haddad Maia set up a showdown with Alison Riske in the Nottingham Open showpiece.

Sabalenka, ranked sixth in the world, put paid to Shelby Rogers 7-6 (8-6) 6-0, as the favourite in the Netherlands reached her second singles final this year.

World number 30 Alexandrova had little difficulty against Veronika Kudermetova as she triumphed 6-3 6-1 to reach her first singles final of the season.

Sabalenka and Alexandrova have split four previous meetings with two wins apiece, with the latter taking the most recent clash in straight sets at the Moscow quarter-finals last year.

Seventh seed Haddad Maia stunned favourite Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals to tee up the last-four clash with Tereza Martincova in Nottingham.

The Brazilian raced out the blocks once more to progress past Martincova, with the former 6-3 4-1 up before the Czech retired with injury.

Rain stopped play in the second semi-final between Viktorija Golubic and Riske with the scores level at one set each.

Sixth seed Riske capitalised from that point onwards to edge past Golubic 6-3 4-6 6-3.

Top seed Maria Sakkari was eliminated from the Nottingham Open at the quarter-final stage by world number 48 Beatriz Haddad Maia on Friday.

Haddad Maia made it three career wins out of three against Sakkari with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory to reach her first WTA semi-final on grass.

The Brazilian will now take on Tereza Martincova, who beat last year's runner-up Zhang Shuai 6-3 6-2, for a place in Sunday's final.

Sixth seed Alison Riske is also through to the last four after recovering from a set down to beat home favourite Harriet Dart 4-6 6-2 6-1.

Riske's sixth career semi-final on grass will come against Viktorija Golubic, who surprised Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the final match of the day.

At The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, second seed Belinda Bencic's participation was ended with a straight-sets defeat to Veronika Kudermetova.

French Open quarter-finalist Kudermetova prevailed 6-4 6-2 in 87 minutes to snap a three-match losing streak against Bencic.

Russian compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova is up next in the semi-finals after easing past American qualifier Caty McNally 6-0 6-1

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka is into her third semi-final in her past five tournaments, meanwhile, thanks to a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5) win over Alison Van Uytvanck.

Shelby Rogers, a 3-6 6-1 6-4 winner against Kirsten Flipkens, awaits Sabalenka in Saturday's semi-final.

Andy Murray claimed his first win over a top-five opponent since 2016 as he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Stuttgart Open semi-finals.

Murray started his preparations for the grass-court swing with a run to the semi-finals of the challenger at Surbiton.

He knocked off seventh seed Alexander Bublik to reach the last eight in Stuttgart but a meeting with the top seed and world number five represented a much more imposing challenge.

It was one the two-time Wimbledon champion rose to emphatically, winning a first-set tie-break and then claiming the second set in comfortable fashion to cement a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win, gaining revenge for his contentious five-set defeat to the Greek at last year's US Open.

Murray's previous win over a top-five opponent came in the ATP Finals six years ago, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a year that also saw him win Wimbledon.

"I thought I did well. He served unbelievably in the first set," Murray said in his on-court interview.

"I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances on my serve, I stayed strong.

"I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points. It was a good performance."

Murray is up to 53rd in the live ATP rankings and is bidding to get back into the top 50 for the first time since 2018. 

Standing between him and a place in the final is Nick Kyrgios, who was 7-6 (7-3) 3-0 up when Marton Fucsovics retired from their quarter-final clash.

Matteo Berrettini beat Lorenzo Sonego in three sets, while Oscar Otte won by walkover against Benjamin Bonzi.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Daniil Medvedev saw off Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Medvedev, who will soon return to world number one when the ranking points from the French Open come into effect, sees the grass-court season as a chance to cement his grip on that spot.

"I don't have many points to defend on grass and I have some to win, so hopefully I can play well, starting here," said Medvedev. "Every round is points and the higher you get, the more you need to step up."

He will face defending champion Adrian Mannarino in the semi-finals, while second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is into a last-four clash with home hope Tim van Rijthoven after beating Karen Khachanov. 

Elena Rybakina and Tamara Zidansek were both surprise second-round losers at The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships as numerous top seeds fell on Thursday.

Third favourite Rybakina struggled to find her rhythm and fell to a 6-2 6-4 loss against world number 42 Shelby Rogers.

The American will face Kirsten Flipkens in the quarter-finals in the Netherlands after she eased past Ann Li in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka, the favourite at the tournament, had little difficulty in negotiating past Arianne Hartono 6-2 6-3 and she will meet Alison van Uytvanck in the next round.

The Belgian picked up the scalp of compatriot Elise Mertens, the eighth seed, with a 6-2 6-3 win over the world number 29.

Fourth seed Zidansek was another to fall as she suffered a 6-1 6-1 loss to Catherine McNally, while Veronika Kudermetova profited from Anna Blinkova retiring with the match heading for one set each.

Belinda Bencic, the second favourite, will next challenge Kudermetova after she bucked the trend of the day with a battling 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win over Anna Kalinskaya.

Seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova had no trouble in advancing, meanwhile, as she saw off Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-2.

Maria Sakkari found herself 1-0 down against world number 109 Rebecca Marino before rain stopped play at the Nottingham Open, but the top seed responded to claim a 1-6 6-3 6-3 win.

Third seed Camila Giorgi had no such luck against Hannah Dart as she was eliminated 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-3), while Alison Riske and Ajla Tomljanovic beat Caroline Garcia and Katie Boulter respectively in straight sets.

Daniil Medvedev started his grass-court season with victory over Gilles Simon in the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, while Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov suffered shock defeats in Stuttgart.

Medvedev will replace Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings next Monday and the Russian could celebrate by claiming a first title of the year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The top seed, who will not compete at Wimbledon due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, beat Frenchman Simon 7-5 6-4 on Thursday after saving three set points and storming back from 5-2 down in the opener, setting up a quarter-final against lya Ivashka.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, the second seed, defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5), but third seed Taylor Fritz was beaten by wildcard Tim van Rijthoven in straight sets.

Alex de Minaur and Jenson Brooksby also made early exits, losing to French duo Adrian Mannarino and Hugo Gaston respectively.

Marton Fucsovics claimed the scalp of third seed Hurkacz to reach the last 16 at the Stuttgart Open, winning 7-5 6-7 (7-) 6-3

Shapovalov also lost his opening of the grass-court season, Oscar Otte getting the better of the fourth seed 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

There was no such trouble for top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Dominic Stricker 6-3 6-4, and Andy Murray accounted for seventh seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets.

Number four seed Shuai Zhang made it through to the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open after a straight-sets win over home hope Jodie Burrage.

Zhang was never in danger against her unseeded opponent, easing to a 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win to set up a last-eight clash with Tereza Martincova.

Martincova brushed aside number eight seed Magda Linette 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in their round-of-16 meeting on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Viktorija Golubic beat Heather Watson 7-5 6-2, while the match between number three seed Camila Giorgi and Harriet Dart was suspended at the start of the third set after the Briton had made it one set each. 

Meanwhile, rain caused havoc at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, with top seed Aryna Sabalenka's match against Arianne Hartono the only one to partially take place.

The match was called off for the day after Sabalenka had claimed the first set 6-2.

Matteo Berrettini made a winning return in his first match back since hand surgery after defeating Radu Albot at the Stuttgart Open.

The world number 10 was forced to sit out the ATP clay season after undergoing surgery following his withdrawal from Miami.

But the Italian was in fine form upon his return as he saw off Moldovan qualifier Albot with a battling 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory to get his grass-court season underway.

Following his last-four appearance at the Australian Open, Berrettini will be seeking another deep run at Wimbledon this year, after reaching his maiden grand slam final there last summer.

The former world number six will have to wait to discover his quarter-final opponent however, after rain forced a suspension in the match between Lorenzo Sonego and Jan-Lennard Struff. 

Sonego took the opening set in a tie break, with the match to be finished on Thursday.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, Jenson Brooksby likewise saw his match against Hugo Gaston brought to a standstill by overhead conditions, with the American leading 4-2 in the first set.

Andy Murray made a winning start to his ATP grass-court season after a straight-sets victory over Christopher O'Connell at the Stuttgart Open.

The three-time Grand Slam champion, who reached the Surbiton Open semi-finals last week, recovered from a slow start before wrapping up a commanding 6-4 6-3 victory in Stuttgart.

Having missed the French Open to focus his efforts on Wimbledon, Murray lost the opening three games of his clash with the Australian qualifier.

However, the former world number one responded in style, breaking his opponent four times on the way to setting up a last-16 clash with Alexander Bublik.

Bublik, the seventh seed, hit 19 aces and won 36 out of 42 points on his first serve as he overcame Denis Kudla 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Nick Kyrgios recorded an impressive 18 aces in his 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka, but eighth seed Ugo Humbert was ousted 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by compatriot Arthur Rinderknech.

Meanwhile, Botic van de Zandschulp and Tommy Paul were among the seeds to fall at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

Sixth seed Van de Zandschulp went down 4-6 6-2 6-1 against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori, and seventh seed Paul was beaten 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) by American compatriot Brandon Nakashima.

But there were no such problems for Karen Khachanov. The world number 23 won 28 out of 30 points on his first serve as he downed Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 6-3.

Alexander Zverev is determined to "come back stronger than ever" after undergoing ankle surgery on Tuesday. 

Zverev tore all three lateral ligaments in his right ankle during the second set of his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal last week. 

The German is set to miss Wimbledon after his hopes of winning a first grand slam at Roland Garros came to a painful end. 

Zverev is ready to knuckle down with his rehabilitation after going under the knife in his homeland. 

Along with a picture of himself in his hospital bed giving the thumbs up, he posted on Instagram: "We all have our own journey in life. This is part of mine. 

"Next week I'll reach a career-high ranking of number two in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery. After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn. 

"To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice. My rehab starts now and I'll do everything to come back stronger than ever! 

"I am continuing to receive so many messages and would like to thank everyone once again for supporting me during such a difficult time." 

Nadal went on to beat Casper Ruud in the final in Paris on Sunday to claim a record-extending 14th French Open title, taking his astonishing tally of grand slam triumphs to 22. 

Emma Raducanu has "no idea" if she will be fit for Wimbledon after retiring from her first-round match against Viktorija Golubic at the Nottingham Open on Tuesday. 

Second seed Raducanu conceded the match after 36 minutes having sustained an injury to her left side while down a break at 4-3 in the opening set. 

The 19-year-old is scheduled to appear at Birmingham next week before heading to Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round last year. 

US Open champion Raducanu, who made her WTA Tour debut in Nottingham last year, is unsure if she will recover in time to feature at the All England Club. 

"I think I pulled something, I am not really sure what exactly happened," Raducanu said. 

"I have just come off court, an absolute freak injury. I don't know what I could have done more about it. That is it. 

"I have no idea [about Wimbledon]. It could have just seized up and gone into spasm and then it is really bad for a few days. I have no idea. I cannot diagnose myself. I will get it checked out." 

Raducanu was the only seed to exit the tournament, with top seed Maria Sakkari overcoming Camila Osorio 6-2 6-3 to advance to a second-round meeting with Rebecca Marino. 

Beatriz Haddad Maia came from a set down to beat Wang Qiang 5-7 6-4 6-3, while Ajla Tomljanovic and Camila Giorgi had comfortable victories against Wang Xinyu and Sonay Kartal respectively. 

Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the second round of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships by defeating Kateryna Baindl 6-4 6-1. 

Fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova, meanwhile, succumbed to a 6-3 6-4 loss to Ann Li in an hour and 22 minutes. 

There would have been further casualties among the seeds had Tamara Zidansek, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elise Mertens not fought from a set down to win their opening matches. 

Emma Raducanu lasted only seven games of her first-round match at the Nottingham Open, where she made her WTA Tour debut a year ago.

US Open champion Raducanu was back in Nottingham as she prepares for a second Wimbledon campaign.

The 19-year-old made a name for herself with a run to the fourth round at her home grand slam in 2021, before she sensationally triumphed at Flushing Meadows.

Having seemingly established herself as the next superstar of women's tennis, Raducanu has since not found life quite so straightforward.

"It has been a really tricky 12 months, to be honest," Raducanu told the BBC on Tuesday before her match against Viktorija Golubic. "It hasn't always been easy."

And this was anything but easy for the second seed, who required treatment on an apparent side injury as soon as after the third game.

Raducanu and Golubic had traded breaks before that medical timeout, and the Briton then quickly broke again.

But she continued to encounter problems and dropped serve twice – either side of further medical treatment – before finally retiring 4-3 down.

Raducanu is scheduled to play the Birmingham Classic next week but will first now have to consider her fitness just 20 days out from the start of Wimbledon.

Lorenzo Sonego eased into the second round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday, while Hugo Gaston enjoyed first-round success at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

Sixth seed Sonego was the headline act on Monday in Stuttgart and made light work of Benoit Paire to win 7-5 6-2.

The Italian will next face Jan-Lennard Struff after the German edged out world number 53 Marcos Giron 7-5 5-7 7-6 (10-8).

"It's my first time here, it's my first tournament on grass and I'm really happy [with] this match," Sonego said after defeating Paire.

"It's never easy to pass from clay to grass, but I enjoy it because if I serve good it is easier for me."

Struff's compatriot Oscar Otte was another first-round winner with straight-sets victory over Daniel Altmaier, while Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi breezed past Feliciano Lopez.

In Rosmalen, poor weather wreaked havoc with the schedule but France's Gaston had little trouble against South Korean Kwon Soon-woo, winning 6-2 6-1 to reach the last 16, and Andreas Seppi battled past Gijs Brouwer in the second round of qualifying.

Seppi will be hoping to make it to the main draw, where world number two Daniil Medvedev is the top seed, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz also competing.

Rafael Nadal says it is "crazy" for people to even consider him completing the calendar Grand Slam after triumphing at the Australian Open and French Open.

The Spaniard returned from his long battle with a foot injury to claim the first major of the year in Melbourne, moving clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most grand slam titles in men's history.

Nadal added a record-extending 22nd major to his collection as he lifted a 14th French Open title on Sunday with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud.

The 36-year-old was given a couple of injections before every match and will undergo radio frequency injections in a bid to ensure he can go in search of a third major title of the year at the All England Club.

Nadal remains unsure whether he would undergo a major operation to prolong his career, but hopes to be able to be in London when Wimbledon starts on June 27.

Success on the grass courts of Wimbledon would be a third major of the year before the US Open starts at the end of August, but Nadal insists he cannot look that far ahead on his quest for all four grand slams.

"It's crazy to think about completing the Grand Slam after Australia and Roland Garros," he told

"I don't even consider it. More than winning the Grand Slam, I would sign up just to be able to play all four tournaments.

"It's crazy. To win all four, it seems crazy to me because it is something that nobody has done since Rod Laver. 

"The one who came closest was Novak last year. It's crazy to think about it."

While Nadal remains in contention for the calendar Slam, he continues to battle through a foot injury that has plagued him throughout his career.

But the prospect of retirement does not concern Nadal, who is prepared for life after tennis given the amount of times he has thought injury would curtail his playing days.

"I imagine just as I have experienced it many times in my career that I have had to be out of competition for months due to injuries," he added. 

"I have always been happy outside of tennis. It is not something that makes me lose sleep or have any fear of my life after tennis. 

"I have and have always had many things that make me happy beyond tennis."

Emma Raducanu will not rush a decision on the appointment of her next permanent coach, as she seeks a fourth mentor in the space of a year.

The reigning US Open champion is on the hunt for a successor to Torben Beltz after parting ways in April following a five-month tenure together.

The 19-year-old is set to start her grass-court preparations at the Nottingham Open this week, a year after she made her WTA debut at the same event.

But the world number 11 says she will not be hasty in making a call on who will take over as her next coach.

"I want to take my time with this decision," Raducanu said. "Nothing has changed.

"I still have the same people, good people, around me. I don't want to rush into anything.

"Personally, I think I know what I'm doing. I'm trusting what I'm doing and the work I'm doing.

"I'm still 19 and I've already won a grand slam so I can take my time and put things in place because I know my motivation isn't any less."

When Raducanu made her WTA debut at Nottingham a year ago, Nigel Sears was the teenager's coach, before Andrew Richardson succeeded him after Wimbledon.

The latter was not renewed following success in New York, however, with Beltz brought on board in November.

After a whirlwind first season on the tour, Raducanu admits she is merely trying to enjoy her progress, adding: "I'm quite proud of what I've achieved in the past 12 months

"I'm not being so hard on myself, I'm really enjoying my time right now and also just really believing in the work I'm doing.

"I don't think anyone would say, 'I wish I didn't wish a grand slam at 18' because that is what I set out to do when I started playing tennis - and I did that.

"For that to happen very soon definitely comes with a lot of challenges but managing, learning and growing through the adversities that I have faced – I would much rather have that, learn from those experiences and keep building and progressing."

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