Lewis Hamilton received an apology from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after finishing a sorry 13th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Seven-time Formula One king Hamilton was told by Wolff his car had been "undriveable", and "not worthy for a world champion".
Wolff also said it had been "a terrible race" for the team. That was despite George Russell faring rather better than team-mate Hamilton, coming home in fourth position to collect points.
Hamilton wound up empty-handed and sits seventh in the championship with 28 points from the first four races of the season, already 21 points behind Russell and 58 adrift of leader Charles Leclerc.
To boot on Sunday, there was the embarrassment of Hamilton being lapped by Max Verstappen on lap 40, a sign of the times in their rivalry.
In an exchange over team radio at the end of the race, Silver Arrows team principal Wolff told Hamilton: "Sorry for what you have needed to drive today.
"I know this is undriveable and not what we deserve to score as a result. So we will move from there, but this was a terrible race."
Hamilton replied: "Yeah, no worries, Toto. Let's keep working hard."
Mercedes face a major challenge to match the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull cars this season, with the next race a fortnight away in Miami.
"We will come out of this," Wolff said.
Speaking later to Sky Sports, Wolff said it had been a "really bad" result for Hamilton.
"He got squeezed by the Alpine, the other two cars undercut and there's just no overtaking when you're in a DRS train," Wolff said.
"We saw from George what the car can do in free air, but we are not good enough for a world champion, not worthy for a world champion. We just need to fix the car.
"I think we are going to look at things for Miami. I think we can make a step in the understanding of the car. It's another day, we just really need to understand more and bring development to the car which will fix the bouncing."
Novak Djokovic ran out of puff in front of his adoring Belgrade public and suffered a third-set drubbing as he lost to Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final.
The world number one was beaten 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 by the Russian second seed, who drove a forehand past Djokovic on his third championship point.
Djokovic was seeking a third triumph at this tournament, and an 87th tour-level title of his career, but 24-year-old Rublev came out on top, scooping his third trophy of the year after previous successes in Dubai and Marseille.
Having been barred from playing in Australia and the United States in the early stages of the season, due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic was playing just his third tournament of the year.
He lost to Jiri Vesely in the Dubai quarter-finals and to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his clay campaign opener in Monte Carlo, and on home clay he won three matches from a set in arrears but could not make it four in a row.
Djokovic had worked hard to get back on level terms in Sunday's final after making a slow start, and he had two break points immediately in the third set.
Rublev saved both, the second with an audacious drop shot, on his way to taking the game, and he streaked through the rest of the decider.
This was just the second meeting on the ATP Tour between Djokovic and world number eight Rublev, with Djokovic having previously enjoyed a crushing hard court win at the ATP Finals in Turin last November.
Rublev, addressing Djokovic, said: "It's a big honour to play against you, to share a court for the second time.
"I hope to see you for many years, and we will have more battles which I would like.
"I feel so great here in Belgrade. It's a really nice city. It reminds me of a small Moscow. I really enjoy my time here and to win a title here I feel double special."
World number one Iga Swiatek maintained her impressive form by seeing off Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in Sunday's Stuttgart Open final to win a fourth straight WTA title.
Swiatek was made to work hard in Saturday's semi-final against Liudmila Samsonova as she dropped a rare set, but she was back to her imperious best against Sabalenka.
The 20-year-old prevailed 6-2 6-2 in 84 minutes to make it 23 victories in a row – only five other different players have enjoyed longer winning runs since 2000.
With her latest triumph in Germany, Swiatek has now won 30 WTA matches in 2022, compared to 36 in the whole of 2021.
She has won the Qatar Ladies Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open in straight succession, having also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January.
Sabalenka, who eliminated Paula Badosa, Anett Kontaveit and Bianca Andreescu en route to the final, was the latest player to fall short in trying to stop the sublime Swiatek.
After saving a break point in the opening game, Swiatek held serve and broke her opponent in the next game before comfortably seeing out the first set.
The Pole never looked under serious threat in the second set as she took the last four games to down world number four Sabalenka, who lost to Ash Barty in this final last year.
At the Istanbul Cup, meanwhile, Anastasia Potapova beat Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-1 to clinch her maiden career title.
Qualifier Potapova recovered from a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva in Saturday's semi-final and was too strong for Kudermetova in what was her third career final.
Kudermetova broke Potapova early on and led 3-1 in the opening set, but the latter soon found her range and took advantage of some sloppy mistakes from her opponent.
After battling to victory in the first set, Potapova looked far more comfortable in the second as she produced a number of impressive shots en route to a breakthrough triumph.
Max Verstappen surged to victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and gained ground on Charles Leclerc, who had a costly late spin.
Having given up on catching race leader Verstappen, Leclerc pitted from third for soft tyres in a bid to take the extra point for the fastest lap away from the Dutchman.
However, the Ferrari driver lost control at the Variante Alta and sustained damage that forced him to pit again – enabling Lando Norris to take third.
Leclerc dropped to ninth but recovered to sixth as his championship lead was cut by 18 points, with Sergio Perez making it a Red Bull one-two.
Verstappen started on pole following his success in Saturday's sprint race and he never surrendered that position, though Leclerc slid down from second to fourth on a wet opening lap.
The safety car was deployed after Carlos Sainz span out following contact with Daniel Ricciardo, who was nudged from behind by Valtteri Bottas at the Variante Tamburello.
Leclerc got past Lando Norris on lap eight but was already six seconds adrift of Verstappen, with the Dutchman only building on his lead after changing for slick tyres on lap 20.
Perez, who quickly regained second after losing out to Leclerc in the pits, produced some excellent defence to keep the Ferrari at bay despite a trip across the grass before DRS was belatedly enabled just after the halfway point.
Leclerc set the fastest lap but ended up losing track position when he span into the barriers on lap 53, with Verstappen taking the extra point after changing to soft tyres.
Fabio Quartararo won a MotoGP race for the first time this season, sending him top of the championship after a routine victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix, with Johann Zarco in second and Aleix Espargaro third.
Quartararo won the last Portuguese Grand Prix in 2021, although failed to finish in the top 10 in his other two MotoGP appearances at the Algarve International Circuit (14th in 2020 Portuguese GP and did not finish at the 2021 Algarve GP).
However, despite winning last year's championship, the Frenchman's previous race win was at the British Grand Prix in August.
Quartararo eased past Joan Mir early in Sunday's race in Portimao, though, and never looked back as he cruised to the win, while all the drama happened behind him.
Previous championship leader Enea Bastianini crashed out on lap 10, appearing to clip the seam of the curb at turn eight before sliding off the track while in 10th place.
Mir was left fighting for second place and was eventually overtaken by a determined Zarco, but things were to get worse for the Spaniard as Jack Miller, while attempting to pass on the inside, slid his bike and took both of them out of the race at the start of lap 16.
Mir has now gone six races in a row without a podium, which was already his worst run in MotoGP since his first 20 races in the top category between 2019 and 2020.
It was a performance to remember from Alex Rins, though, as he took his Suzuki from 23rd all the way up to fourth, making up a remarkable 13 places on the opening lap alone.
Elsewhere, there was some good old-fashioned racing between the Marquez brothers near the end of the race, with Marc ultimately getting the better of Alex to take sixth place.
TOP 10
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha)
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +5.409
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +6.068
4. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +9.633
5. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +13.573
6. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +16.163
7. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) +16.183
8. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) +16.511
9. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +16.769
10. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) +18.063
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 69
2. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) 69
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) 66
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) 61
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 51
Teams
1. Suzuki Ecstar 115
2. Aprilia Racing 91
3. Monster Energy Yamaha 86
4. Red Bull KTM 81
5. Pramac Racing 79
Carlos Alcaraz's incredible season continued as he saved two match points before going on to beat Alex De Minaur in their semi-final tie at the Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz, who will become the first teenager since Andy Murray in 2007 to move into the top 10 of the ATP rankings when he does so next week, was staring down the barrel of an exit in Sunday's delayed tie when his Australian opponent had two shots of sealing victory in the second set.
Yet the 18-year-old salvaged both match points and then immediately broke back to take the set to a tie-break, which he won 7-4.
Alcaraz carried the momentum into the decider, breaking twice to seal a 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 success and progress to his third final of 2022. He has won the other two showdowns, in Rio de Janeiro and Miami respectively.
He will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who had a rather easier time against Diego Schwartzman, winning 6-3 6-4.
The players faced a short turnaround ahead of the final, which was to be played later on Sunday.
Miguel Cabrera described his 3,000th career hit as "really special" after the Detroit Tigers defeated the Colorado Rockies 13-0 in the opener of a day-night double-header on Saturday.
After driving up right-center field off Antonio Senzatela in the first inning, the 39-year-old was embraced by Rockies shortstop and former Tigers teammate, Jose Iglesias.
Cabrera became only the seventh player in the history of the major leagues with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits over their career.
The Rockies claimed the second game of the double-header at Comerica Park, winning 3-2, but it was nonetheless Cabrera's day.
"I couldn't even feel my legs in the first at-bat," he said afterwards.
"They left me that hole open [on the right side of the infield], so I want to put the ball there. Thank God they do it. When I see the second baseman play almost behind second base, I'm like, 'OK, you have to shoot the ball there.'"
Cabrera also went past Roberto Clemente to 32nd on the all-time hit list, sitting on 3,002 career hits in all, just five from tying the late Al Kaline – who was the last Detroit player to make 3,000 – for 31st.
"Roberto Clemente's one of our heroes. We wear 21 one special day in the big leagues, so that means a lot," Cabrera said. "I can't even say; I don't have words to describe the great feeling I'm feeling right now.
"Al is one of my heroes... It's really sad he's not here to see it. Hopefully somewhere he's happy and smiling.
"This one was really special for me because I wanted to do it here in front of my family, in front of my hometown here in Detroit. I'm happy I hit it here. I'm happy people in Detroit could see it. Hopefully I can get more hits here. Thank God."
Cabrera is close to another career milestone, just one double away from 600.
Tigers coach A.J. Hinch added his kudos, saying: "For a veteran, 39 years old, 20 years [in the Majors], done everything in the game, it's fun to watch him be nervous. I think it's awesome. I think the kid in him is realising what it means."
Detroit's chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch also released a statement in honour of Cabrera's achievement.
"Congratulations to Miguel Cabrera on his 3,000th career hit," he said. "Like Tigers fans, I've been proud to witness Miggy's amazing and historic 3,000 hit and 500 home run milestones, putting him among a select few MLB legends.
"I thank Miguel for a career of exciting, Hall of Fame-calibre play towards our objective of championship baseball for Tigers fans. Miggy has and continues to build his status as one of the greatest Tigers of all-time."
Cleveland Guardians outfielder Myles Straw called New York Yankees fans the "worst on the planet" after rubbish was thrown at him and his team-mates on Saturday.
The tension began after rookie Steven Kwan crashed into the outfield wall trying to save Isiah Kiner-Falefa's hit, and Straw confronted hecklers who appeared to applaud what could have been an injury.
The Yankees ultimately walked off to win 5-4 at Yankee Stadium, but unsavoury scenes saw home fans in the right-field throwing missiles at the Guardians outfielders, which led to players from both teams reacting.
"I'm not talking. I'll let the fans talk for me. Classless... Worst fan base on the planet," Straw said immediately after the game.
He later elaborated: "It got to me a little bit. I said what I said. If I were to do it again, I probably would've said the same thing.
"That's my guy. At that point, just cheer. Be happy your team tied the game up. Be a normal baseball fan and just enjoy what's going on."
Straw climbed the outfield fence to remonstrate with the fans shortly before the end of the contest but could not remember exactly what he had said in the heat of the moment.
"I don't remember, I was just hot at the point," he added. "Just basically telling them, 'Be quiet. Shut up. There's no business, what you're saying to this guy right now.'"
Cleveland's Oscar Mercado also reacted to the Yankees fans, saying afterwards: "You can celebrate your team walking it off all you want, but don't throw s*** on the field. Sorry for cussing, but that's how people can get hurt. I should have probably walked away."
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant believes "thinking too much" is partly to blame for his struggles in the NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics extended their series lead in the Eastern Conference first round to 3-0 after a 109-103 victory at Barclays Center, and Durant was again unable to do much about it.
Despite averaging 29.9 points per game during the regular season, Durant is averaging just 22.0 in three postseason games and only scored 16 in his latest outing on Saturday.
Bruce Brown was the highest scorer for the Nets with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but he and Durant contributed to 10 of the team's 18 turnovers.
"I was just thinking too much to be honest, this whole series," Durant said after the game. "Like how I approach the game. We got another game to play, another opportunity, and I'm looking forward to that.
"I feel like the first two games I was trying to be too aggressive. A team that's loading up on me, that's trying to take me out of all my actions."
A starring role from Jayson Tatum was the difference for Boston as the 24-year-old scored 39 points, with six assists and five rebounds, while Robert Williams returned from injury to play 15 minutes and help stifle Durant and Kyrie Irving, who himself also managed just 16 points.
"Every team I've been on, you're just trying to figure out the best way to play," Durant added. "When you got good team-mates around you as well, you're trying to figure out, I try to figure out how I can be the best version of myself and also not getting in my teammates' way.
"Sometimes I think too much about it. Sometimes I need to go out there and just [have] no thoughts in my head and just play.
"I feel like I prepared myself the right way. It's a matter of the small decisions in the game that may not go in my favour. I thought I found my teammates better than I did the last two games. I just need to score more."
The Nets must win Game 4, which takes place at Barclays Center on Monday, to keep the series alive.
The Boston Celtics inched closer to sweeping the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, claiming a 3-0 series lead with a 109-103 victory at the Barclays Center.
Jayson Tatum notched up 39 points on 13-of-29 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and six steals in the win for the Celtics, who continued to lock down Kevin Durant.
Though Durant shot 54.5 per cent from the floor, moving him to 17-of-52 for the series, he did it on 11 shots on Saturday as the flexible and intense Celtics defensive scheme continued to force the ball out of his hands. Kyrie Irving also went six-of-17 from the floor.
Bruce Brown was the highest scorer for the Nets with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but he and Durant contributed to 10 of the team's 20 turnovers, from which Boston scored 25 points.
The Celtics led for the whole of the second half and whenever the Nets would threaten with a scoring run, managed to make timely buckets and secure a big road win.
Gobert gets up for Jazz win
Luka Doncic's return from injury was not enough for the Dallas Mavericks as the Utah Jazz evened up their series at 2-2, earning a 100-99 win.
Rudy Gobert gave Utah the lead with an alley-oop dunk with 11 seconds remaining in Game 4, before Spencer Dinwiddie missed a three-ball at the buzzer for the Mavs.
While Doncic had 30 points in his first game back from a strained calf, Dallas were kept to just 18 points in the fourth quarter, shooting six-of-18 from the floor.
Siakam sizzles as Raptors avoid sweep
Pascal Siakam scored 15 of his of 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Toronto Raptors avoided a series sweep, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 110-102.
Despite a 19-point deficit in points off turnovers, Toronto continually managed to penetrate and get on the break, holding a combined 25-point advantage for points in the paint and fast-break points.
Nursing an injured thumb, Joel Embiid shot seven-of-16 from the floor for his 21 points to go with eight rebounds, but also coughed up five turnovers.
Timberwolves level series with Grizzlies
Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a disappointing Game 3 to help the Minnesota Timberwolves even their playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies, winning 119-118.
After going missing in Game 3, taking only four shots as the Grizzlies overcame a 26-point deficit, Towns was more assertive from the outset, adding 13 rebounds to 33 points.
Anthony Edwards' fingerprints were all over the game however, coming up with 24 points on seven-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks.
Miguel Cabrera achieved his 3,000th career hit as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Colorado Rockies 13-0 in the opener of a day-night double-header on Saturday.
After getting intentionally walked in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees on Thursday, Cabrera did not have to wait long, claiming his milestone hit in only the first inning, driving up right-center field off Antonio Senzatela.
The 39-year-old was embraced by Rockies shortstop and former Tigers teammate, Jose Iglesias, before going on get a second hit from four at-bats.
Adding the proverbial cherry on top to a Hall-of-Fame career, Cabrera became only the seventh player in the history of the major leagues with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits over their career.
The Rockies claimed the second game of the double-header at Comerica Park, though, winning 3-2.
Yankees win marred by fan controversy
New York Yankees fans pelted Cleveland Guardians outfielders with bottles, cans and other missiles, as their team rallied in the ninth inning for a 5-4 win.
After Gleyber Torres followed Isiah Kiner-Falefa up and scored a walk-off RBI hit with two outs in the ninth inning, Yankees players in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton had to calm the crowd down instead of celebrating the win.
It all came after rookie Steven Kwan crashed into the outfield wall trying to save Kiner-Falefa's hit, and Guardians center-fielder Myles Straw confronted hecklers who appeared to applaud what could have been an injury.
Giants march on Washington
The San Francisco Giants claimed their third win in four games and moved to within a game of the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West, defeating the Washington Nationals 5-2.
Wilmer Flores and Joc Pederson each had two hits for the Giants, while Alex Wood allowed two runs and four hits in 77 pitches over five innings.
Nationals starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez was pulled in the fifth inning, giving up six hits and four runs. Sam Clay gave up the fifth run and lasted only 13 pitches before he was also called to the bench.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are on track to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, closing the third round of play with a five-stroke lead.
After a record opening-round score of 59 in the first day of four-ball play on Thursday, the Presidents and Ryder Cup teammates scorched the back nine at TPC Louisiana with eight birdies to finish with a 12-under 60 for the day.
The two lead the field at an extraordinary 29-under after three rounds, with the South African duo of Garrick Higgo and Branden Grace five strokes back in second, improving on a solid second day to put themselves in the frame from Presidents Cup selection this year.
The pair will be seeking to go one better than their countrymen Louis Ooosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who finished second at TPC Louisiana last year to Australian pair Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.
Another Australian pair looking to work their way into calculations for Quail Hollow in September are Jason Day and Jason Scrivener, who improved on scores of 65 over the opening two rounds with a nine-under 63 on Saturday, birdieing the final four holes to sit on 23-under.
They're joined by the team of Aaron Rai and David Lipsky, along with Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, who bounced back from a bogey on the par-three ninth to close the back nine with five birdies.
Cantlay and Schauffele have been the stars of the weekend, however.
After blitzing the 54-hole record, only a catastrophic final round of alternate play would deny the reigning FedEx Cup and Olympic champions from smashing Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown's 72-hole record of 27-under.
Closing out on Sunday would make for maiden PGA Tour win this season for both Schaffele and Cantlay, with the latter coming into this weekend off a playoff loss to Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage.
Though Schauffele claimed the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, his last tour win came in 2019.
Tyson Fury reiterated he is ready to quit boxing after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
A sixth-round knockout gave Fury an emphatic victory, but it remains to be seen whether he can be tempted back into the ring.
This was Fury's first fight since beating Deontay Wilder in the final part of their trilogy last October in Nevada.
The undefeated 33-year-old, who improved his career record to 32-0-1, told BT Sport Box Office: "I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the Wilder III fight that would be it, and I meant it.
"But I got offered to fight at Wembley, at home, and I believed I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the United Kingdom, to come here and fight at Wembley.
"And now it's all done, I have to be a man of my word and I think this it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King, and what a way to go out."
He was thrilled with the manner of his win, saying: "I think Lennox Lewis would even be proud of that right uppercut tonight."
Fury is confident there will remain quality fighters in the heavyweight ranks if he retires, praising the man he beat on Saturday night in London.
"Dillian Whyte is a warrior and I believe Dillian will be a world champion," Fury said. "But tonight he met a great in the sport. I'm one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time and unfortunately for Dillian Whyte he had to face me tonight.
"He's as strong as a bull and has got the heart of a lion, but you're not messing with a mediocre heavyweight, you're messing with the best man on the planet, and you saw that tonight with what happened."
Tyson Fury successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title with a stunning sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte at a packed-out Wembley.
Fury's camp had been adamant the fight would not go beyond the sixth round, and their man made good on those predictions in devastating fashion.
He controlled the opening five rounds with ease, demonstrating a gulf in reach and gulf in class between the fighters.
Whyte had struggled to make any kind of impression and his chance to do so in his maiden world title fight was taken away when Fury landed a crushing right uppercut.
The end result never looked in doubt, and the only question now is whether Fury will make good on his promise to end his career on the back of this victory.
Fury, returning to the United Kingdom after five fights in the United States, left the door open for another bout in the post-fight interview in which he suggested he would likely still walk away.
Yet he never opened the door for Whyte to take the WBC and lineal belts away from him.
Indeed, the only time Fury ever looked perturbed was during a tempestuous fourth round in which Mark Lyson had to repeatedly get involved, warning Whyte for following in with his head and Fury for hitting on the break.
The two fighters exchanged words and that episode perhaps increased Fury's desire to end things quickly, doing so with one of the finest punches of his professional career and perhaps his last.
Carlos Alcaraz will chase a first home title on Sunday at the Barcelona Open but must do it the hard way after rain held up both semi-finals.
The tussle between Spaniard Alcaraz and Australia's Alex De Minaur was locked at 2-2 in the first set when play was abandoned for the day, and it was the same score in the last-four clash between Argentinian Diego Schwartzman and Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Both clay-court semi-finals at the ATP 500 tournament are due to resume at 11:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Sunday, followed by the final not before 16:00 (15:00 BST).
Eighteen-year-old Alcaraz has won ATP titles in Umag, Rio de Janeiro and Miami in the past 12 months but has yet to triumph at an event in Spain, and potentially having to play two matches on the same day complicates his task.
On Monday, the fast-rising youngster will become the first teenager since Andy Murray in 2007 to enter the ATP top 10 rankings.
Luka Doncic will return for the Dallas Mavericks for Game 4 of their NBA playoffs series against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
Mavs point guard Doncic missed the first three games of the Western Conference first-round series with a left calf strain.
However, the organisation confirmed on Saturday that Doncic is available for Game 4 at Vivint Arena.
Dallas lead Utah 2-1 in the series despite being without their star man, with Jalen Brunson stepping up with 96 points in the three clashes so far.
The return of Doncic will still undoubtedly be a big boost for the Mavs, who have not progressed beyond this stage of the playoffs since they won the 2011 championship.
The Slovenian has been one of the most impressive players in the league this season, averaging 28.4 points per game in his 65 regular season appearances, as well as 8.7 assists and 9.1 rebounds.
Novak Djokovic will chase the first title of his chaotic season when he tackles Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday.
Playing in his home city of Belgrade, world number one Djokovic will be expected by many to carry off the trophy for a third time.
He scored a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.
Djokovic has made a habit of losing opening sets this week, rebounding from early deficits to beat fellow Serbians Laslo Dere and Miomir Kecmanovic on his way through to the last four, where it happened again.
The 34-year-old was able to recover and improve his career win-loss record to 13-2 at the clay-court tournament.
Djokovic, who has been prevented from playing events in Australia and the United States this year after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, believes he is gradually building up form and match fitness.
He said in an on-court interview: "I'm already feeling quite comfortable on the courts. I think the three matches that went all three sets gave me enough of the match play.
"I was running enough in order to be at my optimum best. I don't think the lack of matches now plays a role. Maybe it was the case three or four days ago, not today.
"But in terms of the audience, of course that's going to be a huge motivation boost for me, so I'm going to enjoy the crowd's support as much as I can and hopefully bring the title to Serbia."
Rublev, another Russian, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final, saying it had been his best performance of the week.
The world number eight is relishing playing Djokovic, saying: "It's going to be fun. Tomorrow I have nothing to lose, I can go out and enjoy it. He plays at home, so it will be his moment. The best I can do is fight and try to do my best."
Iga Swiatek had to come from a set down to book her place in the Stuttgart Open final with a hard-earned victory over Liudmila Samsonova.
The world number one produced a 22nd consecutive victory as she scraped a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5 win in a contest that lasted more than three hours.
The Pole will face third seed Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's final on the German clay.
Swiatek broke early to race out to a 3-0 lead, but was pegged back by her Russian opponent, who fought hard to claim the first set on a tie-break.
The 20-year-old was looking to break the record of Serena Williams, equalling a feat of winning 28 sets in a row, but Samsonova prevented her from doing so.
It was the first time Swiatek had dropped a set since her Indian Wells Open last 16 match against Angelique Kerber in March, but she soon got back into her rhythm and clinched the second set 6-4.
She broke early again in the decider, but was once more broken back by a determined Samsonova, and Swiatek showed frustration with herself as she struggled to put away her opponent.
However, an unusually sloppy service game from Samsonova gave Swiatek another break in the 11th game of the set, which she closed out to seal her place in the final.
The other semi-final in Stuttgart saw Sabalenka overcome second seed Paula Badosa 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
There were 14 double faults (seven each) in the match, but it was Sabalenka's big serve that ultimately led her to victory, hitting nine aces and winning 76.9 per cent of points on her first serve.
The Belarusian also saved six of eight break points faced as she ultimately eased past her Spanish opponent.
At the Istanbul Cup, third seed Veronika Kudermetova will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after seeing off second seed Sorana Cirstea in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.
Potapova had earlier come from a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva 2-6 6-2 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Aleix Espargaro conceded he was fearful heading into the final session of Saturday's qualifying ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
A crash-laden Q1 at Portimao saw Remy Gardner and Francesco Bagnaia, who has finished on the podium in his last two races at the Algarve International Circuit, crash, with the latter failing to set a time.
Johann Zarco produced a stunning lap to come out on top in Q2 to take pole and spare Ducati's blushes, finishing ahead of Joan Mir and Espargaro, who across four races this season has collected 50 points, more than in two of his previous five whole seasons with Aprilia (44 points in 2018 and 42 in 2020).
Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo – the winner at Portimao last year – also struggled in the wet, though the Yamaha driver overcame a tricky moment to clinch fifth on the grid, while Marc Marquez, chasing his 100th MotoGP podium this weekend, was left to rue a yellow flag, having initially set the fastest lap.
After negotiating the difficult conditions, a relieved Espargaro was thrilled with his efforts.
He said: "I hate to say it – I was scared! Today I was scared, the wet patches were very slippery.
"When you are sitting in the garage and see many crashes, and all the crashes have been huge. You have to be very focused but you cannot be.
"I tried to feel perfectly the whole track to see where I could push in the last five minutes. I am very happy, this is like a victory because I hate these conditions, so I'm super happy."
Having recorded a time of 1:42.003, Zarco, too, acknowledged the state of the track made assessing where and when to push hard difficult.
"Pretty, pretty happy. I did not expect it to be so good. It was so tricky," the Frenchman said.
"I was pretty happy to go straight through Q2. I couldn't analyse the Q1 well. The best strategy was to stay on track, do the full 15 minutes with the same tyre to get confidence with the track, it worked pretty well for me."
Mir, meanwhile, revelled in taking a place on the front row for just the second time in his MotoGP career.
"In normal conditions we always struggle to make one lap but in tough conditions we can give a little but more," the Suzuki Ecstar rider said.
"My feeling is improving. We are following good steps, we are improving and it looks like when we make a good step [forward], we don't go back. So it's important. Let's see if we can go faster tomorrow, but it will be a hard race."
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