Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas survived three-set scares at the National Bank Open on Tuesday, but five-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal departed Toronto without even taking the court.
Top seed Medvedev, who won just three games against Nadal in the final in 2019, the last time the tournament was played, prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his opener against Alexander Bublik.
The man Nadal beat to win the title the previous year, Tsitsipas, failed to convert on five match points in an epic second-set tiebreak but recovered to down Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-7 (13-15) 6-1.
Nadal pulled out ahead of a scheduled match against Lloyd Harris, who beat him last week in Washington as the 20-time grand slam winner struggled with a foot injury.
Countryman Feliciano Lopez replaces Nadal in the draw and will face Harris on Wednesday.
Elsewhere Tuesday, sixth seed Casper Ruud needed more than two hours to put away Marin Cilic 6-3 3-6 6-3, while 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov suffered a quick 6-3 6-4 exit against big-serving American Reilly Opelka.
A pair of unseeded veterans advanced, with 2016 finalist Kei Nishikori a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 winner over Miomir Kecmanovic and John Isner defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokini 6-4 6-1 in just over an hour.
Two days after appearing in his first ATP Tour final at the Citi Open, Mackenzie McDonald fell 6-3 6-4 to Benoit Paire in his Toronto opener.
In other first-round matches, Karen Khachanov beat Cameron Norrie 6-4 5-7 6-4, Frances Tiafoe downed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3, Dusan Lajovic handled Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-3 6-3 and Nikoloz Basilashvili defeated Jenson Brooksby 2-6 6-0 6-4.
After 13 NBA seasons, Russell Westbrook finally made it home Tuesday.
The nine-time All-Star fulfilled a childhood dream in joining the Los Angeles Lakers after a trade from the Washington Wizards.
The 32-year-old was born in nearby Long Beach and grew up a fan of the team, but admitted he was not sure he would get the chance.
“Being from LA, you always wish that you could play for your home team,” Westbrook said at his introductory news conference.
“That’s definitely something that always circled around in my mind. Maybe one day? But I always would come back and be like, ‘Ah, that probably won’t happen.’ I just had to wait and see.
"But now that we’re here, I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
Considering who he will be playing alongside, there's every reason to believe he will.
Westbrook joins LeBron James and Anthony Davis on a remade Lakers team that will also feature Carmelo Anthony – an impressive array of star power even for a franchise long associated with glamour.
After averaging a triple-double for the fourth time in five seasons, Westbrook knows he will not have to focus as much on scoring as he has in the past.
Likewise, his arrival will take some of the ball-handling and distribution load from James, ideally freeing him up on the offensive end.
"I'm coming to a championship-caliber team and my job is to make sure that I'm able to make his game easy for [James]," Westbrook said. "I'll find ways to do that throughout the game."
That philosophy does not stop with helping the already exalted James elevate his game, either.
Westbrook is already excited to get in the gym with a group of incoming veterans including Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Kent Bazemore.
“The roster is great,” Westbrook said. “A bunch of guys that I’ve already known previously, which is even better.
"As I come into the season, I’m always looking at the roster and figuring out how I can make other guys better, simple as that.
"I want to be able to leave an impact on people when they either play with me or come across me, and I’ll find ways to do that with our roster. I’m really looking forward to getting together with all the guys and figuring it out.”
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the National Bank Open ahead of his opening match due to a left foot injury.
The Spaniard made a return to action on the ATP Tour last week at the Citi Open, his first outing since suffering defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open in June.
His comeback was aimed at getting prepared for the US Open but, having lost in the last 16 in Washington to Lloyd Harris, he will not now be participating in Toronto.
"I really wanted to play here a lot, but now is the moment to make a decision, and this is unfortunately the decision that I have taken," Nadal told the media.
"I have had this issue for a couple of months, as people know.
"Of course, it is not a happy situation after all the success that I had here in Canada, not being able to play this year after missing a year. It's a tough one, but that's how it is today."
Nadal skipped Wimbledon citing the need to recover after the clay season, while the left-hander also opted out of representing his country at the Tokyo Olympics.
The five-time champion in Toronto was scheduled for a repeat meeting with Harris in the second round. Instead, his place in the draw goes to compatriot Feliciano Lopez.
Los Angeles Lakers signing Carmelo Anthony has brushed off concerns about the age of the franchise's roster where he will play alongside four-time MVP LeBron James.
Anthony, who turned 37 in May, joined the Lakers from the Portland Trail Blazers last week.
The 10-time NBA All Star, who was the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, will team up with 36-year-old James who was the top pick in that year's draft.
The Lakers side also consists of veterans Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, while 32-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook has also joined this offseason, leading to concerns about an aging roster.
"We don't care," Anthony interjected when the aging topic came up during his presentation press conference on Monday. "We don't care. We make our own narrative."
Anthony added: "I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I think it gives a better story. I think people forget, at the end of the day, it's about basketball.
"You got to know how to play basketball. You got to have that experience. I think that's what we bring at this point and time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience.
"There's different resources than when we came into the game. We understand what taking care of yourself means from the holistic perspective."
The power forward, who will likely play a bench role for the Lakers this season, averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season for the Blazers.
Anthony will enter his 19th NBA season pursuing his maiden title, having had stints with five other franchises, getting closest in 2009 when the Denver Nuggets made the Conference finals.
"I'm coming in with a championship on my mind," Anthony said.
"I think we all know that this is the one thing that I'm missing, right? This is the one thing that it keeps me up at night, it motivates me, because I don't have it. I want that experience."
Anthony also revealed the role James played in luring him to the Lakers, having been linked with a move to Los Angeles numerous times in the past.
"Bron just came to me one time and said, 'yo, the time is now. I want you. We got to make this happen,'" Anthony said.
"I just felt like for right now, this is the best time. Most people would say we should've gotten together years ago early in our careers, but we were in two different lanes, we were on two different paths. Everything comes full circle."
The Lakers also unveiled Kent Bazemore on Monday after being added to the roster from the Golden State Warriors.
Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell were all previously traded out to the Washington Wizards as part of the Westbrook deal.
Eloy Jimenez homered twice again while Lucas Giolito starred on the mound as the Chicago White Sox won 11-1 over the Minnesota Twins in MLB on Monday.
The White Sox claimed their fourth consecutive win, following up their series sweep over the Chicago Cubs, with a one-sided display.
Tim Anderson hit a leadoff home run to start the dominance, before Jimenez claimed center stage.
Jimenez hit a straight projected 454-foot two-run homer to open up a 3-0 first innings lead.
At the top of the second inning, Jimenez went high down the line into the corner for a three-run homer, stretching the White Sox lead to 7-0.
Jimenez had homered twice in Sunday's win over the Cubs and now has five home runs in his 10 appearances this season.
Giolito had eight strikeouts across eight innings, with only two hits and without any walks.
Yankees edges Royals in extras
The New York Yankees scored three runs in the 11th inning to win 8-6 over the Kansas City Royals as they made it eight wins from their past 10.
DJ Mahieu's go-ahead RBI double, which drove home Joey Gallo, followed by a two score on Brett Gardner's single which hopped into short-stop Nicky Lopez's jaw, opened up an 8-5 lead in the 11th before Wandy Peralta closed it out.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers game was postponed and rescheduled as part of a Tuesday double-header due to inclement weather.
Castillo loses his touch
Luis Castillo was pulled in the fourth inning as the Cleveland Indians opened up an 8-0 lead in their 9-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. May 29 was the last time Castillo had given up four or more runs in a game, while he had an ERA of 1.91 since June 1.
Hosmer reaches 100th hit
In Fernando Tatis Jr's absence, Eric Hosmer homered in the second inning and added an RBI double in the eighth as the San Diego Padres won 8-3 at the Miami Marlins. Hosmer brought up his 100th hit of the season, while he also has 52 RBI. Joe Musgrove was outstanding with eight strikeouts too.
Monday's results
Cleveland Indians 9-3 Cincinnati Reds
Chicago White Sox 11-1 Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees 8-6 Kansas City Royals
San Diego Padres 8-3 Miami Marlins
Chicago Cubs - Milwaukee Brewers (postponed)
Rays at Red Sox
The top two in the American League East meet when the in-form Tampa Bay Rays (68-44) travel to the Boston Red Sox (65-49), who have won two of their past 10 games.
Los Angeles Lakers signing Carmelo Anthony has brushed off concerns about the age of the franchise's roster where he will play alongside four-time MVP LeBron James.
Anthony, who turned 37 in May, joined the Lakers from the Portland Trail Blazers last week.
The 10-time NBA All Star, who was the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, will team up with 36-year-old James who was the top pick in that year's draft.
The Lakers side also consists of veterans Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, while 32-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook has also joined this offseason, leading to concerns about an aging roster.
"We don't care," Anthony interjected when the aging topic came up during his presentation press conference on Monday. "We don't care. We make our own narrative."
Anthony added: "I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I think it gives a better story. I think people forget, at the end of the day, it's about basketball.
"You got to know how to play basketball. You got to have that experience. I think that's what we bring at this point and time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience.
"There's different resources than when we came into the game. We understand what taking care of yourself means from the holistic perspective."
The power forward, who will likely play a bench role for the Lakers this season, averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season for the Blazers.
Anthony will enter his 19th NBA season pursuing his maiden title, having had stints with five other franchises, getting closest in 2009 when the Denver Nuggets made the Conference finals.
"I'm coming in with a championship on my mind," Anthony said.
"I think we all know that this is the one thing that I'm missing, right? This is the one thing that it keeps me up at night, it motivates me, because I don't have it. I want that experience."
Anthony also revealed the role James played in luring him to the Lakers, having been linked with a move to Los Angeles numerous times in the past.
"Bron just came to me one time and said, 'yo, the time is now. I want you. We got to make this happen,'" Anthony said.
"I just felt like for right now, this is the best time. Most people would say we should've gotten together years ago early in our careers, but we were in two different lanes, we were on two different paths. Everything comes full circle."
The Lakers also unveiled Kent Bazemore on Monday after being added to the roster from the Golden State Warriors.
Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell were all previously traded out to the Washington Wizards as part of the Westbrook deal.
South African Lloyd Harris booked a second-round date with Rafael Nadal at the National Bank Open after a straight-sets win over Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur on Monday.
World number 49 Harris eased past Ontario-born Schnur 6-3 6-2 in one hour and 17 minutes in Toronto.
Harris sent down nine aces, winning 78 per cent of points on his first serve, converting four from four break points on return.
Nadal is a five-time champion in Toronto, winning the previous two editions in 2018 and 2019.
Marin Cilic, who won his first title for three years in Stuttgart, beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 4-6 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes.
The 32-year-old will face sixth seed Casper Ruud in the next round.
Fabio Fognini also needed three sets to progress, battling from behind to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4 to set up a meeting with Andrey Rublev.
Ugo Humbert impressed in his straight-sets defeat of Lorenzo Sonego and will next face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, while qualifier James Duckworth beat Taylor Fritz to secure a showdown with Citi Open winner Jannik Sinner.
Alexander Bublik defeated Briton Dan Evans in straight sets to earn a second round meeting with top seed Daniil Medvedev, while Australian John Millman will face 11th seed Gael Monfils after beating Ricardas Berankis.
Reilly Opelka came from a set down to win over Australian Nick Kyrgios, while Tommy Paul also fought back to beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Karolina Muchova was a casualty in the first round of the National Bank Open as she was stunned by Oceane Dodin in Montreal on Monday.
The 14th seed was undone by the French qualifier despite Dodin sending down 10 double faults.
The 6-3 1-6 6-2 success was Dodin's first over a top-25 player this season.
Former U.S. Open finalists and 16th seed Madison Keys was also a first-round casualty, going down 6-3 6-3 to Canadian Rebecca Marino.
Toronto-born Marino, currently ranked 220th in the world, won in one hour and six minutes, converting four of her eight break points, while she saved four from five too.
However, there were no such problems for Ons Jabeur, the 13th seed strolling to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Clara Burel.
Eleventh seed Maria Sakkari also had a routine day, her opponent Marie Bouzkova unable to continue with Sakkari ahead 6-4 3-1.
An Olympic gold medallist in the doubles at Tokyo 2020, Katerina Siniakova had more to celebrate in the singles with a 6-1 6-3 win over long-time rival Jelena Ostapenko.
Elsewhere in the draw, Paula Badosa, Sorana Cirstea, Amanda Anisimova, Nadia Podoroska and Fiona Ferro all progressed.
Novak Djokovic will not play at the Western and Southern Open after a "taxing" run that has brought him to the brink of a calendar Grand Slam.
The world number one's bid for a Golden Slam faltered at the Olympic Games as he lost to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals in Tokyo.
Djokovic appeared to tire badly and finished fourth in both the men's singles event and the mixed doubles, opting out of the bronze medal match in the latter.
But victories at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon mean 2021 is still on course to be the best year of Djokovic's career.
And the Serbian is taking a little time to prepare himself for the final push at Flushing Meadows, meaning no appearance in Cincinnati next week.
"Dear fans," he wrote on Twitter. "I wanted to share with you that I am taking a bit longer to recover and recuperate after quite a taxing journey from Australia to Tokyo.
"Sadly, that means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincinnati this year, so I'll turn my focus and attention to the US Open and spend some more time with family.
"See you in New York soon!"
Luka Doncic has become the first player to be handed a supermax rookie extension worth $207million, tying him to the Dallas Mavericks for a further five years.
Doncic qualifies for the landmark deal having already twice been named to the All-NBA First Team.
Bill Duffy, Doncic's agent, told ESPN of the agreement on Monday, while the player released a statement through the same publication.
"Today is a dream come true," he said. "The game of basketball has given me so much and has taken me to so many amazing places.
"I am humbled and excited to remain in Dallas as part of the Mavericks and appreciate the support of my fans."
Doncic, who is set to hold a news conference in Slovenia on Tuesday, added he would be expanding The Luka Doncic Foundation.
The 22-year-old is in Slovenia having led his country to the semi-finals of the men's basketball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics.
The European champions were Games debutants but came within a clutch Nicolas Batum block of reaching the gold medal game.
Doncic led the competition in a number of categories across the board, including points (143), assists (57) and minutes played (196).
His triple-double against France in the last four was the third in Games history, but the point forward suffered the first defeat of his international career and then lost again to Australia in the bronze medal game.
Focus will now return to the NBA, where Doncic will hope his individual excellence can inspire improved results for the Mavs.
Dallas have not won a playoff series since they were champions 10 years ago, despite Doncic's outstanding displays taking the Los Angeles Clippers to six and then seven games in the past two seasons.
Doncic has scored 33.5 points per game across those two postseason series – no player in NBA history has played at least 13 playoff games and averaged more.
Former world number one Andy Murray has been handed a place in the main draw of the US Open after Stanislas Wawrinka pulled out.
Murray, the 2012 champion at Flushing Meadows, reached the second round of the event last year, which was won by Dominic Thiem.
The 34-year-old, who competed in the men's doubles at the Tokyo Olympics, has only played eight Tour-level matches in 2021. He was handed a wildcard for Wimbledon, where he lost in the third round to Denis Shapovalov.
Novak Djokovic is due to lead a strong men's field for the tournament in August, which will be played in front of capacity crowds.
The world number one is seeking to become the first man to win all four major championships in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who are tied with Djokovic on 20 grand slam singles titles, are also set to play.
Wawrinka, himself a champion in New York in 2016, is still recovering from his second foot surgery of the year.
World Netball has declared its intention to make the case for the Olympic Games to include netball by the Brisbane games in 2032.
The sport’s governing body acknowledges that the best opportunity to showcase Netball on the Olympic stage will come when the host nation is a strong Netball nation and one that supports and proposes netball’s inclusion to the IOC as one of its additional sports.
“All our Member Nations are excited at the potential of being part of the Olympic Family in 2032. We are committed to ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement,” said World Netball President, Liz Nicholl CBE.
The governing body outlined its objectives in a statement released earlier today.
“World Netball congratulates the City of Brisbane on the announcement confirming that it will host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and declares its intention to work with Netball Australia to make a compelling case for Netball’s inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games,” WN said in a statement.
“As the first step towards Olympic inclusion, a sport has to be governed by an IOC ‘recognised’ federation – World Netball achieved this recognition in 1995 and has enjoyed a good relationship with the IOC since then.
“As Netball Australia currently holds the number 1 world ranking and Sydney has already been confirmed as the host venue for the Netball World Cup 2027, 2032 provides the perfect opportunity. World Netball is aware that Organizing Committee and IOC decisions on this matter will be made many years from now and so we will use the time available to work with our colleagues at Netball Australia to present a compelling case for inclusion.”
Netball was originally developed by women for women and girls at a time when their opportunities to participate in and achieve through sport were very limited. The sport initially spread across the Commonwealth through the education sector but soon developed and grew.
It now has more than 20 million participants across 76 Member nations and 5 continents and TV, digital audiences and social media followers are rapidly growing. Netball is a core sport in the Commonwealth Games programme and the 5 top-performing nations at the world level are spread across five continents.
Netball’s World Cup attracts record crowds. When the event was held in Liverpool 2019, over 100,000 tickets were sold to over 30,000 unique spectators from across 40 nations; over 6 million people attended, watched and/or followed the event which achieved a Net Promoter Score of 81 per cent.
“Over 30,000 adults were inspired by the event to start playing netball or play netball more, and 60 per cent of spectators were inspired to increase their participation in sport or active recreation as a result of attending the event,” it said.
According to World Netball, it recently launched strategy focuses on further growing global participation, reach, revenue, impact and capacity and also commits to the sport being ‘open to all', with a focus on three core strategies to grow, to play and to inspire, all underpinned by great governance.
“Over recent years the number of participants and Member nations has increased and more men and boys are participating in Netball. There is significant growth potential, and World Netball is committed to supporting increased engagement from men and boys while building on its female-focused foundations that have shaped the culture and values of the sport,” the statement said.
“World Netball will continue to drive game development and the worldwide delivery of thrilling major events - which will include the further development and promotion of Netball's modified format of the sport, Fast5 – has 5 players a side and features dynamic rules changes, shorter quarters, power plays and super shots.
World Netball is also in the process of establishing a new Foundation to harness the power of Netball to change lives by creating a vehicle to promote, support and fundraise and partner with NGOs to deliver life-changing projects through netball.”
Fans got their first glimpse of top NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham in Detroit Pistons colors on Sunday as he scored 12 points in the Summer League.
The 19-year-old drained two early three-pointers in his 12-point haul along with six rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes for the Pistons, who went down 76-72 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Expectations are high for Cunningham with Detroit who finished bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 20-52 record last season and have not won a playoff game since 2008.
"It was fun getting to put the jersey on for the first time," Cunningham said after the game.
"Obviously, we wanted a win out of this, but we spent the last week beating on each other. It’s our first time being able to get to go and be with each other and really try to get this chemistry down.
"We got a lot from this game we can learn from. That’s the main thing you want out of your first game. Now we’re going to try to keep building off of that."
He added: "I wanted to step into the game confident, ready to shoot, ready to play. To see the first two go down, it’s a good feeling. Now it’s building off of that."
Cunningham played the first half alongside 20-year-old French guard Killian Hayes, who was selected seventh overall in the 2020 Draft, with the pair likely to be the side's main ballhandlers.
"I think more than anything, we’re on the same page mentally in where we want this team to be," Cunningham said.
"Now it’s about having a better feel for each other. We haven’t played a lot together."
He added: "We have so much time to build and grow from this. We are not going to hang our heads off of this one game."
Entering Friday's series opener in Philadelphia, the New York Mets had been in sole possession of first place in the National League (NL) East every day since May 9.
They headed home on Sunday sitting third in the division after managing only two hits in a 3-0 loss to the surging Phillies, who have won eight in a row.
Former Met Zack Wheeler went the distance for Philadelphia (59-53), retiring 27 of the 30 batters he faced while striking out 11.
On the day the Phillies honored the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay, Wheeler became the first Philadelphia pitcher to retire as many as 22 consecutive batters in a start since Halladay's May 29, 2010 perfect game against the Marlins.
The Phillies got solo home runs from Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper for all the scoring they needed against New York starter Taijuan Walker.
As the Phillies expanded their lead with the sweep, the Atlanta Braves (57-55) moved a half-game in front of the Mets (56-55) with a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.
Springer, Jays power past Red Sox
George Springer's three-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays past the Boston Red Sox 9-8, recording their ninth win of an 11-game homestand at Rogers Centre. Boston had led 7-2 after four, knocking out Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 35th home run started the rally before Springer's big blow later finished it.
Brett Phillips' second home run of the game, a grand slam in the eighth, lifted Tampa Bay past the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 as the Rays extended their division lead to four games over the Red Sox.
Brandon Belt tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh and Tommy La Stella provided the winning margin with an RBI single in the eighth, giving the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to improve their MLB-best record to 71-41.
Hess mess for Marlins
Reliever David Hess served as the "opener" for the Miami Marlins against the Colorado Rockies and saw his ERA nearly double. Hess surrendered three homers in his one inning of work, allowing seven runs as his ERA jumped from 4.32 to 7.64.
Turner flies past Angels
Trea Turner showed off his wheels to his new home crowd at Dodger Stadium, scoring from first base on a grounder that barely reached the outfield.
Sunday's results
Seattle Mariners 2-0 New York Yankees
Chicago White Sox 9-3 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 9-8 Boston Red Sox
Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 New York Mets
Oakland Athletics 6-3 Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox 2-1 Toronto Blue Jays
San Francisco Giants 5-4 Milwaukee Brewers
Cleveland Indians 7-5 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals 6-5 St Louis Cardinals
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Washington Nationals
Colorado Rockies 13-8 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 2-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 Los Angeles Angels
Reds at Indians
The Cincinnati Reds (61-51) have won five in a row and 10 of their last 12 heading into a makeup game from a May 9 rainout at the Cleveland Indians (54-55).
With summer's main events about to begin, no one on the WTA tour is hotter than Danielle Collins.
Two weeks after winning her maiden title in Palermo, Collins claimed the Silicon Valley Classic crown in San Jose, California by defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 6-1 on Sunday.
It was the 10th successive match victory for the American, who is ranked 36th in the world and poised to move up as the hard-court season intensifies with WTA 1000 events at Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open.
While it appeared for a while that Collins would cruise to another easy win, Kasatkina made it a fight in the 73-minute second set.
The Russian had prevailed in the two previous meetings between the players, and she saved two championship points down 4-5 in the second and three more in winning the tiebreak.
That marked only the second set Collins has dropped during her 10-match run, the other coming against Sloane Stephens in the second round earlier this week.
Kasatkina's momentum was short-lived, however, as Collins broke her serve early in the third and never looked back.
Before her clay-court title run at Palermo, Collins had been 0-6 in semi-finals in her career.
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner has claimed his third career ATP Tour title with a three-set victory over Mackenzie McDonald in the Citi Open final on Sunday.
The sixth seed triumphed in two hours and 52 minutes, winning 7-5 4-6 7-5 over the unseeded American, who was competing in his first ATP Tour final.
The Washington, D.C. victory was 19-year-old Sinner's first ATP 500 title and his third on tour, having triumphed in Sofia late last year and Melbourne earlier this year.
Home favourite McDonald put plenty of pressure on Sinner, forcing the Italian to save seven break points for the match.
McDonald also staved off 16 break points in an enthralling contest where the Italian sent down nine aces to the American's five.
Sinner lost his serve twice in the opening set and needed 11 set points but still won 7-5, before the American hit back, dropping further behind the baseline to good effect in the second, levelling it with a 6-4 win.
The Italian claimed an early break in the last to open up a 3-0 lead, before failing to convert two championship points at 5-2.
McDonald brought it back to 5-5, with numerous dramatic rallies throughout, before the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion broke in the 12th game to triumph in the third set.
Abraham Ancer thought he had blown his shot at his first PGA Tour win the first time he played the 18th hole on Sunday. Turns out he just needed two more chances on the hole to make it happen.
Ancer birdied the second playoff hole from six feet and watched as Sam Burns missed almost the same putt to give him the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational title as the third man in the playoff, Hideki Matsuyama, also made par.
After finishing as runner-up four times in his previous 120 Tour starts, Ancer finally prevailed in Memphis to become the ninth first-time winner this season and the fourth player from Mexico to win on Tour.
"This is surreal," he told CBS. "I thought I left so many shots out there on the back nine, but you never know. Golf is crazy.
"There's been some times that I felt like I made enough birdies to win and I didn't win. This is kind of how it goes and I'm happy that I got lucky."
A significant portion of that luck came on the first playoff hole, when Matsuyama had a chance to win it but saw his long putt for birdie on 18 lip out, sending the trio back to the 18th tee for another go.
The 2021 Masters champion turned in the round of the day just to make the playoff, firing a bogey-free seven-under 63 to fly up the leaderboard on the final day.
Burns was close behind with a 64, a double bogey on 13 his only blemish.
Harris English, who held a two-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds, watched those three fly by him as he slumped to a three-over 73 and finished fourth after opening the tournament with rounds of 62, 65 and 65.
English bogeyed the opening hole before regaining his stride with three birdies, but he did not make another after the eighth hole, posting double bogeys at 11 and 14 and a bogey at the par-five 16th.
The American said afterward that a warning for slow play on the front nine knocked him out of rhythm and he felt like he was rushing the rest of the day.
His playing partner Bryson DeChambeau had an even more difficult time after working himself into contention with a 63 on Saturday.
DeChambeau carded a triple-bogey six on the 11th and also did not manage a birdie on the back nine on the way to a 74 that left him tied for eighth at 12 under for the tournament.
Rough as that triple was for DeChambeau, honours for worst hole of the day went to Kim Si-woo.
The South Korean hit five successive shots in the water at the 11th on the way to a 13 – the worst score on a par-three hole on the PGA Tour since 1983, not including majors.
Among other notables, Dustin Johnson (70) tied for 10th at 11 under, one stroke better than Rory McIlroy (66) and Jordan Spieth (67).
Phil Mickelson (68) finished at seven under along with Louis Oosthuizen, who floundered to a 74 in the final round.
Sergio Garcia (72), Collin Morikawa (69) and defending champion Justin Thomas (72) were at five under, with Patrick Reed (70) and Lee Westwood (71) one back of them.
Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (68) was at even par and Brooks Koepka (76) at two over.
Andrea Petkovic claimed her first singles title on the WTA Tour in over six years thanks to an emphatic victory over Mayar Sherif at the Winners Open.
Petkovic was far too strong for her Egyptian opponent in Sunday's final, easing to a 6-1 6-1 triumph after just over an hour on court in Cluj-Napoca.
The impressive result sealed the German a seventh tournament win in her career, though she had not reigned at an event since her success in Antwerp back in February 2015.
Sherif had become the first Egyptian to reach a singles final on the WTA Tour and received praise from her opponent during the presentation ceremony.
"This has been a great week, but not only that, what's really important is you're paving the ground for all the girls in a part of the world which doesn't appreciate tennis as much as we do here in Europe," Petkovic said to the 25-year-old.
"It's so much more important than winning every title every week, though I'm sure you will get there as well.
"Just being out there competing, being the first Egyptian woman to make a WTA final, to break into the top 100, I think that's incredible. I want to congratulate you on that – keep going."
Petkovic raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set before Sherif held serve; she also survived two break points to move ahead at the start of the second.
However, the second seed reeled off the next six games in a row, clinching the result with a forehand winner.
MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo enjoyed a "good day" at the Styrian Grand Prix, as his podium finish and Jorge Martin's win extended his lead at the top of the standings.
Quartararo finished third in a race that was suspended for half an hour due to an early crash, which saw two bikes engulfed in flames.
Both riders – Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori – escaped relatively unscathed, though the latter was unable to restart the race.
The restart benefited Martin, who had set a record time at the Red Bull Ring to take pole position in Saturday's qualifying session.
Francesco Bagnaia had overtaken the Pramac Racing rider but, despite an early attack from Jack Miller after the restart, Martin recovered to cruise to his maiden MotoGP triumph.
Behind Martin, Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) claimed second, with Quartararo nipping into third – Miller's hopes fading when he skidded off the track at Turn 7 with 10 laps remaining.
Quartararo (172) now has a 40-point lead over Johann Zarco, who finished sixth, in the championship standings, with Mir further behind on 121.
"It feels so good because when there is a red flag it is always tough," said Quartararo.
"I was extremely good on the braking on Turn 3. I knew that there was a possibility to overtake and did it.
"I don't really know the position of the other guys apart from Joan and Jorge finishing in front. I am so happy. The best goal was to finish on the podium and we did it. So happy for Jorge, he took some points off Joan, so a good day."
Martin, meanwhile, was ecstatic after achieving what he labelled the first step on his path to pushing for world championship glory.
"I can't believe it, I don't believe it, that's why I'm not so excited! I think the ride was amazing. I kept a really constant pace. I was super focused," said the 23-year-old.
"Even if I did some mistakes, my target was to win the race. Joan was impressive today, he was behind me almost all the race but then in the last laps I tried a bit more and I took a gap for the lead.
"The last laps I was thinking about things – everyone who has helped me to be here – that's why I did worse in the last laps but I had this gap to manage. Thanks to all my family, this is one big step towards my big area to be world champion."
Reigning world champion Mir said: "Today was close. I'm happy because all weekend we have been there, overall.
"I needed a couple of faster laps to fight with Jorge, he did a great job. We must push a bit more, find something more for next weekend if we want to be on the top of the podium.
"I am proud of the team, they have done a great job and finally, the performance is higher, so happy and proud of them."
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