Rafael Nadal booked his place in the final Swedish Open after beating Duje Ajdukovic in Bastad. 

Nadal came from a set down, as he did in his quarter-final triumph over Mariano Navone, to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court. 

Ajdukovic started the faster of the two, winning a break point early on and raced into a three-game lead against the Spaniard. 

While Nadal found his rhythm, winning a break of his own in the fifth game, the Croatian was able to hold his serve to take the first set with relative ease. 

The 22-time major winner learned his lesson from his slow start, trading blows with Ajdukovic and earning a quick break point of his own in the third game. 

Ajdukovic would rally, but another break point from Nadal in the seventh game proved decisive as he saw out the set to take it to a decider. 

And it looked as though the Spaniard would ease into Sunday's final as he led 3-0, but Ajdukovic would fight back, going on to win the next three games. 

Nadal, however, used all his experience to regain composure before finding a crucial break in the eighth game, ending the contest on serve as his opponent deft touch from the back of the court found the net. 

Nadal will face either Thiago Agustin Tirante or Nuno Borges in Sunday's final.  

Data Debrief: Nadal back on top

His second as a wildcard after Hamburg in 2015, Nadal has now reached his 72nd ATP event final on clay. It is the second-most of any player on the surface in the Open Era, trailing only Guillermo Vilas (76) over that span.

Nadal's victory sees him reach his first tour-level final for the first time since Roland Garros in 2022 where he beat Casper Rudd for his 14th French Open title. 

Matteo Berrettini is through to his third Swiss Open final following an impressive straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 2018 champion - and 2022 runner-up - prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 after one hour and 42 minutes to set up a championship showdown with Quentin Halys in Gstaad.

Berrettini had lost all five of his previous meetings with top seed Tsitsipas, but dropped just one point on serve during the opening set, which he eventually snatched in a tie-break.

The Greek was seeking his third ATP final of the season on clay, having triumphed in Monte-Carlo and been runner-up to Casper Ruud in Barcelona.

However, he just could not shake off the Italian, who crucially broke in game 11 of the second set before holding for victory.

He will contest Sunday's championship match with Frenchman Halys, who saw off fifth seed Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets.

Data Debrief: Big-serving Berrettini stuns Tsitsipas

The statistics certainly favoured Tsitsipas, who was 14-1 against Italian opponents on clay and 29-2 against players ranked outside the top 50 on surface since the start of the 2021 season.

However, Berrettini had other ideas. The former Wimbledon finalist, who was 1-6 against top-15 opponents on clay, won 92% of his first-serve points.

And while Tsitsipas double-faulted on four occasions, Berrettini stood firm and is now an impressive 12-1 in Gstaad.

Alexander Zverev booked his place in the Hamburg Open semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over Zhizhen Zhang.

The top seed - and reigning champion - kept his title defence very much on track, prevailing 6-4 6-3 after 66 minutes on Center Court.

Zverev dominated on serve during the opening set, dropping just three points, while a break in game five paved the way for him to move halfway towards victory.

The home favourite made another statement of intent when he broke in the opening game of the second set.

Another break followed at 5-3 to secure victory and send the Italian Open champion through to his seventh ATP semi-final of the season - and third on clay, having also reached the French Open final.

There, he will play Pedro Martinez after the Spaniard beat fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo in three sets.

Data Debrief: Statement of intent from Zverev

The German demonstrated his desire to maintain his hold on the trophy he won in front of his home crowd last season, and become only the third player this century to successfully defend the crown after Roger Federer and Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Indeed, Zverev hit 10 aces and won 29 of 33 points on first serve (88%), while converting three of his four break-point opportunities.

Rafael Nadal booked his place in the Swedish Open semi-finals after coming from behind to deny Mariano Navone in Bastad.

The 22-time major winner recovered from losing the opening set to prevail 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 7-5 in just under four hours on Centre Court.

Nadal was slow out of the blocks against the fourth seed, who broke his opponent three times in the opening set for a 4-1 lead.

The Spaniard dug deep and responded to lead 6-5 but Navone - a finalist on clay in Rio and Bucharest - dominated the tie-break 7-2 to draw first blood.

Both players continued to struggle on serve in the second set, with Nadal crucially breaking in game 11 before holding to level.

The 37-year-old recovered from an early break in the decider, reeling off five successive games for a 5-2 lead. Navone fought back to 5-5, but was broken in the following game with Nadal subsequently serving out to set up a semi-final clash with Duje Ajdukovic.

Data Debrief: Comeback king Nadal seals semi-final return

Not since Wimbledon in 2022 had Nadal reached an ATP semi-final, withdrawing on the eve of his clash with Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury.

His hopes of doing so seemed bleak early on, with world number 36 Navone threatening to become the lowest-ranked player to beat him on clay since 2016.

However, the 22-time major winner dug deep, and is now just two wins away from his first silverware since landing a 14th French Open crown 25 months ago.

As three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray prepares to bow out from the sport he loves at the Paris Olympics, he could soon be a man in demand.

The two-time Wimbledon victor got the fitting tribute his career deserved at his home slam, but not in the circumstances he wanted.

A back injury ruled him out of the singles, and his last match on centre court was a doubles defeat alongside his brother Jamie.

Murray will retire following the summer games, where he hopes to add to his two Olympic golds won at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
But one tennis rival may already have his next career path in mind.

When Vasek Pospisil is not on the court, he is busy pushing for improvements for players off the court with the Professional Tennis Players' Association.

Co-founded with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the PTPA aims to 'address player challenges and calls for change within the business of professional tennis.'

What started as an idea thought up by Pospisil and Djokovic in 2019 was formally created two years later. 

Three years and 'thousands of hours' on, players across the ATP and WTA Tours are reaping the rewards.

"The first few years were just growing pains. It was so many thousands of hours. The amount of hours, especially those first three or four years to get some momentum and organise players and just try to get the building blocks in place," Pospisil told Stats Perform.

"Tennis has a long way to go from the player side. But as a sport, it's an incredible sport. It's one-on-one combat.

"That's why it's the third or fourth most watched sport in the world. So there's so much there. And players have been underserviced and it's time for change. And that's where we come in."

"We want hundreds of players to be able to make a living. When I say hundreds, I mean three or 400 on the men's side and three or 400 on the women's side.

"Currently it's about a hundred on each, right? And that's unacceptable in a multi-billion dollar industry with the value that these players are bringing to the table.

"In the meantime, we're trying to generate revenue for players, extra revenue through group licensing programs that hasn't existed prior to the PTPA."

Murray, who Pospisil has competed against on six occasions and beaten just once, has long been a voice of reason on the ATP tour, and has gained respect for his support of the WTA.

That hasn't gone unnoticed by Pospisil, who plans to reach out to the Brit once the curtain comes down on his illustrious career.

"I really like Andy. He was always so nice in the locker room and just a good guy," he said.

"And I know that in previous years, I'd seen several quotes and articles and in the press where he'd spoken out about the importance of having independent player representation.

"I haven't spoken to him in a few years since the start of the PTPA, and it's something that I definitely want to revisit. 

"When you really look under the hood, you look past all the all the nonsense that's been spewed as a counter argument to why the PTPA shouldn't exist and why it's bad for tennis.

"So I think if any reasonable person were to sit down and have a 30-minute conversation listening to the PTPA from the horse's mouth, I would be shocked if someone were to leave that conversation and say, 'oh, that doesn't make sense'.

"I'm going to follow up with Andy and some of these big players that are on their way out. I think it would be great to get their endorsement and get them involved."

Should Murray take up the offer, he'll join the likes of Ons Jabeur and Hubert Hurkacz, who sit on the PTPA executive committee.

Holger Rune advanced to the Hamburg Open quarter-finals on Thursday as he looks to move on swiftly from his Wimbledon disappointment.

Rune's All England Club campaign was ruthlessly ended by Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, beaten in straight sets by the eventual finalist.

The Dane gave himself little time to lick his wounds and has quickly returned to the court and returned to form with his debut in Hamburg.

Looking for his first ATP Tour title of the year, the second seed followed up a straight-sets win over Fabian Marozsan by defeating Marco Trungelliti 6-4 6-3.

"It's been very intense since Wimbledon," Rune said. "I only had one day off, actually.

"I was like, 'I don’t want to rest, I want to go straight back to practice', because I was very disappointed.

"I went straight back to work on the things that needed to be done, and now I have the chance to train those things in matches."

Next up will be Arthur Fils, who booked his last-eight place by beating 2023 Hamburg finalist Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

Top seed Alexander Zverev remains a threat in the top half of the draw, however, and he will face Zhang Zhizhen in the quarters.

Cameron Norrie could not stand in Rafael Nadal's way as the former world number one stormed into the Bastad Open quarter-finals.

Nadal made light work of the Briton on Thursday, cruising to a 6-4 6-4 victory.

The 38-year-old, who skipped Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympics, will face fourth seed Mariano Navone in the last eight.

Speaking after his victory, Nadal said: "Great feelings. I've been a while without playing on the Tour, since Roland-Garros.

"To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling. I think I played good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.

"I haven't been competing very often, so matches and victories like today help. To be in rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent the whole match, that's something that I need to improve, because I didn't play enough."

Data Debrief: Nadal's Norrie dominance

That is now five victories for Nadal against Norrie in six career meetings. The Spaniard's only defeat to Norrie came at the United Cup in 2023.

Nadal has won those five matches without dropping a set in any of them.

Alexander Zverev cruised into the second round of the Hamburg Open with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Jesper de Jong.

The top seed took one step closer to defending his title with a 6-2 6-2 victory on Wednesday.

De Jong took the opening game, but Zverev dominated after that, winning the next five in a row, before holding off the Dutchman's late fightback to take the first set.

The second was a carbon copy of the first, as De Jong was broken twice and given no way back in as Zverev closed out the match to set up a meeting with Hugo Gaston in the next round. 

Data Debrief: Defending champion starts strong

After clinching the title on home soil last year, Zverev was always going to come out fighting in his defence.

He hit 29 winners and twice went on five-game winning runs to take the match away from De Jong before he could get any real foothold. 

Thiago Monteiro pulled off a shock in the second round of the Swedish Open, beating Casper Ruud in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The Brazilian took just an hour and a half to see off the second seed 6-3 6-3 in Bastad on Wednesday.

Ruud successfully defended two break points in the opening game but could not gain the upper hand as Monteiro charged forwards, getting two breaks to take the set.

Monteiro continued to dominate in the second, though he only needed one break this time, and comfortably held off the Norwegian in the final game to make it into the next round, where he will face either Pavel Kotov or Duje Ajdukovic.

Data Debrief: Monteiro comes out on top

Monteiro did not give Ruud any sort of opening, winning all of his service games, and 75% of his service points (38/51).

The number two seed did not win more than one game in a row, and he will be hoping to put this result behind him quickly ahead of his doubles quarter-final with Rafael Nadal later on.

Rafael Nadal is through to the second round of the Swedish Open after holding out for a straight-sets win over Leo Borg on Tuesday.

In his singles return in Bastad, the Spaniard triumphed 6-3 6-4, to follow up his doubles win with Casper Ruud on Monday.

Nadal raced into a 4-1 lead in the first set, and though Berg was able to peg him back to 5-3, the former world number one served to love in the final game to seal it.

He got another vital break in the opening game of the second, which was enough to help him hold off the Swede's attempted fight back to book a place in the next round, where he will face Cam Norrie. 

Data Debrief: Running back the clock

Nadal last played in Bastad in 2005, winning the clay tournament as a 19-year-old.

And he made a strong start to the tournament this time around; he won 41 of his 53 service points (77%), but got a vital break in either set to put him out of Borg's reach. 

Rafael Nadal was victorious on his first outing since May, teaming up with Casper Ruud to beat second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela in the Nordea Open doubles at Bastad.

Returning to the clay in Sweden for the first time since he won the singles title as a teenager in 2005, Nadal looked comfortable alongside the world number nine.

The Spaniard was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the first round at the French Open in May, then chose to skip Wimbledon as he prepares to play at the Paris Olympics.

He hit one tremendous forehand winner early in the second set as the star-studded pairing triumphed 6-1 6-4 in 70 minutes.

Speaking alongside Ruud after the match, Nadal said: "It's a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad.

"Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well for the first time we played together and I'm happy to be back here after almost 20 years.

"I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004 and 2005, so I am enjoying this week and hopefully I can keep going."

Nadal will open his singles campaign at the competition on Tuesday, with home hope Leo Borg his first opponent at the ATP 250 event.

Novak Djokovic knows there is still plenty more to come from Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard's dominant display in the Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to retain his crown at All England Club and clinch his fourth major title overall.

At 21 years and 70 days, he is the youngest player to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

And while Alcaraz said he does not count himself among the list of tennis' great champions, Djokovic has no doubt that the next generation's superstar is destined to scale such heights.

"Obviously, not the result I wanted, in the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn't up to par from my side," Djokovic said.

"But credit to Carlos for playing some amazing tennis, very complete, he had it all today.

"I tried to push him, saved the three match points and extended the match a little bit, but it wasn't meant to be.

"He was a deserved winner today, so a huge congratulations to him for an amazing performance.

"To his team, his family, an amazing job you guys are doing, clearly. Everything you have done so far, he's only 21, it's incredible, we'll see a lot of you, I'm sure."

Alcaraz and Djokovic have already met six times, with three of those matches coming in finals, including last year's Wimbledon showpiece. They share an even 3-3 record.

Novak Djokovic is "living his childhood dream" every time he steps out on Wimbledon's Centre Court, despite his straight-sets defeat to Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Djokovic, who has played in each of the last six finals at All England Club, faced Alcaraz in a repeat of last year's championship match but fell to a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) defeat.

It was his 10th Wimbledon final overall, with this one even more impressive due to his recovery from a knee operation that he suffered at the French Open, which was also won by Alcaraz.

A win would have made Djokovic the most decorated player in grand slam history, and taken him level with Roger Federer's record of eight men's singles crowns at SW19.

And the 37-year-old chose to look on the bright side as he took in Centre Court after the match.

"I have to be very proud," Djokovic said.

"Obviously, it's a bit of a disappointment right now, but when I reflect on the last couple of weeks and the last four to five weeks and what I've been through, along with my team members and family, I'm very satisfied, because Wimbledon was always the childhood dream of mine, playing on the centre stage.

"I try to remind myself how surreal it is to be here, even if I've been blessed to be in 10 finals, every single time I step on Centre Court, it feels like the first time. I'm living my childhood dream."

Djokovic is a 24-time major champion and after a glittering career, he claimed he may end up moving into coaching for his children in the future... if they in fact do want to take up tennis.

"My kids, they now start to like tennis a little bit," he added with a smile over at his family.

"I don't know if I have the nerves to keep on going with a coaching career for my son. There are a lot of beautiful things other than tennis, but if you wish to pursue it, I'll be there for you.

"I want to say thanks to my whole team, physio, everyone, for sticking with me through good and bad times. We're the only ones who know what we've been through. Let's keep it going."

Carlos Alcaraz "repeated the dream" after securing back-to-back Wimbledon titles by overcoming Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz was in dominant form from the off on Sunday and, despite a late wobble, clinched his fourth major title in straight sets.

The Spaniard did have to settle his nerves in the final set, having squandered three championship points on his own serve.

But having found his rhythm again in the tiebreak, Alcaraz played two exceptional drop shots to set the stage for a loose return from Djokovic to round off a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win.

"It's a dream for me, winning this trophy," Alcaraz said.

"I did an interview when I was 11 or 12, saying my dream is to win Wimbledon. I've repeated my dream. I want to keep going, but it's a great feeling to play on this beautiful court, win this beautiful trophy. It's the most beautiful tournament, court and trophy.

"Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he would have his chances again. I tried to win it on my serve. I couldn't, but I tried to stay calm, stay positive and play my best tennis in the tiebreak. I found the solutions."

The 21-year-old has become the youngest player in the Open Era to triumph at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

"Just fighting, believing, it's a huge tournament for me and a huge achievement for me to be part of those players who have won Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in the same year," said Alcaraz.

"[They are] huge champions. I don't consider myself as much of a champion yet as them, but I'll keep on going, keep on building my path."

Djokovic made a miraculous recovery from knee surgery to feature at SW19, where he reached the final for the 10th time in his career, a tally bettered only by Roger Federer (12).

"Some words for Novak and his team," Alcaraz added as he addressed the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

"It's been a really difficult few weeks for you, unbelievable work to play this tournament after the surgery. I have huge respect for you and your team."

Carlos Alcaraz turned on the style as he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title.

In a repeat of last year's final, Alcaraz prevailed 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday to become the youngest player in the Open Era to triumph at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

Alcaraz started as he meant to go on, breaking Djokovic in the very first game to immediately put the seven-time champion on the back foot.

Another break followed in game five, as the Spaniard truly took control, wrapping up the opening set in just 41 minutes and offering up only one break point, which he clawed back anyway, en route.

It was a similar story in set two - Alcaraz crisply putting himself a break up and playing some immaculate shots as he made even lighter work of making it 2-0.

Djokovic fended off four break points to go 2-1 up in the third set and had a fantastic chance of pulling a break of his own back in game six, until Alcaraz hit back with some venomous serves to claim a crucial hold before then setting himself up for apparent glory.

Yet a remarkable wobble saw Alcaraz squander three championship points on serve, and Djokovic needed no second invitation to edge himself ahead, with a tiebreak required.

A bad miss on a forehand pass compounded Alcaraz's frustration, yet the 21-year-old recovered and, with two exquisite drop shots, teed up his fourth championship point.

And this time, there was to be no mistake, a loose return into the net from Djokovic marking a resounding success for tennis' bona fide superstar.

Changing of the guard

For the vast majority of this final, Alcaraz dazzled on Centre Court. Djokovic, in his 10th Wimbledon final, simply could not cope during the opening two sets.

Indeed, even in the third, Alcaraz had the match in his hands until that incredible slip-up. But he recovered, and even if he does not top the ATP rankings, there can be no doubting Alcaraz will always be the man to beat.

At 21 years and 70 days, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon in back-to-back editions, after Boris Becker (18y 227d, 1985-86) and Bjorn Borg (21y 26d, 1976-77).

Only Rod Laver (19) has registered more wins from his first 20 matches at the All England Club than Alcaraz (18/20) during the Open Era, who is the youngest player to win all his first six seasonal matches against top-five ranked players since the ATP Rankings were published in 1973.

It is now four grand slam titles for Alcaraz, who will be hoping his victory set the tone for a great sporting day for Spain, with their national football team in action against England in the Euro 2024 final later in the day.

No joy for Novak

At 37, time is running out for Djokovic as he looks to match Roger Federer's haul of eight Wimbledon titles.

For a fleeting moment in that final set, Alcaraz's stumble looked like it might open the door for the Serbian great, but as it was, Djokovic will have to come back and have another shot at that Federer record next year.

Djokovic is also still one away from overtaking Margaret Court for the player with the outright most major titles in history, while he has also been made to wait for his 99th ATP Tour-level title (only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have more in men's singles during the Open Era).

He is the only player to reach 10 men's singles finals at three of the four majors, but the day belonged to Alcaraz, who is just the second player in the Open Era to win his first four singles finals at grand slams, after Federer.