Andrey Rublev defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets in Sunday's Gijon Open final to land his 12th ATP Tour title.

The Russian had already prevailed in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille this year and added another crown to his collection with a 6-2 6-3 victory against Korda in 75 minutes.

Top seed Rublev had dropped only one set in his three matches en route to the final and impressed against Korda with 29 winners, three breaks and just four unforced errors.

Korda, seeking a second Tour-level trophy following success in Parma last year, had his serve broken in the fourth and eighth games of the opening set.

Some heavy-hitting exchanges kept spectators gripped, though Rublev proved too strong for Korda in the second set and earned the only break in the sixth game.

Rublev got over the line with his fourth match point and remains sixth in the chase for an ATP Finals spot, with four of those ahead of him already qualified, along with Novak Djokovic. 

Andrey Rublev set up a final meeting with Sebastian Korda at the Gijon Open, overcoming Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the last four.

The world number nine battled through an up-and-down opener before remaining patient to seal the second set and the match on Thiem's serve, taking a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Russian Rublev has now won eight successive sets of tennis against the 2020 US Open champion, and he is one win away from his fourth title of 2022 after triumphs in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille.

Speaking on court after the win, Rublev said: "I was lucky I played a really good game and Dominic helped me out a little bit.

"Then I felt more confident and I was able to win in two sets, which was the most important thing. This week I have been playing really well, and I'll try to show my best tennis of the week tomorrow."

Korda will be Rublev's opponent on Sunday after the American saw off France's Arthur Rinderknech for a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win.

Meanwhile, at the Firenze Open, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime saw off home favourite Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-3, moving one step closer to a second ATP Tour title.

The Canadian will face JJ Wolf in the final in Florence, after the American clinched a 6-4 6-4 win over Sweden's Mikael Ymer.

Andy Murray's run at the Gijon Open came to an end with a three-set loss to Sebastian Korda on Friday, dashing his hopes of a semi-final appearance in Spain.

Murray earned his fourth Tour-level quarter-final spot of 2022 by beating Pedro Cachin, but American Korda defeated the former world number one 6-4 1-6 6-1.

Korda will face Arthur Rinderknech in the last four after he upset second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, taking an epic final-set tie-break to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-6 (18-16).

The other side of the draw will play host to an enticing semi-final meeting between Dominic Thiem and top seed Andrey Rublev after they secured straight-sets wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Tommy Paul respectively.

Thiem said after his 6-4 6-3 triumph over Cerundolo: "From the first match on, I have felt great on this court.

"It is very important for me as I am trying to climb up the rankings. The semi-finals at an ATP event is helping a lot."

Meanwhile, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Brandon Nakashima 6-3 6-4 to reach the Firenze Open semi-finals, where he will face home favourite Lorenzo Musetti.

The third seed from Italy downed Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-2, but fellow seed Alexander Bublik went down 3-6 7-5 6-1 to J. J. Wolf.

Novak Djokovic progressed to the Astana Open final after Daniil Medvedev retired from their last-four clash due to injury.

The two played out a thrilling first two sets, with Medvedev taking the lead before Djokovic fought back to level the match via a tie-break.

However, the Russian was unable to continue after sustaining a leg injury, keeping Djokovic in the hunt for back-to-back titles when he competes in the showpiece, where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"I really hope that his injury is nothing too serious,” said Djokovic. "I know Daniil, he's a great guy, he's a fighter, he's a big competitor.

"He wouldn't retire a match if he didn't feel that he [could] continue or [if it wouldn't] worsen his injury. He told me that he pulled an adductor muscle in his leg.

"It was such a close match, particularly in the second set. I would probably say he was a better player on the court in both sets. I was fighting and trying to find a way.

"I found a way to win the second, but I'm just sad for the tournament and for these people who were enjoying the battle, and for Daniil that it had to end this way."

Third seed Tsitsipas started slowly in the first set against Andrey Rublev but managed to triumph 4-6 6-4 6-3 in Saturday's other semi-final.

"My mentality kind of changed," said Tsitsipas, who will seek his first ATP 500 title at the ninth attempt. "I played with more of an aggressive game style and didn’t have anything by luck."

At the Japan Open, Taylor Fritz battled back from 3-1 down in the deciding set against Denis Shapovalov to claim a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 semi-final victory and book his place in his third ATP Tour final this season.

Third seed Fritz faces an all-American clash in Sunday's final against Frances Tiafoe, who dropped his first set of the week as Soonwoo Kwon bageled him, but the US Open semi-finalist recorded a 6-2 0-6 6-4 win.

"It was a weird match, but I'm happy to get through," said Tiafoe, who progressed into his second final of the season and fifth overall.

"It's not always going to be pretty, it's not always going to be the best stuff, but a win is what matters."

Novak Djokovic set up a semi-final meeting with Daniil Medvedev at the Astana Open on Friday, cruising past Karen Khachanov in the last eight.

Djokovic complemented a fine display of serving by converting three of his five break points in a 6-4 6-3 victory, recording his seventh consecutive win following his absence from the US Open.

The 21-time grand slam champion has now reached six semi-finals this year, but saw room for improvement in his performance after beating the world number 18.

"I didn't play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches, but still it was enough," Djokovic said. "I managed to produce some good tennis when it was most needed in both sets."

Looking ahead to his final-four match, the Serb added: "I always expect highs from myself. Hopefully I can elevate still the level of my game for tomorrow, because it's going to be needed." 

Djokovic will face an 11th tour-level meeting with Medvedev in the next round after his fellow former world number one recorded a dominant 6-1 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.

On the other side of the draw, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (10-8) 6-3, and will now face Andrey Rublev after he eased to a 6-1 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino.

At the Japan Open, a knee injury forced Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios to withdraw from his meeting with Taylor Fritz, with the American set to take on Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals.

Seventh seed Shapovalov saw off Borna Coric 6-4 6-3 to reach the final four, while fourth seed Frances Tiafoe advanced with a 6-0 6-4 win against Miomir Kecmanovic.

South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo claimed the final place in the semi-finals in Tokyo, beating Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-0

World number nine Andrey Rublev comfortably beat qualifier Laslo Djere 6-4 6-3 to secure his place in the second round of the Astana Open.

The fifth seed found a crucial break of serve when leading the opener 5-4 to take the first set in Kazakhstan, before winning the next three games to put himself in the ascendancy in the second.

And despite a desperate last stand to stay in the match from Djere, Rublev held serve three times with relative ease to finish off his Serbian opponent.

Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime served 14 aces to Roberto Bautista-Agut's two in their first-round match, but it was the Spaniard who advanced with a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) success.

Meanwhile, world number 10 Hubert Hurkacz overcame Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets.

Adrian Mannarino, the runner-up in Astana in 2020, came from a set down to beat Stan Wawrinka – playing as a wildcard – 1-6 6-2 6-3, and qualifier Zhizhen Zhang romped to victory with a superb third set to seal a 4-6 6-4 6-1 comeback win of his own over Aslan Karatsev.

At the Tokyo Open, fourth seed Frances Tiafoe cruised into the second round with a 6-3 6-4 triumph over Yasutaka Uchiyama, one of three Japanese players who crashed out at the first-round stage of their home tournament.

Uchiyama's countrymen Taro Daniel and Shintaro Mochizuki also tasted defeat at the hands of Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Brandon Nakashima, respectively.

Frances Tiafoe celebrated a "crazy" win after his defeat of Andrey Rublev saw him become the first American man to reach the US Open semi-finals in 16 years.

Tiafoe stunned Rafael Nadal on Monday and followed up that career-high by reaching the last four of a major for the first time on Wednesday.

Ninth seed Rublev, who has lost all six of his grand slam quarter-finals, stood in his way but Tiafoe prevailed 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-0) 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 24-year-old is the first male player from the United States to reach a semi-final at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick in 2006.

Roddick went on to reach the final that year, though fell short of winning a second US Open final as he lost to Roger Federer.

This time around, Tiafoe will face either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, who has a shot at becoming the new world number one. 

"This is wild, this is crazy," world number 26 Tiafoe said after his win. 

"I had the biggest win of my life 48 hours ago and coming out and getting another big win. Andrey's a hell of a player, and to back it up, that's huge. It's tough to turn the page, but I did and now I'm in the semis.

"I feel so at home on courts like this. This court is unbelievable. [The crowd] gets so far behind me, I want to play, I want to give my best. I always find a way somehow on this court, I always play some great tennis and I have been. Let's enjoy this, we've got two more."

Tiafoe might well be the only home hope left for the American crowd to back in New York come the end of play on Wednesday, with Jessica Pegula facing the daunting task of taking on world number one Iga Swiatek in the women's singles.

World number one Daniil Medvedev strolled to victory for his first title of the year at the Los Cabos Open with a 7-5 6-0 demolition of reigning champion Cameron Norrie on Saturday.

The Russian, returning to hard-court tennis in Mexico this week ahead of his US Open title defence, pulled away after an injury timeout late in the first set to comfortably triumph against the 12th-ranked Briton.

Medvedev won every game after the timeout, taken for treatment on a hand issue, after scores were locked at 5-5, with both players having broken serve in the first set.

The third-seeded defending champion had no answers in a lopsided second set which only lasted 26 minutes.

This year's Australian Open runner-up, playing in his fourth final of the season, sent down 5-0 aces and converted six of 10 break points for the match to secure his 14th career title. He was exceptional on serve, with a 67 per cent first-serve win percentage.

The triumph capped an excellent week for Medvedev, who did not drop a set across five wins.

"Every match was very good, but the final match is always special," Medvedev said on court after the match. "It's always a high-level match and I'm really happy I managed to show some good levels and play some good shots."

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will take on unseeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the Washington Open final on Sunday after maintaining his unblemished record at this year's event with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.

Kyrgios, who won in Washington DC in 2019, had played twice on Friday following rain delays on Thursday but found his passage through with 10 aces including one on match point to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.

"I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today," Kyrgios said. "I served pretty solid, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all. I'm just happy to be in the final once again."

Kyrgios is yet to drop serve throughout this year's tournament and has knocked off seeds Francis Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul along the way.

The Australian will take on Nishioka who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to secure a spot in his third career final, beating a top 10 opponent for the third time in his career.

Rublev blasted 21-8 winners but also hit 31-14 unforced errors, with the Japanese's consistency proving enough for victory.

Nick Kyrgios started his Friday by finishing off his third-round win against Reilly Opelka, and his business was not finished until after 1am local time when he defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (14-12) 6-2 in the quarter-final.

Due to length rain delays on Thursday, Kyrgios was one of five players forced to abandon their matches and return to finish them first thing on Friday, with Kyrgios and Russia's Andrey Rublev the only two to successfully navigate both.

Tiafoe defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the morning, but Kyrgios' ability to keep his service games short was a decisive factor, winning the ace count 35-14 and not conceding a single break all match.

Rublev had to deal with Maxime Cressy in the morning, winning 6-4 7-6 (10-8), setting up a quarter-final later at night against J.J. Wolf after the American defeated Holger Rune 7-5 4-6 6-3.

Rublev made his second match look far easier, cruising through 6-2 6-3 to earn a semi-final against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka after he needed over three-and-a-half hours to beat Daniel Evans 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5.

In an all-unseeded semi-final, Kyrgios will play Sweden's Mikael Ymer, who fought his way past Sebastian Korda 6-2 5-7 6-3 after the American beat Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 4-6 6-1 6-2 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, down in Mexico at the Los Cabos Open, Daniil Medvedev earned his spot in the final by defeating Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (7-0) 6-1.

Medvedev will play England's Cameron Norrie for the title after he prevailed in arguably the match of the tournament against top-10 talent Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Nick Kyrgios barely broke a sweat on his way to a 6-3 6-2 win against Marcos Giron in the opening round of the Washington Open, finishing the job in an even 60 minutes.

The talented Australian, who won the doubles title at last week's Atlanta Open with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, showed off his imposing serve against Giron. He won the ace count 12-to-four, while converting 82 per cent (28-of-34) of his successful first serves into points.

Earlier in the day, Daniel Evans won an all-English showdown against Kyle Edmund 6-1 6-2, but fellow Englishman Jack Draper was not so lucky against Russia's Andrey Rublev, going down 6-4 6-2.

Winner of the singles title at the Atlanta Open, Jenson Brooksby could not keep his strong form going as he lost 6-4 6-3 to Yoshihito Nishioka. Mackenzie McDonald lost to Brooksby in Atlanta, and he was also bounced in the first round by Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 1-6 6-4 6-4.

America's Chris Eubanks won a tough three-setter against France's Benjamin Bonzi 3-6 6-3 7-5, and Sebastian Korda passed the test of in-form Ilya Ivashka 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

Veteran Jack Sock got the better of Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, and the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp fought off frisky Croatian Borna Gojo 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to narrowly avoid an upset from a player ranked 170 spots lower.

Meanwhile, at the Los Cabos open in Mexico, Kokkinakis continued his march back up the rankings with a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 win against Fernando Verdasco.

Kokkinakis will play American Steve Johnson in the second round after he collected a straight sets 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 win against Argentina's Gonzalo Villanueva.

Romania's Radu Albot defeated Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 to book his place in the second round against Australian Jason Kubler, who won his 10th match from his past 12 fixtures to beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-1.

The only Mexican in the draw, Alex Hernandez, made the most his wildcard to win his first tour-level match, defeating Nicolas Barrientos 3-6 6-4 6-4 to become the first Mexican player to win at Los Cabos.

Facundo Bagnis was the only of the three Argentines to make it through, with a 6-3 6-1 win over Ernesto Escobado, Brandon Nakashima defeated Kaichi Uchida 7-6 (7-1) 6-2, and Jordan Thompson rounded out the day's action with a comfortable 6-3 6-0 triumph over Yannick Hanfmann.

Andrey Rublev crashed out of the Hamburg European Open in straight sets against Francisco Cerundolo, as top seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Filip Krajinovic to reach the quarter-finals.

Second seed Rublev was the latest scalp of Cerundolo's fine run of form, the Argentine making it seven consecutive wins by wrapping up a 6-4 6-2 success in just an hour and a half in Germany.

Having furthered his momentum with a second top-10 win in as many weeks, Cerundolo said: "It is the first time it has happened for me. I am playing against the top guys and I am playing well, it is unbelievable."

Cerundolo will face Aslan Karatsev in the last eight after he recovered from a set down to beat Daniel Elahi Galan 3-6 6-3 6-4.

World number six Alcaraz fared better than Rublev, registering a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Krajinovic to tee up a final-four meeting with Karen Khachanov, who beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

Meanwhile, a host of big names including Casper Rudd and Matteo Berrettini reached the last eight of the Swiss Open in Gstaad, as Dominic Thiem continued his revival with a win over Federico Delbonis.

Thiem reached his second quarter-final in as many weeks with an impressive 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 triumph despite letting a 5-2 lead slip in the opener, registering his first tour-level straight-sets victory since May 2021.

Having set up a meeting with Juan Pablo Varillas, the 2020 US Open champion beamed: "I have won two matches which means a lot to me right now, I really need those ranking points. Every match win is something very special."

The Austrian will be joined in the next round by first and second seeds Ruud and Berrettini, who eased past Jiri Lehecka and Richard Gasquet respectively.

Spanish duo Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pedro Martinez also both progressed to the last eight despite dropping a set, with the latter setting up an enticing clash with Berrettini on Friday.

Pablo Carreno Busta saw his title defence at the Hamburg European Open come to an early end as he crashed out on Wednesday, while Andrey Rublev progressed with ease.

Carreno Busta fell to a 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5) second-round defeat against Slovakian Alex Molcan, who progressed to a fourth ATP Tour quarter-final this season.

World number 48 Molcan will next meet Borna Coric after the Croatian eased past Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 6-4, registering back-to-back tour-levels wins for the first time in 17 months.

Second seed Rublev coasted through his first-round clash with Ricardas Berankis, triumphing 6-3 6-4 as he improved his record at the ATP 500 clay-court event in Germany to 10-2.

"I am happy with my performance. Ricardas is a really tough player," said world number eight Rublev, who is aiming for his fourth title of the season after success in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade.

"He hits the ball really hard and plays fast, so I had to bring intensity from the first game. I am really happy with how I was serving today and I hit some great shots from the baseline.

"The game he broke me in the second set he played really well. He returned really aggressively and I don’t think I made one first serve. But then I kept [my] focus and broke him straight away again."

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was another comfortable winner, easing past Jozef Kovalik 6-2 6-2 to set up a quarter-final contest with Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4 7-5.

Play was suspended early at the Swiss Open due to bad weather, with Spaniard Jaume Munar downing Alexander Ritschard 6-3 6-3 in the only match of the day to reach the last eight.

That meant top seed Casper Ruud will have to wait until Thursday to face Jiri Lehecka in Gstaad, with third favourite Roberto Bautista Agut also seeing his match with Juan Pablo Varillas pushed back a day.

Maxime Cressy will face Alexander Bublik in the final of the Hall of Fame Open after beating four-time champion John Isner on Saturday.

Cressy will play his third championship match of the year on Sunday following a 6-2 4-6 6-3 defeat of his fellow American in Newport.

The 25-year-old fired down 22 aces and won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve, breaking three times to move into the final.

Cressy had a stroke of luck for the only break of the deciding set, when he lobbed a shot just over the net and it bounced back onto his side to leave Isner 5-3 down. He then served out the match to end Isner's 10-match winning run in this event.

Bublik sealed his place in the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Jason Kubler.

Third seed Bublik did not face a break point and broke the Australian three times, sealing his victory in an hour and nine minutes.

There will be an all-Argentinian final at the Swedish Open between Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez.

Baez produced an upset, securing his first win against a top-10 opponent with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of second seed Andrey Rublev in Bastad.

Cerundolo got the better of Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2, ensuring he will face his compatriot for the first time at tour-level.

 

 

Novak Djokovic has slipped to seventh in the ATP Tour rankings despite winning Wimbledon, where ranking points were stripped in this year's tournament.

Players from Russia and Belarus were banned from competing at the third major of the year due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The ATP and WTA retaliated by stripping ranking points from the event at the All England Club, where the likes of world number one Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev did not feature.

Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who switched to represent Kazakhstan four years ago, lifted the women's title in the singles competition, while Djokovic triumphed for a fourth straight time in the men's event.

Yet, Djokovic has lost 2,000 rankings points – the standard total awarded to a grand slam singles champion – after winning in SW19 last year, with no such rewards available on this occasion.

That meant the Serbian has dropped from third place to seventh, his lowest position since August 2018 when he fell to 10th.

Djokovic moved within just one major title of Rafael Nadal's record of 22 grand slams, and the Spaniard has jumped up one spot to third.

Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are unmoved as the respective top two after losing just 180 rankings points in the latest edition. Both missed Wimbledon, with the Russian banned and the German still injured.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz make up the top six after climbing a place each, while Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner are the trio behind Djokovic.

Nick Kyrgios appeared in his maiden major final against Djokovic at Wimbledon as world number 40, the lowest-ranked grand slam male finalist since Marcos Baghdatis (54) at the Australian Open in 2006.

Just a day later Kyrgios has dropped five places to 45th in the rankings, losing 90 points from his third-round berth last year. If the ban was not imposed, the Australian would have broken into the top 20.

Cameron Norrie is another loser from the ranking points fallout. His run to the semi-finals at the London major would have seen him climb to eighth, but instead he has to settle for 11th.

Andrey Rublev was a surprise first-round loser at the Halle Open, while numerous seeds fell on the first day of the Queen's Club Championships.

Rublev came unstuck against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, succumbing to a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 loss as the world number eight crashed out in Germany.

Laslo Djere progressed after Henri Squire retired when 4-3 down, while sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta secured a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) over French Open quarter-finalist Holger Rune.

Ugo Humber got the better of a topsy-turvy affair against qualifier Radu Albot, eventually triumphing 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 and Mackenzie McDonald defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets.

Fourth favourite Taylor Fritz went down 6-3 6-3 against British wildcard Jack Draper, his first career win against a top-20 ranked player.

Reilly Opelka, the eighth seed, crashed out in the first round to New Zealand's Alex de Minaur, who claimed a straightforward 6-4 6-4 win.

Grigor Dimitrov, who won the event in 2014, battled past third seed Cameron Norrie 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-4, while Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina eased past compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5 6-4.

Alexander Bublik was 6-3 up before Italian Lorenzo Musetti retired, while seventh seed Marin Cilic capped the day's play in London by beating home hope Liam Broady 6-1 4-6 7-5.

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