Tennis

10:30 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil’s main flagbearer on the men’s tennis tour for the past decade, has retired after losing in straight sets to sixth-seeded Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Rio Open on Wednesday. Bellucci, 35, is now preparing to transition into coaching.

12:19 PM ET Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships by beating Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Pole will next face former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who advanced by defeating Anhelina Kalinina 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-2 in the round of 16. Swiatek,

11:22 AM ET Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia — Novak Djokovic has asked American authorities for special permission to enter the United States to play tennis tournaments in California and Florida despite being unvaccinated against the coronavirus, the top-ranked Serb said Wednesday. The Transportation Security Administration has said the requirement for foreign air travelers to be

8:35 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie have carried over their momentum from last week’s tournament to the Rio Open. Finalists two days earlier in Buenos Aires, Norrie advanced to the round of 16 in the clay-court event on Tuesday, while Alcaraz was a game away

9:29 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Dominic Thiem is once again fighting through his matches and enjoying himself, but confidence is admittedly still lacking for the 29-year-old. Thiem lost in the first round of the Rio Open on Monday, falling to Thiago Monteiro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2). The former world No. 3

5:24 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz won his first title since his milestone US Open triumph by beating Cameron Norrie in straight sets at the Argentina Open on Sunday. The world No. 2 overcame No. 12 Norrie 6-3, 7-5 in the clay-court final. “I felt very comfortable,” Alcaraz said.

4:35 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz reached his first final since his milestone US Open triumph at the Argentina Open on Saturday. Alcaraz beat Spanish countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the final on Sunday, the world No. 2 will face No. 12 Cameron Norrie, who

12:21 PM ET Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek successfully defended her Qatar Open title after beating No. 4-ranked Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 in the final on Saturday. Swiatek broke Pegula for 2-0 and 4-2 but both times immediately lost her own serve. Pegula couldn’t hold again and Swiatek served out to love

2:25 AM ET Zenia D’Cunha Sania Mirza wants to be remembered as the girl who fought for the right things. Like the cap she wore after finishing her Grand Slam career at the Australian Open as a 36-year-old — ‘You can’t handle the truth‘ — or the T-shirts she made famous as a teenager —

9:07 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES — The top two seeds advanced to the semifinals of the Argentina Open on Friday. Top-seeded and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-2 at the clay court event. He struggled in the first set and cruised to victory in the second on the strength

10:15 AM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com Break out the cake and balloons because Feb. 17 might be one of the best days for athlete birthdays. On this day, 60 years ago, Michael Jordan came into this world. The college and NBA stardom would follow along with movies, sneaker dominance, business ventures and a world of iconic

8:32 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman were eliminated from the Argentina Open on Thursday. Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion who is trying to regain his form after falling to 99th in the rankings, lost 6-4, 6-4 to Juan Pablo Varillas. Schwartzman, the local favorite, was beaten

11:05 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz won his first match of the year on Wednesday, beating Laslo Djere 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the Argentina Open. The 19-year-old US Open champion missed the Australian Open with a leg injury and ceded the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, who won

7:13 AM ET Full-time real estate professional Matija Pecotic stunned former world No. 8 Jack Sock on his ATP Tour main draw debut at the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday. Pecotic, who works as a director at a real estate investment firm, plays tennis part time and beat Sock 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to set up

11:10 PM ET A near four-month stint on the sidelines saw Carlos Alcaraz lose the world No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, and as the Spaniard prepares for his return to the court at the Argentina Open on Wednesday he says he is determined to get it back. Alcaraz, 19, climbed to the top of

8:29 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Yibing Wu became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title, rallying in a three-set, all-tiebreaker thriller to beat John Isner in the Dallas Open on Sunday. Wu overcame 44 aces from the big-serving Isner — one shy of tying a three-set record — and four

2:00 PM ET Associated Press Anastasia Potapova cruised to a second WTA career title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against sixth seed Petra Martic in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz final. No. 8 seed Potapova defeated Martic, who she beat last year in the second round of her first title run in Instanbul, in one

1:44 PM ET Associated Press Italy’s Jannik Sinner won his seventh singles title and first of the season by beating American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the Open Sud de France final on Sunday. The second-seeded Italian did not lose a set on his way to winning the tournament. Sinner saved three break points