Tennis

Rafael Nadal eases past the challenge of Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov with a 6-4, 6-1 victory to reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday. The 31-year-old will face Italian Fabio Fognini in the last eight as he looks to retake the world number one ranking from Roger Federer by winning an eighth Rome title this week.

Alexander Zverev showed his clay-court class by blowing away Dominic Thiem to win the Madrid Masters on Sunday. Zverev has long been marked out as a future star of the men’s game and his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Thiem suggests the German can be a major threat at the French Open later this month.

Former world number one Serena Williams will open her summer hardcourt season at the WTA tournament in San Jose, California, July 30-August 5. “I am looking forward to opening my summer season at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic and competing in the new venue,” Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, said in a statement posted on the tournament website.

Rafael Nadal’s surprise quarter-final exit at the Madrid Masters has seen the Spaniard replaced as world number one by Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings published on Monday. Federer returns to the top spot despite not having played since March. Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic slipped six places to 18th after his second-round defeat in Madrid, his lowest ranking since October 2006.

Rafael Nadal broke John McEnroe's record of 49 straight sets won on the same surface by beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday. Nadal extended his winning streak to 50 consecutive sets on clay, eclipsing the mark McEnroe established on carpet in 1984.

Former world number one Tiger Woods has confirmed his entry for the 147th British Open at Carnoustie, the tournament organisers announced on Wednesday. The 42-year-old has lifted the Claret Jug three times in his career but has not contested the sport’s oldest major championship since 2015 due to injury.