Tennis

PARIS - Serbia's top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic is through to the Roland Garros second round after defeating American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) on Monday.

World number three Djokovic won after two hours and 29 minutes of play.

Kovacevic is placed 114th in the ATP rankings.

PARIS - Serbia's top-ranked male tennis player Novak Djokovic was on Thursday drawn to play American Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of Roland Garros and could face current world number one Carlos Alcaraz as early as in the semi-finals.

He will potentially face Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and Daniil Medvedev in the final.

The main news was that Rafael Nadal, who won 14 trophies in Paris, decided to withdraw from the tournament after not recovering from an injury.
Now it is uncertain whether Nadal will continue his career at all.

Elena Rybakina won the Italian Open on May 20 and promptly turned her attention to Roland Garros and the pursuit of a second career Grand Slam title.

Kazakhstan's Rybakina captured her second WTA 1000 title of the season at Foro Italico when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired with a thigh injury which she had been carrying all week.

ROME - Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Rome Masters tournament after losing to Dane Holger Rune 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

World number seven Rune, who won after two hours and 20 minutes of play, is now 2-1 head-to-head against Djokovic.

ROME - Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters tournament after defeating Briton Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Defending champion Djokovic, who won after an hour and 28 minutes of play, is now 3-0 head-to-head against Norrie.

He will next face the winner of the tie between Dane Holger Rune and Australian Alexei Popyrin.

As "Corriere della Sera" reports, Djokovic does not think it is possible to have such ties with rivals.
"We were never friends, that is not possible among rivals, but we were never enemies either. I have always respected Federer, he is one of the greatest of all time, he had an incredible influence, but we were never close," said Djokovic.

ROME - Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is through to the fourth round of the Rome Masters tournament after defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 on Sunday.

Reigning champion Djokovic, who won after two hours and 20 minutes of play, is now 11-1 head-to-head against Dimitrov.

Before the start of the ATP tournament in Rome, where he is defending his title, Djokovic had only five points more than Alcaraz.
It was enough for the Spanish tennis player to appear in Rome and thus overtake Djokovic, and Alcaraz did that with his triumph in the first round.

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden on Tuesday withdrew a regulation mandating COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travellers, which officially confirms that Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic will be able to play at the US Open this year.

Biden's decision will take effect on May 12, after the end of a coronavirus emergency in the US.