Tsitsipas breaks through for his 11th career tour victory

Stefanos Tsitsipas swept aside Casper Ruud, 6-1, 6-4, on Sunday to win the claycourt Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco for the third time in four years, and then wept in his chair.

Tsitsipas sat holding his head in his hands, briefly crying as he took in his first title of the year and biggest tournament victory for two years.

“I’m very proud of myself today. I had been waiting for a moment like this for a long time,” said the 12th-ranked Tsitsipas, who reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2021. “I did not know what was going to happen this week.”

The big-serving Greek also won the title in 2021 and 2022 and this latest trophy at the Monte Carlo Country Club took him to 11 career titles overall.

It was his first trophy since August last year, when he won a modest ATP 250level tournament on outdoor hard courts at Los Cabos in Mexico.

This was much more prestigious and he shared a warm hug at the net with Ruud, who is chasing his first title of the year and remains stuck on 10 overall.

The match featured former French Open runnerups and offered an early indication of form heading into the clay-court major at next month’s Roland Garros.

Tsitsipas was an outsider coming into this tournament, where he was seeded 12th.

More tennis

Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open with the same injury in his right forearm that kept him out of the Monte Carlo Masters, leaving his French Open preparation on hold. Alcaraz is a two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player who is currently No. 3.

Auto racing

Chase Elliott had to get through a few extra laps after 18 months since last winning a race.

Elliott pulled ahead and cleared Ross Chastain on the first lap after the second restart in overtime at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, ending a 42race winless streak for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

The race ended on the 16th caution after Elliott had taken the white flag for the 276th lap in a race scheduled for 267 laps.

Chastain got bumped from behind by defending race winner William Byron, who finished third and was just behind Brad Keselowski when the final yellow flag came out.

It was the fifth win this season for Hendrick Motorsports, the 306th for NASCAR’s winningest team, but the first for Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet since Talladega in October 2022.

Hockey

Danielle Serdachny converted a rebound in front 5:16 into overtime for a power-play goal and Canada beat the United States, 6-5, in a breathtaking women’s world hockey championship gold medal game in Utica, N.Y.

Canada won its tournament-leading 13th gold medal and did so on U.S. soil in central New York, a year after the Americans won their 10th tournament outside of Toronto.

Canadian captain Marie -Philip Poulin scored twice, Julia Gosling also scored, while Erin Ambrose and Emily Clark had shots bank into the net off U.S. defenseman Caroline Harvey. AnnRenee Desbiens finished with 19 saves.

College football

Arizona State has hired former Steelers star Hines Ward as wide receivers coach.

“I am truly honored to join Arizona State University football as wide receivers coach,” Ward said in a statement. “It’s an incredible opportunity to share my passion for the game with a group of talented young men and help them reach their full potential. The culture and energy here in the Valley is special and I can’t wait to be part of it.”

Ward replaces Ra’Shaad Samples, who left to become associate head coach and wide receivers coach at Oregon.

Ward played for the Steelers from 1998-2011, winning two Super Bowls. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl in 2005 after the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks. Ward had 12,083 receiving yards and 85 touchdowns during his career, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl. After his playing career, he had stints as Florida Atlantic’s receivers coach, was an offensive assistant for the New York Jets and the head coach of the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas last year.

Swimming

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart says he can’t comment on a lawsuit filed by two former swim team members against him, the school and former coach Lars Jorgensen, alleging sexual assaults including rape by Jorgensen and claiming the school “purposefully” disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships.

“I always say we always want to have safety for our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff,“the longtime AD said. “But other than that, I can’t say.”

Soccer

Joelle Anderson forced an own goal for the go-ahead score in the 87th minute to lead Bay FC to a 3-2 victory against the Seattle Reign for the expansion club’s first home win in the National Women’s Soccer League. ... Temwa Chawinga and Esther González each scored their second goals of the season as Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current played to a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.