Gauff, Navarro into quarterfinals
Coco Gauff celebrated her 20th birthday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens to reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open for the second consecutive year, while Emma Navarro beat second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the fourth round for the biggest win of the young American’s career. Navarro improved to 18-5 this year, with her victories leading the WTA Tour; the 22-year-old won the title at Hobart.
Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, trailed 1-4 in the third set and won just one more game before getting broken on Navarro’s second match point.
Mertens, who knocked off Naomi Osaka in the third round, trailed 6-0, 2-0 before she broke Gauff and then fought through a five-deuce game on her serve for a 2-2 tie. But Gauff reeled off the final four games to improve to 4-0 in her career against the Belgian. Gauff won 84% of her first serves and six of eight break points.
On the men’s side, Casper Ruud rallied to beat Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, Daniil Medvedev was a 6-4, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov, and Luca Nardi wasn’t able to follow up his huge win over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, losing to Tommy Paul, 6-4, 6-3.
In Tuesday’s late tennis, Jannik Sinner beat Ben Shelton 7-6 (4), 6-1 for his 18th consecutive victory. The third-ranked Italian has won 15 matches in a row to start the year, claiming titles at Melbourne and Rotterdam. On the women’s side, top-seeded Iga Swiatek had a 6-1, 6-2 win over Yulia Putintseva, and Caroline Wozniacki beat Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 in a contest between two former topranked players.
World Cup captain Tyler Adams will rejoin the U.S. team for the first time since Qatar on Sunday ahead of its CONCACAF Nations League semifinal with Jamaica in Texas.
— Kevin Baxter
Guard Tyler Kolek will miss No. 10 Marquette’s first game in the Big East tournament as he recovers from an oblique injury but will be available for the NCAA tournament . ... Louisville fired coach Kenny Payne after he went 12-52 in two seasons . ... In Tuesday’s late games, Aidan Mahaney scored 23 points, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s beat No. 17 Gonzaga 69-60 to interrupt the Bulldogs’ hold on the West Coast Conference tournament title . ... Reyne Smith had eight of his 23 points in overtime, and Charleston beat Stony Brook 82-79 to win the Coastal Athletic Assn. tournament for a second straight year . ... Trey Townsend had a career-high 38 points as Oakland earned its first NCAA tournament bid in 10 years with an 83-76 win over Milwaukee in the Horizon League championship game . ... South Dakota State beat Denver 76-68 to win the Summit League tournament.
Eastern Washington’s record-breaking season continued with the school’s second NCAA women’s tournament berth after a 73-64 win over Northern Arizona in the Big Sky tournament championship . ... In Tuesday’s late action, Madison Booker scored 26 points as No. 6 Texas routed Iowa State 7053 to win its final Big 12 women’s tournament.
UFC Hall of Famer and former champion Mark Coleman was “battling for his life” after saving his parents from a house fire in Ohio, his daughter posted on social media . ... Former UFC stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal agreed to a rematch as a boxing match June 1 at the Forum.