• COMMENT
• Simon Briggs

Unlike Roger Federer, Murray does not play tennis for the sheer joy of the experience. He plays to compete, and finds inspiration in some dark places.

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Italian Open with a hip injury, raising questions about his participation at the French Open in a fortnight's time.

• Danielle Rendina

The ATP's flagship Next Gen ATP Finals for top-ranked tennis players aged 21 or under will feature pioneering new rules including short sets, shot clocks and no lets this November.

Defending champion Andy Murray has been eliminated by local favourite Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4 before a raucous crowd in his opening match at the Italian Open.

• ​Christopher Clarey

Maria Sharapova will not play at this year's French Open, after organisers opted to not grant the Russian player a wild-card entry into the tournament.

• Simon Briggs in Rome

Roger Federer has dropped a bombshell and announced he will not contest the French Open at Roland Garros this year.

The clock is ticking on Bernard Tomic's French Open preparations after the Australian squandered a strong start to lose in the first round of the Italian Open.

Sam Stosur has been sent packing in the opening round of the Rome WTA tournament at the hands of big-hitting Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Nick Kyrgios might finally have a coach again, on a part-time basis at least, in the form of former world No.4 Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.

• Richard Martin

Rafael Nadal consolidated his flying start to the clay-court season by taking a record-extending fifth Madrid Open title on Sunday.

Organisers of the Madrid Open have been slammed by the WTA for inviting Ilie Nastase to the award ceremony for the women's final.

• Richard Martin

​Nadal ended a seven-match losing streak against Djokovic, thrashing the world No.2 to reach the final of the Madrid Open and move within a step of a third consecutive claycourt title.

Nine-time French Open champion has handed Australia's Nick Kyrgios a clay court lesson at the Madrid Open.

Eugenie Bouchard's Madrid Open campaign ended with a whimper as she was thrashed 6-4 6-0 by eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to exit at the quarter- final stage on Thursday.

• Glenn Cullen and Paul Johnson

The toughest assignment in men's tennis - Rafael Nadal on clay - looms next for Nick Kyrgios after a breezy win by the Australian at the Madrid Open on Thursday.

For the second year in a row Romanian star Simona Halep has knocked Australia's Samantha Stosur out of the Madrid Open.

Australia's Samantha Stosur has charged into the third round of the Madrid Open with a comfortable 6-3 7-5 win over Colombian world No.98 Mariana Duque-Marino.

Motivated more than usual, Eugenie Bouchard used her game to send a message to Maria Sharapova by defeating the Russian 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in a thrilling second-round match at the Madrid Open.

• Tales Azzoni

Motivated more than usual, Eugenie Bouchard used her game to send a message to Maria Sharapova by defeating the Russian 7-5 2-6 6-4 in a thrilling second-round match at the Madrid Open.

Rafael Nadal has asked to begin his participation in the Madrid Open a day later than planned due to an ear infection, meaning he will face Italian Fabio Fognini on Wednesday.

Marin Cilic warmed up for this month's French Open by capturing his first claycourt title in five years.

​Maria Sharapova set up an intriguing second-round clash with outspoken critic Eugenie Bouchard in the Madrid Open by seeing off Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 4-6 6-4 6-0 on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic has announced he has split from his long-term coaching team, saying he needs to "find the winning spark on the court again".

Former champion Maria Sharapova's hopes of playing at this year's Wimbledon championships could hinge on a June 20 meeting of tournament organisers unless the Russian hits form in forthcoming events in Madrid and Rome.

Much-maligned Bernard Tomic has achieved something he hasn't managed to do since 2012 - win back-to-back ATP tour matches on clay.

Bernard Tomic fought back from a set down to win his opening match at the Istanbul Open.

Maria Sharapova's first tournament since her controversial return to tennis ended is over after she lost to Kristina Mladenovic of France in the Stuttgart Grand Prix semi-finals.

• Simon Briggs

Ilie Nastase has delivered a partial apology for his disgraceful behaviour during last weekend's Fed Cup tie in Constanta, but continued to claim that he had been pushed over the edge by the conduct of his British opponents.

Stuttgart: Maria Sharapova's comeback from a 15-month doping ban continued at the Porsche Grand Prix with a straight sets victory while Laura Siegemund delighted home fans to progress.