Wawrinka warmed up for the French Open by retaining his Geneva Open title, beating the qualifier Mischa Zverev, 4-6,6-3,6-3.
Stan Wawrinka warmed up for the French Open by retaining his Geneva Open title, beating the qualifier Mischa Zverev, 4-6,6-3,6-3.
Wawrinka, who was the No. 1 seed, clinched by breaking serve with a fierce forehand crosscourt pass to beat the left-hander Zverev’s advance to the net.
The victory was Wawrinka’s first title in 2017 and the 16th of his career, including the 2015 French Open. He is the third seed at Roland Garros, where play is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
Wawrinka’s victory avenged a loss to Zverev in their last encounter, at Basel in October.
“I would have hated you if you had beaten me in two tournaments, ” Wawrinka joked to Zverev during the post-match ceremonies.
Zverev has the No. 32 seeding at the French Open, and he could face the defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round.
AROUND TENNIS Jo-Wilfried Tsonga polished his preparation for the French Open in style by claiming his first title on clay, beating third-seeded Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (2) 7-5, in the Lyon Open final. Tsonga, the second seed, who was playing his first final on the red dirt, held serve throughout and broke decisively in the last game to clinch his 15th ATP title. Kiki Bertens defended her Nuremberg Cup title with a 6-2,6-1 win over the qualifier Barbora Krejcikova. The top-seeded Bertens had little difficulty on the clay against the 254th-ranked Krejcikova, hitting seven aces to win in under an hour. Sam Stosur rallied past her Australian compatriot Daria Gavrilova, 5-7,6-4,6-3, to win the Strasbourg International. Stosur remains the top-ranked Australian player.
Andrew Dodt will take a one-stroke lead into the final day of the BMW P. G. A. Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event, after shooting a four-under-par 68 in the third round in Virginia Water, England.
Branden Grace is a shot behind Dodt, a two-time winner on the European Tour, after a 70. Lee Westwood (72) and the overnight co-leader Francesco Molinari (74) are three strokes behind Dodt, 31, who is trying to become the first Australian to win the event since Mike Harwood in 1990.
The Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen took the pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton, who is in second place in the overall championship standings, failed to make the top 10, in a significant blow for Mercedes.
Ferrari has been quick all weekend, and Sebastian Vettel, who leads the championship standings by six points, will start on the front row alongside Raikkonen, his teammate.
Vettel pushed the Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas back to third. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start fourth.
Raikkonen’s last pole was at the French Grand Prix in 2008. He finished in 1 minute 12.178 seconds — just ahead of Vettel’s 1: 12.221. Hamilton qualified 14th.
“It doesn’ t guarantee anything for tomorrow. Nevertheless, I’ ll happily take it, ” Raikkonen said.
Nairo Quintana held on to the pink jersey in the penultimate stage of the Giro d’ Italia, but he most likely did not pick up enough seconds on his most dangerous rival, Tom Dumoulin, to claim overall victory.
Thibaut Pinot won the 20th stage from Pordenone to Asiago in a sprint finish ahead of Ilnur Zakarin and the defending champion Vincenzo Nibali.
Entering Sunday’s concluding time trial, Quintana leads Nibali by 39 seconds with Pinot in third, 43 seconds back.
Dumoulin dropped from second to fourth, 53 seconds back, but he remained the favorite because of his skills in time trials. He dominated the race’s first time trial in Stage 10.
“The time gaps are minimal and tomorrow is a flat time trial that is tailor-made for Dumoulin, ” Pinot said.
The Chicago White Sox signed the Cuban free-agent outfielder Luis Robert to a minor-league contract, including a $26 million signing bonus, the team announced.
Robert, 19, has played the last four seasons for Ciego de Ávila in the Cuban National Series, Cuba’s top-level league. The 6-foot-2,210-pound Robert made his debut with the team in 2013.
Including the postseason, Robert hit .315 with 20 home runs, 92 R. B. I., 156 runs scored, 29 stolen bases and a .402 on-base in 210 career games with Ciego de Ávila.
The rookie Sami Whitcomb made six of Seattle’s franchise-record 14 3-pointers and the Storm closed on a 9-0 run to beat the visiting Liberty, 87-81, on Friday night.
Whitcomb made four straight 3-pointers in the second half and was 6 of 8 from long range after halftime to set a W. N. B. A. record for 3s in a half. She finished with 22 points in just 15 minutes.
Tina Charles scored 22 of her 28 points in the second half for the Liberty. She scored 18 points in the third quarter.
