Time to catch up on another trophy-laden week on tour in the build-up to the US Open.
©Cédric Lecocq / FFTAhead of a trip to the Big Apple there is still time for plenty of big moments.
The US Open is fast approaching and players are fine-tuning their games across the globe.
Here are the key headlines from another absorbing week on the WTA and ATP calendar.
Just in time for her home Grand Slam, Coco Gauff's game is starting to click.
The teenager captured her first WTA 500 title with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over fellow Top 10 star Maria Sakkari at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Prior to her resurgent week in Washington, USA, the world No.7 admitted she was seeking a spark to bounce back from a disjointed 2023 campaign. The 19-year-old enlisted coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert with instant impact.
“I definitely do feel like I'm in a rebuilding period,” said Gauff.
“I'm trying to hit the next gear of my game. I feel like I have the foundation in my game. Now it's building around that, it's building the house, I guess. I have the land and I need to build the house on top of it, make it as extravagant and big and pretty as possible.
“That's a good way to put it. I never thought about it like that.”
It's a typically fun analogy from the ambitious Gauff, who ousted three seeds for the title including Belinda Bencic, Liudmila Samsonova and Sakkari, to become the youngest WTA champion in the history of the tournament.
The "rebuild" with Riba and Gilbert, the previous coach of Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi, has launched with the perfect start.
On the men's side in Washington, Brit Dan Evans declared it "means the world" to lift the biggest title of his career.
The 33-year-old won his first ATP 500 crown with a 7-5, 6-3 scoreboard over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
Evans, entering the event on a six-match losing streak, blazed a series of hot shots to take down home hope Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov along the way.
"I wasn't playing very well and I wasn't happy with my game. To do the work I've done and to stick with it and come through is amazing," said Evans, soaring to a career-high world No.21. "I couldn’t have imagined this at the start of the week."
World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas reminded his rivals of his silverware credentials.
The Greek held off Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to be hailed champion in Los Cabos on Sunday to claim his 10th title.
Tsitsipas escaped a three-set rollercoaster with Nicolas Jarry in the quarter-finals, but dismissed John Isner, Borna Coric and de Minaur with relative ease en route to a maiden outdoor hard-court trophy.
“I will take the positives out of this week,” said the 24-year-old. “I think it’s a good start to the hard-court swing.
"We’ve experienced a lot of good tennis this week from a lot of good players. The competition was high, and I’m happy to walk away with the trophy.”
Sebastian Baez put in a nerveless display to prevent Dominic Thiem from claiming a dream title on home courts in the Austrian alps.
The Argentine was simply flawless on the terre battue in Kitzbühel, posting 6-3, 6-1 to add a second clay court title in 2023.
“I just want to enjoy this moment. It was an amazing week. We know the past few weeks were not the best results, so we will try to enjoy this moment," said Baez, before paying tribute to his opponent.
"You’re a great player. Many years ago I saw you on TV and you motivated me to be here. I hope you play better than this week, because you deserve it."
Two-time Roland-Garros finalist Thiem had pulled through three successive three-set battles and ran out of steam in the final.
However, the 29-year-old's comeback builds momentum as the US Open 2020 champion returns to the Top 100, climbing 32 positions to No.84 in Monday's rankings.
This week the ATP headliners head to Toronto for the sixth Masters 1000 of the season, whilst the WTA contingent competes over in Montreal for W1000 honours.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev lead the charge at the Rogers Cup, both with first round byes in the draw.
Back to Montreal and Roland-Garros champion Iga Swiatek is the top seed alongside world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka as the key contenders.
An intriguing storyline is the return of former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane retired at Australian Open 2020, but has decided to give it her all again.
"Realistically when you haven't been on tour and haven't played a match in so long, no matter how much you practice, how many practice sets you've done, you can never replicate being on a match court," admitted the 33-year-old, the mother of two children during her initial retirement.
"I've got nothing to lose. I have already done so much in my career and basically ticked off most of the goals that I had set. But I'm here because I love to compete. I love the sport, and I feel like I still have a lot to give to the sport. And doing it with the family just makes it so much more enjoyable."
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
