Serena Williams Struggles, Losing Her First Match in Nearly Three Months

By BY CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports Her 1,000th career singles match, against Nadia Podoroska at the Italian Open, was a frustrating reminder of what is left to accomplish, and how hard it will be.https://nyti.ms/3bmUl2z

Djokovic, After U.S. Open, Says He Is Working on the Mental Side of Tennis

By BY BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports In his first news conference since being disqualified from the Open, Djokovic said he hoped to be a “wiser” player.https://nyti.ms/2REpGnj

In Italian Tennis, It’s the Men’s Turn to Shine

By BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports The golden generation of Italian women has retired. Now, 23 Italian men are in the top 250 of the ATP rankings, the most of any country.https://nyti.ms/2MqJpHk

How the Math Behind Roger Federer’s Clay Season Helps His World Ranking

By STUART MILLER from NYT Sports Just by playing in clay-court tournaments, Federer has earned ATP ranking points that fended off his young challengers for the No. 3 spot.https://nyti.ms/30Gi1YK

For Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Rome Offered Something Novel: A Bagel

By BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports In the 54th match between fierce rivals, the Italian Open final offered the first scoreless set by either player. Nadal hung on to win his first title of 2019.https://nyti.ms/2HpWcFk

Rafael Nadal Avenges Loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas to Reach Rome Final

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Nadal had lost to Tsitsipas in Madrid only last week. Johanna Konta and Karolina Pliskova advanced to Sunday’s women’s final.https://nyti.ms/2JtB42Y

Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka Withdraw From Italian Open With Injuries

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Federer reported a right leg injury before his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Osaka said her right hand was injured before she was to play Kiki Bertens.https://nyti.ms/2LP7GpX

Roger Federer Gets the Pope Treatment on a Chaotic Day at the Italian Open

By BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports While Federer was awed by the way fans responded to him at the Italian Open, other players were struggling to cope with poor conditions on and off the court.https://nyti.ms/2Joc7pO

Nick Kyrgios Is Disqualified After Tantrum at the Italian Open

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Kyrgios walked off the court in a fit of rage after throwing a chair onto the red clay and was defaulted from his second-round match against Casper Ruud.https://nyti.ms/30odBFD

Serena Williams Pulls Out of the Italian Open With a Knee Injury

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports It’s the third straight tournament that Williams, 37, withdrawn from because of physical problems. The French Open starts in less than two weeks.https://nyti.ms/2vZxi94

Rafael Nadal Beats Novak Djokovic in Rome Semifinals

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports In their first meeting in more than a year, Nadal’s court coverage was too much to handle for Djokovic, who is still regaining his form from a persistent right elbow injury.https://nyti.ms/2KBPXge

Roberta Vinci Ends a Career Defined by One Match

By BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports Roberta Vinci played her last professional match on Monday in front of a home crowd at the Italian Open. She will be most remembered for her upset of Serena Williams at the 2015 U.S. Open.https://nyti.ms/2IIKSpm