Tennis essentials for 24 October: Monfils defended, Fritz and Medvedev reach finals

The tennis world took sides around Gaël Monfils on Saturday. On court, Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev and Elena Rybakina booked final spots, and the Basel ATP 500 is shaping up as a heavyweight week.

Monfils: Navratilova answers the critics

After Gaël Monfils defended Elina Svitolina against “venomous” criticism, Martina Navratilova weighed in: “Nobody is suffering more than Elina and Gaël right now, and some people dare to criticise them? People can be really mean.” Mark Knowles, a former doubles world No 1, reckons the Frenchman, who retired a few days ago, belongs “among the five best of all time, across all sports” in his field. Stefanos Tsitsipas calls him as respected as someone who has won several Grand Slam titles. My piece on Monfils’ message.

Fritz gets past Paul and into the Lyon final

Taylor Fritz beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5 in the Lyon Open semi-finals on Saturday, in a spectacular all-American contest. A day earlier he had seen off Daniel Altmaier 7-6, 6-2 in an hour and a half. For Stan Wawrinka, beaten by Flavio Cobolli on Thursday, only Basel is left for his farewell.

Medvedev into the final, Bublik on empty

Daniil Medvedev reached the 45th final of his career in Almaty when Alexander Bublik, playing at home, retired. The first set, 6-3 to the Russian in 21 minutes, was enough: Bublik later revealed he had been to hospital before the match. “They told me I shouldn’t go on court, but I decided to play.” Medvedev’s thoughts were with him: “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Rybakina plays her first final as world No 1

Elena Rybakina reached the Ningbo WTA 500 final with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Diana Shnaider. The world No 1 will play for the title on Sunday against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the first final of her reign.

Basel is shaping up

The Basel ATP 500 draw is worth a look: Novak Djokovic, 11th in the Race, meets Ugo Humbert in the first round, and Stan Wawrinka will play the last tournament of his career there. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has already struck: the Lyon native beat Sebastián Báez 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of qualifying, his first ATP win since June.

Fils picks up points in Brussels

Arthur Fils needed just one match to reach the Brussels semi-finals: a 6-4, 7-6 win over Alex Michelsen on Friday. The French No 1, seventh in the Race, is chasing a first appearance at the Turin Masters (15-22 November): “It would be a lie to say it doesn’t play on my mind.” He was playing for a final spot on Saturday evening against Zizou Bergs or Jan-Lennard Struff.