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Ben Shelton said he ‌had laid down a claycourt marker for US men with his Munich Open win on Sunday after the world number six became the first American to claim an event above the ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi's 2002 Rome Masters triumph.

Shelton's 6-2 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli also made him the fifth American this century to bag a claycourt title outside ‌the United States, ‌joining Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam ‌Querrey ⁠and Sebastian Korda.

The ⁠23-year-old said the "huge" triumph underlined his ambitions before the French Open, which begins on May 24.

"Moving forward I have big ambitions for the claycourts, a surface I want to get better on each year. It's become one of ⁠my favorite surfaces to play on," ‌Shelton said.

While the American ‌women have had plenty of success on the sport's ‌slowest surface, with Coco Gauff winning the ‌French Open crown last year, the attention will now turn to whether the US men can leave their own mark in Paris.

With Tommy Paul and Frances ‌Tiafoe making the Roland Garros quarter-finals last year, Shelton said things were ⁠looking ⁠up as American men aim to end a Grand Slam drought going back to 2003 when Roddick won the hardcourt US Open.

"Success on clay is coming back," he added.

"I'm looking forward to being part of this progression of US men's tennis on clay.

"On the women's side, they have a lockdown as they won the French Open last year. We as men have some more to do but we're heading in the right direction."

Top seed Elena Rybakina had her eyes on the prize, literally, as she overpowered Karolina Muchova 7-5 6-1 to win the Stuttgart Open on Sunday and drive away with a Porsche car for the second time in her career.

While the Kazakh claimed her second title of the season, it was the tournament's traditional Porsche award that truly captured Rybakina's attention more than the silverware itself.

The first Porsche she won in 2024 had given her a push to get ‌a driver’s license ‌last year and she was all smiles when ‌she ⁠drove her newly ⁠won second sports car down the ramp before parking it on the red clay of the arena.

Victory elevated Rybakina into exclusive company, making her just the fourth active player to win at least five WTA-level titles on multiple surfaces, joining an elite group that includes Venus Williams, Elina Svitolina and Iga Swiatek.

"It's an amazing tournament, we love coming back here... It really ⁠feels like home and you just want to come ‌back every year," Rybakina said.

"Super happy for ‌the second win here in Stuttgart and this beautiful car."

Rybakina ‌surged to a swift 3-0 lead in the opening set with a ‌flurry of aggressive shot-making against a largely defensive Muchova.

She was nearly untouchable behind her first serve, consistently pushing Muchova onto the back foot, while the Australian Open champion also mixed in confident net play, forcing her Czech opponent to cover ‌every inch of the court.

However, Muchova showed resilience, clawing her way back from 5-2 down to level ⁠at 5-5. But ⁠as she served to force a tiebreak, untimely errors crept in and Rybakina pounced to clinch the opening set when Muchova's return sailed long.

That proved to be the spark Rybakina needed as she shifted gears decisively in the second set, reeling off five consecutive games - echoing her dominant win over Mirra Andreeva in the semi-final - before Muchova got on the board.

Serving for the title, Rybakina closed it out in style, serving to love and wrapping up a Tour-leading 25th victory of the season in 78 minutes.

"Elena, honestly, too good. You played really well," Muchova said.

"I tried to stop you, but you clearly wanted a Porsche for the second time really bad. So, (you) made it very tough for me. Congrats!"

Tottenham condemned Sunday what the club described as “vile, dehumanizing racism” aimed at defender Kevin Danso following the 2-2 draw with Brighton in the Premier League.

The Austria center back was at fault for Georginio Rutter’s stoppage-time equalizer for Brighton that left Tottenham in the relegation zone on Saturday.

Tottenham said it has reported racist abuse on social media toward Danso to the police.

“Since yesterday’s fixture against Brighton, which took place during the Premier League’s No Room For Racism weekend, Kevin Danso has been, and continues to be, subject to significant and abhorrent racist abuse on social media,” Tottenham said in a statement.

“We have heard and seen vile, dehumanizing racism. Behavior that is without doubt a criminal offence. It will not be tolerated."

Tottenham said it will “push for the strongest possible action against each and every person we identify.”

“Kevin has our complete and unconditional support as a player and as a person," the club said. “No one at this club will ever stand alone in the face of this.”

The Premier League issued a statement on X in support of Danso, warning that “any individuals identified and found guilty of discrimination will face the strongest possible consequences, including club bans and legal prosecution."

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