Spain’s Rafael Jodar, 19, captured his first ever ATP tour title in smooth fashion, taking down Argentinian qualifier Marco Trungelliti in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in the Grand Prix Hassan II final on Sunday in Marrakech, Morocco.

Just 12 months ago, Jodar was ranked No. 911 in the world rankings but has had a quick ascent the last few months after making his tour debut earlier this year at the Australian Open. He became the first ever teenager to lift the trophy in Marrakech.

Jodar came out hot as he broke Trungelliti’s in the very first service of the game in which there were six deuces. Jodar led in winners (21-5) and faced just one break which he saved. He knocked home 15 of 17 second serve points (88.2 percent) and converted four of nine break points.

Trungelliti, 36, was also playing in his first career final after taking down the first, third and fifth seeds on the way to the finals. On Monday he will become the oldest man to make his top 100 debut in the rankings. This final marked the fifth-largest age gap between participants since 1990.

Tiriac Open

Seventh-seeded Mariano Navone of Argentina held strong to take down Spaniard qualifier Daniel Merida 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2-hour, 17-minute final in Bucharest, Romania.

Navone took control in the first set by converting 19 of 21 first serves and breaking Merida twice. After faltering in the second set and losing his second service of the all-decisive third set, Navone broke Merida’s serve on three of the final four games of the match.

This is Navone’s first ever title after he lost in this same final in straight sets in 2024. According to the ATP live rankings, this should bump Navone up 18 spots to No. 42 in the world which would surpass his highest ranking of No. 47 in 2024.

U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship

American fourth-seed Tommy Paul is facing off with Roman Andres Burruchaga of Argentina in the final in Houston, Texas.

–Field Level Media

Alabama has agreed to a contract extension with men’s basketball coach Nate Oats that will make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the sport, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne announced Sunday via X.

“Appropriate members of The Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms of the new agreement and it will soon be formally approved through the Board process,” Byrne wrote in a statement.

“We are good! He’s not going anywhere,” Byrne wrote on his personal X account.

This is the third contract extension in four years for Oats, whose previous extension in early 2024 ran through March 2030 and was scheduled to pay him $6.02 million for the 2026-27 season.

Complete details on the new contract have yet to be announced but, according to USA Today, the five highest-paid coaches at public schools in 2024-25 each made at least $6.1 million — when Oats tied for ninth nationally with a $5 million base salary.

Oats’ impending raise should put him in the same neighborhood with Kansas’ Bill Self, Arkansas’ John Calipari, UConn’s Dan Hurley, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd. On Friday, Arizona announced a new five-year deal with Lloyd that starts at $7.2 million, presumably to keep the national Naismith Coach of the Year from leaving for the open North Carolina job.

Alabama’s rationale for a new deal could have been driven by the same fear.

“As long as we’re able to compete to win championships here — SEC, national championships. We haven’t done that here yet — I’d love to be the coach to bring us our first national championship,” Oats said March 26 when asked about potential links to the North Carolina head coaching vacancy.

“To me, there’s absolutely no reason to leave here. While it’s flattering that a high school guy that caught a couple of breaks would be mentioned with some of these jobs, because they’ve got a lot of tradition, I’m not a guy that’s looking to get out of here any time soon.”

Oats, 51, has been the head coach at Alabama since 2019 and has compiled a 170-73 record (.700) in his seven seasons. The Crimson Tide have competed in a program record-tying six straight NCAA Tournaments.

This season Alabama lost to Michigan, who will play for the National Championship on Monday, in the Sweet Sixteen.

Oats’ deepest run was when he helped lead Alabama to the Final Four as a No. 4 seed during the 2023-24 season. The Crimson Tide fell short to eventual champion UConn.

Oats has led Alabama to at least two NCAA Tournament wins in all but one of his six appearances with the school.

–Field Level Media

The Houston Astros placed ace right-hander Hunter Brown on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a right shoulder strain.

The move was retroactive to Thursday.

Brown finished third in American League Cy Young Award balloting last season. He is 1-0 with an 0.84 ERA in two starts this season, striking out 17 in just 10 1/3 innings.

Brown, 27, last pitched Tuesday when he defeated the Boston Red Sox. He gave up one run and one hit and struck out eight against two walks in six innings.

There was no immediate word on how long Brown might be sidelined. Houston announced the move before manager Joe Espada met with reporters prior to the club’s Sunday afternoon road game against the Athletics.

Brown made the AL All-Star team for the first time last season when he went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts. He struck out a career-high 206 and posted a stellar 1.03 WHIP.

He is 37-31 with a 3.44 ERA in 102 appearances (94 starts) since reaching the majors in 2022.

The Astros promoted right-hander Christian Roa from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. He had a 6.75 ERA in two relief appearances for Houston earlier this season.

The 27-year-old pitched one scoreless inning of relief in his lone outing for Sugar Land this season.

–Field Level Media