Tennis news today: Carlos Alcaraz honored with award in his hometown, Garbine Muguruza suffers yet another early exit | 19 May 2022

Teen phenom Carlos Alcaraz's rise to the top this year has been simply incredible. To commemorate his efforts, Alcaraz was feted with the "Best Athlete" award in his hometown of Murcia.

Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Garbine Muguruza's struggles continued as she suffered yet another early exit, this time at the WTA 250 event in Rabat. However, fellow Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber survived a tough test from Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the quarterfinals in Strasbourg.

Off the court, Richard Gasquet released his memoir with a foreword written by Rafael Nadal.

The WTA 500 event in Berlin features a stacked draw, with the entire top 10 except Barbora Krejcikova set to participate.

Here's a round-up of the day's headlines:

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Carlos Alcaraz honored with Best Athlete award

With two Masters 1000 titles and wins over Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz has been on a roll this year. The youngster has now deservingly been felicitated for his achievements.

Alcaraz attended the Sports Gala in his native Murcia where he was honored with the Best Athlete award. The teenager shared this with motorcyclist Pedro Acosta and athlete Mohamed Katir.

He wrote on Instagram (translated from Spanish):

"Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Sports Gala of the Region of Murcia. I want to thank the Sports Press Association and the Region of Murcia for the award for the best athlete in the Region of Murcia together with @37pedroacosta and @mo.katir. LONG LIVE MURCIA ❤️🔝"

Alcaraz is now gearing up for the French Open, where he's one of the favorites to win the title.

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Garbine Muguruza suffers second-round loss in Rabat

After an underwhelming start to her clay season, Garbine Muguruza took a wildcard to compete in the WTA 250 event in Rabat. She defeated Anna Danilina in straight sets in the first round. Up against Martina Trevisan in the second round, she led 6-2, 3-1, but won just two more games across the rest of the match, eventually losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

This isn't the first time Muguruza has blown a big lead this year, as she previously lost to Alison Riske and Yulia Putintseva after being ahead in both contests. The Spaniard will now head to the French Open without consecutive match wins in the clay season.

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Angelique Kerber reaches quarterfinals in Strasbourg

Former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber dug deep to eke out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the last eight in Strasbourg. It marks the first time since the Indian Wells Open in March that the German has won consecutive matches. She'll take on Magda Linette in the quarterfinals.

Kerber earlier snapped a six-match losing streak with a first-round win over Diane Parry. She seems to be finding her form just in time for the French Open.

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Richard Gasquet releases memoir

Richard Gasquet has had an incredible career and there are plenty of highlights in his almost two-decade long journey in tennis. The Frenchman has published his memoir "À Revers et Contre Tout" (Against All Odds), with a foreword by 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

Gasquet has notably gone up against Nadal 17 times over the course of his career, with the Spaniard winning every one of those matches.

Gasquet still isn't done at the top level, though, as he recently defeated World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev at the Geneva Open. He's up against Kamil Majchrzak in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

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Iga Swiatek leads packed field at WTA 500 event in Berlin

The Bett1 Open, to be held from June 11-19 in Berlin, features a star-studded draw. Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa and the entire top 10 apart from Barbora Krejcikova are set to compete. 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu will also be present, while Naomi Osaka has been awarded a wildcard.

Liudmila Samsonova is the defending champion at this tournament.