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Novak Djokovic guaranteed his return to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by winning the Roland Garros title on Sunday.

The Serbian will begin his record-extending 388th week in the top spot on Monday, when he will take a 420-point lead over Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic put himself in position to reclaim No. 1 by defeating Alcaraz in the Paris semi-finals. The 26-year-old then sealed his return by defeating Casper Ruud in the championship match.

It will be Djokovic’s third stint at World No. 1 this year and the second time in 2023 he has climbed to No. 1 by winning a major. He has won both the Australian Open and Roland Garros and returned to the top of men's tennis' mountain each time.

In February, Djokovic broke Stefanie Graf’s record for most weeks at World No. 1 by a men’s or women’s tennis player (then 377 weeks). Only one other man, Roger Federer (310 weeks), has spent more than 300 weeks as World No. 1.

Novak Djokovic overcame a lightning-fast start from Casper Ruud to lead Sunday’s championship match at Roland Garros, where the Serbian dug deep in trademark fashion to claim the opening set 7-6 (1).

Djokovic moved to 6-0 in tie-breaks at Roland Garros this year to prevail in a set in which he had earlier trailed 1-4. Despite struggling to consistently produce his best level on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Serbian raised his game spectacularly in the tie-break with clean, powerful hitting to force Ruud into a series of errors.

Djokovic is now just two sets from claiming a record 23rd major title. The 36-year-old, who is a two-time titlist at Roland Garros, will also reclaim the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Carlos Alcaraz should he defeat Ruud.

With NFL legend Tom Brady cheering him on from his player’s box, Djokovic saved two break points in the second game with a pair of hammered forehands but then miscued an overhead long to hand Ruud an early break. Djokovic reclaimed the break in the seventh game after the Norwegian returned the favour in the seventh game by netting a smash of his own.

NFL legend Tom Brady watches the Roland Garros final from Novak Djokovic's player's box on Sunday in Paris. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.

The 2023 grass season kicks off this week on the ATP Tour as ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Stuttgart each host an ATP 250 event from 12-18 June.

Daniil Medvedev headlines the draw at the Libema Open, where he reached the championship match last year, with Jannik Sinner among his rivals in the Netherlands. At the BOSS OPEN, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and the returning Nick Kyrgios are among those seeking to deny Matteo Berrettini emerging from the field to seal his third Stuttgart crown.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH
1) Medvedev Eyes Fast Start On Grass: After sealing a clay-court breakthrough with his maiden title on that surface in Rome, Medvedev seeks to transfer his renowned hard-court prowess to the grass at the Libema Open. In 2022, the 27-year-old reached the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before he was undone by surprise home winner Tim van Rijthoven. Can the World No. 2 go one step further this year?

Andy Murray advanced to the Surbiton Challenger final Saturday after he ousted defending champion Jordan Thompson 7-6(5), 6-3 in the last four.

The Scot found rhythm from the start, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. The Australian fought back to force a tie-break but Murray’s consistency and all-court coverage helped him move past Thompson in straight sets.

Despite serving for the match at 5-2, Murray was broken before closing out the semi-final in the following game to set a clash against Austrian Jurij Rodionov.

Second seed Murray is aiming for his second Challenger title of the year after he triumphed at last month’s ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he defeated Tommy Paul in the final.

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It has been a long seven months, but Nick Kyrgios is ready and raring to go once again on the ATP Tour.

The Australian competes as the eighth seed next week at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, where he is set to play his first singles match since last October in Tokyo. The 28-year-old played in the doubles at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, but has not competed this season after undergoing surgery to repair a small tear in his left lateral meniscus in January.

“I wouldn’t say it was major surgery, but I had quite a serious surgery on my knee” said Kyrgios on Saturday in Stuttgart, where he is a two-time semi-finalist. "It's taken me about five months to get back to even playing, moving and [ready to play] against these players.

“It’s been difficult, but at times it’s been amazing just to be home with my family. Tennis is a sport where you travel so much of the year and being home, for me, was important. But seeing everyone [else] play wasn’t easy at times. I’m just super excited that my knee is a bit better and I’m able to play now.”

Kyrgios enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, when he racked up a 37-10 record, including a Tour-leading 12 wins on grass. The World No. 28, who reached his maiden major final at last year’s Wimbledon, hopes to pick up where he left off on the surface as he prepares for a first-round clash against Wu Yibing in Stuttgart.

Spurred on by their 2022 Roland Garros championship-match heartbreak, Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek charged to their maiden major title as a team in style Saturday at the clay-court major with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

The Croatian-American pairing converted four of eight break points they earned as they accelerated to an 80-minute triumph on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Dodig and Krajicek won nine of the final 10 games as their imaginative returning and rock-solid netplay proved too much for their unseeded opponents.

“We waited 12 months for another opportunity to be here,” said Krajicek at the trophy ceremony. “It really is special. We’ll keep fighting, we’re always looking to get better. [It was] a great tournament and we’ll keep building on that.”

Austin Krajicek (second from right) and Ivan Dodig (right) beat Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen to triumph at Roland Garros on Saturday. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.

A year ago, Dodig and Krajicek let slip three match points in the Roland Garros final before falling to an agonising defeat against Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. The pair showed no sign of that experience affecting them on Saturday in Paris, where they outhit Gille and Vliegen by 27 winners to 17.

Casper Ruud, on Court Philippe-Chatrier, trying to stop his opponent making history.

That will be the tale of the Roland Garros championship match for the second consecutive year as the Norwegian takes on Novak Djokovic on Sunday in Paris. With victory, Djokovic will secure a record 23rd major title and become the first man to win each Grand Slam tournament at least three times.

In 2022, Ruud took on Rafael Nadal in his maiden major final in the French capital, where the Spaniard charged to a then-record-extending 22nd major trophy. Having now reached three finals in the space of five major events, the Norwegian possesses considerably more big-stage experience this time around as he bids to deny Djokovic a groundbreaking triumph of his own in Sunday's championship match (from 2:30pm CEST/8:30am EDT).

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Despite playing with so much at stake, the 36-year-old Djokovic believes treating Sunday's clash as just another match will be key for him to win his sixth title in his past eight major campaigns and simultaneously secure his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

How do you deal with the weight of expectation? Relish it, according to Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian moved within one win of a record 23rd major trophy on Friday by defeating World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to reach the championship match at Roland Garros. Djokovic pulled away from the physically ailing Spaniard after a pulsating opening two sets to clinch a four-set triumph and move to the brink of history.

“Pressure is always on my shoulders, so it's not going to be different,” said the 36-year-old, who would move ahead of Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam titles race by defeating Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final. “But it's part of my sport, part of my life, all that I do. I think that having pressure is a privilege. But it's a source of motivation, as well. Great motivation to play well and to reach Sunday.

“Before the tournament I was saying that of course for me Roland Garros is a Grand Slam, and it's the most important tournament on this surface. So I was well-prepared so that I would be in this position, so that I would be ready for this battle to win this other Grand Slam title.

“I hope that I'll play my best tennis level on Sunday. The only thing I can say now is that I'm very focused. History is always something that's hovering over me, but I'm very happy to be in this position to write history of this sport, but I'm just thinking about winning the next match.”

Emulating past successes is never easy, but Casper Ruud made it appear so on Friday at Roland Garros.

The Norwegian charged to his third championship match in the space of five Grand Slam events with a seemingly nerveless 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 semi-final victory against Alexander Zverev at the clay-court major. Ruud, who was a finalist in Paris a year ago and at the 2022 US Open, delivered a performance full of his trademark clean baseline hitting to overwhelm Zverev and wrap a two-hour, nine-minute triumph on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“Honestly I just went out there and tried to play without too many feelings, without thinking too much,” said Ruud in his on-court interview. “If it’s towards the end of the tournament, everyone here playing today has done well anyway. So I tried to play without pressure, without thinking too much, and not to play with too much emotion, if that makes sense.

“Today just went really well. From the beginning to the last point everything was going my way, luckily, and I’m just very happy to win this match.”

Ruud converted six of 10 break points he earned to book his spot in Sunday’s championship match, where he will play for his maiden major title. His opponent there will be two-time champion Novak Djokovic, who earlier defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

Kei Nishikori is set to return to action for the first time in 20 months at next week’s ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The former World No. 4, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, announced on Twitter that he is en route to the Caribbean Open, his first tournament since October 2021.

Excited! On the way to Puerto Rico! @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/cvv0oU0cBp

Nishikori, 33, is a 12-time tour-level titlist. In 2014, the Japanese star was a finalist at the US Open and two years later, Nishikori earned the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games. He owns a 431-211 career match record.

Nishikori will learn his place in the Palmas del Mar Challenger draw Saturday and first-round action will begin Monday 12 June. The hard-court event will be free to stream live and on demand at Challenger TV.

For two sets, Carlos Alcaraz put on a show during his semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, matching the Serbian stride for stride as the ATP stars went to battle at the clay-court major.

However, after winning the second set to level the match, Alcaraz started to suffer cramp in his right calf and was forced to forfeit his service game at 1-1 in the third set to receive immediate treatment at the changeover from the physio. Two-time champion Djokovic went on to win 12 of the last 14 games.

Following the match, the Spaniard was asked whether his cramping experience was the hardest he has ever faced on court.

“Probably,” the 20-year-old replied. “It has been really tough for me today. I have never felt something like I did today. I have never felt that tension that I did in that match.

“I would say the first set and the second set was really, really intense and I started to cramp in my arm. At the beginning of the third set I started to cramp every part of my body, not only the legs. The arms, as well, every part of the legs,” Alcaraz later continued. “It was really tough for me to move at the third set, and in the fourth set let's say I had a little chance, but it was really tough. My full body started to cramp.”

Andy Murray rallied from a set down Friday amidst difficult conditions to book his ticket into the semi-finals at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton.

The Scot survived Australian Jason Kubler 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours, six minutes at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy. Murray sent the World No. 69 on the run behind the baseline and mixed in variety, displaying his fair share of slice and drop shots, to reach the last four.

“Really hard conditions today, a lot of wind gusts, but I did well to finish it off,” Murray said in his post-match interview. “I played some good tennis when I needed to. It was a match where you just need to try and find a way to get through, not so much about the quality of the tennis.”

Kubler, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, received treatment on his back at 0-3 in the decider. Despite breaking Murray’s serve the following game, the three-time major champion held on to set a semi-final clash against the defending champion, Jordan Thompson, who ousted Rinky Hijikata 7-6(1), 6-2.

Murray is aiming for a second Challenger title this year. Last month, the former World No. 1 captured the Challenger 175 crown in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he defeated Tommy Paul in the final. The 36-year-old’s triumph was his first title at any level since 2019.

Carlos Alcaraz took an unusual decision Friday at Roland Garros, where the World No. 1 suffered a severe bout of cramp early in the third set of his blockbuster semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard was struck by the cramp in his right calf as Djokovic converted game point to level for 1-1 in the third set of the pair’s meeting at the clay-court major. With another game left to play before the change of ends, Alcaraz was forced to make a tough call.

Novak Djokovic checks on his opponent Carlos Alcaraz as the Spaniard suffers from cramp during the pair's Roland Garros semi-final on Friday. Photo: Getty Images

Rather than continue and risk causing further damage to his leg, the 20-year-old opted to forfeit his service game in order to receive immediate treatment from the physio on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

What The Grand Slam Rulebook Says About Muscle Cramping:
A player may receive treatment for muscle cramping only during the time allotted for change of ends and/or set breaks. Players may not receive a Medical Time-Out for muscle cramping.

Novak Djokovic has taken an early lead in his Roland Garros semi-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz, claiming the first set 6-3.

The 36-year-old Serbian came out firing in the generational battle on Court Philippe-Chatrier, pulling the 20-year-old Spaniard around with destructive and consistent groundstrokes to lead after 56 minutes.

Meeting for the first time this season, Alcaraz and Djokovic have waged a neck-and-neck battle in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2023, trading the top spot four times. If World No. 1 Alcaraz can fight back and prevail against Djokovic, he will remain atop tennis’ mountain following the clay-court event.

Djokovic is chasing a double prize in Paris this weekend. If he lifts a record 23rd major men’s singles trophy, he will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas has accepted a wild card into the BOSS OPEN, an ATP 250 held in Stuttgart, the tournament announced on social media on Thursday. The grass-court event will be held from 12-18 June.

Coming to Stuttgart ??@steftsitsipas #welcome #stefanostsitsipas #tsitsipas #tennis #atptour #atp #stuttgart #BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/eB9mfXbnV8

The Greek will be making his second appearance at the event, having advanced to the quarter-finals last year.

Tsitsipas is currently fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin following his quarter-final loss against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros. The 24-year-old went 8-3 on grass in 2022 and will be aiming for another good run on the surface this season to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive season.

Despite playing his first tournament on grass this week, Gabriel Diallo is quickly adapting to the surface. The 6’8” Canadian proved so by earning the highest-ranked win of his career Thursday at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton.

The 21-year-old upset top seed and World No. 25 Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-2 after winning 81 per cent of first-serve points to reach the Lexus Surbiton Trophy quarter-finals. Diallo ousted British lefty Liam Broady in the opening round before producing another strong performance against Evans.

“It feels great, especially on a surface like this. I’ve never played on grass before so I did not have any expectations coming in,” Diallo told ATPTour.com. “Super happy. He’s an amazing player and an established player as well. To get this win feels amazing and hopefully I can carry the momentum.”

While the Montreal native is just now finding his footing on the surface, his coach Martin Laurendeau has long been a fan of the grass-court swing.

“Last Wednesday was my first time stepping foot on grass to play tennis. I have zero experience but I’m fortunate enough to have my coach ‘Marty’ with me and he loves the grass,” Diallo said. “Always throughout the season he’s like, ‘You have to see the grass season!’ So he got me well prepared.”

Jack Draper will miss the grass-court season due to a shoulder injury.

The British lefty was forced to retire from his first-round match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at Roland Garros last week and announced on social media on Thursday that he is set for a period out.

“It’s clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be,” Draper wrote on Instagram. “My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass court season this year. I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take. The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering. Thank you for all the support I get on here it means a lot…”

The 21-year-old Draper held a 5-3 record on grass last season, with his best result a run to the semi-finals in Eastbourne.