Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski picked up where they left off at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday evening. The top seeds and defending champions passed a tough opening test at the ATP Masters 1000 with a 6-2, 7-6(7) win against Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

The Dutch-British pair saved all thee break points against them — all in the first set — and later saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break before closing out the win on their second match point. With the help of seven aces, they won 84 per cent (32/38) of their first-serve points in the victory.

Through to the last 16, Koolhof/Skupski will face  wild cards Roberto Carballes Baena and Martin Landaluce in the second round following the Spaniards' 6-2, 6-3 win against Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez on Saturday.

[ATP APP]

Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were knocked out in Madrid without a match win for the second straight year. The American-British team was turned back by Banja Luka champions Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, who scored a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 upset.

Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a dramatic comeback against Dominic Thiem with victory in a third-set tie-break on Saturday night at the Mutua Madrid Open. In a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) triumph, the Greek used a flawless serving performance to shift the tone of the match, then battled back from 1/3 in the decisive tie-break after seeing five break points go begging on return at 5-5.

The Greek made 39 straight first serves spanning from late in the opening set to early in the third, and he won 88 per cent (50/57) per cent of his overall first-serve points in the contest.

"That's fantastic, 39 is a lot," Tsitsipas said of the streak. "That shows that perhaps I improved today on my serve. That's a positive mark for me. I think I just owe it all to fluidity and just being relaxed on my serve... I think it's just pure relaxation and focus."

With victory in the pair's first meeting since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, Tsitsipas closed the gap to 4-5 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 2-1 mark on clay. Both competitors are former finalists in Madrid, with Tsitsipas reaching the 2019 title match and Thiem finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2018.

The last man in the Madrid singles draw to book his third-round ticket, Tsitsipas will next face 25th seed Sebastian Baez, who beat Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier on Saturday.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe both made winning starts at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday by coming through challenging opening matches in straight sets. Fritz edged Christopher O'Connell 7-6(11), 6-4, with Tiafoe wrapping a 6-3, 7-6(5) win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry soon after.

Fritz, fresh off consecutive semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and Munich, continued his strong clay-court form as the eighth seed in Madrid by beating fellow Munich semi-finalist O'Connell.

"It's just understanding what I need to change. Because I've always been a believer in not really changing your game too much to go to different surfaces," Fritz said of his recent success on the dirt. "As it turns out for clay, I play much better when I do make pretty drastic changes in where I'm standing and stuff like that. So it's just about finding that, finding what works best for me on clay."

[ATP APP]

The 25-year-old needed eight set points before closing out the first set in a marathon tie-break, 13/11, against Australia's O'Connell, saving two set points to edge ahead on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. He earned the first and only break of the match early in the second set and then saved a break point on his own serve to consolidate for 3-1.

Ben Shelton has imposed his explosive game on the ATP Tour this season, rising into the Top 40 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with his electric style of play. The American has also shown an uncanny knack for inventive shotmaking this season, with his athleticism creating opportunities for unexpected moments from all parts of the court.

On Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open, the 20-year-old produced what may have been his most impressive shot yet. Scrambling wide to retrieve a deep, angled volley from Jan-Lennard Struff in their second-round match, Shelton pulled off a behind-the-back flick to stun the German, who appeared to have the line covered before the passing shot snuck past him.

It was not the first time Shelton went behind his back for a winner this season. In Acapulco, he showed quick thinking and quicker hands to stab a majestic, no-look volley into the open court in doubles action.

While Shelton and partner Mackenzie McDonald used the momentum from that moment of brilliance to upset fourth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in Acapulco, the American came up just short against Struff in Madrid, with the German advancing 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5.

Dusan Lajovic is running red hot on the European clay.

The Serbian notched his third Top 10 win in the space of nine days on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open by taking out seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5).

Lajovic clinched an enthralling second-round encounter with a stunning start to the deciding-set tie-break. He charged to a 5/0 lead against a tight Auger-Aliassime, who then threatened a remarkable comeback but was unable to prevent Lajovic converting his sixth match point for a two-hour, 34-minute win.

“It was super tight at the end,” said Lajovic, who had let slip his first two match points at 6-5 on the Auger-Aliassime serve in the final set. “I was just hoping that he was going to stay back on my serve, because when he was coming in, I was feeling a lot of pressure.

“We opened up the last point. I tried to play heavy on my forehand but because my hand was tight, it was really going short until in the end [one] came up well.”

Thirty-two wins and counting for Daniil Medvedev in 2023.

Not even the move to his less-favoured clay has stopped the 27-year-old from racking up victories on the ATP Tour. Following his quarter-final run in Monte-Carlo, Medvedev made a rock-solid start to his Mutua Madrid Open campaign on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori.

Medvedev stayed patient against the World No. 164 Vavassori, notching a late break of serve in each set to complete an 82-minute triumph. Vavassori had claimed the biggest win of his career against Andy Murray in the first round at the Caja Magica, but the second-seeded Medvedev’s combination of huge serving and relentless baseline hitting proved a step too far for the Italian.

“I played well today. I felt [good],” said Medvedev, who saved all three break points he faced in his second-round win. “There were some tight moments in the match, but when we had rallies from the baseline, I felt like many times I was in control. I’m really happy about my level.”

With the win, Medvedev improved to 2-3 in Madrid, where he also reached the third round in 2021. Despite frequently acknowledging he does not feel his most comfortable on clay, the 19-time tour-level titlist hopes his opening victory can be the foundation for a bigger run in the Spanish capital.

Five Top 10 seeds will open their Mutua Madrid Open campaigns on Saturday at the ATP Masters 1000, with the second round of singles action to be completed on Day 4 of main-draw play.

Two men's matches feature on Manolo Santana Stadium, with Stefanos Tsitsipas meeting Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev facing Andrea Vavassori. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Denis Shapovalov highlight the ATP Tour action on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, while a busy doubles slate sees each of the top three seeds in their first action of the week.

ATPTour.com breaks down some of the biggest matchups on Saturday's schedule across the men's singles draw and men's doubles draw.

[ATP APP]

[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT)

The past two meetings between Tsitsipas and Thiem both came at the Nitto ATP Finals — in the 2019 final, won in a third-set tie-break by Tsitsipas, and the 2020 group stage, when Thiem won in three sets. Thiem leads their overall ATP Head2Head 5-3, with their history including five meetings in 2018.

Alexander Zverev completed a stunning turnaround at the Mutua Madrid Open late Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday morning to continue his history of success at the ATP Masters 1000.

The 13th-seeded German pulled away late in a 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-0 victory against home favourite Roberto Carballes Baena, winning eight straight games to survive a stern opening test. Spain's Carballes Baena led 4-3, 30/0 in the second set but lost 10 of the last 11 games as Zverev found a new level late on.

"[It was a] very important match for me, especially after the struggles in three-set matches this year," the German said after leaving the court. "I think it was one or two points that decided the match and I'm obviously very happy with how it went."

[ATP APP]

Zverev, who took a medical timeout for treatment on his left leg midway through the opening set, has dropped seven places to No. 23 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after losing the points he earned from reaching last year's Madrid final. Champion at the event in 2018 an 2021, he has reached the quarter-finals or better in each of his previous five appearances in the Spanish capital.

Holger Rune fought off a brilliant serving display from Alexander Bublik to continue his impressive start to the clay season on Friday and make a winning debut at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Dane opened his campaign at the ATP Masters 1000 with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(9) victory, converting on his fifth match point to claim his second final-set tie-break in as many matches.

Rune saved a match point at 7/8 in the tie-break and clinched victory with a second-serve ace after Bublik missed when going for a big second serve at 9/9. He also saved four match points against Botic van de Zandschulp in Sunday's Munich final.

"Honestly I'm out of words right now. It was such a tough match," Rune said after the gutsy win in Madrid. "In these kind of conditions, it's altitude, it's very fast compared to what I've played so far.

"Bublik, we all know how he's playing. He's playing super aggressive, taking the ball aggressive and early. So I had to really dig deep and find solutions. I was brave at the end and that's what made the difference."

[ATP APP]

“One, two, three...”

After a coin toss gone awry, Andrey Rublev and Stan Wawrinka found a fun way to replace the pre-match ritual and decide who would call the first serve in their Mutua Madrid Open second-round match on Friday afternoon.

Rublev suggested a game of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ at the net on Manolo Santana Stadium after confusion about the options on the electronically generated coin toss. With ATP Chair Umpire Mohamed Lahyani laughing along with the players, Wawrinka’s ‘Scissors’ cut through Rublev’s ‘Paper’ and the Swiss star opted to serve.

Rublev recovered from his ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ defeat in style. The World No. 6, who is chasing his second ATP Masters 1000 title after his triumph in Monte-Carlo 12 days ago, went on to defeat Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare at the Mutua Madrid Open Friday when he moved past Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round in the Spanish capital.

"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose," Alcaraz said. "It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. I was really happy I was able to save that game and come back a bit. It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really, really happy to get through that."

The Spaniard defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to the title in Madrid last year, but didn’t have things all his own way against the clean-hitting Finn in his opening match at this year’s event.

After losing the first set, the 19-year-old dug deep in the second set, saving all five break points he faced before levelling the match. Roared on by a vocal home crowd inside Manolo Santana Stadium, Alcaraz raised his level in the third set. He reduced errors, used the drop shot effectively and demonstrated incredible agility to produce moments of magic and triumph after two hours and 16 minutes.

"When I got it to 3-3 in the second set, I thought that this is my chance," Alcaraz said. "I tried to take that. I was really, really focused. I was trying to put every ball in and running for every ball. Playing with a good attitude the whole match, I was able to come back."

Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov made a winning start at the Mutua Madrid Open Friday when they defeated last year’s finalists Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6(5), 7-6(2) to reach the second round.

Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov, who reached the quarter-finals together in Miami earlier this season, remained patient throughout the one-hour, 53-minute clash. The Canadians squandered all 10 break points they earned but raised their level in both tie-breaks to advance. They will next meet sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

[ATP APP]

Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe triumphed in the Top-20 singles battle on Friday when they clawed past Cameron Norrie and Tommy Paul 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 to reach the second round.

In a highly-anticipated doubles clash, it was the Americans Fritz and Tiafoe who held their nerve. The pair won 85 per cent (28/33) of their first-service points and rallied from 6/7 in the Match Tie-break to advance after 85 minutes at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The ATP has announced Tour-wide adoption of Electronic Line Calling Live (ELC Live) from 2025. The advanced officiating technology covers all court lines for ‘out’ calls throughout matches, a role traditionally carried out by on-court line judges.

This significant officiating update follows several seasons during which a combination of ELC Live, ELC Review and on-court line judges has been used at ATP Tour events. The move is set to optimise accuracy and consistency across tournaments, match courts and surfaces, for players competing in both main draw and qualifying events. The decision was supported by extensive research conducted by ATP across tennis stakeholders, including fans, which identified accuracy and consistency as the most important factors in assessing different line-calling systems.

All-court ELC Live coverage will also deliver comprehensive player and ball tracking across the whole Tour, leading to an unprecedented level of data for player-performance analysis and the development of new statistics in the game in collaboration with Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), in addition to future commercialisation opportunities.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not one we’ve reached without careful consideration. Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years. That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies. Our sport deserves the most accurate form of officiating and we’re delighted to be able to deliver this across our whole Tour from 2025.”

ELC Live was first trialled at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017 in Milan as part of a raft of ambitious technological innovations, several of which have gone on to be implemented on the main Tour. In recent years, the system has been available for tournaments on a voluntary basis, becoming widely adopted since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been some six months for Matteo Arnaldi, and it all started in Milan.

The 22-year-old Italian, who stunned World No. 4 Casper Ruud in straight sets on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, enjoyed his first taste of the big time at last November’s Next Gen ATP Finals. Then ranked No. 134 with a 0-1 record at Tour level, Arnaldi credits his experience at the season-ending 21-and-under event as invaluable preparation for more regular appearances on the ATP Tour.

“For us Italians it was crazy, because from the first match it was unbelievable,” Arnaldi told ATPTour.com this week in Madrid. “Everyone was cheering for you. It kind of prepared me for the big stage.”

Arnaldi lost all three of his matches in Milan but he pushed Top 50 star and eventual champion Brandon Nakashima to five sets, a sign of his potential to go toe-to-toe with more established opponents. That was made even clearer against Ruud on Friday in Madrid, where the World No. 105 held his nerve to notch the biggest win of his career and reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time.

“I just tried to go on court and play my best tennis, and I think I did today,” said Arnaldi after the match. “Now I really don’t know what to say. I’m just trying to enjoy this moment and tomorrow it’s another day and I will try to prepare for the next match.

Andrey Rublev continued his red-hot clay-court form on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round.

The fifth seed clinched his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo earlier this month before he advanced to the final in Banja Luka. With his one-hour, 19-minute win against Wawrinka, Rublev improved to 9-1 on clay this season.

Competing inside Manolo Santana Stadium, Rublev struck the ball with relentless power off the forehand wing to dictate. He earned the decisive break of the first set in the 11th game, before he rallied from 0-2 in the second set, serving out the match at the second time of asking to improve to 2-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against 2014 finalist Wawrinka.

"I am happy I am into the next round," Rublev said. "When I saw the draw I thought that it was amazing being the fifth seed and having Wawrinka in the opening round. When I was World No. 40, I sometimes had a [much] easier draw. I was thinking 'OK, maybe I would go home early'. In the last meeting, he beat me, so I was thinking to focus and see what would happen but I was able to win today and I feel great."

Rublev, currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, will next meet Yoshihito Nishioka after the 28th seed defeated Alex Molcan 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Matteo Arnaldi earned his first Top 10 win on Friday when he stunned World No. 4 Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open.

The Italian qualifier saved one match point to earn his first ATP Masters 1000 win against Benoit Paire in the first round and backed that up by producing a free-hitting performance against Ruud. He struck 35 winners and hit with great depth to consistently push Ruud back and inflict a ninth defeat of the season on the Norwegian.

“I don’t know what to say. In Barcelona I was playing very good,” said Arnaldi, who came through qualifying to reach the second round at the ATP 500 last week. “But coming here it is different. The ball bounces so high and I didn’t like it at first. I struggled a bit. But today, I don’t know, maybe the stadium, maybe the pressure on him, but I played the best match of my life.”

The 22-year-old, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals last season, is up eight spots to No. 97 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his third tour-level win of the year. Arnaldi reached a career-high No. 102 earlier this month after he won his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year in Spain.

Arnaldi will look to continue his dream run against Jaume Munar. The Spaniard advanced after Tallon Griekspoor was forced to retire after Munar had clinched the first set 7-6(3).

Standing tall at 6’7” and boasting a hefty serve, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s personality may not exactly reflect his heavy-hitting style of play.

“I'm shy. You see a big tall guy, but I'm very shy,” Mpetshi Perricard told ATPTour.com. “I've always been shy since I was born. I'm not shy with my friends but with other people I am.”

Though his personality may be somewhat reserved, the 19-year-old’s serve is quite the opposite. Earlier this month, the Frenchman lifted his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title after firing 21 aces in the Leon Challenger final. The Lyon native held his nerve to escape Argentine Juan Pablo Ficovich 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 7-6(3). The #NextGenATP star played five tie-breaks across his semi-final and final in Mexico.

“I was really happy after the match. It was my goal to win my first Challenger this year as early as possible,” Mpetshi Perricard said. “I did everything great that week. I was nervous all day before the final, because the final was at six. I was really nervous in the morning and after my first training. During the match, it was very stressful. So much emotion. I was not in a good position in the second tie-break, losing 0/3 and 2/4. I was really proud to win.”

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard triumphs at the Challenger 75 event in Leon, Mexico. Credit: Ricardo Sanchez

Friday's play at the Mutua Madrid Open sees the top singles seeds in action for the first time. Among those set to open their campaigns on Day 3 at the ATP Masters 1000 event are defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Monte-Carlo champ Andrey Rublev and last week's Munich winner, Holger Rune.

Third seed Casper Ruud is also on the slate and joins those three in having claimed a clay-court title this month, the Norwegian's coming at the ATP 250 in Estoril. Tenth seed Karen Khachanov, 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz and 13th seed Alexander Zverev will also begin their Madrid campaigns, while many singles stars are also set for doubles action.

ATPTour.com breaks down some of the biggest matchups on Friday's schedule across the men's singles draw and men's doubles draw.

[ATP APP]

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN)

Fresh off a successful Barcelona title defence, Alcaraz could complete a second Spanish trophy double in as many years by retaining the Madrid crown. Last year at the ATP Masters 1000, Alcaraz beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to triumph on home soil.

Doubles play began on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where four tightly contested matches featured at the ATP Masters 1000 event. While at least one tie-break was played in all four contests, all of them were decided in straight sets.

Sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara edged Hubert Hurkacz and Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6(3), saving all seven break points against them and converting on one of their five break chances. The British-Finnish pair survived 10 aces from the singles stars and rose to the occasion in the second-set tie-break to advance to the last 16.

[ATP APP]

Seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden took a similar path into the second round with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Roberto Bautista Agut and Daniel Evans. Bopanna/Ebden won 95 per cent (37/39) of their first-serve points and saved seven of eight break points against them in the victory. They will next face Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev, who beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(5), 6-3.

Rounding out Thursday's doubles action, Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow defeated Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov by the narrowest of margins, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).

Andy Murray suffered a third straight ATP Masters 1000 opening round defeat on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, his comeback bid against Andrea Vavassori falling short despite four match point saves in a 6-2, 7-6(7) loss.

Coupled with his first-round loss to Alex de Minaur two weeks ago in Monte-Carlo, Murray is still searching for his first clay win this season.

"Certainly the beginning of the clay season hasn't been that easy for me, but normally after a few weeks, I start to feel better and play better," Murray said in his post-match press conference. "Obviously last year, I'm not saying I came here and played unbelievable tennis straightaway, but I was playing well enough to win matches... against good players, top players."

[ATP APP]

His next opportunity to find his footing on the clay could come next month in Rome, where he has not competed since 2017. Beyond that, Murray hinted that he could make his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2020.