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One year ago, Luca Van Assche was No. 389 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now the 18-year-old is the youngest player in the world’s Top 100 at No. 87 and will play World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday in the second round of the Srpska Open in Banja Luka.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the #NextGenATP Frenchman, who defeated Stan Wawrinka in the first round.

Luca Is A Roland Garros Boys’ Champion
In 2021, Van Assche enjoyed the biggest moment of his career at Roland Garros, where he captured the boys’ singles title. Having just turned 17 when he lifted the trophy, Van Assche became the fifth home favourite to triumph in the event since the start of the millennium, joining Paul-Henri Mathieu, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Geoffrey Blancaneaux. One year ago, Frenchman Gabriel Debru joined them.

“I was very happy. I looked to my team, and we were celebrating the victory,” Van Assche said in a press conference at the time. “I was very, very happy to win this big tournament in France in front of our fans, in front of French people. So it was very cool.”

Hometown Hero ??

Luca Van Assche is the 2021 Boys' Singles Champion, defeating friend and countryman Arthur Fils in straight-sets 6-4, 6-2.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/sUz0NPijoU

“Basically, every kid wants to win over here, and you have absolute battles.”

Alex de Minaur is in no doubt about the impact his partial upbringing Spain had on his tennis. The 24-year-old Australian’s renowned competitive spirit was first harnessed on the clay-courts of Alicante.

“I think I learnt how to win matches from a young age here in Spain,” De Minaur told ATPTour.com this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. “You play on the clay, you can play matches for three or four hours as a little kid, and whether [your opponent] is moonballing or anything, you’ve got to find a way to win.”

De Minaur credits those early developmental days in Spain for his ability to disarm more powerful opponents with his relentless chasing and variety of shots. Born in Sydney to a Uruguayan father and Spanish mother, De Minaur’s childhood featured two different homes, two different sets of friends, but also two contrasting styles of tennis.

“From a young age, I wasn’t the biggest or the strongest guy, so that allowed me to think outside the box and how to find different ways that I could win tennis matches,” said De Minaur, who spent time in both Australia and Spain throughout his childhood. “That developed a lot of different shots in my game. The drop shot, coming to the net, all these kinds of things.

Dominic Thiem advanced to the second round of the BMW Open by American Express on Tuesday in Munich. The former World No. 3 led Constant Lestienne 6-3 and was serving at Ad/40 in the first game of the second set when the Frenchman retired.

"It was a surprising end, not the way I wanted," Thiem said in his on-court interview. "But it's okay and on to the next one."

The Austrian is making his first appearance in Munich since 2016, when he reached the final. Thiem is happy to be back at the ATP 250, where he is pursuing his first title since the 2020 US Open.

"Of course I love to play here. The memory of snow in the first round, the break because of heavy snowfall is very funny. I'll have it in my head forever, so I really like to remember that and also the week in 2016 was great," Thiem said. "Just a little bit sad when Philipp Kohlschreiber went by with the winner's car. It was tough, but obviously I love to play here and very happy to be in the second round."

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Carlos Alcaraz showed scant sign of feeling home pressure on Tuesday in his opening match at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where the World No. 2 raced past Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-1 at the ATP 500.

The 19-year-old is bidding to successfully defend a tour-level title for the first time this week in Catalunya and took a confident first step towards that goal with a hard-hitting display against the No. 79-ranked Borges. Alcaraz was sharp on return off both wings throughout the 63-minute encounter and converted five of seven break points to improve to 19-2 for the season.

“I feel great. Playing here in Barcelona, [my] first match on clay since Rio [in February],” said Alcaraz. “I feel great. Moving well, hitting the ball really well so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona. It’s a really special place for me.”

Prior to their match, Borges had spoken about being impressed by the 16-year-old Alcaraz’s ‘huge hitting’ at a tournament in Spain three years ago. He was soon reacquainted with Alcaraz’s clean ballstriking on Pista Rafa Nadal, where the home favourite quickly opened a 5-1 lead.

Alcaraz had not competed since his Miami semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner on April 1, and there were some signs of rustiness in his game. Uncharacteristic unforced errors helped Borges reclaim a break in the eighth game, but that was as good as it got for the 26-year-old. Alcaraz dropped just one more game in the match to improve to 6-1 at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.

Dusan Lajovic won a battle of Serbians on Tuesday in Banja Luka, where he defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Srpska Open.

Lajovic has now won all three of the pair's clay-court ATP Head2Head meetings and leads their series 3-2. The World No. 70 converted five of his nine break points to triumph after two hours and 14 minutes.

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Another Serbian advanced when Laslo Djere eliminated Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2. The 27-year-old has enjoyed success on clay before, having lifted an ATP 500 trophy in Rio de Janeiro in 2019.

Former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet earned his place in the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 17-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. The 36-year-old claimed his 14th ATP Tour crown earlier this year in Auckland.

Fourteen-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, two-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz headline the Roland Garros entry list, which was released Tuesday.

Nadal will try to extend his slew of records at the clay-court major, where the Spaniard has tallied a 112-3 record. The lefty claimed his 14th Coupe des Mousquetaires last year, when he defeated four Top 10 players en route to the championship.

Djokovic, currently the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, triumphed on the Parisian clay in 2016 and 2021. The Serbian is 85-16 at the tournament.

Alcaraz will pursue his second major title in his third main draw appearance at Roland Garros. The Spaniard made his deepest run at the event last year, when he advanced to the quarter-finals.

Casper Ruud, last year's finalist, will try to go one step further this year with other players including 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka trying to make their mark.

Casper Ruud kick-started his 2023 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell campaign with a successful revenge mission on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Norwegian held off #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton 6-2, 7-6(1) to book a quarter-final spot at the ATP 500 in Catalunya. Despite Shelton recovering a 3-5 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break, Ruud reasserted his dominance in time to wrap a 70-minute second-round triumph against the 20-year-old lefty.

“He was playing great, and I think I was playing great,” said Ruud. “I played a perfect first set and he was making maybe a few too many mistakes… But I think all throughout the second set was tough games, tough rallies.

“It can be difficult. In the first set you feel like you get a lot of free points, and so on, but then suddenly he starts playing almost like a wall and playing really good from on defence. It’s tough when someone changes in the middle of the match, but I’m very happy that I was able to stay calm and play a very good tie-break.”

With the win, the World No. 3 levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Shelton at 1-1. Last August, the then-No. 229-ranked Shelton upset Ruud in straight sets at the Western & Southern Open. A repeat result on the Barcelona clay appeared unlikely early as Ruud charged to the first set behind some big serving and his powerful forehand, which pulled his opponent around the court to great effect.

ATP Coach member Philip Farmer is enjoying a special moment in his career. One of his players, Austin Krajicek, partnered Ivan Dodig to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title and is now No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. It has been a satisfying run of success, as the pair qualified for last year’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

But that is not all that Farmer has on his plate. He also coaches John Isner and doubles player Hans Hach Verdugo. The trio have formed a team based out of Dallas, Texas.

ATPTour.com spoke to Farmer about how he balances coaching three players, the crazy behind-the-scenes story of the week his son was born and what makes Isner’s serve special.

How do you balance figuring out what you need to work on with both singles and doubles players?
I've been coaching on Tour since 1997, and so you understand that every player is wired differently. They grew up in different cultures, different backgrounds, different coaching styles, and obviously [have] different games. So you just learn to adapt, you learn to be flexible, you try to look through their lens as well to understand what they're going through.

Besides motivating and coaching and helping, I also try to be a really good listener, and understand what they're going through and what needs they have. And for each one it’s different. John's about to have his fourth child under the age of five. Austin just got married over a year ago and doesn't have kids and Hans doesn't have kids [and] is not married yet. So there are three kinds of really different home situations that require different attention and time and things like that.

Editor's note: This story was first published on ATPTour.com/es

Pablo, Carlos and Álex are scampering around their father’s feet. The youngest of the family, Gabriela, is curled up in her mother’s arms. Her husband, Pablo Andújar, is trying not to let the moment get to him, wiping away the tears during an emotional goodbye at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he has just hit some of the last shots of his career.

The Spaniard is still not completely sure if he said his final farewell to the ATP Tour on Monday 17 April, with 405 matches under his belt. However, his uncertainty about receiving wildcards before the season is out meant he was sure to savour every moment of his encounter with Tomás Martín Etcheverry as if it were his last, even though he lost 6-2, 7-5.

“I’ve been coming here since I was little with my tennis club to see the only professional tournament we had near us,” the finalist in Barcelona in 2015 told the crowd. “To me, it’s a dream that the same tournament is paying tribute to me today. I’ve played here 11 times. To me that’s incredible. I can only say thank you, a thousand thank yous, for having invited me and given me this opportunity.”

Andújar claimed four ATP Tour titles; in Casablanca in 2011 and 2012, Gstaad in 2014, and Marrakech in 2018. He reached a further five finals and peaked at No. 32 in thePepperstone ATP Rankings.

Novak Djokovic was clear that he wanted to quickly move on from his third-round defeat at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last week against Lorenzo Musetti. The World No. 1 will have his chance to do so in Banja Luka.

The Serbian superstar is the top seed this week at the Srpska Open. Djokovic explained Monday in a press conference that he has enjoyed the atmosphere in Bosnia & Herzegovina since he first visited the country more than a decade ago.

“It feels great to be here. I’ve been to Banja Luka several times in the past, once to visit the president and to receive a medal of honor and then the second time was in 2009, I played with Viktor Troicki an exhibition match in an indoor facility here,” Djokovic said. “So I remember those couple of visits really fondly.”

At practice Monday it was clear how thrilled the local fans were to simply get a look at Djokovic. There was a big crowd of fans behind barricades to watch the Serbian prepare for the ATP 250.

“The people welcome me wholeheartedly with great reception and so much love and support,” Djokovic said. “So I’m super excited to be here because I think it’s one of the best places for us Serbian tennis players and athletes in general to be able to perform where we have so much love and support from local people.”

Swiss Alexander Ritschard is not only lucky to be playing tennis, but also fortunate to have his right arm, which was almost amputated when he was 22.

Following a career-best season on the ATP Challenger Tour, the 29-year-old is set to compete in his second tour-level event of the year at this week’s ATP 250 event in Munich, where he advanced through qualifying and will meet Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round.

Eight years ago, everything wasn’t so smooth for Ritschard. While studying studio arts and enjoying a standout collegiate career at the University of Virginia, professional tennis didn’t seem likely as Ritschard dealt with a scary situation.

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“I was in the gym, working out, and I felt a sting in my shoulder,” Ritschard told broadcaster Chris Bowers on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast in October. “I was like, ‘Maybe I pulled a muscle.’ It turned out to be this huge deal where my artery clogged up and [there was] no more blood flow to my arm. It was just a big, crazy couple months.

Still early in his young career, Alexander Shevchenko may never forget this week on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 22-year-old, who was one of four Challenger champions Sunday, captured this third Challenger title in Madrid to move into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

In the final of the II Open Comunidad de Madrid, Shevchenko defeated top seed and defending champion Pedro Cachin 6-4, 6-3 to win his second title of the season (Tenerife). Despite making less than half of his first serves against Cachin, Shevchenko won 17 of 20 points off his first delivery.

“It feels amazing to win the title,” Shevchenko said. “It was a tough week, didn’t start that well but ended up winning it… In the semi-final, I knew if I would win that, it would be tough but I would be safe in the Top 100.”

Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald made a winning start at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Matthias Bachinger and Dominic Thiem.

The Dutch-Austrian duo broke serve four times on 10 chances to advance to the quarter-finals in their second straight event. They previously reached the last eight in Estoril in their first tournament as a pair this season.

Also victorious on Monday in Munich were Indians Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni, who upset third-seeded Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-3, 7-6(4).

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Glasspool/Heliovaara Dominate Match Tie-break In Barcelona
At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara completed a comeback against Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski with a shutout success in the Match Tie-break.

Nuno Borges has watched Carlos Alcaraz play up close before. The circumstances were considerably different to those he will step into on Tuesday when he takes on the World No. 2 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

“We shared a court one time in Spain, in Martos,” Borges told ATPTour.com on Monday after his first-round win against Ilya Ivashka at the clay-court ATP 500. “It was an [ITF World Tennis Tour] 25k. He was 16… He was hitting huge already and was really physical for his age. I guess you can see that now.”

In the three years since, Alcaraz has claimed eight tour-level titles, including a maiden Grand Slam at the US Open and three ATP Masters 1000 crowns, and become the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Even if the Spaniard dropped to No. 2 behind Novak Djokovic last month, Borges is expecting Alcaraz to bring his best to the pair’s second-round clash on Pista Rafa Nadal.

“No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, I just know for sure he is up there for a reason,” said the 26-year-old Borges. “I’ve seen him grow up the past few years, he’s shown up in Portugal a couple of times. I’m just excited. I’ll try to do my best. I know he’s going to come after me with all he’s got and that’s what he always does. So I’ve got to be on top of my game and just try to enjoy the atmosphere.

“[It’s a] great tournament, I’m just happy that I’m here and will try to absorb a bit the big things I’ve been doing.”

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Twenty-five seasons have gone by since Feliciano Lopez took to the clay of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 to play in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell for the first time. It was April 1998, and the Spaniard was a promising young 16-year-old who had been given a wild card for the qualifiers. After winning two matches, he played the first of the 991 main-draw tour-level matches he has competed in so far during his distinguished career.

It was a brief first encounter with ATP Tour tennis, because Jiri Novak sent him packing in the first round, 6-0, 6-2. “I came back down to earth with a bang,” Lopez told ATPTour.com this week in Barcelona. “He thrashed me, and I told myself: ‘Time to practise, there is still a long way to go’. I would have signed on the dotted line for everything that has happened to me since that match.”

That teenager could never have imagined the records he would go on to set: playing more consecutive Grand Slam main draws than any other player, participating in more ATP Masters 1000s than anyone else, and being a member of the 500-wins club.

Even though his breakthrough came on clay, the young Lopez was different to his compatriots. He didn’t fit the mould of a classic Spanish player. His qualities were different, try as they might to make him like the rest. He was a rebel, a left-hander with an exceptional serve and an innate gift for volleying.

#NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche picked up his first Top 100 win on Monday at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka, coming back from a set down and recovering a break deficit in the final set to defeat Stan Wawrinka at the ATP 250.

The 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 result gave Van Assche his second tour-level win and sets up a second-round showdown with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

"I'm very happy with my win. It was a pleasure to play in front of you all," said the 18-year-old, who won the crowd over with his smooth game over the course of the two hour, 42 minute match. "It's normal that at the beginning [the fans] were for Stan because he's an amazing legend of the sport and I'm very happy to win this match."

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The Frenchman saved eight of 11 break points, including four at 5-5 in the second set, to set himself up for the biggest victory of his career. In the final set, he won four straight games after falling a break behind at 1-3, absorbing the heavy baseline blows of Wawrinka to turn the match around.

Marcos Giron picked up his first career win at the BMW Open by American Express with an upset of seventh seed Roberto Carballes Baena on Monday in Munich.

The American earned a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory against the Spaniard in his second appearance at the ATP 250. In fourth seed Botic van de Zandschulp's quarter, Giron will meet Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff or Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard in the second round. Now 10-9 on the season, he can reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of 2023 with another victory in Munich. 

"I'm really happy with the win," he said in an on-court interview. "It was kind of a tale of three sets. The first set I came out and played great. The second set [I was] a little sloppier, he raised his level, and the third I'm really happy with it. There were a few close moments and I did well."

Giron was a constant threat on return in the two-hour, 12-minute match, creating 14 break chances and converting five of them. He also fired five aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points, saving two of four break points.

Flavio Cobolli also advanced on Monday in Munich with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Aussie Jordan Thompson. The Italian was an efficient five-of-six on break points and now awaits fifth seed Sebastian Baez or Germany's Oscar Otte in the second round.

Haier, the number one brand globally in major appliances, has today become the Official Home Appliances Partner and Gold Partner of the ATP Tour.

This partnership will provide a premium platform for Haier to promote its latest innovations and sustainability focus to tennis fans - a community numbering more than one billion globally. This aligns with Haier’s Zero Distance strategy, which aims to bring the brand closer to audiences attracted to outstanding performance, tailor-made, smart and ecosystem experiences.

Haier will receive on-court, in-arena and on-site visibility at a portfolio of top ATP Tour events: the Nitto ATP Finals, Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rolex Paris Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Cinch Championships (London Queen’s Club) and Hamburg European Open in 2023. Haier will also benefit from world-class corporate hospitality experiences and exposure on ATP Tour’s digital channels.

This marks the latest major sponsorship for Haier, following a recently announced deal with Roland-Garros, in partnership with the French Tennis Federation (FFT). It directly supports the company’s global growth strategy, building on its position as the first consumer choice for smart solutions.

Daniele Sanò, ATP Chief Business Officer, said: "We’re excited to announce our partnership with Haier, a leading company that shares our commitment to excellence and innovation. Together, we look forward to bringing new experiences to our fans and showcasing the reach and versatility of the ATP Tour’s global platform.”

Ben Shelton continued his impressive start to his career on red clay on Monday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he downed fellow American Mackenzie McDonald 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round at the ATP 500.

The #NextGenATP American, who only competed on red clay for the first time in his life in Estoril two weeks ago, converted five of his six break points to clinch a 99-minute win against the World No. 54 McDonald. His kick serve and huge forehand were particularly instrumental as he won four games in a row from 2-4 in the second set to claim victory.

“I thought that this was definitely a good start to the tournament for me,” the 20-year-old Shelton told ATPTour.com. “I think that I did some things well, some things I could have done better, and over the next couple of days I’m going to hope to improve on those things and sharpen my game.

“I’m happy with the way that I competed today, and obviously playing on a clay court, things are going to happen. There’s a little more back and forth and things can get tricky, so I’m happy with how tough I was mentally today and my competitive spirit.”

Shelton next faces third seed Casper Ruud in Barcelona. Last August, when he was still a relatively unknown No. 299-ranked college player, the American stunned Ruud in straight sets on the hard courts of Cincinnati. This time around, Shelton knows he will have to find a path to victory without the element of surprise against the Norwegian, who is a nine-time ATP Tour titlist on clay.

The first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters saw Andrey Rublev lift the title, while several Top 100 stars enjoyed deep runs.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as of Monday, 17 April 2023.

View Pepperstone ATP Rankings

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No. 7 Holger Rune, +2 (Career High)
The 19-year-old has climbed two spots to a career-high No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo. The Dane was the first teenager to advance to the title match in the Principality since then-19-year-old Rafael Nadal in 2006. He defeated Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner before falling to Andrey Rublev. Read Monte-Carlo Final Report & Watch Highlights.