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The past three days have been a whirlwind for World No. 198 Ivan Gakhov, whose Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters journey will become even more surreal on Tuesday when he plays World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

“[I am] speechless at the moment. Still cannot [believe it]. Even dreaming I think it’s tough to understand what just happened the last couple of days,” Gakhov told ATPTour.com. “No matter points, money, the best reward is to play the greatest of all time tomorrow. That’s the best I could ask for.”

Early Friday, Gakhov did not know he would get into qualifying at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event. In fact, the 26-year-old needed several dominoes to fall in his favour just to claim a spot in the draw as an alternate.

Yannick Hanfmann, Alexandre Muller, Roberto Carballes Baena and Quentin Halys were all entered in Monte-Carlo qualifying, but were still competing in other tournaments. Because of that, they were removed from the Monte-Carlo qualifying field, creating room for four alternates: Ilya Ivashka, Joao Sousa, Vit Kopriva and Gakhov.

If any of the four players had lost on Friday before the deadline of 9 p.m. local in Monte-Carlo and decided to still compete, Gakhov would have been out of luck. Instead, he was able to play in ATP Masters 1000 qualifying for the first time.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is back in action Tuesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas begins his quest for a three-peat in the Principality.

In Djokovic’s first match since Dubai, the Serbian will meet qualifier Ivan Gakhov. World No. 3 Tsitsipas will meet Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi for a third time in the final match on Court Rainier III. Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, and Hubert Hurkacz are also among those on Tuesday’s packed card.

Here are three second-round matches to watch during Day 3 at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

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Dominic Thiem earned his first win at an ATP Masters 1000 event since 2021 on Monday when he overcame Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Austrian had lost his past five matches at this level, having defeated Marton Fucsovics in Rome in May 2021 prior to his wrist injury. However, the former World No. 3 produced a clean-hitting performance against Gasquet to triumph at an ATP Masters 1000 event again after one hour and 29 minutes.

“At the start I played very well,” Thiem said. “It was good for me that I broke him. I was going ahead the whole match. I am pleased with the performance. Richard is in good form, he already won a tournament this year. It is always tough but at the same time nice to play him because he has such a nice game and is a legend of tennis.”

Thiem moved well throughout the clash and opened his shoulders to strike 18 winners. The wild card now leads Gasquet 3-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, having won their past three meetings.

The 29-year-old enjoyed a run to his first tour-level quarter-final of the season in Estoril last week and will look to back that up in the Principality, where he is making his seventh appearance.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petros Tsitsipas won a first-round thriller at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Monday when they clawed past Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 10-5 in the Principality.

The Greek brothers converted both break points they faced, before they raised their level in the Match Tie-break to earn their second win of the season as a team after one hour and 50 minutes.

They will next face Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, who have enjoyed success as a team on clay, triumphing at Roland Garros last season.

Singles stars Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune advanced, moving past Italians Simone Bolelli and Lorenzo Musetti to set a second-round meeting against fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

Andreas Mies and Fabrice Martin saved two match points en route to a 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 victory against Francisco Cerundolo and Daniel Evans, while Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden edged Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki enjoyed a dream week at the Barletta Challenger, where he became the fourth teenage ATP Challenger Tour champion this season.

The 19-year-old, who won the 2019 Wimbledon boys’ singles title, downed Santiago Rodriguez Taverna 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday’s final to win the Open Citta della Disfida.

Mochizuki’s maiden Challenger trophy comes as a great reward to him and his new coach, former World No. 42 Davide Sanguinetti.

“He’s been helping me the last couple months,” Mochizuki said of the Italian. “It’s been really good. I’m getting a lot of confidence in my game as well. I think how he played when he was playing and how I play is a little bit similar. So I think we are a good match.”

Alex de Minaur made an emphatic start to his clay-court season Monday, when he cruised past former World No. 1 Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Making his third appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event, the Australian outmanoeuvred Murray on the clay in Monaco, pulling the Scot from corner to corner to triumph after 87 minutes.

With his 13th tour-level win of the season, De Minaur has improved to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Murray, who was making his first appearance in the Principality since 2017.

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The 14th seed De Minaur, whose best result at an ATP Masters 1000 event was a fourth-round run last year in Indian Wells, will next play Jan-Lennard Struff. The German moved past Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-3.

A three-tournament week on the ATP Tour saw Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud and Roberto Carballes Baena win titles in Houston, Estoril and Marrakech, respectively.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week as of Monday, 10 April 2023.

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No. 11 Frances Tiafoe, +4 (Career High)
The American has climbed four spots to a career-high No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after winning his second tour-level title at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship. Following rain in Houston, Tiafoe completed the entirety of his Houston run in two days. He won two matches on Saturday before repeating the feat on Sunday, defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the final. Read Houston Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Former champion Stan Wawrinka is up and running at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Swiss star earned a comeback victory against Tallon Griekspoor on Monday, when he overcame the Dutchman 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round.

Competing in front of a packed crowd on Court Rainier III, the 38-year-old Wawrinka rolled back the years to earn his 22nd win at the ATP Masters 1000 event. The former World No. 3 struck 35 winners and sealed victory on his sixth match point to advance after two hours and 25 minutes.

"It was really important to stay calm with myself," Wawrinka said. "In the first round you need to find your game. The first match on clay is never easy against a good player. I am happy to get through. It was important to fight until the end."

Wawrinka, who won the title in the Principality in 2014, levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Griekspoor at 1-1. The wild card will next play eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz.

"He is an amazing player," Wawrinka said on Fritz. "He is Top 10, been winning a lot of matches. Winning a lot of tournaments. He is very dangerous on many surfaces."

Frances Tiafoe has become a bona fide star on the ATP Tour with his performances over the past year, and the American now has his second tour-level title to underline his undeniable progress.

The fan favourite showed style and substance in his 7-6(1), 7-6(6) victory against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Sunday's final at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship to return to the winner's circle for the first time since his maiden trophy run in 2018 at Delray Beach.

Addressing his Argentine opponent during the trophy ceremony, Tiafoe said: "I don't know you that well, but I know you real well after today. It was an absolute war and an unbelievable final. I hope you guys [in the crowd] all enjoyed it, because that's what it's about."

After sharing that his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, surprised him by showing up in the stands for the title match, Tiafoe soaked in the moment.

"My second title, here in Houston on U.S. soil, so thank you!" he said to the supportive crowd.

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson dropped their first set at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship in Sunday's final, but the Aussies regrouped after a wild opener to claim their first title as a team.

The Aussies defeated third-seeded Britons Julian Cash and Henry Patten 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 in what was their first doubles final as a team, claiming victory at the Houston ATP 250 with their third match win in two days. The teams traded seven breaks of serve in the first set, but Purcell/Thompson did not drop serve in the second, saving the only break point they faced. They never trailed in the Match Tie-break and capped their comeback by winning the final three points of the match.

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Now boasting a 7-1 tour-level record, the team that sent Australia to the 2022 Davis Cup Finals championship round with a win against Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are champions on the ATP Tour. It is a third title for the 25-year-old Purcell, who won the Houston crown and the Wimbledon trophy with countryman Matthew Ebden last season, and a second for the 28-year-old Thompson, who won the 2017 Brisbane title with Thanasi Kokkinakis. Purcell is also a two-time Australian Open finalist (2020 with Luke Saville, 2022 with Ebden).

Britons Cash and Patten, who won a record 10 ATP Challenger Tour titles together last season, fell in their first ATP Tour final. Their run backed up a semi-final showing earlier this season in Pune, and their three wins in Houston moved them up eight places to 26th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen captured their second title of the season on Sunday when they defeated Serbians Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 in the Millennium Estoril Open final.

The fourth seeds lost their first set of the tournament in the first round, but rallied to win that match and never looked back. They did not lose a set the rest of the week.

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Gille and Vliegen, a longtime duo, have now lifted seven ATP Tour trophies together and are 7-2 in finals as a team. They also triumphed in Pune to begin their 2023 season.

In the semi-finals, the Belgians eliminated defending champions and home favourites Francisco Cabral and Nuno Borges in two tie-breaks. In the final, Gille and Vliegen combined for 10 aces and saved two of the three break points they faced.

Due to a rain-soaked week in Houston, Frances Tiafoe has needed to win three matches between Saturday and Sunday to reach the final. The American has done just that, eliminating Dutchman Gijs Brouwer 6-4, 6-1 Sunday afternoon to move into the championship clash at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship.

“I feel good, I feel good. I’m running on adrenaline,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “I’ve got this crowd behind me and I’m on a mission, so I’m happy.”

Competing as the top seed at an ATP Tour event for the first time, Tiafoe is now one victory from claiming his second tour-level crown and his first since 2018 in Delray Beach.

[BREAK POINT]

Tiafoe will play Tomas Martin Etcheverry not before 7 p.m. local time. The Argentine is pursuing his first ATP Tour trophy.

Hubert Hurkacz rallied from the brink on Sunday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he clawed past Serbian Laslo Djere 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

In a tight clash on Court Rainier III, the Pole battled from a set and a break down and saved one match point at 5-6, 30/40 in the third set to earn a thrilling win after three hours and 19 minutes. 

"Laslo was playing really good tennis. We were battling," Hurkacz said. "At the end it could have gone either way. I was just trying to be ready for every single point and tried to go when I had situations. I competed well until the end and I am super happy with the victory. 

"I think it will make me stronger at the end of the day. I still need to improve a few things from my side, but I am working on them and I need to continue to push and be stronger for the future."

Hurkacz recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the third set, converting his fourth match point to earn his 15th win of the season. The 10th seed will next play Sebastian Baez or Jack Draper.

The 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka and former World No. 1 Andy Murray begin their Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters campaigns Monday when they take to court at the clay-court event.

Swiss wild card Wawrinka takes on Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, while Murray plays 14th seed Alex de Minaur. Austrian wild card Dominic Thiem is also in action, facing Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Here is what to watch on Monday in the Principality.

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[WC] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Tallon Griekspoor (NED)

Former World No. 3 Wawrinka holds fond memories in Monte-Carlo, lifting the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event in 2014. The 38-year-old, who has claimed six tour-level trophies on clay, arrives in Monaco off the back of a run to the fourth round in Indian Wells, where he defeated Top 10 star Holger Rune.

It is safe to say Roberto Carballes Baena worked hard for his second ATP Tour title.

The Spaniard, who needed a deciding set in all four of his completed matches this week, rallied past Alexandre Muller 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 in three hours and two minutes on Sunday to win the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech.

“I am so tired, but I am very, very happy. It was a very, very tough match,” Carballes Baena said in his on-court interview. “I tried to fight every point. I don’t know what to say. I am so happy.”

The 30-year-old is projected to climb to a career-high No. 49 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday. Previously, his highest standing was No. 71.

Carballes Baena defeated three seeded opponents en route to the title in Marrakech, where he eliminated fifth seed Maxime Cressy in the first round, fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarter-finals and second seed Daniel Evans in the semi-finals.

Casper Ruud punctuated his bounceback week in Estoril on Sunday by capturing his 10th ATP Tour title.

The Norwegian claimed his first trophy of the season with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory against friend Miomir Kecmanovic in the Millennium Estoril Open final. The top seed did not drop serve in the championship clash.

Following the best season of his career in 2022, Ruud arrived in Portugal with a 5-6 record for 2023. Back on his best surface, he lost his first set of the week against home favourite Joao Sousa. But Ruud navigated two three-setters in his four matches to return to the winner’s circle.

Playing against a longtime friend in Kecmanovic, Ruud wasted little time initiating his game plan in front of the Portuguese crowd. The Norwegian did everything in his power to hit as many forehands as he could.

That strategy paid dividends early in the first set when he broke the Serbian’s serve at 1-1 by covering every centimetre of the court to hit from his favoured wing, ultimately finishing off the break point with a forehand winner. He then earned a second break with a huge forehand blast to seize full control of the opener.

Daniil Medvedev has flourished on hard courts this season, winning four tour-level titles, including his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami earlier this month.

Competing on clay at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters this week, Medvedev is ready to adapt his game for the clay-court swing.

“I definitely have to change my game because my strokes are too flat and clay does not let the ball go through the court as much,” Medvedev said in his pre-tournament press conference. “My opponents can use those [shots against me].

“At the same time, you can’t change what you do in nine months or a year drastically, so I have to find a good balance where I still play my game, with a little change, with some shots in the right moment.”

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Novak Djokovic is looking to make a fast start to the clay-court swing this week when he leads the field as the top seed at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The World No. 1 has not competed since he reached the semi-finals in Dubai in early March.

“I have done more training on clay, which is positive if you think about the clay season," Djokovic said in his pre-tournament press conference. "I have not had much success in Monte-Carlo in the past two seasons. I haven’t played great tennis here, so I am hoping this year I can start the clay season better than in previous years and build my form."

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The Serbian, who suffered an opening-round exit in Monte-Carlo last year, has tasted success at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event, lifting the trophy in 2013 and 2015. Djokovic uses the Monte-Carlo Country Club as a training base and is excited to be competing at the prestigious venue again.

American Frances Tiafoe completed double duty Saturday to reach the Houston semi-finals.

Two-and-a-half hours after his second-round 6-2, 6-4 victory against Steve Johnson, the top-seeded Tiafoe returned to court and ousted Australian Jason Kubler 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals at the Fayez Sarofim & Co U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship.

“I haven’t played two matches in one day in a long time,” Tiafoe said. “I thought it was unbelievable how I was able to come out here and play so well.

“The ball was going much more [faster], it was much warmer [than earlier], I was sweating a lot more. Obviously a totally different player. [Jason] has been playing well, he’s played a lot lately, so I knew he was going to come after me. It was a good match.”

The World No. 15 delivered a strong serving performance, winning 28 of 31 points off his first delivery to down sixth seed Kubler in one hour, 28 minutes. Tiafoe will next meet countryman and fifth seed J.J. Wolf or Dutchman Gijs Brouwer in the last four.

Marcelo Demoliner and Andrea Vavassori worked double duty on Saturday to claim the Grand Prix Hassan II doubles title in Marraekch, winning their semi-final and final matches via Match Tie-breaks.

After sealing their final place with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-3 victory against Indians N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, the champions beat third-seeded Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 for the trophy, saving a match point on the way.

"I know it's really tough to win a final like this. The level was really high," Vavassori said during the trophy ceremony. After thanking his family, team, and partner, he later added: "For me it was one of the best weeks in my career."

Demoliner was full of praise for his partner in his remarks: "Amazing to play with you. You're my hero this week," he said. "It was unbelievable what you did."

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