In Sunday’s edition of “Battle of the Bots”, Reilly Opelka emerged with the win and a title.

Opelka defeated John Isner 6-3, 7-6(7) to triumph at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship and lift his fourth ATP Tour trophy and his first on clay. The clash between 6’11” Opelka and 6’10” Isner marked the tallest ATP Tour final in the Open Era.

“He was my idol growing up as a kid, and before I even met him, I liked him. But since we’ve become such good friend and spent so much time on Tour, I like him even more now,” Opelka said of Isner during the trophy ceremony. “He’s been an unbelievable role model for not just myself, [but] Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. We all say the same. He’s been an unbelievable competitor for a long time.”

Opelka and Isner often joke with one another that they are “Servebots” — or “Bots” for short — who are only known for their serving. But there were 13 break points in the one-hour, 50 -minute match and five mini-breaks in the second-set tie-break, with the clash coming down to returns and passing shots in the critical moments.

Opelka, who earned the lone break of the match in the first set, saved three set points in the second-set tie-break, rallying from 4/6 down to claim his fifth consecutive win against Isner. The younger American now leads their ATP Head2Head series 5-1 and has won 11 of their 14 sets during that stretch.

“We’ve played a handful of times and you keep on beating me. I hate you for that!” Isner joked. “But it was really cool to play you in a final. I think that’s very unique. Obviously there are a lot of similarities between Reilly and I, but I’m much older than him and he has a lot more years ahead of him on Tour, so for me to get to play you in a final, I think that’s very, very special.”

Entering the match, there had been no breaks in the pair’s three most recent matches. The last break of serve in their rivalry came at the 2019 Australian Open, when both men broke once.

Isner had an early look to break that streak when he lined up an inside-out forehand on break point, but he jammed himself and missed wide. Opelka took full advantage at 4-3 and Isner was unable to adjust to a tough bounce on the forehand side.

That ended up being the only break of the match, but both players put pressure on their opponent’s serve throughout the encounter. Opelka saved all eight break points he faced, as Isner struggled to put an emphatic return in the court in those moments. 

Opelka’s backhand return shone through when it mattered the most and although Isner showed courage to rush the net on big points, his countryman often was able to put the ball at his shoestrings to make things difficult. The 24-year-old converted his first championship point when he hit a tough backhand return at the serve-and-volleying Isner, who missed a backhand volley wide.

In his third final of the season — good for second-best on Tour behind only Rafael Nadal (4) — Opelka captured his second title of 2022. The 24-year-old also earned the winner’s hardware in Dallas. All four of his tour-level trophies have come in the United States, but this was his first on clay.

Isner was trying to win his 17th ATP Tour title, and a victory in Houston would have marked his 15th tour-level trophy on home soil. He won the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship in 2013 and by beating Opelka would have become the oldest champion at the tournament in the Open Era. That record remains with Andre Agassi, who was victorious aged 32 in 2003.

Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic ruined Stan Wawrinka’s return to Tour Sunday as they defeated the Swiss star and Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Serbian-Bosnian pair has advanced to semi-finals in Adelaide and Buenos Aires this season and found their best level against Auger-Aliassime and Wawrinka, saving the one break point they faced to advance after 62 minutes.

They will next play Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer after the eighth seeds defeated Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3 in 71 minutes. Arevalo and Rojer will be aiming to win their third tour-level trophy of the year this week, having captured titles in Dallas and Delray Beach as a team.

Fifth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus soared to their third tour-level crown together in Dubai in February and started their Monte Carlo campaign by edging past Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 4-6, 7-5, 10-5.

Puetz and Venus rallied from 3-5 in the second set as they raised their level in the key moments to advance after one hour and 36 minutes.

The final doubles match of the day saw Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev down singles stars Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-3.

World No. 3 Zverev will be attempting to win both the singles and doubles titles in Monte Carlo this week, with the German starting his singles bid against Jaume Munar or Federico Delbonis.

An action-packed Monday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will see Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga take to court in what could be his final match at the clay-court event, Stan Wawrinka make his long-awaited return to Tour and #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner begin his campaign.

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J. Tsonga (FRA) vs M. Cilic (CRO)

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has lit up the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters throughout his career, producing dynamic performances to reach the semi-finals in 2013 and 2016. The former World No. 5 will be competing at the Masters 1000 tournament for the final time this week, though, after he recently announced he would retire after Roland Garros.

The wild card, who defeated Roger Federer en route to the last four in 2016, holds a long-standing rivalry against Marin Cilic, with the Croatian leading their ATP Head2Head series 6-2. However, they have not played since 2018, when Cilic triumphed in the Davis Cup.

Tsonga will be aiming to snap a three-match losing streak when he takes to court against Cilic and is looking forward to returning to a tournament he holds special memories at.

“I remember matches and good victories, especially the one against Roger [Federer],” Tsonga said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I have had extraordinary moments here, and everybody knows that. The view is beautiful, the weather is nice. It’s a very special moment, and it’s the beginning of the clay-court season, so it’s very good to spend time here.”

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S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs A. Bublik (KAZ)

Former World No. 3 Wawrinka will compete at a tour-level event for the first time in 13 months when he faces Alexander Bublik in the first round on Court Rainier III.

The 37-year-old, who had two left-foot surgeries in 2021, has tasted success on the clay in Monte Carlo before, triumphing at the tournament in 2014 when he defeated Federer in the final.

When discussing the past year in his pre-tournament press conference, Wawrinka said: “It was very long and difficult, more than a year. I thought I would be only a few weeks out. It lasted a whole year with many moments of doubt. It was extremely long and tough.

“I really needed to have the willpower to come back, to have the strength to go through rehab and everything, and I’m very happy to be here now.”

Wawrinka will be making his 12th appearance at the tournament, having accepted a wild card. It will be the first meeting between the 16-time tour-level titlist and Bublik, who lifted his first ATP Tour title in Montpellier in February.

B. Coric (CRO) vs [9] J. Sinner (ITA)

Since making his Monte-Carlo debut last season, #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner has lifted three-tour level titles, earned standout wins against Top 10 stars Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud and climbed to a career-high No. 9 in the ATP Rankings.

The 20-year-old arrives at the third ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season off the back of a run to the quarter-finals in Miami, where he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori, Pablo Carreno Busta and Nick Kyrgios.

Meanwhile, Coric will be competing at just his third event of the season, after he returned from injury in Indian Wells in March. The Croatian is making his sixth appearance at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, with his best result coming in 2019 when he advanced to the last eight. Monday’s first-round clash will be the pair’s first meeting.

Best Of The Rest

Italian Fabio Fognini earned the biggest win of his career in Monte Carlo when he defeated Dusan Lajovic in the 2019 final to clinch his first Masters 1000 title.

The 34-year-old will play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the first match on Court Rainier III in what will be the first meeting between the pair. Fognini has flourished on clay throughout his career, with the best result of his season so far coming on the surface in Rio de Janeiro in February when he advanced to the semi-finals.

Seeded duo Diego Schwartzman and Pablo Carreno Busta will start their campaigns on Court des Princes against Karen Khachanov and Argentine qualifier Sebastian Baez, respectively. Schwartzman has lifted three tour-level trophies on clay and advanced to the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo in 2017. Meanwhile, Carreno Busta will be attempting to reach the last eight at the event for the first time this week, having fallen in the third round three times.

Other singles matches will see 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz play Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien, while American Sebastian Korda takes on Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

In the doubles, sixth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah face Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen and seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski take on Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray.

SCHEDULE – MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022

COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 am
F. Fognini (ITA) vs A. Rinderknech (FRA)
[WC] S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs A. Bublik (KAZ)
[PR] B. Coric (CRO) vs [9] J. Sinner (ITA)
[WC] J. Tsonga (FRA) vs M. Cilic (CRO)

COURT DES PRINCES start 11:00 am
S. Korda (USA) vs B. van de Zandschulp (NED)

Not Before 12:30 pm
K. Khachanov vs [12] D. Schwartzman (ARG)
[13] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs [Q] S. Baez (ARG)
[11] H. Hurkacz (POL) vs [Q] H. Dellien (BOL)

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs T. Griekspoor (NED)
A. de Minaur (AUS) vs [Q] B. Zapata Miralles (ESP)
[WC] P. Tsitsipas (GRE) / S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs A. Golubev (KAZ) / L. Sonego (ITA)

COURT 9 start 11:00 am
[6] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL)
[Q] J. Munar (ESP) vs F. Delbonis (ARG)
[PR] A. Krajicek (USA) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs A. Karatsev / J. Peers (AUS)

COURT 11 start 12:00 noon
R. Bopanna (IND) / J. Murray (GBR) vs [7] W. Koolhof (NED) / N. Skupski (GBR)
After Suitable Rest – T. Fritz (USA) / S. Korda (USA) vs K. Krawietz (GER) / A. Mies (GER)

Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina moved past American Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-3 Sunday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to set up a second-round meeting with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

The World No. 45 survived a second-set dip on Court Rainier III as he rolled off six-straight games from 0-3 to triumph after one hour and 39 minutes and improve to 1-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Giron.

Davidovich Fokina has fond memories in Monte-Carlo, having advanced to the quarter-finals last season. The 22-year-old defeated Alex de Minaur, Matteo Berrettini and Lucas Pouille before falling to eventual champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Davidovich Fokina plays Djokovic next and will be aiming to earn his first win over the Serbian, with the top seed leading their ATP Head2Head series 2-0.

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Grigor Dimitrov followed Davidovich Fokina on to court and also advanced after Nikoloz Basilashvili was forced to retire in the second set when the Bulgarian was leading 6-3, 2-0 after 51 minutes.

The former World No. 3 reached the semi-finals at the clay-court event in 2018 and is making his ninth appearance in Monte-Carlo.

Dimitrov has captured wins against 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka former World No. 7 Fernando Verdasco and World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini at the tournament over the years and arrives this week in confident mood, having advanced to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells last month.

Dimitrov will face the winner of the all-Serbian battle between Dusan Lajovic and Filip Krajinovic in the second round.

Top seed Novak Djokovic feels that he is fully motivated and ready to test himself against the world’s best players once again as he prepares to play at his second tour-level event of the season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters this week.

“I still feel motivated to be on the Tour and compete with young guys and try to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles,” Djokovic said in his pre-tournament press conference.

“I’m very pleased to be here and Monaco has been home for over ten years. I have been eagerly waiting for the moment when I will be out competing again, so this is the best place where I could possibly start.”

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The Serbian will begin his clay-court campaign against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and is hoping he can take confidence from his strong results on the surface in 2021, when he clinched titles at Roland Garros and the Belgrade Open and advanced to the final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“Clay court is the surface on which I grew up in Serbia and played many years only on that surface actually. Historically it hasn’t been my most successful surface, but I have had some big success on clay. [The] Roland Garros win last year is still fresh in my memory, so I try to use that as an inspiration to kick-start the clay-court season [in the] best possible way.

“I understand that I probably won’t be at my best at the beginning of this week. I am still testing my engine, so to say, and building my game, so it will take obviously some time, some matches to really get in the groove and find the competitive play that I really need.”

Djokovic arrives at the third ATP Masters 1000 event of the season as the World No. 1, having reclaimed top spot on 21 March, after temporarily losing it to Daniil Medvedev for three weeks from 28 February.

The 34-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals in Dubai in February, knows that a deep run in Monte Carlo will maintain his position at the top of the sport.

“Being World No. 1 is the highest achievement that you can have in our sport, so I’ll try to maintain that position as much as possible,” Djokovic said.

Revenge tasted sweet for David Goffin on Sunday.

In the first week of the season, Alex Molcan defeated the Belgian in straight sets. But in their second clash, Goffin rallied from a set and a break down to triumph 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and lift the Grand Prix Hassan II title.

“I’m very happy, proud of my week. It was not easy, a lot of tough matches,” Goffin said. “But at the end, I have my sixth title, here in Marrakech. It gives me a lot of happiness and confidence for the season on the clay.”

Molcan was in control of the championship match, serving at 6-3, 2-1, 40/15 in his second ATP Tour final. But the Slovakian lefty was unable to hold that service game, and that was the only opening the former World No. 7 needed. Goffin emerged victorious in Marrakech after one hour and 58 minutes to claim his sixth tour-level trophy.

“It was the case twice before that match that I lost the first set and I always stayed calm the whole week to turn it around. It was the case again today, because he was playing well. He was better than me in the first set, and then I managed to play better and better, serving better, being more aggressive in the middle of the second,” Goffin said. “I was the better player [after that]. I was playing even better in the third set, so I’m really happy the way I finished with another break [and] a good match point. I didn’t want to serve for the match, I preferred to finish with a break.”

The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up ended his 2021 season early due to a left knee injury and struggled to start this year, earning a 6-9 record before arriving in Morocco. But the 31-year-old battled through three three-setters en route to his first tour-level crown since Montpellier last February.

For a while, it seemed Goffin faced a steep climb against Molcan. The Belgian, who at his best is very consistent from the baseline and uses his movement to put pressure on opponents, was misfiring. Molcan took full advantage and moved to within four service holds of earning his maiden triumph at this level.

But the Slovakian missed a forehand drop shot to relinquish his break advantage in the second set and then missed another backhand drop shot in his next service game to allow his veteran opponent to go up a break.

Goffin found his game from there and broke early in the decider as Molcan’s backhand began to falter. The Marrakech crowd got behind the Belgian with chants of “David! David!”

Goffin stayed calm in the tense moments, saving break point at 4-3 in the final set when Molcan missed a backhand into the net. He avoided facing another break point by hitting a forehand winner on the line, and held on from there for the title.

What fans might not know is that Goffin warmed up for the match with former World No. 22 Hicham Arazi, a lefty who is the Grand Prix Hassan II Tournament Director.

“This morning it was really nice,” Goffin said. “We were chatting a little bit with each other and we were talking about when he came in Davis Cup when he was playing for Morocco against Belgium… he was an amazing, talented player when I was young, so it was nice.”

Molcan made an impressive run in Marrakech, where he earned three-set victories against top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and sixth seed Botic van de Zandchulp before eliminating eighth seed Laslo Djere in straight set in the semi-finals. He was quick to thank the crowd during the trophy ceremony for supporting him throughout the week.

“I’m really grateful for it. You helped me to win many matches this week, so thanks again,” Molcan said. “Hopefully I will come here next year and you will cheer for me as well.”

He added: “It was an amazing week for me. I won a lot of matches and enjoyed it very much. I want to thank my coach Karol Beck. We’ve been working together for four months now and he has been very helpful.”

World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas broke new ground at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last year when he soared to his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the clay-court event.

Returning to the Monte-Carlo Country Club this week, the Greek revealed he is feeling confident and excited to play in front of a supportive crowd as he aims to retain his title.

“[I am] feeling great,” Tsitsipas said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “Starting with the tournament here in Monte-Carlo, it feels [like] home for me to play on this court and having the opportunity this year to play in front of people and a massive crowd coming from both Italy and France.

“I have some supporters in Monaco. I have family here. It’s great sharing this with them and getting good weather hopefully all week long and a good series of tennis matches.”

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Tsitsipas enjoyed a strong clay-court season in 2021. Alongside his Monte Carlo victory, the 23-year-old triumphed in Lyon and advanced to the final at Roland Garros, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets.

However, the 23-year-old is still aiming to win his first title of the season, with his best result this year coming in Rotterdam, where he soared to the championship match.

In preparation for his opening clash in Monte Carlo against 2019 champion Fabio Fognini or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, Tsitsipas hit with former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who is competing at his first tour-level event since March 2021.

On the return of Wawrinka, Tsitsipas was full of praise, saying: “Having practised with Stan in the past, he can play good tennis. On his best days, he’s someone that can step on the court and do a lot of good things out there from everywhere around the court.”

Tsitsipas arrives in Monte-Carlo having competed at both hard-court Masters 1000 tournaments in March, advancing to the third round in Indian Wells and fourth round in Miami.

While the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals titlist enjoyed competing on hard in America, he is looking forward to playing on clay once again.

“I like the transition of hard to clay,” Tsitsipas added. “I enjoy switching from hard courts to clay courts. I always love coming back to the academy where I train and change my shoes and go back to the clay. It’s a good feeling.”

Top-seeded Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell captured their first ATP Tour title as a team in their fourth tournament as a duo in Houston. After reaching the Australian Open final in January, they charged to the trophy at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship without dropping a set in four matches.

In Saturday’s final, they defeated twin Serbian brothers Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov, 6-3, 6-3, to cap a dominant week in which they lost just 21 total games across eight sets.

“I had so much fun during the week. We were pretty clinical,” said Ebden. “I feel lucky to say that but we were able to get through in straight sets in all our matches, pretty rare in this shootout format.

“We’re super happy, super excited. We came to Houston early, we put in a lot of training days, got really used to the courts and conditions and really enjoyed our time here. I think that paid off in the end. To get the title, we’re really happy with that.”

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The Aussies broke serve four times in 10 chances in the final, and faced just one break point.

Ebden and Purcell are the first Australians to win the Houston title since Pat Cash and Patrick Rafter in 1996. It was the fifth career ATP Tour title for the 34-year-old Ebden and the first for the 24-year-old Purcell.

Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez first competed as a team last week in Marbella on the ATP Challenger Tour. On Saturday at the Grand Prix Hassan II, they capped off their tour-level team debut with a title.

The Brazilian/Spanish duo defeated Andrea Vavassori and Jan Zielinski, 6-1, 7-5, in the Marrakech final. After dominating the opening set, the champions trailed by a break in the second but won two sudden-death break points — including one on match point — to earn the victory. The first sudden-death point doubled as a set point for Vavassori and Zielinski on serve at 5-4.

Matos, the doubles World No. 68, claimed his third ATP Tour title and his second of 2022, with both previous triumphs coming alongside fellow Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves.

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The Marrakech title was a second tour-level crown for the 27-year-old Vega Hernandez, who won his first title last season in Umag alongside Fernando Romboli of Brazil.

“We lost our first set 2-6 this week, so we didn’t have a great start and therefore it feels even more special to stand here with the trophy,” said the Spaniard. “I also want to congratulate Andrea who is a good friend, and I’m always happy to share a court with him.”

That opening set was the only one the champions dropped on the week. After advancing to the second round in a Match Tie-break, they rattled off three straight-sets wins. Matos and Vega Hernandez’s semi-final victory over Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi avenged a loss to that pairing one week ago in Marbella.