Frances Tiafoe was feeling “under the weather” entering his first-round matchup Monday at the Millennium Estoril Open. He must have felt even worse as he trailed Dusan Lajovic by a set and a break, but after an off-court visit with the physio, he was able to take command of a match that seemed to be slipping away.

The fifth-seeded American dominated the second half of the match to run away with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory.

“I’m not feeling very well. I’m a little but under the weather,” said Tiafoe, who reached the Estoril final on his 2018 debut. “It was tough for me to move or breathe and stuff like that. The physio saved me today. He took me in there, down a set and a break, and I started feeling a little bit better.”

What a comeback 😳@FTiafoe comes back from a set and a break down and not feeling well to defeat Lajovic 2-6 7-5 6-0 in a bizarre match in Estoril! pic.twitter.com/DF2p0JrHRC

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 25, 2022

Tiafoe saved a pair of break points to avoid going behind 0-3 in the second set before briefly leaving the court. When he returned, he won 12 of the last 15 games — including the last eight in a row — to advance.

His started his comeback by connecting on some all-or-nothing shots as he looked to shorten the points. After getting back on serve, he began to win points in many other ways, including claiming the long rallies that Lajovic owned throughout the opening set. 

It was all working for the American in set three, as he mixed in some drop shots to go along with his baseline brilliance to see out the match with ease.

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Following the victory, he gave a special shout-out to a young fan named Pedro who had watched him on his 2018 final run. Tiafoe secured tickets for the youngster to watch Monday’s match.

“I didn’t want to give up,” Tiafoe said. “I wanted to win so he could watch me play here all week.”

Addressing the Portuguese crowd as as a whole, he later added: “I love the fans here. You guys get so much behind me. You guys love the tennis I bring, so that means a lot to me.”

Tiafoe will play Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round on Wednesday after the 25-year-old wild card advanced past Pablo Andujar via a second-set retirement. 

Soonwoo Kwon also advanced on Monday, beating Benoit Paire, 6-4, 7-5.

Miomir Kecmanovic has been one of the most consistent performers on the ATP Tour so far in 2022 and the World No. 38 brought his strong form to the BMW Open by American Express in Munich on Monday, brushing past German wild card Max Hans Rehberg with a 6-2, 6-3 first-round win at the ATP 250 event.

The Serb has reached the quarter-finals in his past five tournaments, including runs to the last eight at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Indian Wells. He was once again in clinical form against Rehberg at the Iphitos Tennis Club, breaking twice in each set against a player making his tour-level debut in his hometown.

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Kecmanovic sits at a career-high No. 38 in the ATP Rankings and pushed World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to three sets in the quarter-finals at the Serbia Open last week. The 22-year-old will be keen to turn his good form into a deep run on tournament debut in Munich as he chases a first tour-level semi-final of 2022. Seventh-seeded Kecmanovic is guaranteed to face a home favourite in the second round, either World No. 67 Daniel Altmaier or three-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Also on Monday, Alex Molcan maintained his impressive clay-court form with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over fellow Slovak Norbert Gombos. Molcan defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to a second tour-level final in Marrakech two weeks ago, but the World No. 46 faces a stern test in the second round in Bavaria as he lines up against second seed Casper Ruud.

No. 9 Carlos Alcaraz +2, (Career High)
The #NextGenATP Spaniard has made more history after becoming the ninth-youngest player to climb into the Top 10 since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973. The 18-year-old captured his third tour-level title of the season on the clay at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in front of his home support, defeating Pablo Carreno Busta in the final. The last player to crack the Top 10 at Alcaraz’s age was countryman Rafael Nadal, who also achieved the feat on 25 April following the ATP 500 in Barcelona in 2005. Nadal triumphed at the event 17 years ago, defeating Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in the championship match. Read Barcelona Final Report & Watch Highlights.

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No. 18 Pablo Carreno Busta, +1
The 30-year-old has jumped one spot after reaching his first ATP Tour final of the season in Barcelona. The Spaniard, who is a six-time tour-level champ, earned impressive wins against seeded pair Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman as he advanced to his maiden championship match in the Spanish city in his 10th appearance at the event.

No. 50 Fabio Fognini, +12
The Italian has climbed back into the Top 50 following his run to the semi-finals at the Serbia Open. The 34-year-old moved past Marco Cecchinato, Aljaz Bedene and Oscar Otte to reach the last four at a tournament for the second time this season (Rio de Janeiro). Fognini lost to Andrey Rublev, who went on to defeat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final in Belgrade. Read Belgrade Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov, +1
No. 24 Alex de Minaur, +1
No. 48 Marton Fucsovics, +5
No. 61 Lorenzo Musetti, +7
No. 62 Oscar Otte, +5 (Career High)
No. 63 Emil Ruusuvuori, +10 (Career High)
No. 76 Brandon Nakashima, +5
No. 88 Jiri Lehecka, +5 (Career High)

“I’d like to be World No. 1, a Grand Slam champion, winner of Olympic medals… I dream big.”

In the time since Carlos Alcaraz first appeared on the ATP Tour in 2020, he has never been shy about his expectations. They are no different from what you might hear from many other players of his age aspiring to make a name for themselves on the Tour. The amazing thing about Alcaraz, though, is that aged 18 he already looks set to achieve them.

Although he still has a very long career ahead of him, the Spaniard has progressed at a frightening pace. One year ago, he was still outside the Top 100 and marked as a player with the potential to be one of the world’s best. Today, Alcaraz broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings at World No. 9.

“I’ve always been a normal guy. I’m not scared of fame, I’m not going to change the person I am,” Alcaraz said. “I’m happy to know that at 18 years old I’m in the Top 10, and to do it [at] the same age as my idol Rafa is impressive.”

The Spaniard accomplished the feat at 18 years, 11 months and 20 days, making him the ninth-youngest player to do so since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973. It is the first time someone of his age has done it since countryman Rafael Nadal aged 18 years, 10 months and 22 days. Coincidentally, or perhaps symbolically, the 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion also achieved the feat on 25 April following the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in 2005.

Youngest Top 10 Players

“I don’t have any limits. I want to keep playing at the level I’m at and I think that if I keep going like this I have a lot of options to keep going up,” Alcaraz said. “I want to keep enjoying myself on the court, I don’t want to touch the ceiling yet.”

Cracking the Top 10 is not the only feat Alcaraz has achieved through his talent. On top of being one of the youngest players to earn a place in the Top 10, no other player has ever reached 50 tour-level victories with so few matches played. The Spaniard only required 70 tour-level clashes to reach the benchmark, bettering the 79 needed by Djokovic, 81 for Nadal and 97 for Roger Federer.

He also reached the mark three matches earlier than his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero (73), who occupied the pinnacle of the ATP Rankings for eight weeks. The former World No. 1, apart from polishing his understudy’s technique, also takes it upon himself to teach him about his journey in 2003.

“I have Juan Carlos, who is able to tell me how difficult it is and how much of a sacrifice it takes to reach No. 1. I think I’m on the right path. If I stay on it and continue to do things well, I will have chances, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Alcaraz said of the advantage of having an experienced coach.

While last season he reeled out several personal firsts such as his debut win in a Grand Slam, in an ATP Masters 1000 and against a Top 10 player, this season he is taking down some more significant milestones such as winning his maiden ATP 500 trophy in Rio de Janeiro – where he was the youngest to do so since the category was created in 2009 – and a Masters 1000 crown in Miami. Since his first title in Umag in 2021, his trophy cabinet has been filling up quickly.

Alcaraz’s progress as a player has been meteoric. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion has a fast serve that belies his years and he is solid both on his backhand and his powerful forehand. Essentially, he hits the ball extremely hard. He is capable of changing the tempo of a match, is very tactically intelligent and has in his hands the ability to produce any shot his vivid imagination can conjure up. Don’t forget about his drop shots, either.

Despite the magnitude of his success, the people that work with him every day are not particularly surprised by his quick development. To go along with all the above-mentioned strengths, Alcaraz’s team has instilled in him a culture for working extremely hard that he has welcomed with open arms, allowing him to flourish in record time. He is respectful, humble, ambitious and a winner. All this is hidden behind a permanent smile. It is a cocktail of ingredients that all add up to create one of today’s best players.

Only time will tell if he is capable of achieving his dream. Meanwhile, he is now able to boast of having done something that very few of his age have done before him — being one of the ATP Tour’s straight-A students by becoming a member of the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings.