Taylor Fritz was on course for an eight-set sweep en route to the Delray Beach Open title. Instead, the American needed to dig deep in a final set after missing out on a championship point against Miomir Kecmanovic in Sunday’s final.

The top seed and World No. 7 was up to the challenge in a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 win for his fifth ATP Tour title and first of 2023. Four of those trophies have come in the past 12 months, beginning with Fritz’s Indian Wells triumph last March, as documented on Netflix’s Break Point.

“My first time back here in quite a while and the event was amazing,” said Fritz, who was competing at the ATP 250 for the sixth time, with his previous appearance coming in 2020. “The fans especially, the turnout was incredible and it makes me really proud to be an American playing at a home event, with how many people were in the stands.”

“This year was incredible after losing in the first and second round [almost] every single year I’d been here. I couldn’t be happier with coming back and having this result.”

Fritz was dominant on serve in the final, losing just two points on his first delivery (35/37) and allowing just one break point, which Kecmanovic converted late in the second set. He was aggressive off both baseline wings and finished with 43 total winners to go along with his 10 aces.

After racing through the first seven games of the match, Fritz was on the brink of victory with a pair of break points at 4-3 and a match point at 5-4 in the second set. But Kecmanovic broke from 40/15 in the 11th game of the set to force a decider, handing the American his first lost set of the week.

With the support of the Delray Beach crowd, Fritz settled the nerves with a love hold to open the final set, then regained control of the contest with a break to lead 3-1. His fifth break of the match closed out the win just shy of the two-hour mark.

Now 5-5 in tour-level finals, Fritz has won his past four title matches (Indian Wells, Eastbourne, Tokyo, Delray Beach). He is the first Top 10 champion in the 31-year history of the Delray Beach event.

Kecmanovic, who earned his 100th tour-level win by beating Radu Albot on Saturday, was playing in his third ATP Tour final, with all three coming on different surfaces. He earned a personal-best 38 wins in 2022 and is set to return to the Top 30 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday after reaching his first final of 2023.

The Delray Beach Open set a new attendance record this week, with an American in the final for the eighth time in the past nine editions of the event.

Carlos Alcaraz went more than three months without a competitive match as he recovered from abdominal and hamstring injuries. This week at the Argentina Open, it looked like the Spaniard had never left.

In his tournament debut, the World No. 2 overwhelmed second seed Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday to claim his seventh ATP Tour title and his first since last year’s US Open. Alcaraz lost just one set in his four victories at the Buenos Aires ATP 250, in his first match back against Laslo Djere. By improving to 7-2 in tour-level finals, Alcaraz moved within 590 points of No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“I felt very comfortable playing the final,” Alcaraz said post-match. “I knew that it was going to be really difficult. I started really focussed on what I had to do at the beginning, my game, my level.  This is the level that I have to play in finals.”

The 19-year-old used a seven-game surge to take command of the final against Norrie, turning an early 2-3 deficit in to a 6-3, 3-0 lead as his relentless pressure reaped rewards. Alcaraz did not face a break point until he failed to serve out the match in a nervy 5-3 game.

Down 0/15 while serving at 5-5, the Spaniard bravely roped a forehand swinging volley to reassert himself. The next game was the longest of the match, as Alcaraz battled through two deuces before sealing victory with a forehand drop shot — a tactic he turned to time and again throughout the week.

After winning his first tour-level title in 2021 (Umag) and five more last season, Alcaraz is quickly off the mark in 2023. He became the first Spaniard to win the Buenos Aires trophy since Rafael Nadal in 2015 and tied Gustavo Kuerten as the highest-ranked winner in tournament history at No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Alcaraz is also the first teenager to win the event, with Casper Ruud the youngest previous winner at age 21 in 2020.

Norrie fell to 4-9 in tour-level finals with the defeat, but his three victories on the week drew him level with Stefanos Tsitsipas for the most tour-level wins this season with 13. The 27-year-old was seeking to match his biggest career win by measure of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, after his victory against then-World No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the United Cup last month.

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

The Alcaraz family spans five generations in El Palmar, a parish of Murcia with a little over 24,000 inhabitants that is now known the world over thanks to the sporting feats of Carlos Alcaraz.

Yet this fledgling superstar surrounds himself with people that keep his feet firmly on the ground. The humility and people skills of Team Alcaraz are an important part of understanding the thrilling story he continues to write with his racquet. Some situations and actions speak louder than words.

The team arrived in Buenos Aires for Alcaraz’s comeback to the ATP Tour after three months away at this week’s Argentina Open. Visiting the venue for the first time, Carlos Alcaraz González, Carlos’ father, surprised Martin Jaite, the tournament director, with an unexpected gift.

He introduced himself before showing the former Top 10 player a photo of him after winning a tournament in 1983 in Murcia. One of the ballboys seen alongside Jaite in the picture is Carlos Sr., who had kept the photo at his parents’ home having asked Jaite to sign it for him as a momento.

“I was only 12 years old and for me, at that time, it was amazing. When we came here, I remembered it and decided to bring it for Martin as a present,” Carlos Sr. recalled in conversation with ATPTour.com. The photo was taken at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo in Murcia, the place where the younger Alcaraz learned the game. It is now a treasured adornment to Jaite’s office.

Carlos Sr. himself could have been a tennis player too. In fact, when he was 14 years old, he was offered a place at the Bruguera Tennis Academy in Barcelona, but his family was unable to afford it at that time.

Even so, he did play a few tournaments on the circuit, did well nationally, and became a tennis coach, something that allowed him to always remain at his son’s side. He has shown hundreds of kids how to move around the court, how to serve, and how to enjoy themselves on a tennis court, teaching them values that they can put into practice in their lives outside of tennis. His best student, of course, ended up becoming the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at just 19 years of age.

While Alcaraz is very much in the limelight at the Argentina Open, drawing queues of hundreds of fans hoping to get a photo or at least exchange a few words with their Spanish hero, the top seed has shown Buenos Aires that he has none of the airs or graces of a superstar. Quite the opposite.

Whenever his schedule allows it, Alcaraz takes his time to sign autographs, take selfies, and talk to his fans, always with a smile on his face and ever grateful for their gestures of good will. He takes it all in his stride.

Since Alcaraz’s arrival at the Argentina Open, the only difference from the rest of the players is that he and his team have priority for the transport from the hotel to the club, or to wherever they need to be, and the organisers have assigned a security guard to escort him throughout the day.

Alcaraz is accompanied by his father, his elder brother Alvaro, his uncle, his agent Albert Molina, his physio Juanjo Moreno, and Toni Cascales, the long-time former trainer of his main coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is not present on this swing of the Tour.

“It’s important to me to always be with my team. I know that with them I’ll make fewer mistakes and that nothing in this new world will catch me off guard,” Alcaraz explained. “At the end of the day, they have been through this, and learning from the experiences of Juan Carlos, Cascales and my family helps me not to make mistakes and to be able to progress more quickly and always try to be better.”

Although their reputation goes before them, the people working at the tournament were constantly surprised by Alcaraz and his team’s good humour and humility, something that was reflected in one particular moment this week.

Alcaraz arrived for training on one of the practice courts as he normally would, with his compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles. But when he got there, the court had just been used by other players and was not ready for them. Without complaining, Cascales picked up a rake and Alcaraz himself grabbed a brush that was leaning on the fence to finish the job off before getting down to work.

This is not the only story that speaks to Alcaraz’s character. He also invited some Argentinian players of his age, with whom he had spent time on the junior tour, to come and watch his opening matches from the stands.

Young players like Alejo Lorenzo Lingua Lavallen and Roman Andres Burruchaga, who dream of their own place on the ATP Tour and currently play in lower-tier events, were able to cheer their friend on from the stands. Why does he do it?

“I like being friendly. I have good friends from when I was a junior, I went through a lot with them and I hadn’t seen them for a while. I’m really glad to see them again,” Alcaraz explained. “I’ve always tried to get on well with the people I’ll basically be spending time with every day of my life. I try to be friendly, that’s important to me.”

This is how the World No. 2 spends his days. Always smiling, competing and enjoying this sport as much as he possibly can.

Daniil Medvedev cemented his return to the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by continuing his domination of Jannik Sinner on Sunday at the ABN AMRO Open, where the sixth seed completed a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory in the championship match.

Medvedev had to retain his composure after dropping a hard-fought opening set at the indoor ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. Montpellier champion Sinner started aggressively in his pursuit of back-to-back ATP Tour titles, but Medvedev responded by digging deep, dialling in on serve and frequently defying the Italian with some outstanding defence to improve his lead in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series to 6-0.

“I first came here in [2018] and I straightaway loved it here,” said Medvedev, who now holds a 10-4 record in Rotterdam, at the trophy ceremony. “I love coming back here. The last two times I played here were terrible and I’m happy to make it better this year.”

With his two-hour, 29-minute win, Medvedev secured his 16th tour-level title, 15 of which have been won on hard courts. He will return to the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday as a result of his first title since his Vienna triumph last October, with the 27-year-old set to leapfrog Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and Felix Auger-Aliassime to No. 8.

After his semi-final win against Tallon Griekspoor, Sinner revealed plans to speak to his team to devise a plan for Sunday’s final that would help avoid a repeat of his past struggles against Medvedev. Although the Italian was still required to go toe to toe in extended baseline exchanges with the sixth seed, he also frequently ventured forward to try and disrupt his opponent’s rhythm.

Those tactics paid off early as Sinner clinched a gripping opening set at the Rotterdam Ahoy. Although Medvedev rallied by winning three games in a row from 1-4, some stunning all-court play from Sinner earned him another crucial break in the 12th game to clinch a set in which he won 12 from 17 points at the net.

Yet that disappointment barely seemed to impact Medvedev, who engineered an immediate momentum shift. His relentless hitting off both wings forced Sinner into some early errors in the second set, and he broke the Italian in the first game en route to levelling the match.

Two further breaks of serve for Medvedev followed in the decider as Sinner, who was chasing his eighth win in the space of 10 days after lifting his first title of the season in Montpellier last week, appeared to tire. Medvedev went on to complete victory after converting five of his 12 break points and hitting just 17 unforced errors to Sinner’s 30.

“Daniil, congrats to you and your team, winning your first title of this season,” said Sinner, who will rise two spots to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday. “I think you’re going to win many more this year, so I wish you all the best… It has been two positive weeks for me. I played many matches and I’m very proud.”

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek capped a week of tie-break tension with a thrilling championship match victory on Sunday afternoon at the ABN AMRO Open, where the third seeds downed Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-6(5), 2-6, 12-10 to claim their first title of 2023.

Dodig and Krajicek faced a championship point at 9/10 in the Match Tie-break but reeled off three straight points to clinch their fourth ATP Tour title as a team. Earlier, they had also rallied from 3-5 in the opening set, which featured six service breaks.

The Croatian-American duo was frequently forced to dig deep during its title run at the indoor hard-court ATP 500. Dodig and Krajiceck prevailed in four tie-breaks and two Match Tie-breaks across their four matches at the Rotterdam Ahoy, where they were competing for the first time as a team.

Bopanna and Ebden converted five of eight break points in the final but were left to rue missed chances at key moments in the one-hour, 42-minute encounter. The Indian-Australian pair let slip two set points in the 10th game of the first set before also missing their chance to clinch victory in the Match Tie-break.

Since becoming a full-time partnership last April, Dodig and Krajicek have lifted tour-level titles in Lyon, Naples, Basel and now Rotterdam, while they also competed at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. Sunday’s triumph was Dodig’s second in Rotterdam, after he also lifted the trophy there in 2017 alongside Marcel Granollers.

An action-packed February on the ATP Tour next week sees Rio de Janeiro, Doha and Marseille host some of the world’s top players.

The season’s first ATP 500 action on clay takes place at the Rio Open presented by Claro, where defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti lead the field.

Meanwhile a pair of ATP 250 events — one outdoors and one indoors — also feature a host of top names. Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev are the top seeds under the Doha sun at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, while Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner headline under the roof at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

View Draws: Rio de Janeiro | Doha | Marseille

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN RIO DE JANEIRO
1) Alcaraz Defending Champ: The then-World No. 29 Alcaraz’s run to his maiden ATP 500 crown at the Rio Open presented by Claro a year ago was the first of five titles in 2022 for the Spaniard, who became the youngest No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history just seven months after his triumph in Brazil.

He returns to the Jockey Club Brasileiro this year as the World No. 2 and top seed. Recent injuries forced Alcaraz to stop competing for more than three months prior to the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. But the 19-year-old will look to continue his return to top form in the first round against 22-year-old Brazilian wild card Mateus Alves.

2) Can Norrie, Musetti Back Up Clay Success?: Both second seed Norrie and third seed Musetti lifted their maiden ATP Tour trophies on clay in 2022, in Lyon and Hamburg, respectively. Norrie, who will compete in another final on the surface in Buenos Aires on Sunday, takes on a qualifier first up in Rio, as will Musetti.

3) Former Winners Eye Rio Repeat: Prior to Alcaraz, the four champions in Rio were Cristian Garin (2020), Laslo Djere (2019), Diego Schwartzman (2018) and Dominic Thiem (2017). All four are back in Brazil seeking another success this year. Thiem opens against home favourite Thiago Monteiro and could play Norrie in the second round.

4) Bellucci Says Goodbye: A legend of Brazilian tennis, Thomaz Bellucci will bring his professional career to a close this week in Rio. The 35-year-old, who made his ATP Tour debut in 2008, lifted four tour-level titles and reached a career-high No. 21 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2010, making him the second-highest ranked Brazilian of all time after former World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten. Bellucci will play sixth seed Sebastian Baez in the first round and partner Monteiro in doubles. 

5) Home Hopes Seek Doubles Glory: Each of the top two seeded pairings in Rio contain a home favourite. Rafael Matos and his Spanish partner David Vega Hernandez, who lifted four ATP Tour titles together in 2022, are the top seeds, while Marcelo Melo and Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal are seeded second. Defending champions Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini are seeded third.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN DOHA
1) Rublev Top Seed: The 25-year-old Rublev holds fond memories of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he reached his maiden tour-level hard-court final in 2018 and lifted the trophy in 2020. The Top 10 star will seek to bounce back quickly from his early defeat to Alex de Minaur in Rotterdam when he takes on Tallon Griekspoor or Quentin Halys in his opening match at the Khalifa International Stadium.

2) Felix, Daniil Debuts: Medvedev delivered an imperious performance on Friday to end Auger-Aliassime’s Rotterdam title defence at the quarter-final stage, and the pair would meet again should they reach the semi-finals in Doha. Both players are making their debut at the ATP 250 event in Qatar, where Auger-Aliassime is seeded second and Medvedev third.

3) Can Zverev Build Big Run?: Alexander Zverev’s bid to recapture his best form after a long-term ankle injury takes the German to Doha, where he is the fourth seed on event debut.

The 25-year-old will face a tough opening test against two-time champion Andy Murray or Lorenzo Sonego. Despite a 3-5 tour-level record for 2023, the 19-time ATP Tour titlist Zverev will carry with him confidence from wins against Stan Wawrinka and Adelaide-2 champion Soonwoo Kwon in recent weeks.

4) RBA Chases Doha Hat-trick: Roberto Bautista Agut hit some red-hot form to capture his second Doha crown a year ago. The Spaniard, who also lifted the trophy in Qatar in 2019, dropped just one set in last year’s title run and is seeded fifth this time around as he seeks his ninth ATP Tour title on hard courts, and his 12th overall.

5) Mektic/Pavic Lead Doubles Field: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic began their year by clinching their 15th tour-level title as a team in Auckland. Despite a first-round exit in Rotterdam last week, the Croatians will be confident as the top seeds at an event where Pavic triumphed in 2018 alongside Oliver Marach.

Among their rivals in Doha are Australian Open finalists Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, who are seeded second, and third seeded Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden. Bopanna is also a former champion, having won in 2020 alongside Wesley Koolhof.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MARSEILLE
1) Red-Hot Sinner: The 21-year-old Sinner has enjoyed a standout February so far on European hard courts. He lifted his seventh tour-level title in Montpellier a week ago and is set to take on Tallon Griekspoor in the Rotterdam semi-finals on Saturday night. Can the Italian, who is seeded second for the Open 13 Provence, continue that form under the roof in Marseille?

2) Hubi Top Seed: Hurkacz arrives in the south of France with a 6-4 record for the year and the Pole will be keen for a deeper run at an event where he reached the second round in 2019 and 2020. The 26-year-old Hurkacz, the top seed, is chasing his first ATP Tour title since Halle last June. He opens against home favourite Arthur Rinderknech or Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi.

3) Gasquet Leads Home Charge: The seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet, who lifted his 16th ATP Tour title in Auckland in January, is the highest-ranked of seven Frenchmen (not including qualifiers) seeking to become the first home champion in Marseille since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2017. Among the home hopes joining Gasquet in the draw are Benjamin Bonzi, Rinderknech, and #NextGenATP talents Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche.

4) Grigor, Stan Look To Make Marseille Mark: Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov is chasing his first match win on his third appearance in Marseille, but the Rotterdam semi-finalist will hope his consistent 2023 form can help break that duck this week. Another former World No. 3, Stan Wawrinka, was a quarter-finalist in 2015 and 2016 but will hope to improve his 3-4 overall event record with a deeper run this time around.

5) Frenchmen Lead Doubles Field: Edouard Roger-Vasselin is a two-time champion in Marseille, and the home favourite and Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez are the top seeds in the doubles draw. The man Roger-Vasselin won alongside in 2012, Nicolas Mahut, is seeded second with Fabrice Martin, while Belgian duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are the third seeds.

Frances Tiafoe dipped his toes in the basketball world Friday when he competed in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. On Saturday, a six-time NBA All Star visited the tennis world in Buenos Aires.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler watched Carlos Alcaraz’s semi-final win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the Argentina Open. Alcaraz knew who Butler was, but this was their first meeting.

“I have seen him play several times. I have a lot of respect for him, after all he is a legend of his sport, a star and to have him come to see me is a privilege.” Alcaraz said. “I thanked him and invited him to the final.”

¿Querían saber cómo tira Carlos?👀🏀

📞 @MiamiHEAT @NBALatam pic.twitter.com/iP1YQldVE3

— Argentina Open (@ArgentinaOpen) February 18, 2023

The World No. 2 enjoys basketball and tries to keep up depending where he is in the world.

“Sometimes with the time in Spain it is complicated but yes. Miami, the Lakers, some others, there are several teams that I like a lot,” Alcaraz said. “I also like to play it and I’m not bad at it.”

^{Photo Credit: Argentina Open/Sergio Llamera}
The 19-year-old did not know Butler was coming until the last moment, when the management agency they share let him know. The pair shot hoops after the Spaniard’s victory.

“For me it’s something new to meet personalities like that,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t see myself at that level and for me it [was], ‘Look, there’s Jimmy Butler!’”

Carlos Alcaraz missed four months due to injury, but he has picked up where he left off.

The Spaniard advanced to the Argentina Open final on Saturday when he cruised past countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 in 77 minutes. The top seed will try to secure his first title of 2023 in his first tournament since last year’s Rolex Paris Masters.

“It’s a really special moment for me,” Alcaraz said. “I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover in those four months the confidence and the rhythm. Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me.”

The 19-year-old knows he will face a tough challenger in the championship clash against second seed Cameron Norrie. The Spaniard leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-1, but Norrie claimed their most recent meeting last year in Cincinnati.

“I played a couple of times against him. [He is] a really, really tough player,” Alcaraz said. “I know that I have to give everything I have in the final. I’m going to say it’s going to be a really tough final, but at the same time a beautiful one.”

Despite losing a set in his first match of the tournament against Laslo Djere, Alcaraz has gained momentum on the Argentina clay. A winner in Rio de Janeiro last year, Alcaraz will try to add another South American crown to his trophy case. 

After one point early in the second set, Alcaraz hit an open-stance backhand winner up the line on the full stretch. Zapata Miralles threw his hands up in disbelief, knowing his opponent was finding an answer for all the questions he was asking with his own game.

Alcaraz was relentless with his pressure from the baseline, punishing every ball that did not drive him back. He won 55 per cent of his return points and broke serve five times.

^{Photo Credit: Argentina Open/Sergio Llamera}
Norrie is also finding his clay-court footing in Buenos Aires. The second seed advanced to the final with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas.

“It’s going to be a tough one for sure regardless of who I play,” Norrie said before knowing Alcaraz will be his opponent. “I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final.”

Norrie needed three sets to battle through his first two matches of the week at the ATP 250. However, the lefty raised his level in the semi-finals against a gritty foe in Varillas, who reached a career-high No. 94 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in January.

The Peruvian rallied the crowd to his side and clawed back deficits throughout the match, saving two set points when serving at 4-5 in the opening set and another at 5-6. But Norrie, who has team members from Argentina, never let slip his focus. He saved two break points in the final game to triumph after one hour and 54 minutes. 

Miomir Kecmanovic was made to work at the Delray Beach Open on Saturday to reach his third ATP Tour final. But work the Serbian did, rallying past 2019 champion Radu Albot 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-2.

“I was a little bit nervous throughout the match,” Kecmanovic said. “But luckily I was able to stay calm when it mattered, play good and I’m happy I was able to come through.”

Kecmanovic and Albot were both seeking their 100th tour-level victory in the semi-final. Despite trailing by a break in the third set, it was Kecmanovic who was steadier in the crucial moments to triumph after two hours and 28 minutes.

“It feels awesome,” the 23-year-old Kecmanovic said of reaching 100 wins. “It’s crazy that I’ve been able to do that relatively quickly, so I’m pretty happy about that, proud. Hopefully I’ll have a few more.”

The fourth seed will be fully focussed on securing win No. 101 on Sunday against top seed Taylor Fritz or Mackenzie McDonald. Kecmanovic secured his first ATP Tour title three years ago in Kitzbühel and reached another final in 2019 in Antalya.