For a 35-year-old with a metal hip, Andy Murray has spent quite a bit of time on court this season: more than 20 hours across his past six matches, to be exact. Given his age and recent injury struggles, it might be assumed that those marathon matches would favour his opponents. The reality is the opposite, far from the first time the Briton has proven conventional wisdom wrong.

Murray has notched five ATP Tour victories this year. Each one of them was won in a deciding set.

“The last couple of years I lost quite a lot of close matches, and it’s something I spoke to my team about last year,” Murray said this week in Doha, where he has won three three-setters to advance to his 102nd tour-level semi-final. “I think the work I did in the offseason on my game, physically has given me a bit more belief in those moments.

“I think when you’re in better shape, when you start to fatigue, it helps you make better decisions. If you’re struggling quite a bit physically towards the end of matches and in those important moments, it makes you maybe try and shorten the points, or play a different way, which doesn’t give you the best chance of wining. I feel like that improvement physically has helped in those moments.”

After a pair of marathon five-setters at the Australian Open, Murray has continued his penchant for long-running matches this week at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The 35-year-old’s most recent win came on Thursday, a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback against Alexandre Muller in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250. Clocking in at two hours and four minutes, that match wrapped up the blink of an eye compared to Murray’s other recent exploits.

“I’ve been playing a lot of tennis the last few days, and [doing that again] wasn’t going to give me the best chance to win the match, so I stepped up, started taking a few chances, tried to come to the net when I got the opportunity and managed to turn it around,” @andy_murray pic.twitter.com/9EVZA0NcP6

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) February 23, 2023

The former World No. 1 opened his Doha campaign Monday by saving three match points in another come-from-behind effort, a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) win against Lorenzo Sonego that required two hours, 30 minutes. On Wednesday, he was on the court for more than three hours in a 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 upset of Alexander Zverev. While he did not have to save a match point in that second-round contest, he was twice two points from defeat as he served to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third.

“Obviously I would like to win the matches quicker,” Murray said after defeating the fourth-seeded German. His mother, Judy Murray, chimed in on Twitter earlier in the week: “A straight-sets win once in a while would be nice. 🎢” she wrote.

But as long as he’s winning, neither will mind too much. No doubt Murray is taking confidence from his ability to back up one gruelling victory with another, just as he did at the Aussie Open last month.

The word “epic” is perhaps too freely thrown around to describe many tennis matches, but Murray’s two Melbourne wins define the term.

Facing 13th seed and returning AO semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini in the first round, Murray earned his first Top 20 victory at a Grand Slam in more than five years with a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(10-6) result. Match time: four hours, 49 minutes.

“I’ll be feeling this this evening and tomorrow, but right now I’m just unbelievably happy, very proud of myself,” Murray said after the instant classic, in which he saved a match point at 4-5 in the fifth before clinching victory with a friendly net cord in the decisive tie-break.

He flirted with the five-hour mark again in the second round, staging an inspired comeback to knock off home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 after four hours, 45 minutes. In his record 11th comeback from two sets down, Murray withstood 102 winners, including 37 aces, from the Aussie. Murray’s Melbourne run was ultimately ended by Roberto Bautista Agut, but not until another three hours, 29 minutes of drama unfolded.

On Friday in Doha, Murray will seek that elusive straight-sets win against AO quarter-finalist Jiri Lehecka. The good news for the Briton: at the very most, he only has six more sets to play this week.

If you have checked the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week, you might have noticed that Carlos Alcaraz has an opportunity to tie World No. 1 Novak Djokovic by winning the Rio Open presented by Claro. However, the Spaniard cannot return to World No. 1 next Monday.

When two players are tied for the same spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the first tie-break goes to the player who has more points at the mandatory events: the Nitto ATP Finals, Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000s. Djokovic has 5,820 points at those tournaments compared to Alcaraz’s 5,090.

Therefore, even if Alcaraz defends his Rio de Janeiro title and matches the number of points Djokovic will have Monday (6,980), the Serbian will remain No. 1 and Alcaraz No. 2. 

The battle for No. 1 will heat up next week, with both men set to compete in ATP 500 events. Alcaraz is scheduled to play in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, and Djokovic will lead the way at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

If Alcaraz emerges victorious in Rio de Janeiro and next week advances further in the draw in Acapulco than Djokovic does in Dubai, the Spaniard will return to World No. 1 on 6 March. Even if the 19-year-old does not triumph in Brazil, he will still have a chance depending on the Serbian’s result in Dubai.

“It has been a long time [I spent] at No. 1,” Alcaraz said last week in Buenos Aires, where he made his return after more than three months away due to injury. “Now it’s a goal for me to recover No. 1 and try to do my best in these tournaments to be back on that number. I’m looking for that.”

Last September, Alcaraz became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The 19-year-old held top spot for 20 weeks before relinquishing it when Djokovic lifted the Australian Open trophy.

Hubert Hurkacz survived a scare against #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi at the Open Provence 13 on Thursday to reach his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.

In a hard-fought clash in Marseille, the top-seeded Pole produced a strong serving performance in the second and third sets to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory at the ATP 250 event.

The World No. 11, who is making his third appearance at the hard-court tournament, won 100 per cent (24/24) of his first-serve points in the second and third sets, overpowering the 21-year-old Riedi to triumph after one hour and 49 minutes.

“Leandro can play at a super high level and he started well. It was a battle. He won the first set and was playing really well, but I was just trying to compete,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “The crowd is amazing, it is so nice. It is so much fun.

“I have been training really well the whole year. Everything has been going well. I just need some results, so maybe here.”

Hurkacz will continue the quest for his sixth tour-level title when he plays Mikael Ymer in the quarter-finals. The Swede received a walkover from sixth seed David Goffin.

Riedi was competing against a Top 15 opponent for the first time after defeating Arthur Rinderknech in the first round. The 21-year-old, who won two ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2022, is up nine places to No. 124 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils advanced to the quarter-finals when second seed Jannik Sinner withdrew ahead of their match due to illness. The 18-year-old will next play a man more than twice his age, 37-year-old Stan Wawrinka, the former World No. 3.

Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to seven matches Thursday when he clawed past Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.

With his one-hour, 55-minute victory, Medvedev has improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against O’Connell. The 27-year-old will continue the quest for his 17th tour-level title when he plays second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last four.

“At 5-5 in the third, you have a last chance to break him and then serve for the match. I managed to play quite a good game,” Medvedev said. “He missed a few shots that he didn’t miss before. It was an important moment in the match and that made me win today.”

The third seed was zoned in during the first set, striking with consistency to outlast the Australian in the baseline exchanges to move ahead. Medvedev suffered a dip in the second set, though, as O’Connell started to close the net effectively to push his opponent into errors and force a decider. However, Medvedev remained calm and increased his level deep in the third set, gaining the crucial break in the 11th game before holding serve to advance.

“Everything depends on small moments,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes confidence, sometimes pure luck. I have lost close matches in my life and won some. I am trying to use my experience to make it better. I am happy it worked today.”

Medvedev arrived at the ATP 250 event in red-hot form, having captured the crown in Rotterdam. His victory in the Netherlands moved him back inside the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The World No. 8, who is 12-2 on the season, is making his debut in Doha. He defeated Liam Broady in straight sets in his opening match.

O’Connell was aiming to reach his second tour-level semi-final, having advanced to that stage in San Diego last season.

Medvedev will try to maintain his form against Auger-Aliassime, whom he defeated in last week’s Rotterdam quarter-finals to take a 5-0 lead in their ATP Head2Head series. The Canadian ousted Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-6(5).

“I hope that I can do better than last week for sure,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s kind of a chess game to play Daniil. It’s really tough. He’s gotten me every time since we’ve played, so hopefully tomorrow I’ll get my shot and try to win.”

Auger-Aliassime won 86 per cent of his first-serve points against Davidovich Fokina and saved the two break points he faced to move on after one hour and 48 minutes.

“He’s one of the toughest competitors on Tour,” Auger-Aliassime said of Davidovich Fokina. “We’ve always had some crazy battles even back in the juniors. We’re around the same age, so I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a great guy, great player. And again, tonight was a battle.”

Tennis has given Felix Auger-Aliassime a lot. The Canadian has lifted four tour-level titles in his career, rising to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2022.

Aged 22, his journey to the top started 19 years ago in Canada, where he first took to the tennis court.

“Dear tennis, I remember when I was first introduced to you. I was three or four years old. It was really love at first sight for me,” Auger-Alassime said. “I remember having a tennis racquet in my hand, going to the tennis court, so the first meeting was as good as it is now.

“I remember when I played my first match in Quebec City, Canada. I was only six years old. Actually coming to play a match for the first time and having an opponent there and a referrer. It was quite special.”

A love letter to tennis 💌

Hear @felixtennis discuss his relationship with the sport; detailing the highs, lows, and hopes for the future 👇https://t.co/7ZrqQ6wj6l pic.twitter.com/YWe056LERO

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 22, 2023

Since then, the Canadian has enjoyed highs and lows on the ATP Tour. After losing his first eight tour-level finals, he finally captured his first title when he triumphed in Rotterdam in 2022.

“Sometimes it is hard to love you. It is a kind of a love-hate relationship,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You challenge me and you challenge all players to push themselves to be better all the time and to accept losses…

“There have been many good moments for me, but I think winning in Rotterdam in 2022 was the moment where everything made sense. Everything clicked.”

Reflecting on his journey, Auger-Aliassime looked at how the sport has shaped him as a person.

“You have given me a lot of different things,” the Canadian said. “Taught me a lot of great values. Perseverance, acceptance and resilience. Also just the pleasure of competing. The pleasure of digging deep within yourself and finding ways to improve. So all these values are such important things to learn. I feel like as you grow in life and I feel like you have taught me a lot of that.”

ATP is proud to announce a new multi-year partnership with waterdrop®, a fast-growing Austrian hydration brand. waterdrop® becomes the Official Hydration Partner and Gold Partner of the ATP Tour from 2023.

With a mission to encourage people to Drink More Water, waterdrop® is committed to helping customers live healthier, longer and more sustainable lives. Products, including Microdrinks dissolvable cubes, reusable water bottles and cutting-edge water filtration systems, are designed to eliminate plastic waste. To date, waterdrop® products have prevented more than 30 million plastic bottles from entering circulation.

The partnership will see ATP and waterdrop® promote sustainable hydration on the ATP Tour. The brand will provide its signature reusable bottles to players, staff and volunteers – paving the way for significant reduction in plastic bottle usage across the season.

waterdrop® will also introduce innovative on-court hydration benches for players and hydration stations for fans at a global portfolio of ATP Tour events. On-site activations will offer fans the chance to experience the brand’s exciting range of products and flavours, and pick up their own reusable bottle, as used by the professionals themselves. With more than five million fans attending professional tennis tournaments each season, this will form an integral pillar of the ATP’s drive to reduce its environmental impact under ATP Serves.

In addition, waterdrop® has engaged superstar tennis ambassadors Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Danielle Collins to advance the brand’s mission and storytelling within sports and tennis. waterdrop® will also collaborate with ATP’s medical team to support hydration of all participating players.

“We are thrilled to welcome Waterdrop to the ATP Tour’s global family of partners,” said Daniele Sanò, ATP Chief Business Officer. “Sustainability is something our players, tournaments and fans care deeply about. We’ve set ambitious targets and it’s great to have a passionate brand like Waterdrop support us on that journey. We’re excited to provide the tennis community with the most sustainable hydration products possible.”

“Shaking up the beverage industry is not only necessary, it’s a real ecological emergency. We strongly believe that the values and commitments already shown by the tennis world are a great match with our vision. This new journey with ATP is the beginning of a major and profound transformation. Reducing our plastic use and unnecessary CO2 emissions are steps we must all take. We are thrilled to see the best tennis players in the world using our bottles and hydration benches. It’s an important symbol for this on-going profound change in the industry,” said Martin Murray, CEO & founder of waterdrop®.

“Drinking enough water is key for a healthy lifestyle and our performance as athletes. However, this does not have to come at the expense of the environment,” said Taylor Fritz. “It’s great to see our sport taking the right steps in that direction. I believe that by working together we can make real progress towards eliminating plastic on Tour”.

Look out for waterdrop®, Official Hydration Partner at the Delray Beach Open, Open 13 Provence (Marseille), Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (Lyon), Hamburg European Open, Citi Open (Washington), Winston-Salem Open and Moselle Open (Metz) in 2023.

Get Your Own ATP Bottle

Jiri Lehecka earned the biggest win of his career by Pepperstone ATP Ranking Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he upset World No. 5 Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second tour-level semi-final.

The 21-year-old Czech entered the clash off the back of straight-set wins against Damir Dzumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori and he demonstrated his confidence levels in a heavy-hitting performance against the top seed.

Lehecka timed the ball cleanly off both wings, causing damage with his flat forehand to hit through a frustrated Rublev. He broke twice, sealing his victory after one hour and 41 minutes to improve to 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rublev.

“These past two months have been very great for me,” Lehecka said in his on-court interview. “I was very looking forward to playing here in Doha on this beautfiul centre court, so I am very happy with the win and looking forward to tomorrow.”

The Czech will aim to advance to his first tour-level final when he faces former World No. 1 Andy Murray or French qualifier Alexandre Muller on Friday. Lehecka, who is up eight spots to No. 44 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last year.

Lehecka ended his 2022 season in style when he reached the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in Milan. Using that run as a springboard, he has made a fast start to 2023. The 21-year-old now holds an 11-3 record on the year, highlighted by his quarter-final run at the Australian Open, where he earned his first Top 10 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“I have improved everything,” Lehecka said when refelcting on his progress. “Mostly my mentality on the court. I gained confidence from Next Gen and now I have learnt how to use it.”

Rublev was aiming to continue his impressive record at the ATP 250 hard-court event, having reached the final in 2018 and won the title in 2020.

Teaming for the first time, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Marcelo Melo reached the quarter-finals at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Wednesday when they clawed past Austrians Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.

The second seeds broke twice and raised their level in the Match Tie-break, winning five consecutive points from 1/2 before sealing victory on serve after one hour and 30 minutes. Cabal has tasted success at the ATP 500 clay-court event, winning the title with Robert Farah in 2014 and 2016.

The Colombian and Brazilian Melo will aim to keep their run going this week when they face Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Diego Schwartzman.

In other action, Nikola Cacic and Andrea Pellegrino upset top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 7-6(8),4-6, 11-9. The qualifiers will next meet Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni after the Argentines beat Mateus Alves and Joao Fonseca 7-5, 7-6(4).

Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul saved one match point to overcome Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 4-6, 11-9, while Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar beat Marcelo Demoliner and Felipe Meligeni Alves 1-6, 7-5, 13-11.

Bopanna/Ebden Advance To Doha SFs
Third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden booked their spot in the semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Wednesday when they overcame Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni 1-6, 6-4, 11-9.

The Indian-Australian team recovered from a slow start, winning 90 per cent (19/21) of their first-serve points in the second set and all six in the Match Tie-break to triumph at the ATP 250 after 76 minutes.

They will next play Daniel Evans and Jonny O’Mara after the British pair beat second seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 7-6(3), 7-5.

Botic van de Zandschulp and Constant Lestienne moved past fourth seeds Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 to reach the semi-finals. The Dutch-French duo will play Patrik Niklas-Salminen and Emil Ruusuvuori next. The Finns defeated Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens 7-6(4), 6-4.

Home Favourites Mahut/Martin Through In Marseille
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin earned their first win of the season as a team Wednesday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

The second seeds defeated Andrew Harris and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(6), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250. Mahut won the title in Marseille in 2012, 2017 and 2020, while Martin triumphed in 2019. They will next meet Jonathan Eysseric and Denys Molchanov.

Top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin advanced, beating Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech 6-0, 6-4. Belgians Zizou Bergs and David Goffin also secured their spot in the quarter-finals, taking out Marco Bortolotti and Sergio Martos Gornes 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Carlos Alcaraz continues to dip his toes into the world of fashion with a fresh feature story this month in Vogue. In the wide-ranging article, Alcaraz touches on his love for chess, his fashion sense and his admiration for Roger Federer, among many other topics.

Complete with photoshoot imagery of the 19-year-old, the longform piece provides new insight into the routines, habits and whims of the ATP Tour’s newest superstar. Alcaraz also discusses what he called a “bad period” after he won the US Open last September for his first Grand Slam title.

“That sounds like I’m making it up,” Alcaraz said, before explaining the stress that followed his achievement in New York, which made him the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Read an excerpt from the feature below.

Alcaraz grew up just over an hour from [the Ferrero academy], in a village outside Murcia called El Palmar, a place he still visits on weekends. Everyone knows one another, he says, and he has the same friends he hung out with as a child. Some 40 years ago his great-uncle built a tennis club there, on what was a clay-pigeon shooting range, and Alcaraz’s grandfather, Carlos, joined in the venture. Later, Alcaraz’s father—who played professional tennis until he couldn’t afford to continue—became the director. So Carlitos was born, he says, “with tennis in my blood.” His older brother, Álvaro (now 23), played in tournaments before him, and his younger brothers (ages 13 and 11) are as passionate about tennis as the rest of the family, including his mother, who until recently worked as a shop assistant at IKEA. Alcaraz got his first racket at the age of four, and, according to his father, cried when he had to stop playing to go home for dinner. His social life revolved around the tennis club.

By the time he was 12, he was a serious enough player that he was sponsored by Babolat and Lotto. A family friend who owns Postres Reina, a yogurt and dessert company based in Murcia, had already given him the money he needed to get to a junior tournament in Croatia, and continued to cover a lot of his travel costs. Ferrero first saw him play right around this time. “I’d already heard about him,” his coach says. “Especially the fact that he was doing a lot of different things—drop shots and lobs and running to the net, things that young kids don’t do, they just stay at the back, fight, and run. He was very dynamic, you could already see that.”

Alcaraz’s routine is those several hours of tennis a day, plus training and physical therapy, and a siesta after lunch. He eats whatever he wants, but healthily. In the evenings he’s trying to learn English. “I’ve improved, but I’ve got a long way to go!” Occasionally he’ll watch a movie, and prefers—fittingly—either what he calls suspense or motivation. Motivational movies? I ask, a little confused. “Yes,” he replies. “Sylvester Stallone. You know: Rocky Balboa.”

… One hobby is chess. “I love chess. Having to concentrate, to play against someone else, strategy—having to think ahead. I think all of that is very similar to the tennis court,” Alcaraz says. “You have to intuit where the other player is going to send the ball, you have to move ahead of time, and try to do something that will make him uncomfortable. So I play it a lot.”

Read the full Vogue feature here.