Medvedev, Djokovic, Alcaraz Among Champions Of Q1

A host of world-class players begins each tournament on the ATP Tour, but there can be only one champion.

Across the first three months of 2023, 14 different players lifted a tour-level singles trophy, with some paying multiple visits to the winners’ circle. Daniil Medvedev led the way with four titles won, while Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are already two-time titlists for the season.

After three months of emotional, historic, and groundbreaking triumphs, ATPTour.com reflects on some of the champions from the first quarter of 2023 and the early qualification contenders for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Daniil Medvedev: Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami
Medvedev racked up a remarkable 24-1 record across five hard-court tournaments in February, March and April as he bounced back from a disappointing Australian swing in style. The 27-year-old defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Grigor Dimitrov and Sinner en route to an indoor ATP 500 triumph at Rotterdam’s ABN AMRO Open before heading to the Middle East, where he became the champion at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Murray) and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Rublev).

The 27-year-old carried that stellar form into the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, but fell just short of making it four consecutive titles with defeat in the championship match to Alcaraz. Not to be deterred in his bid for a first ATP Masters 1000 title since 2021, the former World No. 1 dropped just one set on the way to victory at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Sinner).

A first-time winner in all of Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami, Medvedev has now won 19 tour-level titles without triumphing twice at the same event. His early-season form, defined by relentless baseline hitting and the ability to raise his game at big moments, has propelled Medvedev to first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He sits 600 points clear of second-placed Djokovic.

Most Tour-Level Wins In 2023

Novak Djokovic: Adelaide, Australian Open
Djokovic enjoyed a typically successful Australian swing to start his 2023 season, although the Serbian was forced to save championship point before defeating Sebastian Korda to triumph at the Adelaide International 1, his 92nd tour-level trophy.

There were no such scares for Djokovic at the Australian Open. Despite entering the tournament carrying a hamstring issue, the 35-year-old charged to a record-extending 10th title at the opening Grand Slam of the year, dropping just one set across the fortnight in Melbourne. With his final win against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic equalled Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 major crowns.

Djokovic’s historic victory also sealed his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time in nearly seven months. He was still there on February 27, his 378th week on top of tennis’ mountain, meaning the Serbian overtook Stefanie Graf’s record for most weeks by a men’s or women’s tennis player as World No. 1.

Carlos Alcaraz: Buenos Aires, Indian Wells
Injury delayed the start of Alcaraz’s 2023 season until February, but the 19-year-old wasted no time reasserting his status as one of the dominant forces on Tour. He lifted his seventh tour-level title in his first event of the year, the Argentina Open, defeating Cameron Norrie in straight sets to become the first teenage champion at the clay-court event in Buenos Aires.

After Norrie gained his revenge against the Spaniard a week later in the Rio de Janeiro final, Alcaraz handled the transition to hard courts seamlessly at the BNP Paribas Open. He did not drop a set en route to his maiden Indian Wells crown, his third at ATP Masters 1000 level, as he downed Auger-Aliassime and Sinner before storming past Medvedev in the final.

That run was enough to secure Alcaraz’s return to World No. 1 after six weeks away. Although semi-final defeat to Sinner in Miami meant he dropped below Djokovic in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings again after the Sunshine Swing, the Spaniard’s 18-2 start to the season has propelled him to third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Jannik Sinner: Montpellier
One of the most consistent performers on Tour across the opening months of the year, Sinner’s brand of high-powered baseline hitting has captivated crowds across three continents. The 21-year-old has won at least two matches at every tournament where he has stepped on court, and he charged to his seventh tour-level title in February at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier without dropping a set (d. Cressy).

The tale of Sinner’s 2023 ‘Sunshine Double’ campaign was dominated by back-to-back semi-final clashes against Alcaraz as the two young stars renewed their budding rivalry in style. Alcaraz prevailed in Indian Wells before Sinner took down the Spaniard in a three-set thriller in Miami.

Although defeat to Medvedev in the championship match at Hard Rock Stadium denied Sinner the chance to become an ATP Masters 1000 champion for the first time, the Italian moves on to the European clay with a 21-5 match record and renewed confidence that he can mix it with the best on Tour.

Taylor Fritz: Delray Beach
Fritz delivered a series of dominant displays at the Delray Beach Open to earn his fifth ATP Tour trophy, and his fourth in the space of 12 months. The then-World No. 7 dropped just one set all week, in the championship match against Miomir Kecmanovic, as he became the first Top 10 champion in the 31-year history of the hard-court ATP 250 event.

Cameron Norrie: Rio de Janeiro
The second-seeded Norrie produced one of the comebacks of the season so far to claim his maiden ATP 500 crown. Alcaraz led the Briton 7-5, 3-0 0/30 in the Rio de Janeiro championship match, but Norrie rallied as his opponent began to struggle physically and went on to claim his fifth ATP Tour title.

Other Q1 Champions…
The ATP Tour witnessed a groundbreaking moment in February when Wu Yibing triumphed at the Dallas Open to become the first Chinese ATP Tour champion in history. Alex de Minaur also enjoyed a breakthrough in March at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco, where the Australian lifted his maiden ATP 500 title, while 36-year-old Richard Gasquet notched his first tour-level title for more than four years by lifting the trophy at January’s ASB Classic in Auckland.

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