Stefanos Tsitsipas passed a stern first-round test on Sunday at Roland Garros, where the fifth seed overcame Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7) at the clay-court major.

The fifth seed appeared set for a routine victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after claiming the first two sets but Vesely, playing in his first tour-level tournament since the US Open last September, battled hard. The Czech sealed the third set with a late break of his opponent’s serve and led 6/3 in the fourth-set tie-break, but Tsitsipas kept his cool to dig out a three-hour, 13-minute victory.

“He was a difficult obstacle today, I won’t lie,” said Tsitsipas of the former World No. 35 Vesely. “He gave me a hard time. I’m happy I overcame it in such a fashion. I was able to bounce back from all those difficulties that were being thrown at me constantly. Today’s win is very important for me.”

Tsitsipas outhit Vesely by 57 winners to 31 but the Czech consistently raised his level at key moments to keep the fifth seed on his toes in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting. Tsitsipas’ dominance on serve ultimately proved key: The Greek won 83 per cent (71/86) of points behind his first delivery overall.

Tsitsipas now holds a 19-6 record at Roland Garros, where he reached the championship match in 2021. His second-round opponent in Paris will be Roberto Carballes Baena or qualifier Emilio Nava.

More to follow…

American Aleksandar Kovacevic had just turned seven when he went to the US Open and watched a five-set, first-round thriller between 18-year-olds Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils. Fast forward 18 years, World No. 114 Kovacevic is set to make his Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros and face the winner of that match, 22-time major champion Djokovic.

“Watching him growing up was amazing. He’s the best player to ever play,” Kovacevic told ATPTour.com. “To play any of the ‘Big Three’ in any match, nonetheless a Grand Slam, the chances of that are getting smaller and smaller as the years go. Even though I feel like I just started my tennis career, it’s something that I think all of the tennis players that are playing now want to do at some point is to play one of those. I just feel kind of lucky to be able to play Novak on stage like this. Honoured to play, it’s going to be super cool.”

Kovacevic was sitting in the bleachers on Court 10 at Flushing Meadows in 2005, when Djokovic, then an 18-year-old just inside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, survived the humid New York afternoon and Monfils in the first round. Alongside Kovacevic was his younger sister Lena, his father Milan, who hails from Serbia, and mother Milanka, who is from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the match, Djokovic posed for a picture with ‘Aleks’. 

“Djokovic was just coming up from juniors as one of the top players,” Milanka recalled. “We went there to watch him and nobody was there. Half an hour later, that court was so full and we were [a] few of the people that were cheering for Djokovic and I think that’s why he noticed us. After the spectacular match, we waited to congratulate him and he remembered seeing us and that’s why he took a picture with Aleks.”

Kovacevic had picked up a racquet for the first time just two years prior, aged five. He grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, a five-minute walk from the iconic Central Park, where Kovacevic first began to play tennis.

As a child, Kovacevic trained at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. At age 11, he attended an open tryout for the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and was chosen by McEnroe among a group of 200 students to receive a full scholarship. In 2010, Kovacevic hit with McEnroe and Andy Roddick at halftime of a World TeamTennis match in New York. Little did they know he would someday become a professional.

Kovacevic moved to south Florida as a teen to continue his training and elected to attend college. He enjoyed a standout career at the University of Illinois, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in finance and was a two-time ITA All-American. His junior year, Kovacevic became the first Illini player to reach the semi-finals of the NCAA Singles Championships since Kevin Anderson in 2007.

“I think college as a pathway is important because sometimes you feel you aren’t ready for what the pro tour entails,” Kovacevic said. “What helped me the most in college was maturing a lot, understanding life a little better and using the tools I had there to become ready to grind on Tour. Starting out on the pro tour can be kind of ugly, you have to be mature for it.”

One of the ways Kovacevic found ‘maturity and growth’ in college was being pushed outside of his comfort zone by Illinois head coach Brad Dancer.

“Brad had us do things outside our comfort zone and helped us manage being an adult,” Kovacevic said.
“We went skydiving and hiking off trails in Arizona with rattlesnakes around. He put stress on being your own person and being independent and that was big for me.”

Throughout Kovacevic’s five years at Illinois, Dancer was able to see what he is like on and off the court.

^{Kovacevic at this month’s ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}
“He’s really, really intelligent. His parents are both very bright. He’s got a huge heart, almost to the detriment of him,” Dancer said. “He’s got a big love for other people and he was a tremendous team guy. We used to have a joke, ‘Everybody loves Kova’. I think people just connect with him, he’s very easy going off the court. Almost everybody gets along with him.”

Kovacevic turned pro in 2021 and was eager to make his Grand Slam qualifying debut at that year’s US Open, where he made it to the final round before suffering one of the toughest losses of his career. The following day, Kovacevic returned to the gym at Flushing Meadows and crossed paths with Djokovic.

“My final round qualifying match against [Marco] Trungelliti, I had seven or eight match points. It was one of the most heartbreaking losses I’ve ever had,” Kovacevic said. “The next day, when I was in the gym, Novak told me he heard about my match and asked if I wanted to join his fitness session.

“I was shocked. He was chasing history that week and didn’t have to give me his time. It was an incredible experience. At the end, Novak told me that I’ve got a bright future and I should train with him in Serbia.”

Kovacevic has been on the rise ever since that moment. His hard work has paid off especially this year, when in January the 24-year-old won his maiden Challenger trophy in Cleveland, defeating Wu Yibing in the final one week before the Chinese star went on a historic run to the Dallas Open title. Kovacevic also triumphed at the Waco Challenger and reached a career-high No. 101 in April.

^{Kovacevic at the 2023 Cleveland Challenger, which he won. Credit: Ben Peskar}
“To win my first Challenger was special, it felt great,” Kovacevic said. “It’s something I wanted to check off my list before moving into ATP. Not something that I had to check off or that it was necessary to get into the Top 100 or 50, but definitely a plus. It’s something I’m happy to put behind me.”

Kovacevic made his tour-level debut at last year’s ATP 250 event in Seoul, where as a lucky loser he defeated then-World No. 32 Miomir Kecmanovic and completed a semi-final run before falling to eventual champion Yoshihito Nishioka.

The American has his sights set on more breakthroughs in hopes of reaching one of his career goals, which is ultimately cracking the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Kovacevic knows “that’s far away as of now”, and he will be fully focussed on the task at hand — facing Djokovic, whom he first met nearly two decades ago.

“Playing the best of the best in the first round is not the most ideal draw,” Kovacevic said. “But you never know, the score is going to be 0-0 on Monday to start.”

Mate Valkusz enjoyed a breakthrough moment this week at the Skopje Challenger, where he advanced through qualifying en route to claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title.

The Hungarian won seven matches in as many days and defeated Argentine Francisco Comesana 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday’s final at the Macedonian Open. Valkusz ousted three of the top five seeds at the clay-court event, including a quarter-final victory against top seed Aziz Dougaz.

The 24-year-old Valkusz adds to the promising young talent hailing from Hungary. Zsombor Piros, 23, has captured two Challenger titles this year while Fabian Marozsan won the Antalya Challenger in March and stunned Carlos Alcaraz en route to a fourth-round appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

At a career-high No. 224 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, Valkusz was also a finalist at last month’s Ostrava Challenger.

Comesana was competing in his third Challenger final and first of this year. The 22-year-old collected two Challenger titles in 2022, in Corrientes and Buenos Aires.

A magical week for 🇭🇺 Mate Valkusz 💫

The qualifier wins the first Challenger title of his career after defeating Comesana 6-3, 6-4 in Skopje!#ATPChallenger | @HUNgarianTENNIS pic.twitter.com/sYB9fzIc4h

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 27, 2023

Novak Djokovic arrives at Roland Garros chasing history. If the Serbian triumphs in Paris, he will clinch a record 23rd Grand Slam trophy, moving one clear of Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic is relishing the opportunity to set another record when he takes to court at the clay-court major.

“It’s no secret that one of the main reasons I play today and compete in professional tennis is to try to break more records and make more history in tennis,” Djokovic said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday. “That’s extremely motivating and inspiring for me… History being on the line is something that is very flattering and is very motivating, no doubt about it.”

The third seed Djokovic arrives in Pairs holding a 5-3 record on clay this season. The 36-year-old suffered a third-round exit in Monte-Carlo before he lost against Holger Rune at the quarter-final stage in Rome. He also missed Madrid due to injury.

Despite recent setbacks, the two-time champion Djokovic is confident he can produce his best in the French capital.

“I don’t have any physical issues that worry me. So that’s most important for me,” Djokovic said. “I want to feel good coming into a Grand Slam… I know how to approach the Grand Slam. I know how to live during these few weeks, in a way day in and day out, and I hope that I’ll have a few weeks. It would mean that I went far in the tournament.”

Djokovic is in the same half as Top 5 stars Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal is one rival the Serbian won’t be facing, though, after the 14-time Roland Garros champion withdrew due to injury last week.

The World No. 3 shared his thoughts on Nadal’s absence and his title contenders.

“Obviously Nadal not playing in the tournament here is a big loss for tennis. It is a big loss for Roland Garros, because he’s by far the most successful player to play in this tournament in the history,” Djokovic said. “Of course it opens up, you know, a chance and opportunity for the rest of us to try to get a title, because whenever he plays he’s an absolute favourite here or any clay court tournament, for that matter.

“You have Alcaraz, he’s No. 1 and probably the biggest favourite in the tournament. Tsitsipas and [Daniil] Medvedev, they have started playing great on clay. And Rune, [Casper] Ruud and [Alexander] Zverev, knows how to play big events, can always do damage against anybody.”

Djokovic is seeded to meet Spaniard Alcaraz in the semi-finals. Alcaraz won their only previous tour-level meeting in Madrid last year and Djokovic was full of praise for the 20-year-old and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“With Alcaraz, you have Juan Carlos Ferrero who is a former World No. 1. Someone who had the reputation of always being very serious, very disciplined, and he went about his business in a proper manner. I think him being with Alcaraz from I the age of 14 or 15 was a fantastic decision for Alcaraz. To have somebody who is going to mentor and guide you and introduce you to the professional tennis. It is obviously working extremely well.”

Djokovic will begin his campaign against American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils became the youngest tour-level champion of the season on Saturday when he captured his first title at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.

The 18-year-old, who is up to third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, caught up with ATPTour.com following his breakthrough at the ATP 250 clay-court event.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
I’m really happy. It’s been a great week for me in France with the home crowd so I’m really happy with the win.

How does it feel to win on home soil in Lyon?
It’s great. During the semi-final, the crowd was amazing. It helped me a lot, I am so happy to play here.

How did you handle the occasion today?
I was trying just to keep my energy up because yesterday my match was long so I was trying my best and was trying to serve well because when we’re in the points, Cerundolo has got a great forehand. I tried to serve well and make every return I could, so I’m happy with this one.

Who are the people in your life who helped you to get this far in your career?
My family first because they’re here from the start and there is my coach of course, who helped me. He helped me and I’m happy and I want to say thanks to them.

You are now up to third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race. How big of a goal is it to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals this season?
It would be really great. There are great players at the event every year. I’m trying my best to get there.

Countrymen Luca Van Assche and Arthur Cazaux are also coming through at the moment. What do you think that says about French tennis at the moment?
French tennis is always in a good place. With Luca and Arthur it is amazing because we are training together and then when we are looking at each other it is amazing from where we were when growing up and now we are here.

You are set to crack the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. How does that feel?
I’m happy but it does not mean a lot because I am looking for more. But it is great and I will keep trying my best to reach higher.

What’s your biggest interest outside of tennis?
I would say going out with my friends and listening to music and playing some football.

How will you celebrate?
I’m going to take the train to Paris today, so I will celebrate during the train journey.