Holger Rune produced one of the most remarkable comeback wins of the 2023 season so far on Sunday at the BMW Open by American Express, where the top seed battled physical issues and a daunting deficit to beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3) in Munich.

Struggling with an upper right arm issue in the latter stages, Rune trailed 2-5, 40/15 on the Van de Zandschulp serve in the third set. Yet he forged an inspired turnaround on the Bavarian clay, ultimately saving four championship points and recovering from twisting his ankle in the 10th game of the decider to dominate the tie-break.

“I was feeling really exhausted but I was fighting until the end and I tried everything I could to come back into the match,” Rune said. “I think for the crowd it was the perfect final. We really pushed each other to the limit and I am super happy I defended the title today.”

With his fourth tour-level title, Rune became the first player to successfully defend an ATP Tour title in 2023. The 19-year-old now holds a perfect 9-0 record at the clay-court ATP 250.

“It is the last match and the last push, so you try to find a way,” Rune said. “It could help me a little bit to not be as hurt. It was a struggle but I managed to get it done.”

Rune prevailed in an intriguing first set after securing a decisive second break of Van de Zandschulp’s serve in the seventh game. The Dutchman became increasingly effective at handling Rune’s variety in the second set, however, as he frequently displayed high-class movement on the clay to counter his opponent’s drop shots.

Van de Zandschulp won seven games in a row from 1-1 in the second set to take command of the match, and looked set to ease to victory as the Dane began to struggle physically. Despite being forced to strike under-powered forehands, Rune kept himself in rallies as a tight Van de Zandschulp failed to serve out the match at 5-2, 5-4, and again at 6-5.

Confidence regained, Rune struck the ball cleanly in the tie-break to seal a famous victory in which he converted five of his 14 break points. With the win, the Dane rises three places to eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, the final qualification spot for November’s Nitto ATP Finals.

Dusan Lajovic capped a dream week at the Srpska Open on Sunday when he clinched his second tour-level title in Banja Luka. The Serbian overcame Andrey Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes to snap the second seed’s eight-match winning streak.

Lajovic, who clawed past Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets in the semi-finals, came out firing in his first tour-level title match of the season. He struck the ball aggressively to pull Rublev around and held his nerve in the third set, serving out the match at the second time of asking to earn his eighth Top 10 win.

“Honestly it was probably the toughest match I have had in the past six months. I felt drained,” Lajovic said. “From 5-1 in the third I could not feel my legs and felt a bit dizzy. I knew he was going to fight but somehow I managed to pull it out in the last game. I wasn’t even thinking in the last game. I was just playing automatically and I tried to take the ball early on the forehand. I am thrilled and overwhelmed that I did it this week, that I won an ATP [Tour] title.

“The last time I was in a final was four years ago and I have been through a lot since then, lots of ups and downs. This was probably the most unexpected thing for me for this week. But on the other side I still believed in myself, even though I did not have the best last year. This victory means a lot.”

The 32-year-old now leads Rublev 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, having also beaten the 25-year-old en route to his maiden tour-level crown in Umag in 2019. He is up 30 spots to No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his impressive week at the clay-court ATP 250.

Lajovic upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. With his victory against World No. 6 Andrey Rublev, the Serbian has defeated two Top 10 opponents at the same event for the first time in his career.

Rublev was aiming to win his second title of the season after clinching his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Monte-Carlo last week. The 25-year-old is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

In an entertaining final, Lajovic played well under pressure, saving all three break points he faced in the first set to lead. After a dip at the start of the second set, the Serbian produced his best level in the third set, limiting errors from the baseline to earn his 14th win of the year on his third championship point.

Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler captured their second tour-level title of the season together on Sunday when they overcome top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-3, 6-4 in the BMW Open by American Express final.

The Austrians were impressive throughout the 70-minute clash, closing the net sharply and holding their nerves in the key moments. They saved all three break points they faced to triumph in Munich.

“Munich is not that far from Austria, so it was great to play in front of the crowd with the great atmosphere,” Miedler said. “There were a lot of Austrians here as well. It was enjoyable to play here. I think we played amazing today, just too good.”

Erler and Miedler, who dropped just one set en route to the title, have now won four tour-level trophies since they first teamed in 2021. Earlier this year they won the crown in Acapulco, while their victory in Munich is their second on clay. Two years ago, the pair won their first title on the surface on home soil in Kitzbühel.

“It is our fourth title and we are really happy that we got it,” Erler said. “It was a really great week for us.”

Germans Krawietz and Puetz were aiming to win their first tour-level title as a team at the ATP 250 clay-court tournament. The 31-year-old Krawietz is a two-time champion in Munich, having triumphed in 2021 with Wesley Koolhof and in 2022 with Andreas Mies.

Andrey Rublev has become a fans’ favourite. Much to his supporters’ delight, the 25-year-old was put on the hot seat in this week’s edition of ATP Uncovered.

Stars from the ATP Tour and the Hologic WTA Tour provided questions for Rublev to answer.

“Seeing Daniil on video, I don’t like it already,” Rublev said when his close friend Daniil Medvedev popped up on the screen.

Read & Watch More From ATP Uncovered

Little did Rublev know that Medvedev would ask three questions, whether the World No. 6 liked it or not.

Medvedev was not the only one who asked cheeky questions. One player wanted to know, “Why do you make that one really distinct noise when you grunt?”

Find out who asked that question, Rublev’s answer and more by watching the full feature above.

Carlos Alcaraz will step out onto Pista Rafa Nadal on Sunday hoping to secure a home victory at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Even if Stefanos Tsitsipas denies the 19-year-old defending champion in the final, the event in Catalunya will continue to represent a much-loved entity within Spanish tennis.

“This event is important,” Alcaraz’s countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas told ATPTour.com this week as the clay-court ATP 500 celebrates its 70th anniversary. “It [used to be] the only one that we had in Spain. After we had Valencia also, and now Madrid, but I think because the tournament is in a club, it’s like Queen’s maybe. It’s a special tournament for everybody, for us and for all the fans that are coming.”

The World No. 58 Ramos-Vinolas is not alone in his view that the setting makes the tournament stand out. The Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, nestled in the leafy neighbourhood of Pedralbes, has played an interweaving role in the journeys of many Spanish stars, past and present.

Former World No. 3 David Ferrer is one such example. He visited the event regularly as a child, reached the final four times as a player (falling to 12-time champion Rafael Nadal on each occasion), and is now the tournament director.

“[The event] is part of history,” Ferrer, who grew up down the coast from Barcelona in Valencia, told ATP Media. “It is a tournament that everyone wants to play here in Barcelona. The city is very important, the [club] is different to other tennis clubs. It is not easy in this era to have an ATP tournament in a tennis club.

“I think all professional players start playing in a tennis club, and you know to play a tournament in a tennis club is nice for all the pro tennis players.”

In the Open Era, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell has been won by a home favourite 25 times. Like Ferrer, Alex Corretja never got his hands on the trophy, but the former World No. 2 nonetheless cherishes coming back each year to catch up with old friends.

“It’s different and special for us because we grew up here,” Corretja told ATP Media. “When you were a little kid, you came here to watch the professionals. Of course, everybody was dreaming to one day become a champion and be able to play in front of the crowd. I think that’s why when you grow up in a city that has a nice tournament, you always like to do very well there.

“Barcelona is such a great city [and] the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona is something special. It’s a members’ club, a very traditional one. Everybody knows you here.”

With the 19-year-old Alcaraz set to lead Spanish hopes on the court for another generation, Ferrer intends to use the 70th anniversary celebrations as a springboard to ensure that the Barcelona tournament continues to inspire young talents and fans of all ages, from the local area and from afar.

“It’s amazing that this year is the 70th anniversary,” said Ferrer. “We are really happy with the people that work in the event, because this year we tried to improve a lot. Everyone has the chance to come here and watch the best players in the world.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s perfect week continues at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

The top-seeded Spaniard eased past Daniel Evans 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the championship match at the clay-court ATP 500, where he is bidding to become the first repeat champion since Rafael Nadal lifted the trophy three years in a row from 2016-18.

Now 22-2 for the year, Alcaraz will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas as he chases his third tour-level title of 2023. The Buenos Aires and Indian Wells champion enters that clash holding a 3-0 ATP Head2Head series lead against Tsitsipas, a tally that includes a three-set quarter-final win in Barcelona last year.

“I feel really comfortable playing here in Barcelona and [I am] playing well,” said Alcaraz, who will try to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career against Tsitsipas. “Stefanos as well is playing great matches. Last year we had a spicy match, let’s say. I know he’s a really nice guy off the court, so I’m going to try to forget everything that has happened in the matches before, try to focus on my game tomorrow, and try to get the win.”

Alcaraz was clinical with his chances to down Evans in 81 minutes on Pista Rafa Nadal, where he converted five of his seven break points. Evans deployed typical variety in his shots, but his tactics were expertly countered by Alcaraz, who has now won all eight sets he has played this week at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.

“It’s so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament that I love playing,” said Alcaraz. “I came to watch this tournament when I was really young and I played for this club when I was 11 or 12. I love this club, I love this tournament, and it’s so special to have the chance to lift the trophy here again.”

Alcaraz broke twice in the opening set to take command of his second tour-level meeting with Evans before opening a 4-0 lead in the second. Although the World No. 26 Evans battled valiantly to the end and was rewarded for persistently moving to the net with his only break of the match in the fifth game, Alcaraz’s all-court game repeatedly proved too good.

The Spaniard’s ability to attack Evans’ serve was the defining feature of the match. Alcaraz won 57 per cent (28/49) of points on return to back up his win against the Briton in Vienna in 2021.

Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his third championship-match appearance at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Saturday by digging deep for a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win against Lorenzo Musetti at the clay-court ATP 500.

The second-seeded Greek cooly rebounded from losing a closely fought second set to accelerate away in the decider for a two-hour, 29-minute victory. The Greek’s most destructive weapons, his serve and forehand, were particularly instrumental as Tsitsipas improved his perfect record against Musetti to 4-0.

“It was very physical out there,” said Tsitsipas, who now holds a 16-4 record in Barcelona. “We had to cover lots of metres on the court and he had some incredible defensive shots that I really didn’t expect at all. It was such a mental challenge, I had to go out there and fight it all through [with] the determination of a lion, and just [went] out there to do the best I can.

“He’s a very difficult challenge, especially on this court, so it required a little bit more today.”

Tsitsipas had not dropped serve across three matches in Barcelona prior to Saturday’s semi-final clash, but that record was quickly snapped by Musetti on Pista Rafa Nadal when the Italian broke in the third game. That set the tone for a meeting in which both players excelled on return, with Tsitsipas ultimately converting six of his 11 break points to Musetti’s five out of 10.

Two short bursts at important moments proved decisive for Tsitsipas to clinch the win and improve to 20-5 for the season. The Greek reeled off three games in a row from a break down at 3-4 in the opening set, and later raced into a 4-0 lead in the decider to halt his opponent’s momentum after Musetti had levelled the match.

The 24-year-old Tsitsipas was also a finalist in Barcelona in 2018 and 2021, when he twice fell to Rafael Nadal. He could face another home favourite in this year’s championship match, Carlos Alcaraz, if the top-seeded Spaniard can defeat Daniel Evans in Saturday’s second semi-final.

“Getting myself out there for another chance [to win the Barcelona title], my will is strong and so is my heart,” said Tsitsipas, who will play for his first title of 2023 on Sunday in Catalunya. “I go out there and give it a go and try the best I can. Nothing [negative] at all. Just enjoy this.”