Andrey Rublev advanced to his second final in as many weeks with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Alex Molcan on Saturday at the Srpska Open. One week after claiming his biggest title in Monte-Carlo, the Banja Luka second seed has continued his red-hot form by reaching the title match without losing a set.

“In the beginning I played really well, and then second set I lost a bit of focus,” Rublev assessed. “Alex played a few good games and I started to get tight, I started to get nervous. But in the end I was able to win and that’s the most important thing.”

The 25-year-old is bidding to join Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in the club of players with multiple tour-level titles in 2023. He could also become the fifth man this season to win an ATP Tour trophy without losing a set, with Dusan Lajovic standing in his way in Sunday’s final.

“Of course it’s always good to finish in two sets, to not play three sets, a long match, because physically you get exhausted,” the World No. 6 said of his efficiency. “The deeper you go, it’s better if you play two sets because you’re fresher for the end of the tournament.”

Now 21-8 on the year, Rublev is 16-3 in his past 19 matches with an eight-match winning streak over the past two weeks.

Rublev saved nine of 11 break points against Molcan, including all five he faced in the opening set, while converting five of his 11 break chances on return. His baseline power overwhelmed the Slovakian early, with Rublev building a 5-1 lead in the first set and a 3-1 advantage in set two. 

But Molcan settled in as the match wore on and broke in consecutive return games in an eventful close to the second set. From 3-2, four straight games went the way of the returner. At 4-4, Rublev battled through six deuces and landed the decisive blow on his fourth break point of that marathon game, managing his emotions well after a few frustrating misses.

From 30/30 in the final game, Rublev powered through the finish line with a big forehand and a fifth ace on match point. Molcan, playing in his first semi-final of the season, was seeking his first ATP Tour title and a fourth final this week.

In the day’s second semi-final, Miomir Kecmanovic served for a place in the final. But fellow Serbian Lajovic rallied past him for a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory after three hours.

Kecmanovic won an incredible point to break for 5-4 in the second set and serve for the match, but was unable to close it out and that cost him.

“Honestly he had me by the ropes. I was done,” Lajovic said in his on-court interview. “But somehow I managed to get back in the match and win the tie-break. I played pretty good in the tie-break and then I felt pretty confident in the third set even though I was going down physically. I think we both were.”

Lajovic won his only previous ATP Head2Head meeting with Rublev, but that clash came four years ago in Umag. The Serbian, who went on to win that tournament, will try to lift his second ATP Tour trophy on Sunday.

“No secrets with Andrey. I think he’s the favourite. He’s playing the best tennis of his life,” Lajovic said. “We know each other very well, so I’m hoping to be able physically to enjoy tomorrow in the final. Normally I like to play in the final, so I’m hoping for a nice match.”

The BMW Open by American Express in Munich is proving a magical tournament for Holger Rune.

The Danish star won his first tour-level title at the ATP 250 last year. On Sunday, the 19-year-old returned to the final. Rune saved all eight break points he faced to defeat Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-2 in 79 minutes.

“It’s been a very good start to the clay season for me and to be able to continue here in Munich means a lot,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I have very special memories from here, so super excited for tomorrow.”

Rune has been dominant in his two appearances in Munich, where he now owns an 8-0 record. The teen has never lost a set at the event.

One week after reaching the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final, Rune has maintained his momentum in Germany. Facing a tough opponent in O’Connell, who upset two-time Munich champion Alexander Zverev earlier in the week, Rune was in control.

Despite facing eight break points, the 19-year-old played solid tennis under pressure. Rune was opportunistic on return, converting three of his four break points to triumph after 79 minutes.

“I think today was a good match,” Rune said. “I had to be solid. Chris, he played a very good tournament beating some great players, so I’m very happy.”

Rune will face fourth seed Botic van de Zandschulp for the trophy in a rematch of the 2022 Munich final. Last year in the championship match, van de Zandschulp retired during the first set due to an aching chest.

“It means a lot, especially after last year. I had to retire in the final,” the Dutchman said after defeating second seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(2) in their semi-final. “I think I have to make something up this year, so let’s hope I can try that tomorrow and we will see.”

There were multiple momentum swings in van de Zandschulp’s win against Fritz, who was attempting to reach his first ATP Tour final on clay. The American rallied from a break down in the second set and raised his level to close in on forcing a decider.

But in the tie-break, van de Zandschulp remained solid and took advantage of Fritz’s mistakes. The Dutchman saved four of the five break points he faced to triumph after one hour and 49 minutes.

“[I] played really good tennis today. Didn’t make a lot of mistakes and I think Taylor is playing amazing at the moment, reaching so many semi-finals in Masters and even further,” van de Zandschulp said. “He’s a great player and I had to play really good today.”

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus claimed their second ATP Tour title as a team with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Francisco Cabral and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in Saturday’s Srpska Open final. The British-Kiwi pair, which has exclusively played together this season, did not face a break point in the title match behind an 82 per cent win rate on both first and second serve.

The reigning Dallas champions improved to 2-1 this year in finals (Adelaide-I) with the victory, having reached the title match after saving a match point against in the quarter-finals against Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo. The trophy is Murray’s 29th and Venus’ 19th at tour-level.

“It’s our second title together which is cool. It’s only April,” Murray said post-match. “There’s a big swing coming up with a lot of ranking points on offer, a lot of big events. I think for us to come here and put together four really good matches is good news for us going forward. Hopefully we can keep that momentum going.”

Their four wins this week moved Murray/Venus up five spots to 10th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, putting them within touching distance of the Nitto ATP Finals qualifying spots.

“I think [Turin] is our goal,” Murray added. “I think that most of the teams’ goal at the start of the year is to try to qualify for Turin. We’ve both been fortunate to play at that event in the past a few times. I think for the doubles guys it is a special event. It’s one that everyone wants to be part of.

“We know if we want to do that we’ve got to win a lot of matches, and this makes a good start.”

Discussing the ATP 250’s new location in Banja Luka, Venus said he enjoyed the week both on and off the court: “We’ve had great time. I think everything to do with the tournament has been amazingly run and set up. We’ve been super comfortable and really enjoyed our time here.”

Cabral and Nedovyesov were competing together for the first time this week and knocked off the third and second seeds in consecutive matches to reach the final. Cabral was seeking his third tour-level doubles title while Nedovyesov was bidding for his first.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Mutua Madrid Open, the tournament announced Saturday on Twitter.

“@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN,” the event tweeted. “Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole.”

🇷🇸 @DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN

Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole 😘 pic.twitter.com/M44rUvnrH1

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 22, 2023

Djokovic is a three-time champion in Madrid, where he has earned a 30-9 record. Last year at the Caja Magic he reached the semi-finals, in which he fell in a final-set tie-break to Carlos Alcaraz.

The Serbian is 17-3 in 2023, including title runs in Adelaide and at the Australian Open, where he claimed his record-tying 22nd major crown. Djokovic this week competed in Banja Luka, where he lost in the semi-finals to countryman Dusan Lajovic.

Andy Murray has reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, won three major titles and lifted 46 tour-level trophies overall. But ‘Coach of daughter Edie’ is staying off the resume for the time being.

Murray, the father of four children, has often spoken about how important his children are to him. But according to his Instagram Stories, it sounds like one of his daughters believes he needs to improve his level of tennis coaching.

“Dear daddy I am not going to play tennis for a while lots of love Edie,” Edie wrote in a note to him.

Murray has taken the feedback in stride by posting about it.

“My first venture into the coaching world has ended in disgrace,” Murray wrote on his Instagram Story. “5 year old daughter has quit telling me I don’t want to play anymore.. you stand too close to me.”

Perhaps Murray will consult coach Ivan Lendl for advice. For now, the 35-year-old will turn his attention to the Mutua Madrid Open.

Murray is a two-time champion at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event, which begins on 26 April. He owns a 29-9 record at the tournament.

A warm welcome for our two-time champion @andy_murray! 👋🏻

The 🇬🇧 is the first player in the Manolo Santana Stadium at this year’s #MMOPEN.

Welcome Andy! pic.twitter.com/eEqYtZvgYn

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 21, 2023

Top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz continued their smooth progress at the BMW Open by American Express on Friday with a 7-5, 6-4 win against fellow Gemans Oscar Otte and Jan-Lennard Struff. It was a second win against countrymen in as many days for Krawietz/Puetz, who opened their Munich campaign with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Yannick Hanfmann and Daniel Masur on Thursday at the ATP 250.

While both teams created eight break points in the quarter-finals, the top seeds converted three times while losing serve just once to advance to the last four on home soil. They will next face Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald, who beat Christopher O’Connell and Albano Olivetti on Thursday.

Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler also advanced on Friday in Munich with a 6-4, 6-7(7), 10-7 win against Quentin Halys and David Pel. They will meet Indians Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni in Saturday’s semis.

Koolhof/Skupski Survive In Barcelona QFs

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski navigated a Match Tie-break at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to edge Nicolas Mahut and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Friday’s quarter-finals. The top seeds earned a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory, saving eight of nine break points to advance at the clay-court ATP 500.

The Dutch-British duo will face Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in Saturday’s semi-finals after the Indian-Australian team scored a 6-2, 6-4 win against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Banja Luka Final Set

Francisco Cabral and Aleksandr Nedovyesov upset second-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 10-8 to advance to the final at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka on Friday, preventing a championship showdown between the top two seeds at the ATP 250.

Top seeds Michael Venus and Jamie Murray reached the title match with a 6-3, 7-6(1), win against Andrey Golubev and Denys Molchanov.

Despite winning just four games across their previous two meetings, the 32-year-old Lajovic earned a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory after fending off 15 of 16 break points faced to advance. Lajovic saved three set points in the second-set tie-break.

“I’m overwhelmed, it is the biggest win of my career,” Lajovic said in his on-court interview. “The emotions are very mixed because I’m playing here in front of the home town and I’m also playing against Nole who is a good friend and he’s a hero of our country. Beating him, it’s something that I didn’t even think is going to be possible, but it happened.”

Lajovic stayed aggressive, sometimes serve-and-volleying to put Djokovic under pressure, and moved the 22-time major champion to all corners of the court to earn his third career victory against a Top-5 player.

After Lajovic failed to convert three break points at 4-4, 0/40 in the second set, Djokovic rallied to later force a tie-break, where he raced to a 6/3 lead. But Lajovic held his nerve to win five straight points, including a dramatic 15-ball rally at 7/6, to secure a two-hour, 29-minute victory.

“His percentage of the first serve was not the greatest,” Lajovic said. “So I was able to use that to my advantage. But overall I think it was very good tennis from my side.”

Lajovic will meet another Serbian in the last four when he meets Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeat Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-0 behind seven breaks of the Czech’s serve. 

Lajovic plays his best tennis on clay. In 2019, he rose to a career-high No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings shortly after a runner-up finish at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. Fognini), where he became the lowest-ranked finalist (No. 48) at the event since No. 53 Hicham Arazi in 2001. Lajovic earned his first Top-5 victory en route to the final, defeating Dominic Thiem in the round of 16.

A few months after his Monte-Carlo run, Lajovic earned his lone tour-level title at the ATP 250 event in Umag.

Djokovic suffered his third loss this season and first to a fellow Serbian since Janko Tipsarevic defeated him at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid in May 2012. Djokovic praised his friend following the defeat.

“Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy,” Djokovic said. “Someone I’ve known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I’m happy for him, to be honest. I know this is an important win for him considering the last 12 months that he’s been through, it’s not been easy for him. He’s playing well and he deserved to win today.”

The 93-time tour-level titlist Djokovic will next be in action at the Mutua Madrid Open, which runs from 26 April-7 May.

For the second straight day at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Carlos Alcaraz shook off a stern test from a fellow Spaniard to advance in straight sets at the clay-court ATP 500. After beating Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday, the 19-year-old edged Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to return to the semi-finals on home soil.

“It was really tough for me,” Alcaraz assessed. “I started playing pretty well, serving for the first set. I was not able to win [that game]… I was going really fast, a lot of things on my mind. [After the first set] I was talking to myself, positive things, trying to play long rallies, trying to [be there] through the points, trying to feel more comfortable with myself.”

Alcaraz has not lost a set in four Barcelona matches against his countrymen, including a win against Pablo Carreno Busta in last year’s final. He is now 9-1 against Spanish opposition since the start of 2022 and 8-1 overall at the ATP 500 event, his lone defeat coming to Frances Tiafoe in his 2021 debut.

With two more wins, Alcaraz would become Barceiona’s first repeat champion since Rafael Nadal won three straight titles from 2016-18. He will face Daniel Evans or Francisco Cerundolo in Saturday’s semi-finals.

While he did not produce his best tennis consistently in the chilly and windy conditions, Alcaraz managed the big moments well after losing the lead in both sets. While his level ebbed and flowed, he relied on his trusty drop shot at several key points and willed his way to victory at the end of each set.

Davidovich Fokina fought power with power and troubled Alcaraz throughout the two-hour, 10-minute match. He was two points away from winning the opening set on four occasions, but he never saw a set point after letting an early lead slip in the tie-break.

The pair split 22 break points in the match, with Alcaraz converting on four to his opponent’s three. Alcaraz saved six of those break points to hold for 2-1 in the second set and capitalised with a break in the ensuing game, only to see Davidovich Fokina snatch it back with the shot of the match — a wicked drop volley that bounced back onto his side of the net, drawing a smile from Alcaraz.

“The hot shot is from him today,” said Alcaraz, who produced a shot-of-the-tournament contender of his own against Bautista Agut on Thursday. “He played really well, great shots. Probably not only the one hot shot. He made a lot of them, probably more than me. It was a really fun match.”

Alcaraz sealed victory with a break of serve in the match’s final game and will now wait for the result of Barcelona’s Friday nightcap between Evans and Cerundolo to find out his next opponent.