Dominic Thiem announced on social media Saturday that he mutually decided with coach Nicolas Massu to end their player-coach relationship.

“What an incredible journey… It all started in early 2019 – you came along with your incredible energy and extreme love for the sport,” Thiem wrote on Instagram. “That’s how we won the US Open and Indian Wells. But we also reached the finals of the Australian Open, the French Open, and twice at the Nitto ATP Finals. I think that shows we’re an incredible team.

“But unfortunately, everything has an end and this end came now.
We have decided together that we will go different ways starting next week.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this incredible and beautiful time Nico. I wish you only the best and our friendship will last forever.”

 

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The pair’s partnership lasted more than four years. They first began working together in early 2019 and Thiem soon thereafter won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The Austrian claimed a career-best five titles that season and reached the final at Roland Garros and the Nitto ATP Finals.

In March 2020 Thiem reached a career-high No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and later that year, he captured his maiden major crown at the US Open.

In June 2021 the Austrian suffered a wrist injury. Since returning last March, Thiem has been working hard to find his best form.

Top seed Frances Tiafoe began his clay-court season and Houston title campaign in convincing fashion Saturday. The American looks to complete double duty tonight, when he returns to court for the quarter-finals at the Fayez Sarofim & Co U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

The World No. 15 earned a 6-2, 6-4 second-round win against countryman Steve Johnson, who is a two-time Houston champion (2017, 2018). Tiafoe collected 26 of 31 points off his first delivery and didn’t face a break point en route to his maiden win against Johnson (1-2 ATP Head2Head).

“I played a lot better than I thought [I would],” Tiafoe said. “Honestly it kind of helped me in the end to have some days off… It gave me some time to practise on the clay a little bit.”

After rain cancelled much of play the past three days at the ATP 250, second-round winners will be back in action tonight for the quarter-finals. Tiafoe will meet Australian Jason Kubler, who defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 6-2, after suitable rest.

Despite the Houston rain, the 25-year-old Tiafoe was unbothered by not playing his opening match until Saturday.

“I don’t mind chilling around. I can chill all day,” Tiafoe said. “I’m a pretty relaxed guy so it didn’t bother me too much.”

In other action, fifth seed J.J. Wolf defeated Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-1. Wolf will next meet Houston-born Gijs Brouwer, who upset fourth seed John Isner 6-4, 7-6(4). Brouwer, 27, held a 6-4, 5-6 lead before play was suspended Thursday. The Dutchman held his nerve Saturday morning and now looks to defeat Wolf for a second consecutive year in Houston, where Brouwer was a quarter-finalist (l. to Opelka) in 2022.

Four days after Yannick Hanfmann’s first-round victory, the German qualifier returned to action and upset second seed Tommy Paul 7-6(6), 6-2. The 31-year-old converted his seventh match point to advance to his second quarter-final of the season (Santiago). Hanfmann will next face American Marcos Giron or Czech qualifier Tomas Machac.

Cristian Garin, who won the Houston title in 2019, survived two tie-breaks to down lucky loser Zizou Bergs 7-6(4), 7-6(1). The Chilean will tonight meet eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who ousted Australian Max Purcell 7-6(5), 6-1.

Casper Ruud survived a stern test from Quentin Halys to advance to his first final of 2023 at the Millennium Estoril Open. The Norwegian progressed to his 16th tour-level final with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory on Saturday at the ATP 250.

The top-seeded Ruud will play for his 10th tour-level title against his good friend Miomir Kecmanovic in Sunday’s final. It will be the pair’s third ATP Head2Head meeting but first since 2019, with Ruud seeking his first win in the matchup.

Watch Sunday’s final from 4:30 p.m. CET/10:30 a.m. ET

“It was another great match, a long match, a close and exciting match,” said Ruud, who beat Halys 11-9 in the fifth set at the 2018 Australian Open. “I’m just very happy that it went in my favour. It’s just some points here and there that decide a match like this… I’m happy to win a match 7-6 in the third. That’s always a great feeling.

“Quentin has a great serve, great power from the baseline. It was tough for me to find a rhythm in the rallies but in the end I was just trying to stay there and make him play, and luckily it went my way.”

Ruud overcame 16 aces from the Frenchman Halys, who beat Dominic Thiem in the Estoril quarter-finals and had not lost a set prior to Saturday’s match. After each of the first two sets were decided by a single, early break, there were no break chances on offer in the deciding set, with each man battling through deuce once on serve. Ruud took an off-court medical timeout late in the second set as his first-serve percentage dipped, but he showed no signs of wear in the final set.

After clipping the edge of the line with a forehand winner on the first point of the decisive tie-break, Ruud opened up a 3/0 lead and never looked back, wrapping up the win in two hours, 10 minutes. Through to his 12th clay-court tour-level final, and his first title match of any kind since the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals, Ruud passed Daniil Medvedev and returned to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with his semi-final win. 

Halys moved up 15 places to No. 65 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings by reaching his first tour-level semi-final.

Earlier in Estoril, the sixth-seeded Kecmanovic continued his dominant run with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Marco Cecchinato. The Serbian has not lost a set in his four wins this week on the way to his fourth tour-level final and second of 2023 (Delray Beach).

The 23-year-old needed just one hour, eight minutes to defeat Cecchinato, saving both break points against him while converting on four of his eight break chances.

Kecmanovic will play for his second ATP Tour title after his 2020 triumph in Kitzbühel, while Cecchinato was denied a sixth tour-level final and first since 2021. By reaching the title match, Kecmanovic has moved up six places to No. 34 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week. He would rise two more places to No. 32 by winning the trophy.

The Serbian also advanced to the Estoril doubles final on Saturday, teaming with countryman Nikola Cacic for a 6-2, 1-6, 10-3 semi-final win against third seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Fabien Reboul.

Looking ahead to the singles final, Ruud shared his excitement about playing his friend in such a big match.

“It’s going to be fun. Miomir is a good friend of mine, one of my better friends on Tour. It’s going to be an exciting match. To play each other in the final is going to be fun, for the first time in our career,” he said. “He’s been playing great, so I have to be prepared for a very tough match. He’s been winning straight sets and killing everyone almost. So I have to be ready and just hoping that I can play well and have fun tomorrow in another final.”

Refreshed and raring to go, two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is excited to chase a third consecutive Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title this week in the Principality.

The Greek defeated Andrey Rublev in the 2021 final to win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown, before he overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in last year’s championship match to reign at the clay-court event again.

“It is a pleasure to return to the clay-court swing,” Tsitsipas said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday. “It is one of the most fascinating parts of the year, starting the clay-court swing in Monte-Carlo, which is my favourite place in the world.

“I am looking to make it three [titles]. But I won’t take too much time thinking of it. I am feeling refreshed that we are able to start playing on clay again.”

The second seed suffered a disappointing fourth-round exit in Miami last month, but arrives in Monte-Carlo holding a 12-2 record at the event. The World No. 3, who resides in Monte-Carlo, is excited to be back on clay and hopes his fond memories at the event will help him quickly find his range.

“I am enjoying the fact that I have won this event twice. I feel good playing here, I feel good in front of my fans,” Tsitsipas said. “The Monegasque people have showed their love and support and the Italian and French fans. Also the Greek community. They are here and I know most of them.

“It is my home tournament and having won the event twice. It gives me so much happiness that I was able to live and experience those moments. I am hoping to make it more than twice this week.”

Tsitsipas has often produced his best level on clay. Four of his 10 tour-level titles have come on the surface and he reached the Roland Garros final in 2021.

“I really like the tactical analysis of clay-court tennis. I think it is deeper than people think. There is a lot of strategy involved,” Tsitsipas said. “You are not expecting to hit crazy winners on a surface like clay. You are dealing with much patience when you are playing. It involves more around unforced and forced errors. The way you can open the court. The main priority is not to hit a winner, but be precise and open the court.”

Chasing his first title of the season, Tsitsipas will begin his campaign against Benjamin Bonzi or Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Novak Djokovic returns to the ATP Tour this week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he is chasing a record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 crown.

However, before taking to court at the clay-court event, the World No. 1 joined Italian Jannik Sinner on Saturday at Larvotto Beach, where the pair shared jokes and competed in a mini-match in front of fans.

Djokovic and Sinner hit trick shots, posed for photos and chatted with each other as they delighted the supporters in Monte-Carlo ahead of the third ATP Masters 1000 of the season.

The singles stars, who are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals, arrived in the Principality earlier this week and have hit at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

Djokovic is a two-time champion in Monaco, triumphing in 2013 and 2015. The Serbian last competed at the start of March, when he lost against Daniil Medvedev in the Dubai semi-finals. The seventh seed Sinner, who is making his third appearance in Monte-Carlo, reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami earlier this month.

For the third time this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II, Roberto Carballes Baena has knocked off a seeded opponent in Marrakech. On Saturday, the Spaniard came from behind to upset second seed Daniel Evans 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to his second tour-level final.

The 30-year-old, who won his only previous title match in Quito in 2018, picked up his first win against a Top 35 opponent this season in what was his first tour-level semi-final since he reached the last four in Bastad in 2021.

“I don’t know why, but all the time that I come here I think I play my best tennis,” said Carballes Baena, who improved to 10-3 in Marrakech, with a previous semi-final run in 2014 as a qualifier and a quarter-final run last season. “I won my first Challenger also here [in Morocco]. I feel very good and I will try to do a good match tomorrow.”

He will face France’s Alexandre Muller in Sunday’s final. Watch from 4 p.m. CET/10 a.m. ET.

Carballes Baena used a five-game flurry to turn the match around from 3-4 in the second set. He had not broken serve since the opening game of the match, but he did so in consecutive return games to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the decider.

As his relentless baseline game continued to reap rewards, the Spaniard’s third break of the match gave him a 4-1 lead, and he consolidated his advantage by saving a break point in the ensuing service game.

After knocking of fifth seed Maxime Cressy in the first round and fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarters, both in three sets, Carballes Baena will meet the unseeded Muller in Sunday’s final.

France’s Muller backed up his three-set quarter-final upset of top seed Lorenzo Musetti with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win against Pavel Kotov. In an eventful matchup of first-time tour-level semi-finalists, Muller saved five of eight break points on serve while converting on four of his five break chances on return.

The 26-year-old, who entered Marrakech with three tour-level wins, has earned four victories this week. His semi-final triumph lifted him back into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings at No. 96, a mark that would match his career high. Muller could move up to No. 78 by winning his maiden ATP Tour title on Sunday.

Chasing their first title of the season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski could have to overcome a series of ATP Tour singles stars in the Principality.

The top seeds, who won three ATP Masters 1000 trophies last year, could face Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in their opening match, with Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman potential quarter-final opponents. Rublev and Khachanov start against Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, while Sinner and Schwartzman take on eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

View Doubles Draw

Fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are seeded to meet Koolhof and Skupski in the semi-finals. The Croatians lifted the trophy in Monaco in 2021 and will begin this year’s quest against Simone Bolelli and Lorenzo Musetti or Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune.

Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury arrive at the clay-court event aiming to kickstart their season. The second seeds, who have won three ATP Masters 1000 titles as a team, hold a 6-5 record on the year, with their best result a run to the semi-finals in Pune.

They begin against wild cards Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn or Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev. Ram and Salisbury could face Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in the quarter-finals. The sixth seeds play wild cards Nicolas Mahut and Stan Wawrinka in the first round. Frenchman Mahut clinched the crown in Monaco in 2016 with Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, who are also in the bottom half, have strong pedigree on clay, triumphing at Roland Garros as a team last season. They will face wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas or Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz in their first match.

The first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season commences this week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where a host of Top 10 stars are in action in the Principality.

Two-time champion Novak Djokovic, back at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will lead the field. Stefanos Tsitsipas eyes a third consecutive title in Monaco and Daniil Medvedev, who has triumphed on Tour four times this year, will be chasing his first trophy on clay.

Here are 10 things to watch this week.

1) Djokovic Returns: The Serbian will compete for the first time since March when he fell in the semi-finals in Dubai against Medvedev. Djokovic ceded top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after Carlos Alcaraz won Indian Wells, but is back at No. 1 again now after the 19-year-old Spaniard failed to defend his Miami title. Djokovic, who triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2013 and 2015, is chasing his third title of the season after winning an ATP 250 in Adelaide and his 22nd major at the Australian Open.

2) Two-Time Champ Tsitsipas: Tsitsipas holds fond memories in Monte-Carlo, where he lifted the trophy in 2021 and 2022. The Greek, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in last year’s final, will hope the ATP Masters 1000 event can help him kick on after he suffered a second-round exit in Indian Wells and a fourth-round exit in Miami. The 24-year-old holds a 12-2 record in the Principality.

3) Ruud Chasing Best Level: Casper Ruud has struggled to find his best form this season, suffering third-round defeats in Indian Wells and Miami. The Norwegian, who is into the semi-finals in Estoril this week, has often produced his best tennis on clay, with eight of his nine titles coming on the surface. The 24-year-old’s best result in Monte-Carlo came in 2021 when he reached the semi-finals.

4) Medvedev On A Roll: Medvedev arrives in the Principality in red-hot form, having won four tour-level titles since February. The 27-year-old captured his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami earlier this month, which helped move him to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. Holding a 29-3 record on the season, Medvedev, who reached the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo in his previous appearance in 2019, is chasing his first clay-court title this week.

5) Top 10 Stars Rublev, Rune & Fritz In Action: Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune have enjoyed consistent starts to the season but are still seeking their first title of the season. Rublev advanced to the final in Monte Carlo in 2021, while Rune is making his third appearance. Rublev opens against Marc-Andrea Huesler or Jaume Munar, with Rune playing Dominic Thiem or Richard Gasquet.

World No. 10 Taylor Fritz is 20-6 on the year, highlighted by his title run in Delray Beach. The American reached a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last month and will continue his quest to rise again in the Principality. The 25-year-old reached the quarter-finals at the clay-court event last year.

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6) Sinner & Khachanov Arrive In Form: Jannik Sinner and Karen Khachanov enter the event in form. The 21-year-old Sinner backed up his semi-final run in Indian Wells by advancing to his second ATP Masters 1000 title match in Miami. The Italian, whose only clay-court title came in Umag last year, opens against Diego Schwartzman or David Goffin.

Khachanov also made waves in Miami, advancing to the semi-finals before eventual champion Medvedev stopped him. The former World No. 8 will be looking to transfer his form to the clay courts in Monaco, where he is making his sixth appearance.

7) Paul & Norrie In Race Contention: Tommy Paul and Cameron Norrie are seventh and eighth, respectively, in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. Paul reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and title match in Acapulco this season, while Norrie captured a clay-court title at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro. Both will be aiming for deep runs in Monte-Carlo to remain inside the Top 8 in the Race.

8) Thiem & Wawrinka Receive Wild Cards: Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem possess strong clay-court pedigree, clinching a combined 16 titles on the surface. Former World No. 3 Wawrinka triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2014, while Austrian Thiem’s best result came in 2018 when he reached the quarter-finals. They both received a wild card into the tournament.

9) First-Round Matches To Watch: Following Friday’s draw, there are several intriguing first-round matches to look out for. #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton takes on 2022 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov, while former World No. 1 Andy Murray plays 14th seed Alex de Minaur. The 12th seed Frances Tiafoe has a tricky opening test against 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Jiri Lehecka.

10) Ram/Salisbury Looking To Defend Title: Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will aim to win their fourth ATP Masters 1000 title as a team and first trophy of the season when they take to court in the Principality. They will face stern competition from top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski and third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. Singles stars Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie are all on doubles duty.