Both Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin have enjoyed long and distinguished careers on the ATP Tour, but that didn’t make their triumph on Saturday at the Miami Open presented by Itau any less special.

The Mexican-French duo defeated Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut 7-6(4), 7-5 to claim the trophy at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event in Florida. It was a second title at that level for 39-year-old Roger-Vasselin and a first for 40-year-old Gonzalez, who was the first Mexican finalist in tournament history.

“It was my dream, of course,” said Gonzalez. “Lifting this kind of title, a Masters 1000. I’m 40 years old, I didn’t have one, this is my first. I’m glad [it’s] today. Today is my son’s birthday, so I’m going to remember this day for the rest of my life and I’m very happy.”

One of the most prestigious titles in tennis 🥇🌴@gonzalezsanty 🤝 @ERogerVasselin clinch doubles glory 7-6(4), 7-5 over Mahut/Krajicek@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/mn9EuRDTDq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 1, 2023

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin produced a clinical performance inside Hard Rock Stadium to seal a one-hour, 44-minute victory. They converted both break point chances they earned, including their only one of the second set which doubled up as a championship point.

“It’s thanks to the golf. We are playing golf together… That’s the highlight of the week,” joked Roger-Vasselin. “But on the court, we fight from the first to the last ball, and we did pretty well for the last month. I’m really happy to lift another trophy. It’s my second Masters 1000, but for sure it’s always good to have a trophy like that.”

After teaming sporadically in 2022, Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin joined forces on a permanent basis at the start of 2023. Despite being one of the older partnerships on Tour, their ongoing desire to win powered them to a first title as a team in February in Marseille. Now, they are a Masters 1000-winning duo.

“This is what we love,” said Gonzalez. “We’ve been doing this for our whole lives, so of course we want to step on the court and win titles. We are old, yes, but we now [have children], who are starting to play tennis. It’s good for them also to see Dad play on the main arena, so hopefully I can play a few more years.”

Despite their final defeat, Krajicek and 2016 Miami champion Mahut enjoyed a stirring run in their first tournament together. The pair teamed after Krajicek’s regular partner, Ivan Dodig, withdrew from the event due to injury.

After Jannik Sinner came from behind to stun Carlos Alcaraz in the Miami Open presented by Itau semi-finals, ending the Spaniard’s 10-match winning run and his reign as World No. 1, the Italian will now bid to end a more personal streak against Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s title match.

Watch from 1 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CET.

Medvedev, who saw his own 19-match winning streak snapped by Alcaraz two weeks ago in the Indian Wells final, enters the Miami showpiece with a 5-0 ATP Head2Head record against Sinner. Their most recent meeting came in February in the Rotterdam final, when Medvedev dominated the final two sets of a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory to claim the first of what would be three consecutive titles. 

Now into his fifth consecutive ATP Tour final, Medvedev will aim to stay perfect against Sinner with his sixth straight win against the Italian. His red-hot run across the past two months has lifted him to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, inserting him into the conversation for year-end No. 1.

After he progressed to his first Miami final, now having reached at least the title round at all six hard-court ATP Masters 1000s and both hard-court Grand Slams, Medvedev proved prescient in his analysis of the second semi-final between Sinner and Alcaraz.

“Carlos is on fire right now but you can’t win 100 matches in a row,” he said, speaking from the experience of his own recent streak. “At one moment someone is going to put the water on the fire. It might be Sinner today, it might be me on Sunday, it might be someone else next tournament.”

In his post-match press conference, Medvedev further explained why he was bullish on the 10th-seeded Italian. 

“I cannot hit a 110 mph forehand. That’s an advantage, and Sinner is capable of doing this,” he said. “Jannik is progressing really, really fast, especially this year. In terms of baseline game, Jannik can hit the ball very strong. I think that’s where [he and Alcaraz] have this kind of ping-pong tennis. That’s where he can bring him trouble.”

After Sinner succeeded in outhitting Alcaraz, he will face a very different challenge against the metronomic game of Medvedev. The fourth seed felt he made too many errors in his Indian Wells final defeat to the Spaniard, but he has rediscovered his rock-steady baseline tennis in Miami and felt he played a “top-level match” to beat good friend Karen Khachanov in three sets on Friday.

While Sinner has posted a higher Shot Quality rating on return, forehand and backhand in Miami, Medvedev has excelled at converting points from attacking positions and stealing points from defence.

The final is set @janniksin vs @DaniilMedwed 🏆

🔢👇based on this week’s @MiamiOpen

– Sinner leading return, FH & BH #ShotQuality
– Meddy clinical in attack & defence
– Both are VERY high in #BaselineBattles (winning points in different ways)

Tweet 2 for #InAttack analysis pic.twitter.com/WF6Pyeqviu

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) April 1, 2023

Those statistics provide an intriguing backdrop for Sunday. While most tennis fans might expect Medvedev to be more content in baseline rallies, the Tennis Insights data suggests that it’s Sinner who holds the advantage from the backcourt, at least based on their play so far in Miami.

The Italian has also shown a desire to attack the net, particularly against Alcaraz, when he won 16 of his 25 ventures forward. Frequent net approaches have often been a go-to tactic for Medvedev’s opponents in an attempt to punish the former World No. 1 for his preferred positioning deep in the court. How Sinner blends his attacks using his all-court game will be a key factor in deciding Sunday’s winner.

After scoring what he called one of the best wins of his career in the semis, the 21-year-old is ready for a new challenge against Medvedev.

“For sure it’s completely different than this match today,” he said, looking ahead to the final. “I never beat Daniil. We had already one final in Rotterdam. I was able to win one set there. We had a couple of matches where we went [to a] third set. Also there I need to make some changes, trying to mix up the game a little bit also. Then we’ll see.

“I feel ready to compete, happy to be in the final, and let’s see how it goes.”

Three of their five matches have required a deciding set, including Medvedev’s victory at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, when he won a 10-8 final-set tie-break in their round-robin meeting. But as Medvedev said, the fast-rising Italian has made great gains since then, and particularly this season.

A fixture near the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for years, Sinner has not left the Top 20 since August 2021. He reached a career high of World No. 9 in November of that year, and has assured himself of at least matching that mark with his run to the final. If Sinner can earn his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday — two years after he fell in the Miami final to Hubert Hurkacz — he will rise three further places to No. 6.

Medvedev can move up one place to No. 4 with his fourth title of the season, which would also extend his lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin from 200 to 600 points ahead of Novak Djokovic.

Expect a high-quality affair between two men with some of the best records on the 2023 ATP Tour season. Medvedev enters at 28-3 while Sinner stands at 21-4.

Watch Sunday’s final from 1 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CET, live from Hard Rock Stadium.

Click the graphic below for the full Medvedev vs. Sinner ATP Head2Head breakdown.

Tennis strings striking a fuzzy yellow ball is not the only impact that Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela is making.

The World No. 65 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings played a key role in charity activities held at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Mexico City, where players in the Challenger 125 field visited terminally-ill children and spent time with paralympic athletes.

Reyes-Varela’s girlfriend, Maricela Paulin, works as director of the non-profit organisation Fundacion Concamin. Paulin and ‘Micky’ teamed with businesses and the Mexico City Open to bring their idea to fruition.

“Through Maricela, I was invited to a paralympic race in November,” Reyes-Varela said. “Some of the athletes were blind, in wheelchairs, or had other disabilities. It really moved me. From there, I was like, ‘Let’s connect this to tennis.’ Maricela was the main person to get it done, I was just trying to connect the tournament and players.”

After talks with the Mexico City Open, the tournament staff quickly gave the green light. Reyes-Varela, 35, put the puzzle pieces together to help pull off Monday’s heartwarming activities, including a visit to Antes de Partir A.C., an organisation that works with kids battling cancer. Reyes-Varela’s doubles partner Robert Galloway and countryman Hans Hach Verdugo enjoyed the impactful and eye-opening experience.

“The first thing we did was with kids with cancer, terminal stage. So it was not easy,” Reyes-Varela said. “Rob and Hans came with us. It’s a home where they house not only the kids but also they hold their families, and have mental and emotional support for them.

“We were given a tour of the home first and they told us everything about it. We didn’t know what to expect when we saw the kids. It was tough. We got to the area they were playing, drawing, and they were told, ‘Here’s the surprise we told you about!’ The kids came running to us, hugged us, so much love. Heart sobbing. We were playing with them, we brought some little racquets, a net, and also balloons. We ended up playing more with balloons.”

Hans Hach Verdugo and a kid enjoying balloon fun at Antes de Partir A.C. Credit: Fundacion Concamin

Reyes-Varela explained that he is a big advocate of giving back and making an impact off court. The Mexican doesn’t want to get trapped in the professional tennis life and lose sight of things that have a deeper meaning in life than winning or losing, something he was reminded of as he watched the children enjoy day-to-day activities that are often taken for granted.

“The owners explained they don’t know how long the kids are going to live,” Reyes-Varela said. “Whatever it is, they want to provide the quality of life they deserve and not to be seen as a burden or just as sick people. Even for a moment to have those experiences to have friends, hang out, play activities, play Xbox.

“We brought a piñata, they were having so much fun getting the candy out of it. Before they broke the piñata, they were writing their wishes. They have all kinds of wishes, best of intentions, they are so kind to each other. There’s so much love.”

In the afternoon, more activities were held on site at the Centro Deportivo Chapultepec, where Daniel Elahi Galan, Cristian Rodriguez, Diego Hidalgo, and Alan Fernando Rubio Fierros, were among those to join in. Players spent time with paralympic athletes, including Mexico’s No. 1 wheelchair tennis player Carlos Muro.

Wheelchair tennis player Carlos Muro speaks with ATP Challenger Tour players. Credit: Fundacion Concamin

“Some of the paralympic athletes were born with disabilities, had an accident, or one had a cancerous tumor and lost his eyesight,” Reyes-Varela said. “They told us their stories and what they do. Some run marathons, some play goalball, which is the only sport that has been created specifically for visually impaired people. It was invented after World War II. I watched videos of goalball and I was like, ‘How can we do this at the tournament?’”

Reyes-Varela is hoping that Monday’s events can have a larger impact than just one day at the Challenger 125 event. The Mexican wants to see more tournaments organise impactful off-court events to promote giving back and charity work.

Daniel Elahi Galan learns to play goalball. Credit: Mexico City Open

Through the players’ giving back and tear-filled eyes, Reyes-Varela found that they too were experiencing something they will never forget.
“For us it was extremely touching,” Reyes-Varela said. “Later on, Maricela gave me some drawings that the kids made with messages. When we gave it to Rob, tears came to his eyes. When she gave it to me, of course the same thing. I put it in Hans’ bag in the players lounge and he didn’t know. He got to his bag to go practise, he picked it up, and I could see he got choked up. It’s so special.

“I’m 100 per cent sure the ones that received the biggest gift was us,” Reyes-Varela said. “We all had tears in our eyes at different moments. It’s great to see we’re more than just tennis players chasing the trophy at the end of the week.”

The response has been nothing but positive remarks to all who were involved. Throughout the process, Paulin and Reyes-Varela gained support from several organisations: Garra Azteca, Inclusion con Equidad A.C., Hero Group, and Silvestre Alfaro, who donated athletic equipment to the paralympic athletes on behalf of Innovasport.

Despite leaving south Florida without defending his title and falling from World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz is looking forward to an extended rivalry with Jannik Sinner after they put on another thrilling match in Friday’s semi-final at the 2023 Miami Open presented by Itau.

Alcaraz, who won this month’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, was gunning to be the first player to win the ‘Sunshine Double’ since Roger Federer in 2017. Despite winning the opening set, Alcaraz saw Sinner rally to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 victory against the 19-year-old, who suffered from cramps early in the third set of the high-quality three-hour, one minute contest.

Instead of focussing on the loss, the Spaniard was already looking forward soon after the match, talking of claiming the Indian Wells-Miami double in the future, and to an era in which he and Sinner push each other to higher and higher levels of excellence.

“I had [an] opportunity to get the Sunshine Double, but I think I’m going to have more years to try to get it,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “But all I can think about is to improve my level to beat Jannik.”

Still early in their careers, Alcaraz and Sinner have displayed several epic battles, including at the 2022 US Open, where the Spaniard won a five-set quarter-final before claiming his maiden Grand Slam title later that week. On Friday, Sinner levelled their ATP Head2Head at three a piece.

Throughout their six tour-level meetings, tennis fans have glued their eyes to the television from first ball to last. Even Alcaraz stated that there’s something unique about his growing rivalry with the 21-year-old.

“I feel something different about the crowd when I play against Jannik,” Alcaraz said. “I think around the world there’s probably all the people watching this match because I think it’s really beautiful to watch.

“It was an incredible crowd. I felt the energy, the love from the people when I was down. So for me it’s unbelievable to have this kind of feeling, this kind of support. It’s indescribable.”

After claiming his third ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells two weeks ago, Alcaraz had a chance to become the youngest male player to win both legs of the Sunshine Double in a single season.

The 2022 Miami champion will rue the two break points he had at 4-3 in the second set. Had he converted one of them, the Spaniard would have served for the match in an attempt to extend his winning streak to 11 matches.

“I had my opportunities to break in the second set and serve for the match, but really against Sinner it’s always a tough battle,” Alcaraz said. “It’s tough to put into words but I think it was a great match for both. It was a really tough, physical match.”

But Alcaraz won’t let the defeat bother him for too long.

“After the match, for like 15, 25 minutes I can’t talk to anyone. Complaining a lot, everything is like s%*! for me,” Alcaraz said, while cracking a smile.

“After 20, 25 minutes, I start thinking about positive things, about the match, the season, the tournament, and talking with my team, my family. After that, [I start] to have good things on my mind. I come [to the press conference] smiling.”

Boasting an 18-2 record in 2023, Alcaraz will next be in action at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins 9 April.

Jannik Sinner not only upset World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in their Miami Open presented by Itau semi-final Friday evening. The Italian also conquered the Spaniard in an exchange that is a genuine contender for point of the year.

The 25-shot rally featured blistering groundstrokes, side-to-side movement, a drop shot from Alcaraz and ultimately an incredible curling backhand passing shot from Sinner to win the point that was too far out of the reach of the diving top seed.

The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed throughout the point, but the fans inside Hard Rock Stadium erupted once Sinner hit his passing shot and motioned to the crowd to make more noise.

“It was [an] unbelievable point. When I lost that point, the first thing that came to my mind is like, ‘He’s unbeatable, this guy’,” Alcaraz said. “We played a great game, I think [we were] both [at a] great level. I broke his serve that game, if I remember well. But of course against Jannik [there are] always great points like this one.”

Sinner said: “It was a long point also. It was a physical point, for sure. It started a little bit with the drop shot, and then after I went cross I think. Then I went back with the forehand. At some point I went backhand down the line and he was basically [lying] down, but he came up so fast. I wanted to go behind him, but he was there. And then after, I tried this shot, because firstly, I wanted to lob him but the ball was too low. So I went crosscourt, which was the right choice.

“But still, it was a very physical point. I lost the game after that one. But yeah, as I said, you always need two players to make these kind of points.”

It was a special moment in what is becoming a special rivalry. Sinner will play Daniil Medvedev on Sunday for the trophy.

That was THE GREATEST POINT I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE 🤯🤯🤯

— Christopher Eubanks (@chris_eubanks96) March 31, 2023

Sitting near the court for this and it’s the best point I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/1xt2PmvaSj

— James Blake (@JRBlake) April 1, 2023

Novak Djokovic will return to World No. 1 Monday following Jannik Sinner’s defeat of Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Alcaraz dethroned Djokovic less than two weeks ago when the Spaniard defeated Daniil Medvedev to capture his third ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. But the 19-year-old was defending 1000 points in Miami following his 2022 triumph in south Florida and needed to successfully defend the title to stay in top spot.

Djokovic, who will begin his 381st week atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, is scheduled to return to the ATP Tour at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins 9 April.

Sinner is up to No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and will move to a career-high No. 6 on Monday should he defeat Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s championship match at Hard Rock Stadium.

Alcaraz has spent a total of 21 weeks as World No. 1 during his young career, putting him 16th on the list for most weeks in top spot among the 28 players to reach No. 1.

Djokovic recently surpassed Stefanie Graf’s mark of 377 weeks as World No. 1, which had been a record for men and women.

See full list of World No. 1s

Jannik Sinner roared back in his budding rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz with a statement semi-final win on Friday night at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The Italian’s 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 victory will end Alcaraz’s reign atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with Novak Djokovic set to take over as World No. 1 on Monday.

“It means a lot. We both played a very, very high level of tennis again. I just tried my best,” Sinner said after advancing to his second ATP Masters 1000 final, both in Miami. “In the third set I saw him struggle a little bit for a couple of games so I tried to push there… We both tried to play very aggressive tennis and today it went my way so I’m very happy.”

Despite leading early in all three sets, Sinner was on the brink of defeat as he stared down two break points at 3-4 in the second. But the 21-year-old won 19 of 21 points to snatch the set and open up a 2-0 lead in the deciding set, with Alcaraz struggling physically at the start of set three. The Spaniard regrouped to bring up a break point at 3-2, but Sinner fought it off and powered through the finish after three hours of show-stopping tennis of the highest quality.

By levelling their ATP Head2Head series at 3-3, Sinner snapped Alcaraz’s 10-match and 21-set winning streaks, denying the Spaniard’s bid to achieve the Sunshine Double by following his Indian Wells trophy with a successful Miami title defence.

Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final, when the Italian will play for his first ATP Masters 1000 title. He previously reached the Miami title round in 2021, when he lost to Hubert Hurkacz. Sinner has yet to beat Medvedev in five tries, their most recent meeting coming in the Rotterdam final in February.

“Different conditions than in Rotterdam. I’m very happy that I can face him in a final again,” Sinner said, looking ahead to the matchup. “The last one I lost obviously, but I’ll try my best, I’ll try to make some good changes like today against Carlos and let’s see. I feel good on this court. I have very good memories and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”

More to follow…

The partnership between Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who will compete in the Miami Open presented by Itau doubles final Saturday, was more than 20 years in the making.

The first time they met was in the second round of the 2001 Roland Garros boys’ singles second round. Gonzalez, who had defeated Marcos Baghdatis in the first round, earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

“It was okay. I didn’t have a lot of expectations at that time, so I was happy to play because I qualified, I didn’t have a wild card,” Roger-Vasselin said. “I remember I qualified and I passed one round, so for me it was already good.”

They would not meet again until the first round of 2008 US Open qualifying, where Roger-Vasselin triumphed 6-1, 6-2. In doubles, their earliest clashes were in Newport two years later and then in Rome in 2014.

They were colleagues on Tour, but not close friends. So how have Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin, who are third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, become one of the best teams in the world? In a way it came down to coincidence.

Ahead of last year’s BNP Paribas Open, neither player was going to make the cut for the year’s first ATP Masters 1000 event.

“You’re not going to get in, I’m not going to get in. So we might [as well] play together because we have no other option,” Roger-Vasselin recalled. “This is how we really started to know each other, to play together.”

They made the final at Indian Wells. The same thing happened later in the year in Cincinnati and they advanced to the semi-finals.

“He’s a great player so his type of playing on court and my type of playing are getting along very well on court. So after good results we [earned] in Indian Wells and Cincinnati, we beat so many good teams,” Gonzalez said. “So we knew we can beat anyone.

“After that, at the end of the year I was playing good also with [Andres] Molteni. But I was talking to Eddie, we played good together, [we said] maybe we can try next year. We started talking a little more and then we decided to give it a try this year. It’s working well so far. Hopefully it’s just the start and we can keep it going.”

The Mexican-French team is a combined 79 years old. Gonzalez is 40 and Roger-Vasselin is 39. They boast 43 tour-level men’s doubles titles between them. How are they still playing so well this deep into their careers?

“That’s a good question!” Gonzalez said. “If you asked me that three or four years ago, I’d be like oh by the time I’m 40, I was thinking I’d be done with tennis. But now the last two years for me, I was playing a very good level, probably my best level from the last 10 or 15 years.”

“We don’t know and we don’t want to know!” Roger-Vasselin joked. “Personally I like that someone is pretty relaxed on the court and off the court. I think it’s good also long term it suits me well to have someone pretty relaxed and that’s what I like. Also obviously we need good results, but it’s something that’s worked well so far.”

Two years ago, Roger-Vasselin underwent hip resurfacing surgery on his right hip, the same operation Bob Bryan and Andy Murray had. When he decided to go through with it, the Frenchman was struggling to play soccer with his son, who was seven at the time. Now, dad is able to return the favour.

“Yes, badly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’s pissed now. Now I’m competing with him, he’s getting better, but I’m giving him no chance for him to beat me,” Roger-Vasselin said, cracking a laugh. “[I am feeling] much better, much better. When I came back I was missing the matches, the rhythm, but still I improved also physically. I didn’t know it was going to take so long to improve, but I can say that I’m feeling much better now compared to last year.”

It also helps that the veterans get along well on and off the court. They enjoy playing golf together.

“Now we know why it works well!” Roger-Vasselin said. “I have to improve because he’s better than me. Usually with my other French guys I’m always better, so now I have to improve my game and this is why I push myself to beat him also on the golf course.”

Both also have two children, and are hoping to bring the Miami trophy home.

“Especially now with my [son], he’s into tennis now. When I told him, ‘Oh maybe I’ll retire in one or two years’ he said, ‘No, no, don’t retire’,” Gonzalez said. “He wants to still be around the tournaments, be around the players. I’m doing it for me and for him a little bit.”