Rafael Nadal withdraws from Rome Masters as injury continues to hit his clay season
Rafael Nadal withdraws from next week’s Italian Open but says he has noticed an improvement in his condition in recent days.
Rafael Nadal withdraws from next week’s Italian Open but says he has noticed an improvement in his condition in recent days.
Twenty consecutive ATP Tour wins on Spanish soil for the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.
The top seed celebrated his birthday with another relentless performance in his homeland on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he overcame stiff resistance from Borna Coric to complete a 6-4, 6-3 semi-final victory at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.
Alcaraz had to be at his best to overcome a resolute display from Coric. The extra variety in the Spaniard’s game proved key to his triumph, as he frequently pulled the energetic Coric around Manolo Santana Stadium and converted four of six break points to seal victory in one hour, 41 minutes.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz. “It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play [as an] under-12. Of course last year was amazing.
“Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”
Having successfully defended his Barcelona crown two weeks ago, Alcaraz will bid for his fourth consecutive ATP Tour title in Spain on Sunday when he takes on Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff in the championship match. Should he defend the trophy at the Caja Magica, the Spaniard can return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia later this month.
“I enjoy playing here in Madrid. I always try to make [the fans] happy and myself happy as well,” said Alcaraz, when asked about the pressure of playing at home. “I don’t think about the pressure here, I just think about playing a great game, getting good results. It’s a really special place for me, I enjoy every second here, so that’s all I think about.”
While Coric’s speed around the court could have tempted Alcaraz to veer away from his trademark drop shot on Friday, the tactic still allowed Alcaraz to disrupt the baseline rhythm of Coric. That proved crucial for the top seed to break open a tight opening set by claiming its only break in the fifth game.
With both players offering few unforced errors, the match featured a series of long exchanges that tested the physicality of the players. Although he reclaimed an early break to level the second set at 2-2, Coric’s exertions appeared to catch up with him and he had no answer to the barrage of fierce forehands sent his way by the World No. 2.
Alcaraz secured two further breaks of the Croatian’s serve to close out his win and improve to 28-2 for the season. He finished with 30 winners to Coric’s 22 and was particularly effective on second-serve returns. The Spaniard won 58 per cent (14/24) of points against his opponent’s second delivery.
“It was a goal for me at the beginning of the match, trying to start the point playing aggressive,” said Alcaraz. “This is something I look for in every match, trying to attack on the return and of course trying to play with my forehand. I feel really comfortable playing with that. I think I hurt the opponent especially with the forehand and of course the drop shot, so this is a key and I’m trying to do it in every match.”
Having already lifted titles in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona this season, Alcaraz can jump above Daniil Medvedev to first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin by claiming his fourth ATP Tour crown of 2023 in Madrid.
Madrid 2023
Open Gallery
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The 10-time Rome champion has been dealing with a leg injury that he suffered at the Australian Open in January.
In Nadal’s first three appearances (2005-07) at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Italy, the Spaniard won a trio of titles and tallied a 17-match winning streak. The Spaniard last won the Rome title in 2021 and boasts a 69-8 event record.
The 10-time Rome champion won’t make it to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
We all give you a long distance hug @RafaelNadal 🙌🏻#IBI23 pic.twitter.com/LmuZyOSpT7
— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 5, 2023
The 36-year-old has not played since falling in the second round of the Australian Open.
Semi-final Friday at the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open sees top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz attempt to celebrate his 20th birthday by reaching his fourth ATP Masters 1000 championship match.
Standing in the Spaniard’s way is 17th seed Borna Coric. The pair’s clash on Manolo Santana Stadium will be their maiden ATP Head2Head meeting.
Aslan Karatsev and Jan-Lennard Struff, who meet in the second semi-final of the day at the Caja Magica, are also playing each other for the first time at Tour-level. Yet the pair faced off in Madrid just 10 days ago, when Karatsev downed Struff in the final round of qualifying before the German was added to the main draw at the clay-court Masters 1000 as a lucky loser.
ATPTour.com looks ahead to two intriguing matchups set for Friday’s schedule in the Spanish capital.
Aside from dropping his opening set of the tournament to an inspired Emil Ruusuvuori, Alcaraz’s title defence in Madrid could hardly have gone more smoothly thus far.
The 19-year-old powered to the semi-finals without dropping another set, handling home pressure in style to extend his winning streak at ATP Tour events on Spanish soil to 19. On his 20th birthday, Alcaraz will attempt to make it 20 consecutive ATP Tour victories in his homeland by prevailing in his first tour-level meeting against Coric.
Alcaraz’s near-flawless all-court performances against Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov in Madrid may make him favourite to book a championship-match berth on Manolo Santana Stadium, but Coric knows all about upsetting higher-ranked opponents on an ATP Masters 1000 stage. Last year in Cincinnati, the then-World No. 152 downed Top 10 opponents Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to becoming the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 history.
That triumph helped Coric restablish himself in the Top 30 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after a year out with a shoulder injury. Now 11-8 for 2023 and up to No. 16 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after reaching his maiden Madrid semi-final, the 26-year-old will hope to summon the best of his energetic baseline game in order to become just the third player to defeat World No. 2 Alcaraz on Tour this year.
“He’s absolutely an unbelievable player in unbelievable shape in the moment as well,” Coric said of Alcaraz after the Croatian downed Daniel Altmaier in the quarter-finals. “So he’s the favourite and I’m going to just go out there and I’m going to enjoy myself. I like to play here in this stadium and it’s going to be a very cool feeling for sure.”
One of the fastest movers on Tour, Coric’s speed could be crucial to countering Alcaraz’s trademark drop shot. However, the all-around nature of Alcaraz’s game and his ability to strike winners from all parts of the court gives the Spaniard the option to adapt his tactics if required against the Croatian.
Alcaraz, who has lifted titles in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona already this season, effectively has his eyes on a double prize in Madrid. Should he defeat Coric and go on to successfully defend his title at the Caja Magica, he can seal his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match later this month at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
A perhaps-unexpected semi-final meeting, and one that seemed even more unlikely when Karatsev defeated Struff in straight sets in the final round of qualifying 10 days ago. Yet both Karatsev and Struff have lit up the Caja Magica this year with a string of big-hitting performances to set the first ATP Tour semi-final between a qualifier and a lucky loser since Gianluca Mager played Attila Balazs in Rio de Janeiro in 2020.
The former World No. 14 Karatsev brought his brilliant best to down seeded opponents Botic van de Zandschulp, Alex de Minaur and the in-form Daniil Medvedev in Madrid, before seeing off Zhang Zhizhen in the quarter-finals. His run has propelled the 29-year-old 70 spots to No. 51 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, and he will rise to No. 35 if he reaches his first Masters 1000 final.
The three-time tour-level titlist’s ability to strike clean winners off both wings will be key to his chances, although the same could be said of Struff. The German showed his ability to go toe-to-toe with the best from the baseline against World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in Thursday’s quarter-finals, and the World No. 65 will also hope his booming serve can deny Karatsev the time to find his range on return.
Struff is the third lucky loser to reach the semi-finals at a Masters 1000 tournament after Thomas Johansson (2004, Toronto) and Lucas Pouille (2016, Rome), while Karatsev is just the second qualifier in Madrid tournament history to reach the semi-finals after Fabrice Santoro in 2002. With both playing for a spot in their first Masters 1000 final, their ability to handle the scale of the occasion will likely be decisive.
Madrid 2023
Open Gallery
In honour of Carlos Alcaraz’s 20th birthday, ATPTour.com celebrates by reliving 20 facts, memories and moments that have made the Spaniard’s career historic thus far.
20 – Number of weeks Alcaraz first stayed at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he rose to top spot following his 2022 US Open triumph.
19 – Alcaraz’s age when he rose to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for first time. He is the only teenager in the Open Era to top the men’s rankings.
18 – Age when he lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Umag, becoming the youngest tour-level champion since 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won in Delray Beach in 2008.
17 – Beat Botic van de Zandschulp on Court 17 when aged 17 on his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in 2021.
16 – Years old when he made his tour-level debut. The Spaniard defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) in Rio de Janeiro in 2020.
15 – Age when he beat then-World No. 140 Pedro Martinez to earn first Top 200 win. He was not only the first player aged 15 & under to upset a Top 200 opponent since Ryan Harrison in 2008, but he was just the fifth 15-year-old to do so in the past 20 years, joining Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet and Bernard Tomic.
14 – Seed Alcaraz was when he clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
13 – Age Alcaraz and Nadal’s paths would cross for the first time. Alcaraz posed for a picture with the Spaniard after winning a competition on the Rafa Nadal junior tour. They have since met three times on court, with Nadal leading Alcaraz 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.
12 – Number of tour-level finals Alcaraz has played.
11 – September 2022. The date Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 to win the US Open title and climb to No. 1.
10 – The Spaniard climbed into the Top 10 for the first time after winning the title in Barcelona in 2022. Aged 18, he was the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Nadal did exactly 17 years before after he lifted his first Barcelona trophy.
9 – Number of tour-level titles the Spaniard has won.
8 – Number of five-set wins Alcaraz has earned at Grand Slams, with five coming at the US Open. He has only lost once in a fifth set at a major, coming against Matteo Berrettini at the 2022 Australian Open.
7 – Top 5 wins. The 19-year-old earned his first against then-World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in 2021.
6 – Alcaraz will play in his sixth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on his birthday against Borna Coric in Madrid.
5 – Consecutive matches won at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals to become an undefeated champion at the 21-and-under year-end event.
4 – Number of ATP Masters 1000 crowns.
3 – By defeating Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev en route to the Madrid title in 2022, Alcaraz defeated the Top 3 seeds at the event. He also became the first player to beat the Serbian and Spaniard back-to-back on clay.
2 – In Indian Wells in 2023, Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor to earn 100 tour-level wins. He was the second fastest player to reach the milestone behind John McEnroe.
1 – His ranking at the end of 2022, making him the first and youngest player to finish No. 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Jan-Lennard Struff’s run at the Mutua Madrid Open appeared to be short-lived when he lost in the final round of qualifying last Tuesday. Nine days later, he is into his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.
The lucky loser upset fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3 to reach the last four at the Caja Magica. The German will next face Aslan Karatsev, who ousted him in qualifying.
“It feels amazing. It was a very, very hard battle. I knew before I needed to perform at my best,” Struff said in his on-court interview. “Very, very happy that I played this well today. The crowd was amazing. It was an unbelievable atmosphere and really, really happy that I won.”
Struff is the third lucky loser to advance to the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 event, joining Thomas Johansson (2004 Toronto) and Lucas Pouille (2016 Rome). He has now split six ATP Head2Head matches with Tsitsipas and is two victories from hoisting his first ATP Tour trophy. Struff knows he must refocus for his rematch with Karatsev.
“Aslan is playing amazing this week so far and he beat me pretty easily in qualies I need to say. I didn’t play the best tennis in that match, but he made me play not good I feel like,” Struff said. “I think we need to analyse it now, focus on the match tomorrow and I hope I can do better.”
It is the high point of a strong comeback for the 33-year-old. Earlier this year, Struff was as low as No. 167 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after suffering a right foot injury last season in Miami.
Struff has leveraged his powerful game throughout the tournament in the Spanish capital and he is now up to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The German has lost just five service games in the main draw and dropped just one to the fourth seed.
Both players were in good form inside Manolo Santana Stadium, using their serves to take control of points and backing it up by bludgeoning groundstrokes and often coming to net on the red clay. When Struff double faulted away the first break of the match at 5-5 in the second set, it seemed the moment was potentially affecting him.
But the German had a short memory and immediately clicked back into gear. Having faced the first nine break points of the match, he earned his first break point of the match at 2-1 in the third set. The Warstein-native seized the opportunity with both hands, crushing back-to-back backhands, which his opponent was unable to handle. Struff’s down-the-line backhand proved especially useful, often putting the Greek into difficulty.
Tsitsipas entered the match with an 8-1 record in deciding sets this season and 9-2 on clay in his career, so it was no surprise that he continued to put pressure on the German, who was pursuing the biggest win of his career.
But Struff had an answer for every question the German asked, saving break point at 4-2 with huge hitting to get out of trouble after misfiring with his forehand earlier in the game. He also trailed 15/30 when serving for the match. But after Tsitsipas saved one match point with a jaw-dropping forehand passing shot, Struff won two consecutive points, completing his victory when the fourth seed missed a backhand return long.
“He was serving so good the whole match and it was so tough to get into points. But I somehow won the first set,” Struff said. “I felt like he was better in the first set. I got out of many tricky situations. He was 4/1 up in the tie-break.
“I thought I played [in] the second set a very, very good set, but I played a bad game at 5-all. And in the third set I came out aggressive again and it was a huge win for me.”
Since gaining entry into the main draw as a lucky loser, Struff has defeated Lorenzo Sonego, 32nd seed Ben Shelton, Banja Luka champion Dusan Lajovic, Pedro Cachin and Tsitsipas.
Did You Know?
Struff has earned five wins against Top 5 opponents. Two of those victories have come in the past month, having upset World No. 4 Casper Ruud en route to the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals.
The action at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour 175 events heated up Thursday, when Aix-en-Provence top seed Tommy Paul advanced to the quarter-finals in southern France. Daniel Elahi Galan’s victory against World No. 34 Yoshihito Nishioka was one of several upsets at the Cagliari Challenger.
American Paul cruised past Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole.
“Tough conditions today, it was windy. But overall I’m happy with how I played, I wish I would’ve served better,” Paul said in his on-court interview. “More first serves in the court would’ve been better, but I’m happy to walk away with the win.”
World No. 17 Paul is the first Top-20 player to be competing at a Challenger Tour event since Stan Wawrinka played the Prague Challenger in 2020. The 25-year-old Paul will face Jurij Rodionov in the last eight. The six-time Challenger champion Rodionov advanced after outlasting Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5).
Andy Murray escaped alternate Laurent Lokoli 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Despite having four match points in the second set, three-time major champion Murray was pushed to a decider by the home hope before sealing victory after two hours, 42 minutes.
Lucky loser Harold Mayot earned the first Top-50 win of his career Thursday when he upset second seed Brandon Nakashima 7-6(2), 6-3. The Frenchman Mayot will next meet Alexander Bublik, who downed Otto Virtanen 6-4, 6-4.
Two teenagers are into the Aix-en-Provence quarter-finals. Luca Van Assche, 18, rallied from a set down to beat countryman and third seed Adrian Mannarino 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 18-year-old Arthur Fils needed two hours, 28 minutes to oust Quentin Halys 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2).
David Goffin also advanced in Aix-en-Provence after defeating Dan Added 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Cagliari
The upset of the day came when Colombia’s Galan defeated top seed Nishioka 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 at the Sardegna Open.
Galan, 26, is building off his career-best season. In 2022, he stunned World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitispas in the opening round of the US Open and reached a career-high No. 67 in November.
How did that feel? “Pretty good” 😁
Daniel Elahi Galan sees off top seed Nishioka 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to secure a spot in the Cagliari quarters!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/QhStcxIK8n
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 4, 2023
Galan had to rally from a set down in each of his first two matches in Cagliari, where he will next face Borna Gojo after the Croatian earned a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Yosuke Watanuki.
Also in Cagliari action, Thanasi Kokkinakis won 26 of 27 first-serve points to defeat Alessandro Giannessi 6-4, 6-2. The Aussie will meet fourth seed Laslo Djere in the last eight after the Serbian fended off all five break points faced to defeat Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 6-2.
Thanasi Kokkinakis in action at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Cagliari. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
Taro Daniel ousted third seed Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-3 to book his ticket to the quarter-finals, where he will meet Ugo Humbert.
Home hope and #NextGenATP star Giulio Zeppieri has earned back-to-back wins against countrymen. After surviving Andrea Vavassori in the opening round, Zeppieri moved past Mattia Bellucci 6-2, 6-0 to set a quarter-final clash against Ben Shelton or Fabian Marozsan.
Aryna Sabalenka cruises past Maria Sakkari in straight sets to secure her place in the final of the Madrid Open.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden rallied from a set down Thursday to reach their second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season. The Indian Wells champions will contest the title with Top-15 singles players Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, who produced their best match of the tournament to advance.
The Indian-Australian duo ousted eighth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 5-7, 7-6(3), 10-4 in the last four of the Mutua Madrid Open. In the Match Tie-break, Bopanna and Ebden won four of seven return points to book their ticket into Saturday’s final.
Bopanna and Ebden, seeded seventh, are aiming for their third title of the season (Doha, Indian Wells). Their strong start to the season has lifted them to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin have won titles in Marseille and Miami this season. Their last two losses have come to Bopanna and Ebden, having suffered a defeat to the team in Barcelona.
Khachanov and Rublev, who faced each other in the singles round of 16, continued their run by defeating fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 6-4. Khachanov and Rublev won 31 of 37 first-serve points and fended off all three break points faced to advance.
After dropping the opening set in each of their first three matches, Khachanov and Rublev needed just one hour, 13 minutes to reach their third doubles final together (2018 Miami, 2019 Paris Masters).
The third clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season will see the world’s best players compete at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, and more in action.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the tournament in the Italian capital:
The 2023 Internazionali BNL d’Italia will be held from 10-21 May. The clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1930, will take place at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The tournament director is Sergio Palmieri.
The Internazionali BNL d’Italia will feature stars such as 10-time champion Rafael Nadal, defending champion Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev and more.
The Rome draw will be made at a time yet to be confirmed.
* Qualifying: Monday, 8 May at 10 a.m, Tuesday, 9 May at 11 a.m.
* Main Draw: Wednesday, 10 May – Sunday, 21 May at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
* Doubles Final: Sunday, 21 May at 1 p.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 21 May at 4 p.m.
*View On Official Website
The prize money for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia is €7,705,780 and the Total Financial Commitment is €8,637,966.
SINGLES
Winner: €1,105,265 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €580,000 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: €308,790/ 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €161,525 / 180 points
Round of 16: €84,900 / 90 points
Round of 32: €48,835 / 45 points
Round of 64: €27,045 / 25 points
Round of 96: €16,340 / 10 points
DOUBLES (€ per team)
Winner: €382,420 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €202,850 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: €108,190 / 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €54,840 / 180 points
Round of 16: €29,300 / 90 points
Round of 32: €15,780 / 0 points
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Hashtag: #IBI22
Facebook: @internazionalibnlditalia
Twitter: @InteBNLdItalia
Instagram: #IBI22
Novak Djokovic won the 2022 Internazionali BNL d’Italia singles title with a 6-0, 7-6(5) victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match (Read & Watch). Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic lifted the doubles trophy in Rome with a 6-2, 6-7(6), 12-10 triumph against John Isner and Diego Schwartzman in the final (Read More).
Most Titles, Singles: Rafael Nadal (10)
Most Titles, Doubles: Brian Gottfried, Raul Ramirez, Daniel Nestor, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (4)
Oldest Champion: Novak Djokovic, 34, in 2022
Youngest Champion: Bjorn Borg, 17, in 1974
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Ivan Lendl in 1986, 1988, Jim Courier in 1992, Pete Sampras in 1994, Rafael Nadal in 2009, Novak Djokovic in 2015, 2020, 2022
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 47 Felix Mantilla in 2003
Last Home Champion: Adriano Panatta in 1976
Most Match Wins: Rafael Nadal (69)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
