Top seed Novak Djokovic withstood an early challenge Wednesday at the Srpska Open, rallying from a set down to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event.

The World No. 1 defeated French teen Luca Van Assche 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 in a highly-entertaining second-round clash. After fighting back in the second set to level the match, Djokovic found himself down an early break in the third before going on to win the two-hour, 38-minute contest.

“It wasn’t easy,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “This would probably rank as the slowest court, slowest conditions I’ve ever played in, to be honest. I couldn’t penetrate through the court. I couldn’t put any ball past him.”

Djokovic increased his level by playing with more depth and testing Van Assche’s court coverage, often putting the #NextGenATP star on defence. With crowd support behind him, the 35-year-old stayed aggressive on return, which helped improve his season record to 17-2.

The Serbian overcame early forehand errors after dropping the opening set, which Van Assche served for at 5-4 before Djokovic looked for more opportunities to dictate from the baseline to earn the break. But Van Assche stayed calm to later capture the first-set tie-break.

Djokovic soon found another gear that was only hindered by getting broken in the opening game of the decider. But the Belgrade native answered with a break of his own before closing out the second-round victory.

“He was on every single ball for a set-and-a-half until I started to get some rhythm going,” Djokovic said. “I’m happy with the way I finished the match. Of course I can always play better, but a win is a win.”

Aiming for his third title of the season (Adelaide, Australian Open), Djokovic will next meet countryman Dusan Lajovic or Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in the last eight.

A 93-time tour-level titlist, Djokovic will reach 1,050 tour-level match wins this week if he advances to the final. Only four other men in the Open Era have made that milestone: Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,251), Rafael Nadal (1,068) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).

Van Assche, 18, is the youngest player in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The teen displayed consistency from the baseline and quick speed in just his eighth tour-level match.

The Brussels-born player made rapid progress on the ATP Challenger Tour, collecting a trio of titles on the circuit before graduating to the ATP Tour. Since 2016, the only players to win at least three Challenger titles before their 19th birthday are Van Assche, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Could 2023 be the year Stefanos Tsitsipas goes all the way at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell?

A finalist in 2018 and 2021, the second-seeded Greek made the perfect start to his 2023 campaign on Wednesday at the clay-court ATP 500 by easing past Pedro Cachin 6-4, 6-2 on Pista Rafa Nadal.

“I was able to bring good tennis out there on the court,” said Tsitsipas, who is now 17-5 for 2023. “I kept mixing it up. I kept being very aggressive, more than I’m used to, so the whole evaluation is positive. I’m happy with how things evolved over the course of the match.

“It’s one of those matches I was able to figure out from early on, keep up with the pace, and anything that was being thrown at me I was reacting to it very positively and being very smooth on the court.”

Tsitsipas did not face a break point and converted all three of his own during a dominant 79-minute display against the No. 69-ranked Argentine. He was consistent with his groundstrokes off both wings and showcased some delicate touches at the net to bounce back superbly from his Monte-Carlo quarter-final defeat to Taylor Fritz five days ago.

Tsitsipas is now 13-4 in Barcelona, where he fell to Rafael Nadal in both of his previous championship-match appearances. The 24-year-old’s third-round opponent will be Denis Shapovalov, who earlier brushed past qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 6-3.

“It’s always a motivation for me when I step out on these courts,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about his desire to lift the title in Barcelona. “Obviously, good memories are in the back of my head. It’s two finals, but still you keep the positives instead of sticking too much to what went wrong in [those finals].

“I’m just happy to be here… I’m just enjoying the tennis and hoping ‘Why not?’ for the final, but still a very long way to go.”

Here is what you need to know ahead of the Mutua Madrid Open, the ATP Masters 1000 tournament held in the Spanish capital:

When is the Mutua Madrid Open?

The 2023 Mutua Madrid Open will be held from 26 April – 7 May. The clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 2002, will take place at the Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain. The tournament director is Feliciano Lopez.

Who is playing at the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open?

The Mutua Madrid Open will feature stars including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev.

When is the draw for the Mutua Madrid Open?

The Madrid draw will be made on Sunday 23 April.

What is the schedule for the Mutua Madrid Open 1000 event?

* Qualifying: Monday, 24 April at 10 a.m. – Tuesday, 25 April at 11 a.m.
* Main Draw: Wednesday, 26 April – Tuesday, 2 May at 11 a.m. Wednesday, 3 May – Friday, 5 May at 1 p.m.
* Doubles Final: Saturday, 6 May at 3:30 p.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 7 May at 6:30 p.m.
*View On Official Website

What is the prize money and points for the Mutua Madrid Open?

The prize money for the Mutua Madrid Open is €7,705,780 and the Total Financial Commitment is €8,796,536.

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

How can I watch the Mutua Madrid Open?

Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

How can I follow the Mutua Madrid Open?

Hashtag: #MMOPEN
Facebook: @mutuamadridopen
Twitter: @MutuaMadridOpen
Instagram: #MMOPEN

Who won the last edition of the Mutua Madrid Open in 2022?

Carlos Alcaraz won the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Alexander Zverev in the championship match (Read & Watch). Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski lifted the doubles trophy in Madrid with a 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-5 triumph against Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the final (Read More).

Who holds the Madrid record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Most Titles, Singles: Rafael Nadal (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Daniel Nestor (5)
Oldest Champion: Andre Agassi, 32, in 2002
Youngest Champion: Carlos Alcaraz, 19, in 2022
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2003, Roger Federer in 2006, Rafael Nadal in 2014, Novak Djokovic in 2016, 2019
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 25 David Nalbandian in 2007
Last Home Champion: Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
Most Match Wins: Rafael Nadal (56)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Consistency personified so far this season, Jannik Sinner held his nerve to down Diego Schwartzman on Wednesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell for his 25th tour-level win of 2023.

The fourth-seeded Italian outlasted a typically resilient Schwartzman, who dug particularly deep in a topsy-turvy second set, on Pista Rafa Nadal. After dominating the opening set, Sinner clinched four of the seven breaks of serve in the second to wrap a one-hour, 40-minute victory in the second-round clash at the ATP 500.

“I think I started very well, especially in return games,” said Sinner. “I tried to stay quite aggressive, made a couple of unforced errors, but I have to remind myself that this is the first round for me. I tried to stay calm and obviously try in the best way in important moments.

“Now the main focus is to recover for tomorrow, and I restart tomorrow hopefully with better feelings than today. Diego is a very tough player to play against and I am very happy.”

After reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells and the championship match in Miami in March, Sinner made an impressive start to his year on clay last week with a semi-final run at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The 21-year-old hopes to back that showing up with a deep run in Barcelona, where he reached the semi-finals on event debut in 2021. He is not concerned about his hectic recent schedule having any negative impact.

“I think it’s a good problem to have,” said Sinner. “I came here with a positive mindset. I knew that the first round was going to be a tough one, so I also tried to adapt myself to the conditions and the court. Obviously it’s very nice [with] the crowd here.”

Sinner will face Yoshihito Nishioka in the third round as he seeks his sixth quarter-final appearance in eight tour-level tournaments this year. The Japanese 16th seed Nishioka earlier defeated David Goffin 6-1, 7-5.

In the opening match of the day on Pista Rafa Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov was a 6-3, 6-1 winner against Emilio Gomez. The Bulgarian delivered a commanding display against the World No. 120 Gomez, whose father, Andres, won the Barcelona title in 1989 and 1990.

Dimitrov, whose best result this season is a semi-final run in Rotterdam, converted five of his six break points to improve to 10-7 for the 2023 season.

Alex de Minaur will be Dimitrov’s third-round opponent at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. The Australian, who partially grew up and still regularly trains just along the coast in Alicante, routed Alexander Shevchenko 6-0, 6-1 to reach the third round for the third time in three appearances in Barcelona.

Two other seeded players, Karen Khachanov and Francisco Cerundolo, also advanced to the third round. The sixth-seeded Khachanov, semi-finalist at the Australian Open and in Miami, defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-4. He next takes on 12th seed Daniel Evans or qualifier Matteo Arnaldi.

Argentina’s Cerundolo needed just 72 minutes to dispatch Francesco Passaro 6-2, 6-2. The 15th seed will play third seed Casper Ruud in the third round.

Sometimes last-minute trips create the best memories.

That is certainly the case for Abdullah Shelbayh, who four days ago had no idea he would be in Banja Luka winning his first tour-level match Tuesday and making Jordanian tennis history.

The 19-year-old had been in Spain preparing for the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, where he signed in as an alternate for the qualifying draw. But when he found himself one spot away from getting a start, he signed in as an alternate for the qualifying draw at the ATP 250 Srpska Open, which started one day later. Then the mad dash began.

“It was crazy,” Shelbayh said. “We got to Barcelona on Thursday. I was practising in Barcelona and everyone thought I was going to get in there. I thought I was going to get in.

“Last minute on Saturday afternoon, we were like, ‘Okay, withdraw from the alternate in Barcelona,’ when we found out I was the first alternate in Banja Luka. I needed [Norbert] Gombos to win a Challenger semi-final match and then I’d get in, otherwise he’d go and play the 250 qualies. He won luckily, and I replaced him as an alternate.”

With his mind made up, the former University of Florida player, who turned pro after his freshman year, needed to cover a two-hour flight and a two-and-a-half hour drive all while preparing for his first-round qualifying match in Bosnia the next day. The clock was ticking.

“Last second, I took a flight from Barcelona to Zagreb,” Shelbayh said. “Then somebody from the tournament came and picked me up. We drove two-and-a-half hours to Banja Luka, arrived at 2 a.m. [Sunday], I had to play that same day, second match on. Turned out to be a good last-second decision.

“We got lucky. I didn’t get much sleep because I was afraid of missing the warm up. I told my coach, ‘With all the things that are happening, I don’t want to screw it up by not waking up!’

“My warm up was supposed to be at 10. We weren’t able to warm up because the courts were covered as it was raining. The matches started at 11:30 a.m. with an extended warm up and then I found a spot to hit for 15, 20 minutes before the match on a half court. That was my hit before the match. The match started around 1 p.m.”

You wouldn’t have been able to tell that Shelbayh just went through a mad dash to get to the Srpska Open. He advanced through qualifying and on Tuesday, he became the first Jordanian to win a tour-level match when he defeated Sweden’s Elias Ymer 6-1, 7-5.

“This one feels special because it’s not a wild card, I qualified for it and had to win a couple matches before winning this one,” Shelbayh said. “It means a lot. With all the things that happened, not expecting to play this tournament. The last second decision, qualifying, and then today a tough match against Ymer. Today, I felt a little extra nerves.”

Making Jordanian tennis history has been a theme for Shelbayh this year. In February, Shelbayh became the first Jordanian and the youngest Arab to reach a Challenger final at the Manama Challenger. Representing his country is something the teen takes pride in.

“I represent my country in every tournament I play, so to be able to represent it well is an honour for me,” Shelbayh said. “Jordan is unfortunately not a country that’s known for tennis. I hope it becomes one of those countries someday. It’s an achievement for myself but we also didn’t have many players before me to have that opportunity.”

Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy since age 14. How does a teen who lives far away from Mallorca end up training at the prestigious academy? Through a connection between Toni Nadal and Shelbayh’s representative, Princess Lara Faisal, who is part of the royal family of Jordan. ‘Uncle Toni’ flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13-years-old to recruit him to the island.

“They built a relationship when they were in Doha together in 2016,” Shelbayh. “Toni invited Princess Lara over to the academy. She also invited him to a festival she had in Jordan. Toni was able to come in 2017. She told him a little bit about me and he wanted to see me. When he saw me there, he very much wanted me to join the academy whenever I was ready to. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I was still a kid but he said, ‘Whenever you’re ready!’”

After a well-earned day off Wednesday, Shelbayh will next play fourth-seeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

One year ago, Luca Van Assche was No. 389 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now the 18-year-old is the youngest player in the world’s Top 100 at No. 87 and will play World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday in the second round of the Srpska Open in Banja Luka.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the #NextGenATP Frenchman, who defeated Stan Wawrinka in the first round.

Luca Is A Roland Garros Boys’ Champion
In 2021, Van Assche enjoyed the biggest moment of his career at Roland Garros, where he captured the boys’ singles title. Having just turned 17 when he lifted the trophy, Van Assche became the fifth home favourite to triumph in the event since the start of the millennium, joining Paul-Henri Mathieu, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Geoffrey Blancaneaux. One year ago, Frenchman Gabriel Debru joined them.

“I was very happy. I looked to my team, and we were celebrating the victory,” Van Assche said in a press conference at the time. “I was very, very happy to win this big tournament in France in front of our fans, in front of French people. So it was very cool.”

Hometown Hero 🇫🇷

Luca Van Assche is the 2021 Boys’ Singles Champion, defeating friend and countryman Arthur Fils in straight-sets 6-4, 6-2.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/sUz0NPijoU

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 12, 2021

The Frenchman Made ATP Challenger Tour History
Much of Van Assche’s rise into the Top 100 can be credited to his success on the ATP Challenger Tour. He has already won three ATP Challenger Tour titles, including victories this year in Pau, France and Sanremo, Italy.

In Pau, Van Assche made history in the final against countryman Ugo Humbert. The teen triumphed 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(6) after three hours and 56 minutes, marking the longest final in ATP Challenger Tour history.

“It was a crazy match, an amazing fight against Ugo,” Van Assche said. “I’m very happy. A lot of emotions during this match. I was leading, then losing. I was match point up, then match point down. It was a fantastic match with great support from the crowd.”

Since 2016, the only players to win at least three Challenger titles before their 19th birthday are Van Assche, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

 

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Luca Attends University Virtually
Van Assche is still learning both on and off the court. The Frenchman is studying mathematics virtually through Paris Dauphine University. This semester he is taking multiple classes.

The 18-year-old is able to study remotely, but he returns to Paris to take exams.

“I have a lot of homework when I’m on the road, but of course I manage it,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com. “Sometimes it’s difficult to do both. For the moment, I’m enjoying doing both so I will continue like this. It’s my second year.”

His Idol Was Roger Federer
Roger Federer won his first of 20 major titles in 2003 at Wimbledon. Van Assche was still 10 months from being born.

That did not stop the Frenchman from looking up to the Swiss, whom he calls his hero. Van Assche just missed out on being on Tour at the same time as Federer, who retired at last year’s Laver Cup.

“Now I’m sad that he’s not playing anymore,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com. “I hope in the coming years I can meet him. I watched his final match, it was a very emotional moment.”

Get To Know Luca’s Family
Van Assche was born in Belgium, where he lived for three years.

“I don’t remember because I was too little,” he said.

The family then moved to France. Van Assche’s father is operations director for a shipping company and his mother, who is Italian, is an Italian teacher. Luca has two sisters and one brother.

– Reporting contributed by Grant Thompson

“Basically, every kid wants to win over here, and you have absolute battles.”

Alex de Minaur is in no doubt about the impact his partial upbringing in Spain had on his tennis. The 24-year-old Australian’s renowned competitive spirit was first harnessed on the clay-courts of Alicante.

“I think I learnt how to win matches from a young age here in Spain,” De Minaur told ATPTour.com this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. “You play on the clay, you can play matches for three or four hours as a little kid, and whether [your opponent] is moonballing or anything, you’ve got to find a way to win.”

De Minaur credits those early developmental days in Spain for his ability to disarm more powerful opponents with his relentless chasing and variety of shots. Born in Sydney to a Uruguayan father and Spanish mother, De Minaur’s childhood featured two different homes, two different sets of friends, but also two contrasting styles of tennis.

“From a young age, I wasn’t the biggest or the strongest guy, so that allowed me to think outside the box and how to find different ways that I could win tennis matches,” said De Minaur, who spent time in both Australia and Spain throughout his childhood. “That developed a lot of different shots in my game. The drop shot, coming to the net, all these kinds of things.

“In Australia, when I went there, I was able to learn more structure, more work ethic… My move over there was at a time in my life when things became a little bit more serious, so that meant more hours on court, in the gym. It’s always been a healthy balance between the two cultures.”

It is not just on the court where his dual upbringing has helped De Minaur cope with the demands of the ATP Tour. His fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios has spoken about the challenge of spending much of the year far from his homeland. That is less of a problem for De Minaur, who has Alicante as a semi-permanent European base.

“It’s definitely a gamechanger,” said the Australian. “It’s extremely tough on all my fellow Aussie teammates that normally spend nine, 10, 11 months abroad, and barely get to go back home because it’s so far away.

“I’m a bit more fortunate in that sense, I’m able to have a base in Europe where, especially throughout this time of the year, I can go back to it and it’s kind of a home away from home.”

Alicante’s close proximity to Barcelona also makes the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell feel almost like a home tournament for De Minaur. He reached the third round on event debut in 2021 and his 2022 semi-final run was only ended by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard had fended off two match points.

“I think it’s a beautiful venue. I’ve played a couple of years now, and I had a very good run last year,” said De Minaur. “Obviously, it’s closer to home, where the family is and friends, so it’s often a week that I get to see my friends come along. It’s always good to see them.

“It’s a place that I always look forward to. It’s one of the better venues on Tour. It’s a nice old club with a lot of history, and as a player you can cherish that sort of thing when you’re away for a long time in the year.”

De Minaur begins his 2023 Barcelona campaign on Wednesday against Alexander Shevchenko. Once he steps on to Pista Andres Gimeno, the Australian will try to channel the positive vibes he still feels from winning the biggest title of his career in February in Acapulco.

“It gives a lot of confidence,” said De Minaur, who beat Holger Rune and Tommy Paul en route to the ATP 500 crown in Mexico. “Not everyone can say they’re a 500 winner, so it’s a pretty good feeling to have.

“Now it’s about keeping the momentum going, trying to win a lot of matches, staying tough. Making your opponents beat you and keeping that same mentality and mindset that I had there in Acapulco.”

Dominic Thiem advanced to the second round of the BMW Open by American Express on Tuesday in Munich. The former World No. 3 led Constant Lestienne 6-3 and was serving at Ad/40 in the first game of the second set when the Frenchman retired.

“It was a surprising end, not the way I wanted,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “But it’s okay and on to the next one.”

The Austrian is making his first appearance in Munich since 2016, when he reached the final. Thiem is happy to be back at the ATP 250, where he is pursuing his first title since the 2020 US Open.

“Of course I love to play here. The memory of snow in the first round, the break because of heavy snowfall is very funny. I’ll have it in my head forever, so I really like to remember that and also the week in 2016 was great,” Thiem said. “Just a little bit sad when Philipp Kohlschreiber went by with the winner’s car. It was tough, but obviously I love to play here and very happy to be in the second round.”

Thiem will next play Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler, who battled past Briton Kyle Edmund 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3.

Another Swiss, qualifier Alexander Ritschard, eliminated in-form German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-5. It was the second tour-level victory of the season for Switzerland United Cup team member Ritschard, who nearly had his right arm amputated when he was 22.

In other action, Hungarian Marton Fucsovics rallied past German wild card Max Hans Rehberg 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3. A home favourite reached the second round when Oscar Otte defeated Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-3, 7-5.