After squaring off on the singles court two weeks ago in Miami, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune are thriving as first-time partners this week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The American-Danish duo defeated fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in Monaco to advance to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event, backing up their opening win against Italians Simone Bolelli and Lorenzo Musetti on Monday.

Fritz and Rune were dominant on first serve against the Wimbledon finalists from Croatia, winning 87 per cent of points behind their first delivery and saving three of five break points against them. They converted on four of their seven break chances on return to maintain their perfect record as a team, without a set lost in their two matches.

All four Tuesday doubles matches were decided in straight sets in the Principality, with the French-German team of Fabrice Martin and Andreas Mies also advancing to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner.

In opening-round action, sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara avoided the fate of fellow favourites Mektic/Pavic with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Nicolas Mahut and Stan Wawrinka, and Argentines Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez beat Maxime Cressy and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 7-6(2).

Novak Djokovic enjoyed a special treat Tuesday after winning his opening match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The World No. 1 met Formula 1 star George Russell, who was in the stands watching his match.

Russell quickly asked the Serbian how he felt the clash against Ivan Gakhov went.

“It was good. It’s a solid start, but it could always be better,” Djokovic responded. “Perfection is, that level, you’re looking to get better, to improve.”

“What I find so difficult for you guys is especially when you play second or third or fourth, you never know timings,” Russell told Djokovic.

“It’s challenging and today I waited maybe an hour and a half or two hours more than I expected. So then you’re like, ‘Should I be warming up or cooling down’ and that makes you a bit anxious,” Djokovic said.

When in Monaco 🏎️@DjokerNole and @GeorgeRussell63 meet after Djokovic’s win 🙌@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/DAhwgxJ7Lh

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 11, 2023

The two-time Monte-Carlo champion asked Russell how he is doing.

“We’ve got Azerbaijan is the next one. We just came back from Melbourne,” Russell said.

“How long does it take for you to get used to the time change?” Djokovic asked.

“Melbourne’s killer. It’s probably taken a week to come back,” the Briton responded.

Russell explained that the next race was meant to be in China next week, but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’ve actually got a couple weeks off, Azerbaijan and then the season really kicks off,” Russell said.

“Then Monte-Carlo next after that?” Djokovic wondered.

“Miami then Monte-Carlo,” Russell said.

“They don’t really keep you in the continents right?” Djokovic added, cracking a laugh. “They kind of move you around the world.”

Djokovic will face an Italian in the third round in the Principality: Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Nardi.

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the third round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday when Benjamin Bonzi was forced to retire with a wrist injury.

The two-time defending champion was savouring his return to the clay courts of Monaco with punishing serves and forehands, but Bonzi was unable to continue beyond 22 minutes, with Tsitsipas leading 4-1 on Court Rainier III.

“A great start out there. A 3-0 lead, I will always take it,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “Happy to be back on the terre bateau of Monte-Carlo. It’s a very unique location during the year and I’m happy this is the time of the year we get to play on these courts. It brings back very good memories.

“It’s very unfortunate what happened out there for my opponent. I wish him the best moving forward.”

Aiming to become the third player to win the Monte-Carlo title at least three times in a row, the second seed awaits Nicolas Jarry or Alexei Popyrin, with the pair set to square off on Wednesday in the Principality. (Ilie Nastase won the Monaco trophy three straight years from 1971-73, while Rafael Nadal reigned from 2005-12 and 2016-18.)

Looking ahead to his meeting with Jarry or Popyrin, Tsitsipas is preparing for a tough match no matter the opponent. 

“Good servers, both of them,” he assessed. “I know that they can play good on clay and for me this is a challenging match, whether it’s one or the other.”

Tsitsipas’ Tuesday victory stretched his Monte-Carlo winning streak to 11 matches following a third-round loss to Daniil Medvedev in 2019. As he defends 1,000 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points this week, the World No. 3 has slipped behind Casper Ruud and Medvedev at No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

With his record now standing at 15-4 this season, Tsitsipas improved to 3-0 against Bonzi with the win. The Frenchman’s injury denied him an opportunity to fight for what could have been his first Top 10 win against the Australian Open finalist.

Novak Djokovic made a winning return to action on Tuesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The World No. 1 faced a spirited challenge rom World No. 198 Ivan Gakhov and was in danger of losing the opening set. But Djokovic navigated the big moments well to reach the third round with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win.

“It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I haven’t played my best, particularly in the first set. And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions.

“It’s different practising and then playing an official match on clay, [where] I guess no two bounces are the same. It’s always quite unpredictable what’s going to happen. But all in all, I’m just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win.”

Gakhov was the fourth alternate into the qualifying field and took full advantage of the opportunity to reach the main draw and earn his first ATP Tour win to advance to the second round. But Djokovic was playing his 1,254th tour-level match compared to Gakhov’s third, and that experience paid dividends in the critical moments.

“I never saw Ivan play before today to be honest. I’ve seen a little bit of his video from yesterday’s match and that’s all,” Djokovic said. “That was not the best preparation, but he’s a young player coming up from the Challenger Tour and he just was on a roll.”

Djokovic was not at his soaring best in his first match since losing to Daniil Medvedev in the Dubai semi-finals in early March. But when in trouble serving at 5-5, 0/30, the Serbian calmly served and volleyed behind a second serve and hit a tremendous drop volley from his shoestrings to get out of trouble.

Gakhov still had an opportunity to take the opener in the tie-break against the player he told ATPTour.com is the “greatest of all time” on Monday. But the 26-year-old relinquished a mini break with a mishit forehand at 2/3 and never was able to recover.

The lefty played beyond his No. 161 Pepperstone ATP Live Ranking, showing no fear of the moment and using his aggressive forehand to keep Djokovic at bay. But the Serbian surged through the end of the second set and saved three of the four break points he faced in the match. The pair shared a warm moment at the net in which Gakhov told the top seed he had hoped to play him once.

“He knows how to play, no doubt about it. Big serve, forehand, flat backhand stepping in,” Djokovic said. “So it was a very tricky opponent for today, but I’m glad I overcame the challenge.”

Djokovic is pursuing a record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 title this week and his third trophy in Monte-Carlo. The top seed will play an Italian in the third round: Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Nardi.

Andrey Rublev survived a second-round scare on Tuesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to earn his 250th tour-level win. The fifth seed rallied from a set down to defeat Spaniard Jaume Munar 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 at the clay-court event.

Rublev, who reached the final in the Principality in 2021, overpowered Munar, clubbing 36 winners and breaking Munar’s serve six times to advance after two hours and 12 minutes. It was a strong turnaround after losing the first set.

“The feeling was, ‘No way, I might be out in the first round of Monaco.’ Then, I don’t know, I started to feel I had to change something, I had to play more aggressive,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I cannot just push the ball because in the end he [was] running much better than me and in the end he [was] waiting for the right moment and he changed much easier [the direction] because I [was] not putting pressure on him.”

The 25-year-old now leads the World No. 83 Spaniard 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next face Karen Khachanov, Daniel Evans or qualifier Ilya Ivashka.

Earlier, Khachanov maintained his strong from when he cruised past 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The World No. 11 has won five of his past six matches after advancing to the semi-finals in Miami earlier this month. 

World No. 24 Davidovich Fokina will slip to at least World No. 37 next week following his first-round loss according to the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

^{Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}
Alexander Zverev made a winning start to his clay-court season when he overcame Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The German was competing on the surface for the first time since he retired from his 2022 Roland Garros semi-final clash against Rafael Nadal due to a right ankle injury and he recovered from a slow start to move past Bublik in one hour and 58 minutes.

The 13th seed moved better on Court Rainier III as the first-round match went on. He slid into shots to strike 21 winners, while he committed nine unforced errors to earn his ninth win of the season.

“It felt awful at times to be honest, but he made me feel awful,” Zverev said. “Tactically he played well, he didn’t let me play my game at all. He didn’t let me have my rhythm and he almost won the match, just a few points here and there.

“I have had two weeks of practice now. It is the most natural surface for me. It usually takes me five or 10 minutes to get used to a clay court, but this year was a bit different. I needed to get the injury out of my head. I needed to get used to sliding again.”

Zverev, who has improved to 1-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against Bublik, will next play Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

The 25-year-old German is a two-time semi-finalist in Monte-Carlo, having enjoyed runs to the last four in 2018 and 2022. Six of Zverev’s 19 tour-level titles have come on clay, including at ATP Masters 1000 events in Rome (2017) and Madrid (2018, 22).

Grigor Dimitrov continued his impressive record at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Tuesday when he overcame #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round for the 11th time.

The Bulgarian is a two-time semi-finalist in the Principality and has now earned 21 match wins at the event, his most at any ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

In the first meeting against Shelton, Dimitrov stood close to the baseline to hammer the ball off both wings. The former World No. 3 struck 39 winners and hit an array of angles to force debutant Shelton wide, advancing after two hours and 12 minutes.

“It is one of those matches that I just needed to go through,” Dimitrov said. “I played a lot of good tennis. There were a lot of positives to take out of that…I just want to come out and play my game. I am excited. Clay courts have always been an interesting surface for me.”

The 31-year-old Dimitrov will next meet Jiri Lehecka after the Czech overcame Finn lucky loser Emil Ruusuvuori 6-1, 7-5 to level their ATP Head2Head series at 2-2. Lehecka’s win was his first at a clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event.

The 20-year-old Shelton, currently at No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, was making his debut in Monte-Carlo. He earned his maiden clay-court victory in Estoril last week when he defeated Constant Lestienne.

“I have seen him quite a bit on hard,” Dimitrov said on Shelton. “He is pretty impressive. He has such a big serve, lefty, and not afraid to take a swing. A lot of work ahead of him, especially on this surface. I don’t doubt that with his game he will do well.”

The past three days have been a whirlwind for World No. 198 Ivan Gakhov, whose Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters journey will become even more surreal on Tuesday when he plays World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

“[I am] speechless at the moment. Still cannot [believe it]. Even dreaming I think it’s tough to understand what just happened the last couple of days,” Gakhov told ATPTour.com. “No matter points, money, the best reward is to play the greatest of all time tomorrow. That’s the best I could ask for.”

Early Friday, Gakhov did not know he would get into qualifying at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event. In fact, the 26-year-old needed several dominoes to fall in his favour just to claim a spot in the draw as an alternate.

Yannick Hanfmann, Alexandre Muller, Roberto Carballes Baena and Quentin Halys were all entered in Monte-Carlo qualifying, but were still competing in other tournaments. Because of that, they were removed from the Monte-Carlo qualifying field, creating room for four alternates: Ilya Ivashka, Joao Sousa, Vit Kopriva and Gakhov.

If any of the four players had lost on Friday before the deadline of 9 p.m. local in Monte-Carlo and decided to still compete, Gakhov would have been out of luck. Instead, he was able to play in ATP Masters 1000 qualifying for the first time.

Gakhov’s flight into town landed at 8:18 Saturday morning and later that day he took on Top 50 player Adrian Mannarino, rallying to stun the Frenchman 1-6, 6-0, 6-1. The 26-year-old on Sunday ousted rapidly rising #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 to earn his place in the main draw.

On Monday, the lefty Gakhov earned a big win for the third consecutive day when he eliminated American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3 to earn his shot at Djokovic. Not bad for the fourth alternate into qualifying who had previously played just one tour-level match. 

Now up to No. 161 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, Gakhov is excited for the challenge of playing two-time Monte-Carlo champion Djokovic.

“I really love Novak, so usually I always cheer for him and he was playing these crazy matches against Rafa and Federer, so it’s really an honour. But I will try to, with respect obviously, face him tomorrow like it’s just another match,” Gakhov said. “I will have my coach with me and we will just study him as one more player. We’re all humans, I know it. Sometimes I think Novak is not, but we all have our weak points and we will try to just find out where it is and I will try to do my best.”

Gakhov did not grow up in a tennis family. His parents, Elena and Andrey, did not have a sports background, but they wanted him to participate in sports “because it’s healthy and in general it’s better than doing nothing”. He played at a local junior academy and enjoyed success at a young age. The lefty remembers the 2005 Australian Open semi-final between Marat Safin and Roger Federer, which Safin won 9-7 in a gripping five-set thriller. “[The match] made me fall in love with this sport,” Gakhov said.

With aspirations of becoming a professional, he moved to Spain aged 14, spending more than seven years in Gandia, a small city in Valencia. Then Gakhov moved to Barcelona, where he has been based ever since. Sometimes he practises with Andrey Rublev.

“He helped me last year with some clothing because I don’t have any clothing sponsors,” Gakhov said. “Daniil [Medvedev] is also a very good friend of mine because we play some games together by phone or by PlayStation. Karen [Khachanov] here congratulated me after every win, so we have a good friendship between [us].”

 

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Gakhov spends the most time playing fantasy football with Medvedev.

“We try to build our team and it depends how they do in real life, especially in the English Premier League. That’s why we follow a lot because we play with a lot of friends,” Gakhov said. “Daniil has the same passion playing for nothing [in] this football game [as he does] on the tennis court, so it’s unbelievable his fighting spirit.

“He always wants to win and he lives every moment.”

Real Madrid fan Gakhov enjoys football, Formula 1 and snooker. But another interesting tidbit about him is that he has a large tattoo of a serotonin molecule on the right side of his neck.

“It was a normal Sunday. Me and my sister, who is older than me [by] like nine years, we decided to do something together. It’s serotonin, which means happiness,” Gakhov recalled. “We just decided, ‘Let’s do it’ and I think the same day we went and we did it. I really like it.”

Gakhov’s coaching team includes Miguel Sanchez, Salvador Navarro and Ivan Muguruza, who have a wealth of experience, having individually worked with the likes of Tommy Robredo, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Flavia Pennetta. Sanchez is joining Gakhov in Monte-Carlo for his match against Djokovic.

Although the past few days have been a rollercoaster, Gakhov is getting used to such feelings. Two weeks ago he won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Girona, Spain. Now the 26-year-old will try to reach his greatest height yet against the No. 1 player in the world.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is back in action Tuesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas begins his quest for a three-peat in the Principality.

In Djokovic’s first match since Dubai, the Serbian will meet qualifier Ivan Gakhov. World No. 3 Tsitsipas will meet Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi for a third time in the final match on Court Rainier III. Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, and Hubert Hurkacz are also among those on Tuesday’s packed card.

Here are three second-round matches to watch during Day 3 at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [Q] Ivan Gakhov

Boasting a 15-1 record this season, Djokovic will look to maintain his form with hopes of achieving a record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 title. The 35-year-old, who is a two-time champion in Monte-Carlo, will begin his title quest against the lefty Gakhov, who advanced through qualifying as an alternate and defeated American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round.

Hungry to strengthen his claim as World No. 1, Djokovic comes into Monte-Carlo only defending second-round points from last year. The 93-time tour-level titlist sets his sights on a strong run at the season’s first clay-court Masters 1000 event.

“I have done more training on clay, which is positive if you think about the clay season,” Djokovic said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I have not had much success in Monte-Carlo in the past two seasons. I haven’t played great tennis here, so I am hoping this year I can start the clay season better than in previous years and build my form.”

Gakhov enjoyed a breakthrough earlier this month at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Girona, Spain, where he captured his maiden Challenger title. The World No. 198 looks to build upon his momentum to achieve the biggest win of his career.

[2] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Benjamin Bonzi (FRA)

In 2022, Tsitsipas and the Frenchman Bonzi met twice, with the Greek prevailing both times on the grass courts of Halle and Mallorca. Tuesday’s clash on the red dirt will bring new challenges for the World No. 3, who hasn’t lost in Monte-Carlo since 2019.

Tsitsipas has enjoyed success on clay in the past, claiming four titles on the surface.

“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 in his pre-tournament press conference. “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.”

Bonzi started the year on a strong note. The 26-year-old earned his career-best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open, where he reached the third round. The Nimes-native was a finalist at the ATP 250 events in Pune and Marseille. The World No. 48 is aiming for his first Top-10 win when he goes toe-to-toe with Tsitsipas.

[10] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs. Jack Draper (GBR)

The Pole Hurkacz was a quarter-finalist in Monte-Carlo and Madrid last year before his run to the fourth round at Roland Garros. But things didn’t look so positive for the World No. 13 during Sunday’s opening round. Hurkacz clawed past Laslo Djere after three hours, 19 minutes and saved a match point en route to earning his 50th ATP Masters 1000 main-draw win.

Draper produced a strong first-round performance, including saving 11 of 12 break points faced to down Sebastian Baez 6-3, 7-5. Making his event debut this week in Monte-Carlo, Draper is targeting an upset of the 10th seed to level their ATP Head2Head at one apiece.

Also In Action…

#NextGenATP star Ben Shelton and last year’s Monte-Carlo semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov kickoff first-round play on Court des Princes. The 20-year-old Shelton earned his first red-clay victory last week in Estoril. Alexander Zverev, seeded 13th, looks to flip the script against Alexander Bublik, who has won both of their previous two encounters.

Two Spanish players will aim for an upset in the Principality. Jaume Munar meets fifth seed Andrey Rublev and last year’s finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina clashes against ninth seed Karen Khachanov.

In doubles action, fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic face Top 10 singles players Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune.