From Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner to Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti, Italy has produced a plethora of ATP Tour stars in recent years.

Now, they have more young talents emerging, with one named Luca Nardi.

The #NextGenATP 18-year-old has enjoyed an impressive 2022 season, capturing ATP Challenger Tour titles at events in Forli and Lugano. His results have seen him climb to ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, as he aims to make his debut at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

This week, the Italian will make his debut at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia after receiving a wild card from the ATP Masters 1000 event. It signifies another crucial moment for Nardi, who recently spoke to ATPTour.com about the factors behind his recent success.

“I started training harder and with more intensity. I also started a diet and eating better,” Nardi said when discussing his season. “Everything is going better from that. I’m trying to be as professional as I can. In general, it is the same training, with maybe some extra work on the forehand and backhand, but the intensity is much different. That is the difference.

“In Italy, the other players push me to do my best. We have so many good players now, with Sinner, Berrettini, Musetti and Sonego. I hope I can be [like them] in the future. They always push me to do much better and work harder.”

Nardi will be looking to follow in the footsteps of World No. 13 Sinner, who lifted the trophy in Milan in 2019 aged 18, the same age Nardi is now. The Italian has already earned 16 ATP Challenger Tour match wins this year, having recorded just seven victories at that level last season.

Nardi was No. 364 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in January, but is currently at a career-high No. 198. With 17 Italian players ranked inside the Top 200, Nardi is the youngest at 18 years and nine months. His recent success has been a reward for the hard work he has put in since he first picked up a racquet 11 years ago.

“When I was a child, my brother Niccolo was also playing tennis,” Nardi said. “He’s seven years older than me. I always went to watch him at the tennis club. I enjoyed it a lot. Then, when I was seven years old, I started playing in my hometown in Pesaro.

“I remember being so shy when I was on the court. My mom had to stand at the net, just so I was comfortable. From there, I played more and more tennis and took it more seriously a couple years ago. I was always going to public school and then playing tennis, so I was living two lives: study life and tennis life. But until I was 16, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Since two years ago, I took tennis more seriously and started going to private school.”

From being motivated by his brother to overcoming his shyness, Nardi is now flying higher than ever. However, just three years ago he was uncertain as to whether he would even pursue a career in the sport after he split with coach Francesco Sani.

“Francesco Sani was my coach since I was seven years old. From the beginning. But two and a half years ago, I moved to the Federation’s tennis centre in Italy and I couldn’t stay with him anymore,” Nardi revealed. “I stayed there for only one year with the Federation’s coaches and trainers, but I didn’t feel good without Francesco.

“There were many times that I wanted to stop playing tennis. I didn’t work as hard, because I was sad. It wasn’t a passion anymore. I wanted to stay with Francesco, but he has a family so there were some problems with his traveling.

Following his uncertainty, Nardi re-joined forces with Sani and continued playing the sport, which is a decision he feels has paid off today.

“For some reason I didn’t stop and here I am,” Nardi added. “Now I am working with him [Sani] again in Pesaro, and with Gabriele Costantini. We have a very good relationship. If they see I’m sad on the court, they won’t let me do it. They want me to be happy and I am having fun now, which is the most important thing for me.

“When I came back to my city, with my family, my friends and Francesco, I slowly started to play again and find that passion. I always call my friends and family when I am at tournaments and they are so important to me. I am calm and relaxed with them.”

Get To Know Luca
Biggest Passion Outside Tennis: I love motorcycles. I have a Yamaha. [Moto GP legend] Valentino Rossi is from my city, Pesaro. In my city, there is a lot of passion for professional moto. Everyone loves motorcycles there. You can imagine me going to the tennis club with my motorcycle.

I love playing padel. If playing professional padel paid as much as tennis pays, I would go for it. Five or six years ago, they started putting courts in Italy and now it’s getting more popular.

Perfect Day Without Tennis: Wake up late, for sure. Then for lunch I will eat the best food my mom makes. It is pasta al forno. Then, I would go for a ride on my motorcycle and play padel. For dinner, I would eat sushi. I love sushi.

Dream Job Outside Tennis: Physiotherapist. Whenever I go to the physio, I have some questions to ask how the body works. That is my dream job.

Favourite Music: Latin/Reggaeton. ‘Ozuna’ is my favourite.

Favourite Food From Home: Pasta al forno (baked ziti)

The Caja Magica has proved a fitting name for the Mutua Madrid Open venue this week, with home favourite Carlos Alcaraz embarking on a magical run to the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event. After beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for the first time to set up a title tilt against defending champion Alexander Zverev, the 19-year-old seeks his first win in three tries against the German on Sunday.

Should Alcaraz take the title Sunday, he will move to second place in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin, just 70 points behind Nadal, making it highly likely that he will eventually qualify for the year-end Nitto ATP Finals.

Before the singles final, Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will take on in-form duo Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski for the doubles crown.

[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [7] Carlos Alcraz (ESP)

Zverev holds a 2-0 ATP Head2Head advantage over Alcaraz following a pair of dominant hard-court victories last season in Acapulco and Vienna. But the Spaniard has reached a stratospheric level in recent months, winning three ATP Tour titles and compiling a 5-2 record against Top 10 opponents.

Alcaraz enters the final with a 27-3 record on the season, level with Stefanos Tsitsipas for the most in the ATP Tour, while Zverev is not far behind at 21-7.

The 19-year-old is undefeated in his four previous tour-level finals, and on Sunday can become the youngest five-time champion since Nadal won seven titles by the same age in 2004-05. All that success made Alcaraz the newest member of the Top 10 himself entering this week, and his final run has lifted three more places to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

But Zverev has proven to be the man to beat in Madrid, and will enter the final with a 19-2 record as a two-time champion in the Spanish capital (2018, 2021). Still, he downplayed his chances in the final against the red-hot fan favourite after seeing him take out Nadal and Djokovic in succession.

“Nothing that surprises me,” Zverev said of those results, “because I know how good he is. I said last year in Acapulco that by 2023 he’s going to be Top 10. He beat me by a year. There’s nothing more to say. He’s an incredible player. He’s going to be incredible. At 19 years old now, he looks like a grown man. To be honest, there’s no limit for him.”

Alcaraz did not know his final opponent after getting past Djokovic in the first semi-final, but was already making his recovery plans when he spoke with the press following that match. Not only will the Spaniard have to recover physically following that three-hour, 35-minute battle, he must reset mentally after defeating two tennis legends in as many days.

“After today’s match, of course with my team, with my family, we are going to have a great time to enjoy the moment. But I think that tomorrow I’m going to play a final of a really big tournament, and tonight I’m going to be very focussed to be able to recover and to [play] as best as possible for tomorrow’s match.”

Zverev also went three sets in the semis, against Tsitsipas, but needed less than two hours to advance in relatively dominant fashion. Despite the shorter match time, Zverev did not wrap up the win until near 1 a.m. due to a late start. Nonetheless, he said post-match that he planned to return to the court to practise ahead ahead of facing his “toughest opponent of the week” in the final. He did the same after a late quarter-final finish against Felix Auger-Aliassime and has made a habit of post-match practises in recent times.

A look at the Balance of Power and Conversion & Steal metrics for the finalists paints an intriguing picture ahead of what may lie ahead. Both men are above average in Balance of Power, which measures the percentage of shots hit from an attacking position. Zverev is 11 percentage points above average at converting points from those attacking positions, while Alcaraz’s standout stat is the “steal” — he wins 42 percent of points in which his opponent gains an attacking advantage, beating the Tour average by seven percentage points.

The below figures were calculated from both finalists’ four matches in Madrid.

[5] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs. [7] Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Neal Skupski (GBR)

Two of the in-form doubles teams on the ATP Tour meet for the first time in the Madrid final. Cabal and Farah, both former World No. 1s in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, seek their first title of 2022 in their second final of the season. They fell just short of ATP Masters 1000 glory in Monte Carlo, losing a Match Tie-break in the final, and have earned an opportunity to atone for that result less than a month later.

Koolhof and Skupski, who stand atop the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings, are competing in a tour-leading sixth final of the year as they aim for a fourth title. The Dutch-British duo continues to mesh perfectly after teaming for the first time in January. Like their opponents, they also suffered recent defeat in a Masters 1000 final when they lost to Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner in Miami. But the seventh seeds avenged that loss with a 7-6(7), 7-5 win over the singles stars in the Madrid semi-finals.

Following a Match Tie-break loss in the Barcelona final two weeks ago, Koolhof and Skupski are playing in their second consecutive final.

Alexander Zverev avenged a Monte Carlo semi-final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas with a three-set victory at the same stage on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open. Following his 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win, the German will now aim to complete his Madrid title defence against the turbo-charged Carlos Alcaraz.

In a match that largely favoured the server throughout, Zverev capitalised on his first two break opportunities to set him on the path to his 10th ATP Masters 1000 final. The second seed is seeking his sixth title at that level, with his five current crowns the most of any active player outside the Big 4.

“I thought from yesterday onwards I started to play really well,” said Zverev, who beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Friday. “Im just extremely happy to be in the final here. I know it’s going to be an extremely tough match tomorrow but I hope I can manage to play my best and give myself a chance.”

After Tsitsipas broke late in the second set on his first look on the return, the German quickly turned the tide by winning the opening three games of the decider. Firmly in the ascendency, he missed out on a break point at 4-2 before closing out the match with his third break of the one-hour, 53-minute contest.

Zverev bounced back from a difficult serving day in the quarter-finals to make 73 per cent of his first serves (48/66) against the Greek, winning a stellar 83 per cent of those points. After hitting nine double faults in the quarter-finals, including eight in the second set, he cut that number to four in the semis.

The German also improved his ATP Head2Head record to 4-7 against Tsitsipas, earning his first clay-court win over the fourth seed in the process. The two-time Madrid champion (2018, 2021) is now to 8-1 against Top 10 opponents in the Spanish capital, where his overall record is a pristine 19-2.

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Asked if his record in Madrid makes Manolo Santana Stadium feel like his court, as opposed to home favourite Alcaraz’s, Zverev deferred to his final opponent.

“Yes, I have been playing well, so I’m just renting it,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be his court for the next 15 years probably. It has been Rafa’s court for the past 15 years and it’s going to be his court for the next 15 years.

“I just hope I can give him some trouble and I hope I can manage to win tomorrow.”

Sunday’s final is set for 6:30 p.m. local time.

Tsitsipas leaves Madrid with a 27-8 tour-level record on the season, now tied with Alcaraz for the joint-most wins in 2022. After successfully defending his Monte Carlo title last month, he heads to Rome with an opportunity to reach at least the semi-finals at all three clay-court Masters 1000s.

The world’s top players arrive at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the third and final clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season in Rome.

Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal and five-time champion Novak Djokovic headline the field at the Foro Italico, while Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz are also strong contenders in the Italian capital.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch this week.

VIEW DRAWS: SINGLES | DOUBLES

1) Rafa Defends Crown: Nadal hit the ground running on his return after six weeks out with a rib injury at the Mutua Madrid Open, but the legendary Spaniard’s run was halted by countryman Alcaraz in a thrilling quarter-final clash. Nadal will look to up his level further at a tournament where he has the most titles (10) and most match wins (68), a record that still makes him the man to beat in the Italian capital.

2) Novak Shoots For Six: Djokovic may have suffered disappointment at the final hurdle against Nadal in 2021 but the World No. 1 is a five-time champion himself in the Italian capital. The Serbian was back to somewhere near his best in Madrid after a stuttering start to the season, and he will be aiming to improve an outstanding 59-10 match record in Rome as he chases a maiden title of 2022.

3) Alcaraz To Make Debut: The red-hot 19-year-old has hit milestone after milestone this season. The Spaniard notched a first Masters 1000 crown in Miami in March, with another trophy in Barcelona helping to push him into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on 25 April.

Although a debutant in Rome, Alcaraz will arrive in the Italian capital a fully-fledged title contender and may also by then have already become a two-time Masters 1000 champion, with the Spaniard playing in Sunday’s championship match in Madrid.

4) Zverev To Rule In Rome?: Second seed Zverev has plenty of fond memories from Rome to motivate him at the Foro Italico, with the World No. 3 having won his maiden Masters 1000 title there in 2017. The big-serving German comes into the tournament having recaptured some of his best form in reaching the semi-finals in Madrid this week after a difficult start to 2022.

5) Tsitsipas 2019 Finalist: Zverev’s semi-final opponent in Spain is Tsitsipas, and the Greek will be seeded fourth as he heads to Rome. The Greek has already enjoyed Masters 1000 success on clay this year, having triumphed at April’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, and the World No. 5 will hope his impressive form on the red dirt allows him to better his 2019 run to the semi-finals in the Italian capital.

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6) Sinner Leads Italian Charge: Local fans will have some strong contenders to get behind despite the absence of Italian No. 1 Matteo Berrettini. Jannik Sinner has had a solid 2022 so far, reaching four tour-level quarter-finals, but the 10th seed has never been past the third round in Rome. Meanwhile Fabio Fognini reached the last eight at the Foro Italico in 2018, and the 34-year-old remains a threat to anyone on Tour on his day.

7) Sonego To Shine Again?: Lorenzo Sonego had only reached one Masters 1000 quarter-final prior to the 2021 event in Rome but upset Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev on the way to the semi-finals. The World No. 28 has struggled at times this season and owns a 10-13 match record for the year, and he will look to home support for inspiration once again as he faces Denis Shapovalov in the opening round.

8) Ruud & Rublev Threat: Fifth seed Casper Ruud has won just four matches in a disappointing clay season so far after reaching his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami in March, but the Norwegian enjoys the Rome clay. He reached the third round as a qualifier in 2019 before a run to the semi-finals a year later was only stopped by eventual champion Djokovic. In contrast Andrey Rublev’s brutal baseline hitting has lit up the red dirt this year, but the sixth seed is yet to lift a Masters 1000 title. Could his time come in Rome?

9) Mektic/Pavic Defend Doubles Crown: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic won nine tour-level titles in 2021, one of which was a third Masters 1000 crown of the year in Rome, but the third seeds are yet to lift a trophy in 2022. Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury seek to back up their maiden clay-court title together won in Monte Carlo in April, while second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos look to replicate their 2020 title run at the Foro italico.

10) Stars Pull Double Duty: A host of singles stars join the doubles draw with Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov set for a blockbuster opener against No. 1-ranked pairing Ram and Salisbury. Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul, John Isner and Diego Schwartzman, and Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz make up other strong pairings taking to the doubles court this week in Italy.

ATP Tour star Hubert Hurkacz recently swapped the tennis court for the racetrack as he sped around the Miami Grand Prix course ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 meeting in Florida.

The Pole, who triumphed at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in 2021, revealed that he is a big fan of F1 and cars and showed off his driving skills as he cruised around the circuit in a McLaren.

“I really love Formula 1,” Hurkacz said while driving. “I have always loved cars. Those are the fastest cars that are on the planet, so seeing those guys race at full speed is really exciting.

“It is going to be amazing, especially here in Miami. The drivers will really enjoy it and the fans. It seems like it is going to be quite a quick track, so hopefully there will be some overtaking.”

The Miami Grand Prix will start on Sunday, 8 May at 9:30 p.m. CET/ 3:30 p.m. ET. It is the first time a Grand Prix has taken place in Florida.

Carlos Alcaraz certainly knows what it means to be a top player. He’s further solidified his status as one of the best in today’s game by beating two of the of the greatest of all-time to reach the final at the Mutua Madrid Open.

After beating his idol Rafael Nadal on Friday and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday, Alcaraz described both days as two of the best of his life. In his post-match press conference after his win over the Serbian, he explained what he felt was the key to those victories.

“As I have always said, you have to try to go for the match,” he began. “In those decisive moments is when you see the good players and the top players, that is where you can tell the difference between a good player and a top player, like Djokovic, Rafa, [Roger] Federer, or all the players that are ultimately there for a long time.”

Alcaraz showed no fear in a match of razor-thing margins against Djokovic, staying aggressive throughout and overcoming a lost match point before the decisive tie-break in a comeback 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) result.

“I want to make a difference on that. I want to make a difference, because in those key, decisive matches, I want to go for the match,” he said. “If I play aggressive or if I lose, I’m going to leave with the feeling that I have come for the match and I just let it go. I will try to have to improve, doing better, but at least I leave the court with the feeling, well, I tried to go for it, I was trying it, and that’s what I was thinking on the tie-break. I just want to step in and go for the match, whatever happens.”

The Spaniard, who turned 19 on Thursday, has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last 12 months, thanks in large part to that champion’s mentality. He did his best to explain his progress from one year ago in Madrid, when he was easily dispatched by Rafael Nadal, yet to break into the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“Honestly, I would say that I am more mature to manage the tough moments, the nerves, to manage everything on court. I think I am able to play long rallies,” he said.

“I’m ready to play against this kind of player.”

Already an ATP Masters 1000 champion following is title run at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Alcaraz is now one win away from a Spanish double following his Barcelona title last month. 

“It’s probably one of the best days of my career, of my life, without doubts,” he said after becoming the youngest man to beat a World No. 1 since Nadal beat Roger Federer at Roland Garros in 2005. “But I don’t know what to answer really. Probably in some time or maybe tomorrow I can even tell you tomorrow it really is my best day of my life.”

He awaits the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final between Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The third and final clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event kicks off Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with Frances Tiafoe, Marin Cilic and two Italian wild cards among those in action on Day 1.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

American Tiafoe will be aiming to capture his maiden win in Rome in what will be his third appearance at the tournament when he faces Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the opening match on Center Court.

Tiafoe currently holds a 7-3 record on the season on clay, having advanced to his first final of the year on the surface in Estoril. Meanwhile, Krajinovic will be targeting a second win of the season on the red dirt, after advancing to the second round on home soil in Belgrade.

Tiafoe and Krajinovic are locked in at 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, with the Serbian winning their only previous clay meeting at Roland Garros in 2019.

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Two Italian wild cards will make their debuts in Rome, with Matteo Arnaldi facing Marin Cilic and Francesco Passaro taking on Cristian Garin.

Arnaldi is currently at a career-high No. 277 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, having reached one ATP Challenger Tour semi-final this season. The 21-year-old will face a difficult test against former World No. 3 Cilic, who reached the semi-finals in Rome in 2018.

The World No. 366 Passaro advanced to the championship match at a Challenger Tour event in San Remo last month and will take on five-time tour-level champ Garin in the second match on Center Court.

Garin is competing in the Italian capital for the third time, with his best result this season a run to the semi-finals in Houston.

South African Lloyd Harris and Aslan Karatsev round out the Day 1 action on Grand Stand Arena, with both players trying to find form. Karatsev triumphed in their only previous meeting in the Dubai final last season.