It has become one of the novelties of life on the ATP Challenger Tour. More and more former players have made the transition to a different role, stepping into the office as tournament director.

From Top 10 stalwarts Arnaud Clement (Aix-en-Provence) and Andres Gomez (Guayaquil), to the likes of Luis Horna (Lima), Rik De Voest (Vancouver) and Francesco Cancellotti (Perugia), past champions are giving back. Each of these players’ careers were launched on the Challenger circuit. Now, they are returning to their roots.

One year ago, we celebrated Viktor Galovic’s directorial debut in his hometown of Verona, Italy. And now it’s Santiago Giraldo’s turn to take the reins on home soil in Colombia. On Sunday, the former World No. 28 capped an impressive week as the leading man in his hometown of Pereira. The inaugural Circuito Dove Men+Care Pereira was a great success, as players and fans descended on the Club Campestre.

With Giraldo at the helm, it was a party from start to finish in Pereira. Great food and live music created a vibrant, festive atmosphere throughout the week. Fans were treated to world-class entertainment on and off the court. After traveling the tour for nearly two decades, this is exactly how Giraldo envisioned the ideal tournament.

Every detail was meticulously looked after, as the former World No. 28 ensured the players had everything they needed. A welcome letter and small gift greeted each competitor as they arrived at the beautiful Club Campestre, a small example of Giraldo’s attention to detail. Just 30 minutes from downtown Pereira, the club has state-of-the-art facilities and a total of 22 tennis courts.

Giraldo, a mainstay inside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for many years, lifted 10 Challenger trophies during his illustrious career. Also a two-time finalist on the ATP Tour (Santiago 2011 & Barcelona 2014), he battled the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the game’s biggest stages. Giraldo’s biggest victory came at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, where he stunned Andy Murray en route to the 2014 quarter-finals.

After a 16-year career, the Colombian announced his retirement in 2020. But the 34-year-old is not leaving the tennis scene, hosting the Pereira Challenger in addition to his work with the Fundacion Santi Giraldo. According to its mission statement, the foundation seeks to provide diverse activities for children through sport, while building strong values both on and off the court.

Giraldo spoke to ATPTour.com following his first week in his new role…

First of all, Santi, congrats on this new endeavor. How did it come about?
Well, I have to thank Horacio de la Pena [founder of the Circuito Dove Men+Care Legion Sudamericana]. He invited me to be the ambassador and director of the tournament here in Pereira. The truth is that we have worked very well overall and everything is flowing super well. It has been a nice experience for me. After playing and retiring, being able to contribute to tennis with this event in my city and in my club has been a wonderful experience.

Now that the first edition is complete, what are your impressions? How did it go?
It went very well. It rained a little, but the people have been very happy and there has been a very good level of tennis. We are trying to look after many details for the players, little things that they do not usually do in other tournaments. We have also had a cultural and musical aspect of the event and we are focusing a lot on children. We are giving all the facilities to the players, so they are happy, the spectators are happy, the public is happy and the ATP is happy too. Those are all good signs.

Being a former player gives you a unique perspective. How has that helped you in this role?
My perspective is a little different when it comes to organizing a tournament. The idea was to be able to contribute with things that were not done in other tournaments. And already having the experience as a player and having the possibility of implementing different things, for me it was what motivated me. That has been the foundation. And with Jhan Fontalvo, we are building a good team.

You mentioned the importance of making everything perfect for the players, but how have you also improved the fan experience?
For the fans, the main focus is the children. We had the inauguration of the event with a kids day, as well as this social-cultural part with live music and also some gymnastics exhibitions. The idea is to make it fun for everyone. That they feel comfortable, that the schedules are good and there are night matches for all the people who work and for the kids who study. We have tried to think of as many details as possible.

What’s been the biggest challenge to make this happen?
Everything has been very fluid, but the difficulty of having it all organized and ready, getting sponsors and convincing others to invest in the tournament. Many people and organizations joined us and supported us, so I am grateful for this. It’s important to give back after all the blessings tennis has given me.

Now that your playing career is over, how rewarding is it to be able to give back to the Challenger Tour and help it grow as a director?
The Challengers are super important for player development. Many players at these tournaments go on to enter the Top 100 and play in Grand Slams. I have good memories. I played in Pereira three or four times and I was lucky to win two titles here. My 100-year-old grandmother was watching. It was very special for me to play at home.

This week, you celebrated the career of another Colombian great, as Alejandro Gonzalez retired at your tournament. How emotional was that?
I am very grateful to Alejo for his career, for being a brother, a partner, a role model, an example. For having chosen Pereira to play his last match, it was an honour to have accompanied him. I told him to enjoy the experience and I’m happy to contribute to another part of his life.

How can you improve for the years to come?
The idea is that it becomes durable over time. We hope that people want to support the tournament. The idea is that everything is done well and that the people are happy, the details are well-organized and that it is feasible to continue as long as possible.

“Are you getting used to being around these kinds of players?”

“I try to take it in my stride as much as possible, but I’m still amazed to be in the same place as them,” Carlos Alcaraz replied to ATPTour.com’s question before the start of last year’s Miami Open presented by Itau main draw.

It seems like an eternity has passed since that conversation. The Spaniard was 17 years old and No. 132 in the ATP Rankings. His only aspirations were to keep learning from the best.

Although he was clearly on an upwards curve and promising great things, even he would probably have struggled to believe that 12 months later he would be lifting his first ATP Masters 1000 crown on the same stage.

“I have no words to describe how I feel right now,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “I have an unbelievable team with me, family… I’m so happy with the win.”

En route to the Miami title he left players in his wake with whom this time last year he would have been happy just to be able to train. This success can partly be attributed to the fact that his ascent on the Tour has come under the watchful eye of Juan Carlos Ferrero, someone who has already taken the steps required to reach No. 1 in the world and win big titles.

“Juan Carlos tells me a lot of stories,” Alcaraz explained. “The thing I admire most is everything he can teach me. Everything I’m yet to experience, he has already experienced it and he can convey it to me. Now he can stop me [from] making mistakes that maybe he made at my age.”

The heights reached by Ferrero in 2003 are exactly what Alcaraz has his eyes on. He has never tried to hide the fact that it has been one of his biggest goals since he started to enjoy some success with a racquet in his hand.

“My dream is to be the World No. 1 and I will work hard for it. Whether or not I win this tournament, I am still focused on my goal, which is to be No. 1 in the world,” he declared at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last November.

On Monday, the Murcia native will climb to No. 11 in the world, just 29 points short of the Top 10. He does so thanks to an immaculate start to the season, in which he has racked up 20 matches with an 18-2 record. That is, the 18-year-old Spaniard has won 90 per cent of the matches he has played. He has only lost to Matteo Berrettini in the fifth set of the third round at the Australian Open and Rafael Nadal in the third set of the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals at Indian Wells.

However, a few months ago at the Australian Open, some of the best players in the world predicted that this could be Alcaraz’s year. In fact, one of those players was his idol, Nadal, the man he trained with in 2021 in Melbourne and played against at the Mutua Madrid Open in the same year.

“When you have all that potential and you’re also a hard worker, it’s hard for things to go badly for you. You would expect his chances of fighting for the biggest titles to increase as each tournament goes by,” said the 21-time Grand Slam champion.

“Obviously, Rafa’s words are really wonderful and much appreciated,” Ferrero responded at the time. “I really agree with what he said. The potential he has.” Meanwhile, Pablo Carreño Busta, his training partner at the JC Ferrero – Equelite Sport Academy, also sent out a warning: “He’s producing some really great results, but they will get even better.”

Time – although we didn’t have to wait long – has proven all three of them right. However, the astonishing thing about Alcaraz’s rise is not so much his results or his talent, it is his ability to normalise the extraordinary, a trait of a special player. At just 18, he shows a maturity, determination and courage on court that are extremely rare for a player of his age.

Even Ferrero has spoken of this. “His dynamism on court is his biggest asset. He is capable of doing what is asked of him and that’s very difficult to get from a player: serve-volley, play high or fast balls, he can do it all,” he explained. “That courage and ability to finish off a point is something I would have liked to have had in my career.”

Alcaraz’s progress on court has come hand in hand with physical development that has made him a complete player: fast, agile and hugely powerful. “We remind him that every day is a brick that he has to lay as carefully as possible, so that the wall he is building is perfect and there are no bricks that were laid badly in his day-to-day work,” said his physio Juanjo Moreno.

Moreno is one of the visible faces of the Spaniard’s work in the gym, but there are many others behind his success, such as Alberto Lledó, his fitness coach; Sergio Hernández, physio; Juanjo López, doctor; and the care he receives in Murcia from Alejandro for preparation and Fran in recovery.

“We focus more on recovery, on taking care of all the details that make up a professional tennis player,” added Moreno. “From the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed, we try to educate Carlos in all the processes of recovery, as he already had good knowledge from working with Néstor Vicente Salar.”

All of these ingredients mean that the player himself is not the only one who believes he will be No. 1 in the world. Many people in the world of tennis, including his peers, opponents, coaches and fans, predict that, sooner or later, Alcaraz will make a charge on the pinnacle of the ATP Rankings.

“I’m grateful that people can see that I can be the best in the world, but my team and I know how difficult it is,” Alcaraz admitted on 20 February, after becoming the youngest player to win an ATP 500 (created in 2009) at the Rio Open presented by Claro. “I think I’m on the right path. If I stay on it and continue to do things right, I’ll have chances, although that doesn’t guarantee anything.”

What was a sure thing though, was his first ATP Masters 1000 crown on Sunday. We still don’t know if his dream of being the No. 1 in the world will come true, but we do know that he is now ready to take on the biggest titles, as he proved in Miami.

Did You Know?
At this edition of the Miami Open presented by Itaú, Carlos Alcaraz became the first Spanish champion in the tournament’s history. Sergi Bruguera (1997), Carlos Moyà (2003), David Ferrer (2013) and Rafael Nadal (2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017) were all finalists before the man from Murcia made the breakthrough.

The 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is one set away from claiming the biggest ATP Tour title of his career at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Spaniard leads sixth seed Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final at Hard Rock Stadium after taking a 7-5 opening set in just under an hour.

Just as in his semi-final win over Miomir Kecmanovic, Alcaraz dropped the opening three games of the set as he found his footing on the stadium court. Ruud started well, but was helped along by five early errors from Alcaraz as he eased in front.

But after getting to at least 40/30 in his opening three return games, Alcaraz got the break back on his third break chance of the match. From 1-4 down, he won six of seven games to wrestle away the opening stanza — a ripped 102-mph forehand winner bringing up his break chances at 5-5.

The Spaniard applied consistent pressure on the Ruud serve, frequently putting his opponent on the back foot with deep returns. Without blowing away the sixth seed on serve, Alcaraz held comfortably until he was forced to save a break point while serving out the set. A big serve erased the chance as the youngster powered to a one-set lead.

Alcaraz is seeking to becoming the youngest Miami champion in the event’s 37-year history, and the third-youngest ATP Masters 1000 champion overall, spanning 283 events from 1990.

Ruud, competing in his 10th ATP Tour final, is seeking the second hard-court trophy of his career. The first Norwegian to contest a Masters 1000 final, he holds a 7-2 record in his previous finals while Alcaraz is a perfect 2-0.

Carlos Alcaraz received a special surprise — his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero — in Miami ahead of his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

Ferrero had not been at the Miami Open presented by Itau because his father, Eduardo, passed away before the tournament. But a video the former World No. 1 posted on Instagram Sunday morning revealed he flew to Florida for the final.

Alcaraz, who at 18 can break Novak Djokovic’s record as the youngest champion in tournament history on Sunday against Casper Ruud, has paid tribute to his coach during his run. After winning a quarter-final classic against Miomir Kecmanovic he wrote on the camera “Juanki y Eduardo”, drawing a heart underneath their names. Following his semi-final victory against Hubert Hurkacz, the teen again inscribed the camera’s lens with a message for his coach.

‘This win’s for you, @juankiferri‘ ❤️@alcarazcarlos03 #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/nXF7TakRha

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 2, 2022

In the video Ferrero posted on Sunday, Alcaraz leapt off the couch he was sitting on when he saw his coach and gave him a warm embrace. 

Ferrero captioned the video: “TEAM READY? ✅ ALL SET FOR THE FINAL 💪🏼”

With Polish flags waving all around Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek each won titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Hurkacz teamed with John Isner to claim the men’s doubles crown, while Swiatek extended her WTA Tour winning streak to 17 by beating Naomi Osaka in the women’s singles final.

Swiatek, who will debut as World No. 1 on Monday, opened the day’s play by securing her third straight title at the WTA 1000 level, dominating Osaka by a score of 6-4, 6-0. By winning the Miami trophy without dropping a set, the 20-year-old from Warsaw extended her set win streak to 20, dating back to Indian Wells.

Hurkacz, last year’s Miami men’s singles champion, fell to Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s semi-finals but will not leave South Florida empty-handed thanks to his performance on Saturday. He and Isner took a 7-6(5), 6-4 decision to knock off the red-hot tandem of Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, who were seeking a fourth ATP Tour title of the season.

The Wroclaw native previously called Swiatek a “huge inspiration” following her Roland Garros win in autumn 2020. 

“What she did at the French Open was unbelievable and a huge inspiration,” he said after reaching the Delray final last January. “It’s amazing what she has done, winning a Grand Slam not being seeded and playing the way she played. So that’s really inspiring for all of Poland what she did achieve.”

Last October, the compatriots sat down together for an episode of the WTA’s CrossCourt, where they discussed the importance of discipline and preparation on the tour.

Wild cards Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner defeated one of the hottest doubles duos on the ATP Tour to claim the title at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Saturday afternoon.

Teaming for the first time in 2022, the Polish/American pairing scored a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. The victory completed a Sunshine Double for Isner, who won the Indian Wells title with compatriot Jack Sock two weeks ago.

“It certainly feels good, but I partnered up well,” said Isner, who is just the second man to complete the double with different partners (Jakob Hlasek, 1989). “You guys saw that last game. It was 40/30 them, I didn’t hit a single ball and we won the match.

“It’s a pleasure playing with Hubi. He does so many things so well as we know, and he’s got so much doubles skill also. It’s so much fun for me.”

The duo defeated three Grand Slam title-winning teams on the way to the final (Krawietz/Mies, Ram/Salisbury, Kokkinakis/Kyrgios), and dropped Koolhof and Skupski to 23-5 on the season after they won three ATP Tour titles in their first six matches as a team.

“I think John is the hottest doubles player on Tour right now,” said Hurkacz. “It definitely was a fun week. Playing with John is such a pleasure so we had a great time.”

He later added: “I love Miami a lot. I was able to win singles last year and now playing with John doubles. This place is very special for me.”

HUBISNER RIGHTS 🇵🇱🇺🇸@HubertHurkacz and @JohnIsner defeat Koolhof/Skupski 7-6(5) 6-4 to claim their first title as a team in Miami! 🏆#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/NiYNvpQUPt

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 2, 2022

Both Hurkacz and Isner are former singles champions in Miami, with the Pole winning in 2021 and the American in 2018. Hurkacz’s Saturday success made it two trophies on the day for Poland inside Hard Rock Stadium, as Iga Swiatek defeated Naomi Osaka in the women’s singles final earlier in the day.

The Polish/American pairing made their moves late in both sets. Twice down a mini-break in the opening set tie-break, the duo won five of the last six points to pocket the first stanza. In set two, after saving three break points at 1-1, they earned a decisive break on a sudden-death point that doubled as a match point on the Koolhof serve.

That was the only loss of serve on seven break points in the match. Hurkacz and Isner appeared to have secured a break at 30/40 in the ninth game of the opening set, but Isner called foul on himself after a stray touch of the ball prior to a drop-volley winner from his partner. The duo piled more pressure on their opponents in the tie-break with strong returning and aggressive net approaches, forcing some crucial errors as thy sealed the set.

After winning the last three points of the opening set, Hurkacz and Isner won the last two points of the match for the win.

The Miami Open presented by Itau draws to a close on Sunday and is set for a thrilling climax, as World No. 8 Casper Ruud takes on #NextGenATP sensation Carlos Alcaraz at Hard Rock Stadium.

[6] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [14] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)

Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz had something in common when they arrived in Miami two weeks ago – neither player knew what it was like to win a match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in southern Florida.

Five victories later and having dropped just a single set each en route to Sunday’s final, both players have rectified that record in spectacular fashion. On Sunday each has the opportunity to cap a dream run in Miami by clinching a maiden Masters 1000 crown.

After losing his three previous Masters 1000 semi-finals – all on his favoured clay – sixth seed Ruud broke his final-four duck in style on Friday with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. The Norwegian’s clean ball-striking off both wings has looked ready-made for the Miami hard courts but the World No. 8 admits to still being pleasantly surprised at his progress at Hard Rock Stadium.

“It was not where I imagined myself playing my first Masters 1000 final [on a hard court], but I will take it,” Ruud said after defeating Cerundolo. “It is a great feeling, and I am enjoying the city and the tournament.”

Of Ruud’s nine tour-level finals to date, eight have been on clay. Yet his 2021 season included quarter-final runs at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto, the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and the Rolex Paris Masters. Those hard-court performances helped the Norwegian qualify for the year-end Nitto ATP Finals for the first time and have quietened any talk of him being only suited to the red dirt.

“I think last year, when I reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, [it] kind of gave me a confidence boost on the surface,” said Ruud, who is the first Norwegian to reach a Masters 1000 championship match. “Because I never felt too bad on hard courts, but it’s just that my game seems to suit the clay a little bit better. My biggest results were on clay up until last year. I think they still are. But now here I have a final.

“Obviously the Nitto ATP Finals was kind of what topped everything when I reached the semis. That was a big result. Even though now coming into hard court tournaments, I think my mindset is a little bit different.”

This confidence has been on full display throughout his run in Miami so far. After securing his first victory against Henri Laaksonen in the second round, Ruud took out Alexander Bublik, Cameron Norrie and World No. 4 Alexander Zverev for the biggest win of his career before his triumph over Cerundolo. The Norwegian now holds a 13-3 record for the 2022 season, a tally that includes a seventh ATP Tour title clinched in Buenos Aires in February.

His next task is to stop Alcaraz from becoming the youngest men’s champion in Miami tournament history, but that will take some doing. The Spaniard has lit up Hard Rock Stadium with a string of dazzling performances to the delight of the Miami fans, the latest of which was his 7-6(5), 7-6(2) win over defending Hubert Hurkacz on Friday evening.

“I have a lot of emotions right now,” said Alcaraz after battling past the Pole to reach the biggest final of his young career. “It’s something that you dream of when you are a child. It’s really good to be in the final here in Miami. I love playing here. The crowd is amazing. I’m going to approach the final like a first round, trying to mask the nerves. I’m going to enjoy it, it’s going to be a great final.”

The Spaniard may still be a month shy of his 19th birthday, but he already appears at ease on the big stage. Even disappointments such as his three-set semi-final defeat to Rafael Nadal at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March will stand him in good stead, the Spaniard believes.

“It was a great match against Rafa,” said Alcaraz after his win over Hurkacz on Friday. “I think that I played a great match against him. But I think that I learned how to play in a semi-final in a Masters 1000. It was my first one, so now [in the] second one I managed to do much better than in Indian Wells.

“It was different match, but I think that the nerves, the tough moments, I managed better in this one than Indian Wells.”

Alcaraz has certainly shown he can handle pressure throughout his Miami run. The 14th seed has been broken just twice in the tournament so far, saving 15 break points across his wins over Marton Fucsovics, Marin Cilic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Miomir Kecmanovic and Hurkacz.

Alcaraz’s form in Miami has only been a continuation of a red-hot start to 2022 that included a maiden ATP 500 title claimed in Rio de Janeiro in February. The Hurkacz win took the reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion to a 17-2 record for the season, and he will move from his current ranking of No. 16 to the brink of the Top 10 in Monday’s edition of the ATP Rankings regardless of the result on Sunday.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP Tour App
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

Like the rest of the tennis world, Ruud has been impressed by Alcaraz’s mature displays. “I think we all can see like how talented he is, that he has a very good mind for tennis,” said the Norweigan. “He understands the game very well. He knows when to hit certain shots and when probably not to.”

The Spaniard leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 1-0 after upsetting Ruud in straight sets at the ATP 250 event in Marbella a year ago. Alcaraz has spoken openly about the physical improvements he has made since then and has produced some stunning all-court tennis in Miami, but Ruud nonetheless remains confident that he can be the one to end the youngster’s dream run.

“He is, at his highest level, very, very good, but he also plays high risk, I think, so he goes for the shots quite often,” Ruud said when asked about his opponent in Sunday’s final. “Hopefully if I play him he will miss a couple of those.

“I played him last year. I think he played a very good match. You know, I barely had any chance at all, I felt like, so I would try to seek revenge of course. He was just coming out firing flames at me. I will try to use that and think I would like to get some revenge.”

Daniil Medvedev will miss at least the start of the clay-court season after announcing on Saturday that he will be out of action for the next one to two months. The 25-year-old has undergone a minor procedure to fix a “small hernia” that he has been playing with in recent months.

Medvedev, who posted a photo of himself watching football while recovering, said he “will work hard to back on court soon”.

The 25-year-old made his debut at Wold No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 28 February, but ceded the top spot back to Novak Djokovic following an early exit at Indian Wells. He fell one victory short of reclaiming the position with a quarter-final exit in Miami, though he left South Florida happy with the direction of his tennis.

Medvedev has few points to defend during the spring clay season. He reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in 2021, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but managed just one win between the Madrid and Rome ATP Masters 1000 events. Those were his only clay-court events last spring.

Hi everyone. The last months I have been playing with a small hernia. Together with my team I have decided to have a small procedure done to fix the problem. I will likely be out for the next 1 – 2 months and will work hard to be back on court soon. Thanks for all the support.

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) April 2, 2022