Carlos Alcaraz has captured his 50th match win of the year in personal-best time after defeating Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in his opening match at the Western & Southern Open Wednesday night.

But the speedy season journey to the half-century mark stands in stark contrast to what was generally a flat performance in the first two sets of a rain-interrupted match against the World No. 55 net-rushing Australian, who took the second set after having had game points for a 5-2 lead in the first.

It took Alcaraz, who made 26 unforced errors in the first set, until the start of the third set shortly before 12:30 a.m. to find his spark after his earlier sluggish performance, which also kept fans in a subdued mood for large portions of the match.

“It wasn’t an easy match but I found my best level at the end,” Alcaraz said. “We were waiting around all day to play the match and then when you step on the court you have to start with the rain, so it wasn’t easy.

“But you have to find a way to win these matches in this type of situation.”

Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who missed his charge’s below-par quarter-final run last week in Toronto in his first outing since winning Wimbledon, is on deck in Ohio this week and will be looking for ways to get Alcaraz back to his best as he seeks to defend his hold on World No. 1 against a challenging Novak Djokovic this week.

The match, which began Tuesday night and finished just after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, meandered over three hours and two minutes, due in part to the match clock continuing to run during a 20-minute rain delay at 1-1 in the first set when the players remained on court. Alcaraz failed to convert four break points either side of the interruption and needed a ninth break point in the eighth game of the first set to break through for the first time.

He finished the match 5/17 on break chances after breaking Thompson in the final game and by playing significantly better tennis than in the first two sets. The Australian challenged Alcaraz throughout the match with 52 net approaches, of which he won 30.

The Cincinnati top seed reached the 50-wins milestone in his 12th tournament of the year. Last season his 50th match win came in the semi-finals of the US Open, his 14th tournament of the season. 

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who improved to 50-5 on the year, is looking for his seventh title of 2023 to add to crowns won in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Queen’s and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz must reach the final this week at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre to be guaranteed of continuing his run atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for a 34th week on Monday. Anything less than a run to the final leaves open several scenarios under which Djokovic could reclaim top spot.

On the 28-player list of most weeks spent at No. 1, Alcaraz is already in 16th position. He needs another 11 weeks to move past Gustavo Kuerten in 13th position.

Alcaraz awaits a third-round showdown with the winner of Frenchman Ugo Humbert and American Tommy Paul, who upset the reigning US Open champion last week in Toronto.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina grew up following the career of Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard watched as the Serbian star battled against the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, ultimately clawing from consistent World No. 3 to the man with the most weeks atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in history (389).

On Wednesday evening, the 24-year-old will face Djokovic in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.

“I wanted to one day play against him and obviously if I can beat him, for me it would have been a dream. I think it is the same now,” Davidovich Fokina told ATPTour.com. “If I can win this match tomorrow, for me it’s a dream because in the end you don’t win against these guys every day.”

It will be the pair’s fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head clash, but the opportunity to face someone like Djokovic never gets old for the World No. 23. He will also take confidence from a three-set upset of the Belgrade native last year in Monte-Carlo.

“I remember that I was dominating him very good. And in the middle of the second set, he broke me back. When he won the second set, he was on fire. But I just was [focussed] on being on court, to play against him and to be focussed on every ball,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I think that the key to win was to be focussed in every point.

“It doesn’t matter the result, you forget about the result. You have to play against him because at the end, he’s a legend. And you don’t play every day with these types of guys.”

Davidovich Fokina paid the ultimate respect to Djokovic when describing his game.

“He has everything of Rafa and Federer. His body is so elastic and he can be very, very solid and he has the weapons to push you to make errors. Then he has winners. He’s very good serving,” Davidovich Fokina said. “But the key of his is that he sees the match very good. The moment of the match, he knows how to [judge what he needs to do] very good.”

The 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist has watched countless matches played by Djokovic. But he has learned from experience that watching the 23-time major winner is a lot different than facing him.

“When I watch on TV, I don’t have that pressure. And when I’m on court, at the end I want to win badly,” Davidovich Fokina said. “Now I’m more focussed on enjoying every point and to keep pushing myself to the limit and to see what I can do.”

Last week in Toronto, Davidovich Fokina explained how important reading has become to shaping his more positive mindset. The Spaniard feels it is important to smile on the court, for example.

That attitude paid off at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he advanced to the semi-finals with victories over Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.

“It helped to give me a lot of confidence to beat the top guys. It gives you a lot of power, a lot of confidence, a lot of strength to focus for the next match,” Davidovich Fokina said. “This week for me, it’s like a new challenge. Because always when I do a good result, the week after is a little bit tougher for me. But I think I am prepared because I am better mentally.

“I know that it’s going to be Novak Djokovic next and it’s going to be a very, very tough match. But I think I’m prepared now to face him and to try to beat him.”

If reading books helped Davidovich Fokina in Toronto, perhaps chess will be his lucky charm in Cincinnati. The Spaniard has enjoyed games over the board in the players’ lounge and also recently began playing the game on his phone.

“I quite like it. It’s a lot of strategy and it’s more similar to tennis. In the end you have to move one piece to know what to do in the next one. It’s like in tennis: You will go forehand cross to go down the line after,” Davidovich Fokina said. “It’s a lot of strategy and [you learn] to be more patient, to not rush to one movement.

“If you are anxious or you are not that calm to play that point, you’re going to have mistakes that aren’t forced.”

Davidovich Fokina knows he cannot afford an abundance of unforced errors Wednesday against Djokovic. No matter the challenge, he is looking forward to the opportunity to play the Serbian again.

“[My win] was last year and on clay. On hard it’s different, but it’s going to be fun,” Davidovich Fokina said. “It’s going to be fun to watch. And for sure, we will enjoy playing against each other.”

Depth is Daniil’s diamond.

Daniil Medvedev’s unconventional, ultra-deep return position often sees him standing six metres or more behind the baseline to return first serves. What looks like a distinct disadvantage at first glance is actually a cleverly disguised trap. Medvedev is a peak performer at winning points against first serves compared to other elite players.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of return depth against first serves from the current Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings uncovers Medvedev’s paradoxical performance. Standing deep is not hurting him from returning deep, and in fact, he leads the Top 10 in one critical first-serve return statistic.

The data set comes from the Infosys ATP Return Tracker from the 2023 season (prior to Toronto) and focuses only on first-serve returns that land between the service line and baseline. Missed returns and returns in the service box are omitted.

First-Serve Return Depth
The first thing to understand is that once the first-serve return has made it back past the service line, most of these returns land closer to the service line than the baseline. The current Top 10 average 61 per cent of their first-serve returns closer to the service line and 39 per cent closer to the baseline. Even though Medvedev returns from an ultra-deep location, he was tied for third best in this category.

Returns Landing Closer To Baseline Than Service Line
1. Jannik Sinner = 47%
2. Andrey Rublev = 46%
T3. Daniil Medvedev = 43%
T3. Stefanos Tsitsipas = 43%
5. Frances Tiafoe = 40%
6. Holger Rune = 38%
7. Novak Djokovic = 37%
8. Taylor Fritz = 36%
9. Carlos Alcaraz = 35%
10. Casper Ruud = 24%

It’s interesting to identify that Ruud is the other Top 10 player who stands in an ultra-deep location to return serve but does not average returning nearly as deep as Medvedev.

First-Serve Return Win Percentage
Establishing that returns typically land closer to the service line than the baseline helps zero in on Medvedev’s first-serve return prowess. This is precisely where he leads this elite group of players with points won.

Points Won: Return Lands Closer To Service Line Than Baseline
1. D. Medvedev = 61%
2. C. Alcaraz = 53%
3. H. Rune = 52%
T4. A. Rublev = 50%
T4. N. Djokovic = 50%
6. F. Tiafoe = 48%
7. S. Tsitsipas = 47%
8. T. Fritz = 46%
9. J. Sinner = 43%
10. C. Ruud = 43%

Medvedev was head and shoulders above his peers with his win percentage in this category with 61 per cent of points won. The Top 10 average was just 49 per cent. Medvedev was eight percentage points clear of second-placed Alcaraz (61% to 53%) and was one of only three players to win north of 50 per cent.

Medvedev’s superior win percentage may very well boil down to his “defensive-ready” court position. When a return is hit shorter (landing closer to the service line), the server will naturally be looking to step in and attack. The returner will, in turn, look to move back to defend. Since Medvedev is already standing deep, he does not get as rushed or pushed onto his back foot as a typical returner who hugs the baseline.

Medvedev has cleverly pre-built in extra time for himself.

When the return did land closer to the baseline than the service line, Medvedev was the second-best performer in the Top 10.

Points Won: Return Lands Closer To Baseline Than Service Line
1. C. Alcaraz = 63%
2. D. Medvedev = 58%
3. N. Djokovic = 57%
T4. S. Tsitsipas = 54%
T4. A. Rublev = 54%
6. F. Tiafoe = 53%
7. H. Rune = 52%
8. J. Sinner = 50%
T9 T. Fritz = 44%
T9 C. Ruud = 44%

Medvedev’s first-serve return prowess defies standard convention. By standing so far back to return serve, he allows the ball to slow down and not rush him. He treats the return much more like a regular groundstroke than his competitors, who typically stand closer to the baseline, looking to rebound the ball quickly to the server to take their time away.

Medvedev shouldn’t be able to regularly return the ball so deep from so far back, but that’s precisely what he does. The vast expanses of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open are tailor-made for him. He has plenty of room to roam as far as he wants to return.

It seems he is reacting, but he has discovered the art of dictating from the deep. Don’t be surprised to see Medvedev adding a second US Open title in New York this year.

Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori picked up his fourth Top 10 win when he upset World No. 8 Andrey Rublev 7-6(10), 5-7, 7-6(3) in a three hour, 16-minute marathon at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati Tuesday night.

Avenging a four-set loss to Rublev at this year’s Australian Open to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the seventh seed to 1-2, Ruusuvuori benefitted from Rublev’s modest 50 per cent first-serve percentage.

The 24-year-old, who also defeated Jannik Sinner in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in his previous match against a member of the Top 10, has set a first-time meeting with Australian lucky loser Alexei Popyrin.

Rublev entered the North American hard-court swing poised to consolidate his claim to a berth at the Nitto ATP Finals, but after opening-round exits in Toronto and Cincinnati, he has given the chasing pack a chance to displace him from sixth position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Gael Monfils backed up his quarter-final run in Toronto on Tuesday with a first-round victory at the Western & Southern Open, where he overcame physical issues and Briton Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Cincinnati.

The 36-year-old Frenchman received treatment on his left calf in the first set, but did not let that stop him, producing an energetic display in the lively conditions in the second and third sets to advance after two hours and three minutes.

“I tried to keep it very simple with my game. I think the ATP physio came on the court and did a great job, not only the treatment but he managed to secure my head,” said Monfils, who missed Roland Garros with a wrist injury and last year’s US Open with a foot injury. “He said it would be fine and this meant the world for me. With what I have been through, it is always tough to give up with injury. But I fought. Felt good and had good wins last week and had the confidence to do it.”

Monfils arrived in Washington at the start of the month with just one tour-level win to his name this year. However, he has started to rediscover his best level during the North American hard-court swing, with his victory against Norrie lifting him to 6-2 in August. Last week he defeated World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in Toronto.

The former World No. 6, whose best result in Cincinnati was a quarter-final run in 2011, will next meet Toronto finalist Alex de Minaur or American J.J. Wolf.

In other action, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina continued his good form by dispatching Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3. The Spaniard reached his second Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto last week and will next play Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati. Davidovich Fokina upset the Serbian en route to the Monte-Carlo final in 2022.

Lorenzo Musetti also advanced, moving past Washington champion Daniel Evans 6-4, 6-3. The 21-year-old Italian plays third seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Evans suffered first-round exits at Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati after winning Washington.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus delivered a rock-solid display Tuesday to ease past Nikola Cacic and Novak Djokovic and kick-start their campaign at the
Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The British-Kiwi pairing converted three of four break points they earned to prevail 6-4, 6-2 against Cacic and Djokovic, who was playing his first competitive match since his Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. Murray and Venus crucially saved three break points en route to the first set before accelerating to a 65-minute first-round triumph at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event.

Nikola Cacic/Novak Djokovic” />
_{^{Nikola Cacic in action on Tuesday alongside Novak Djokovic, who was competing in Cincinnati for the first time since 2019. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

Their next assignment in Ohio is a second-round clash with top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. Murray (who won the 2018 Cincinnati crown alongside Bruno Soares) and Venus have enjoyed a strong first season together so far, lifting ATP Tour titles in Dallas, Banja Luka and Geneva.

Currently 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, Murray and Venus can propel themselves into stronger contention for Nitto ATP Finals qualification by continuing their good form in Cincinnati.

Carlos Alcaraz is in control of his own destiny this week in the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the Western & Southern Open.

If the Spaniard reaches the Cincinnati final, he will retain No. 1 leading into the US Open. Otherwise, Novak Djokovic will have an opportunity to reclaim top spot.

If the 20-year-old Alcaraz advances to the semi-finals, he will force the Serbian to make the final to take back World No. 1. Djokovic must reach the championship clash to have a chance.

Cincinnati Points Breakdown Per Round

There is the possibility of a tie, too. If Djokovic makes the final and Alcaraz reaches the quarter-finals, they both will have 9,395 points. Djokovic would reclaim World No. 1 in that scenario because he holds more combined Pepperstone ATP Rankings points from the mandatory tournaments (Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000 mandatory tournaments and Nitto ATP Finals).

If Djokovic retakes World No. 1 this week, he will retain it at least through the US Open, where Alcaraz is defending 2,000 points. No matter what happens in Cincinnati, Djokovic will arrive in Flushing Meadows with an opportunity. to leave with No. 1.

Alcaraz has already held World No. 1 for 33 weeks since first ascending to the top after winning last year’s US Open. The Spaniard has spent more weeks in the position than 12 other former World No. 1s, including Mats Wilander, Daniil Medvedev, Andy Roddick and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. He is trying to earn ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honours for the second consecutive year.

Djokovic owns the record for weeks at World No. 1 (389) and year-end No. 1 finishes (7). The 36-year-old most recently was No. 1 in June.

In a battle of former Western & Southern Open champions, it was Alexander Zverev who roused his best level Tuesday in Cincinnati.

The 16th-seeded German downed Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 to extend his winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 in Ohio to six matches. Zverev needed little time to reacquaint himself with the centre court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on his first appearance there since his 2021 title run, converting four of eight break points he earned against Dimitrov for a 72-minute win.

“I think I adjusted to the conditions a bit better and maybe was a bit more patient than him as well, but always when you play against Grigor, especially in the early rounds, it’s very dangerous,” said Zverev. “He’s somebody that hits the ball very hard, a very aggressive player, and you have to be there all the time. I was, from start to finish, and I’m very happy with that.”

Zverev particularly targeted Dimitrov’s second serve throughout the pair’s sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter. The German won 75 per cent (21/28) of points against the Bulgarian’s second delivery, and he later acknowledged that had been key to his victory in windy conditions on the fast Cincinnati courts.

“I think patience is one thing, but the other is people struggle with their serve a bit more [in the wind], so you have to keep focusing on the games that you are in. Especially against Grigor, he’s serving 135 or 140 mile per hour serves, there are a lot of games that he will just go through and you have no chance. So being patient and just focusing on yourself [is key].”

It was Zverev’s first hard-court win against a Top 20 opponent in four attempts this season. The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion is 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he seeks a sixth appearance at the prestigious season finale. His reward for downing the World No. 19 Dimitrov in Cincinnati is a second-round encounter with Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.

Three years ago, Emil Ruusuvuori played in his first ATP Masters 1000 event at the Western & Southern Open, which was held in New York that year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In just his third ATP Tour main draw, the Finn was facing American Sebastian Korda. After leading by a set and a break late in the second set, Ruusuvuori found himself in trouble in the decider.

But in a flash the Helsinki native won 20 of the final 22 points to secure the biggest win of his career and guarantee his place in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“That was an epic match and it was actually the match that made me go to the Top 100, so it was also a big match, big win for me coming 5-2 down in the third,” Ruusuvuori told ATPTour.com. “I believe I won like 15 points in a row or something. We both have come a long way from there.”

On Monday, Ruusuvuori was again playing in the Western & Southern Open, this time in its traditional home of Cincinnati. The Finn cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Corentin Moutet to set a second-round clash with Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev.

When Ruusuvuori first broke through at the tournament, he was brand new on the scene. Now he is a well-established star who reached a career-high World No. 37 earlier this year. It has been a long journey since he moved his training base to the now-closed Jarkko Nieminen Tennis Academy in Helsinki as a 14-year-old. His longtime coach, Federico Ricci, was director of the academy.

“I remember that summer, he had a bad summer. I think he lost badly in the European Championships first round it the Under 14s and didn’t want to play and his parents were questioning a little bit his commitment to it, even the commitment to join the Academy,” Ricci said. “They were like, ‘I don’t know if he’s ready to play that much tennis.’ He didn’t want to really play after the loss in the European Championships.

“He was about to quit, even picking up other sports and stuff like that. I remember talking to his parents that summer and then he ended up starting at the end of August and it started from there.”

Emil Ruusuvuori” />
^{Ruusuvuori, far right, celebrates a junior title. Photo: Federico Ricci}
Ruusuvuori is the first to admit that he is not as fiery as some of his competitors, especially off the court. The Finn is one of the most laid back players on the ATP Tour.

“If you think he is shy now, he was extremely shy then,” Ricci said.

But on the court, Ruusuvuori’s game speaks for itself. He is one of the biggest ball-strikers on Tour and in recent years, he has been working with Ricci to find the right mix between his powerful strokes and more consistent play, being more selective about when to go after the ball and setting himself up to use his power. But it is not just about his physical game, according to the Italian coach.

“Of course, we’re working on a lot of things on his tennis, and on his physical [side], but also the resilience and accepting a little bit the life he has chosen, and making sure that that you get the most out of it, even in terms of enjoyment, and being really part of it,” Ricci said. “Sometimes he’s missing his quiet and easy life in Finland. And of course, here it is a lot more hectic.

“Every day, there is something on the line. Every day he has a chance to improve. You have pressure and you have to stay strong, and you have to be resilient in the way you go from tournament to tournament, trip to trip, losses to wins, wins to losses. And of course, sometimes you feel like, ‘Ah, it was so nice to stay sitting by the lake with no worries.’ You have to keep working on that, because then if you keep working on that, then it’s so much easier for me to make him improve as a tennis player.”

Ruusuvuori has learned plenty of lessons in his first few full seasons on the ATP Tour. Some of the most valuable ones have nothing to do with technique or tennis itself.

“I can’t say for everybody, but at least for me, those things that you might struggle with outside the court, you are the same person still on court,” Ruusuvuori said. “It’s a little different, but still, it has some effect for sure. So understanding that I think was big, but then also you have to work on it.

“I’m a very aggressive player, but maybe off the court I’m not the most aggressive or the most social. Maybe the person doesn’t really match [the player] in that sense on the court, so that’s something that I have to work on also off the court and maybe need a little bit more aggression off the court to become more aggressive also on the court.”

Emil Ruusuvuori” />

Ricci explained that it has always been a little bit of a challenge for the Finn to “play against his personality”.

“But I think he grew into what he is, or who he is as a player. He’s also always been somebody that likes to strike the ball his own way,” Ricci said. “If he wants to strike the ball big, he strikes it big, regardless of what the other guy does. It is at times a challenge, especially in moments of perhaps less confidence and stuff like that. But we are working through it, and also working through it for him to be more comfortable.”

As successful as Ruusuvuori’s start on the ATP Tour has been, he has learned there is always a new hurdle to overcome and he continues to work hard to leap over each one.

“You always get new challenges, new things that you have to overcome, but you also learn and hopefully also get better all the time,” Ruusuvuori said. “So it’s just a never-ending cycle almost. There is no such thing that. ‘You have made it.’ It’s just constant work and that’s something that I’ve learned now in the past couple years.”