Take time away to prepare. Relentlessly come forward to pressure. Get under your opponent’s skin.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a blistering attack from Jan-Lennard Stuff to win the Mutua Madrid Open final 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday with something resembling his B or C-level game. It certainly wasn’t his A game, as Struff swarmed the net and mentally rattled the 20-year-old’s cage. But it’s a testament to the Spaniard’s mental toughness that he was made to feel so uncomfortable on the court and still found a way to be first over the finish line.

The match was very much dictated by Struff, who came to the net a staggering 52 times in three sets, winning 33 points up front (63 per cent). That was vastly superior to the German’s win percentage at the back of the court, which ended up at just 43 per cent (32/75).

Struff’s harrowing forays forward created discomfort and despair at times for Alcaraz. Struff turned the Magic Box into a pressure cooker and was on a roll early in the third set, holding break point on Alcaraz’s serve at 1-1, Ad out. Alcaraz saved break point and won seven of the next nine points to break Struff and surge to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set. That sequence proved to be the most pivotal in the final.

Alcaraz Serve Direction
Alcaraz served primarily to Struff’s backhand return, making the German hit 70 per cent (58/83) backhand returns for the match. That was mainly due to Struff successfully crushing his forehand return at the start of the match. Struff’s initial seven forehand returns in Set One produced one return winner and forced four forehand Serve +1 errors from Alcaraz. Alcaraz cleverly moved the battle to the backhand return, where he extracted 10 return errors in Set 1, five in Set 2, and critically, 10 again in the Set 3.

Losing serve at 1-2 in the third flipped the momentum and gave Alcaraz a new lease of energy from the partisan crowd. Struff’s backhand return suffered, as he failed to put seven of his last eight backhand returns of the match in the court. In the third set, Struff hit only four forehand returns and 20 backhand returns. Alcaraz finally had a strategy he could sink his teeth into.

Return Location
In stark contrast, Alcaraz only made contact with three returns for the match within four metres of the baseline. He was typically six metres behind the baseline or more, trying to take big cuts at returns. Alcaraz didn’t make contact with any returns inside the baseline.

Struff, on the other hand, made contact with all second-serve returns around two metres inside the baseline and only made contact with one first-serve return further back than one metre behind the baseline. Struff even made contact with 10+ first-serve returns inside the baseline.

Struff was playing a north-south match. Alcaraz was much more about trying to dip returns below the height of the net to force errors, and also pass on the next shot.

Alcaraz Passing Shots
In similar fashion to the serve targets, Alcaraz also directed his focus to Struff’s backhand volley when the German came forward. Overall, Struff hit 15 forehand volleys and 28 backhand volleys. Struff hit three forehand volley winners while only yielding two forehand volley errors. The backhand volley contributed eight winners but committed 10 errors.

With Struff serving at 1-2, 30/40, in the third set, he served and volleyed behind a first serve. He dug out a low forehand volley but found himself too close to the net with little reaction time against Alcaraz’s forehand down-the-line passing shot. Struff’s reflex backhand volley flew over the baseline and Alcaraz seized the momentum he needed to take the title.

We are used to witnessing Alcaraz produce such a high level in finals and play the match on his terms. In many ways, it is even more impressive to see him have to fight himself and struggle mightily against Struff to find a way to win.

In many ways, Alcaraz had to conquer himself first in order to conquer Struff.

Twelve days ago, Jan-Lennard Struff lost against Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifying at the Mutua Madrid Open. After receiving a lucky loser spot, the German more than grabbed his chance, becoming the first lucky loser to reach the final at an ATP Masters 1000.

The German is proud of his remarkable run in the Spanish capital despite falling in the final against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

“It’s been an incredible journey from lucky loser to be in the final [and] runner-up here,” Struff said. “I hope that it gives me a lot of push for in the next weeks and months. It was a best-career achievement so far.”

“Of course I wanted to go all the way to win today, but I would definitely say if someone told me two weeks ago you’re going to play the finals, I would take it,” Struff later added. “I’m proud of the way I played. I am proud of the way I presented myself today.”

Struff upset Stefanos Tsitsipas and earned a revenge win against Karatsev in the Spanish capital after falling against the 29-year-old in qualifying. Despite playing six three-set matches en route to the championship match, the 33-year-old was pleased with how his body held up against Alcaraz.

“Physically I felt pretty good. I could have continued playing. It was just a lot [more] mental,” said Struff, who was competing in just his second tour-level final compared to Alcaraz’s 13th. “The past matches were also [mental], because it was very new for me. It was demanding for the mind.”

Struff is up to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and has jumped 18 places to 13th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The German was full of praise for the 20-year-old Alcaraz, who will rise to No. 1 by playing his first match in Rome.

“If he’s playing, if he has so much time, he’s just too good,” Struff said when asked about Alcaraz. “He’s playing too well. And I tried to put a bit of pressure on him, tried to take a bit his time away and go for my shots, because he’s [physically better]. He’s very, very fast. He likes to rally. He like to play very aggressive… I was in the game. I had my chances. But he was too good at the end and congrats to him.”

Carlos Alcaraz made history on Sunday when he captured the Mutua Madrid Open title. The Spaniard became the sixth-youngest player to reach 10 tour-level titles in the Open Era.

The 20-year-old, whose birthday was Friday, was only beaten to the mark by five 19-year-olds: Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

Quickest To 10 Tour-Level Titles (Open Era)

Alcaraz was also champion at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, which does not count towards players’ tour-level trophy collection.

Seven of his crowns have come on clay and three on hard courts. The Spaniard has earned 10 of his trophies at ATP Masters 1000 events.

At only 20, he is among active leaders in Masters 1000 titles. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Novak Djokovic (38), Nadal (36), Andy Murray (14), Alexander Zverev (5) and Daniil Medvedev (5) are the only active players ahead of him. Alcaraz’s 77.6 winning percentage at Masters 1000 only trails Nadal (82.2%) and Djokovic (82%) among active players.

Alcaraz will now turn his attention to another Masters 1000 event, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he will try to claim his fifth title of the season. It will be the 20-year-old’s tournament debut.

“It’s going to be my first time playing Rome. I really want to play there. I missed [it] last year, so this is a tournament that I looking for since I was kid,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t know how it’s going to be, Rome. I don’t know the feelings over there, but for sure I’m going to enjoy that tournament.

“Of course it’s [going to be] great to play in front of the Italian crowd again.”

Ugo Humbert capped a dramatic week Sunday, when he captured the title at ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, Italy.

The Frenchman downed fourth seed Laslo Djere 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final to lift the trophy at the Sardegna Open. Humbert fended off 12 of 16 break points in an entertaining three-hour, eight-minute battle.

A three-time tour-level titlist, World No. 77 Humbert saved three match points against Taro Daniel in a four-hour, 13-minute quarter-final marathon on Friday to keep his title hopes alive.

Hear from the Cagliari champ himself 👇#ATPChallenger | @HumbertUgo pic.twitter.com/2QMOaTnUa7

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 7, 2023

Humbert’s first clay-court title came as a welcomed surprise to the Metz-native.

“I will never forget this trophy because I hate clay normally, never won more than two matches in a row on clay,” Humbert said in his post-match press conference. “It feels unbelievable to have the trophy today… I don’t know what to think, I’m just super happy.

“Laslo is a hell of player, because he always puts one more ball in the court. After about two hours, it became more physically and [mentally tough]. I stayed very strong.”

Djere will rue the two break chances he missed at 4-4 in the second set, which would have given the Serbian an opportunity to serve for the championship had he converted one of them. World No. 70 Djere also held an early break lead in the decider before sixth seed Humbert stormed back to win the Italian title.

“It gives me a lot of confidence two weeks before Roland Garros to play matches more than three, four hours,” Humbert said. “For sure I will be ready for Roland Garros.”

Humbert, who reached a career-high No. 25 in 2021, has won 10 of his past 11 finals across all levels. His triumph in Sardinia added to France’s early lead for most Challenger titles this season (9).

In Cagliari doubles action, Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler defeated top seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6(6), 6-3 to win the Challenger 175 title.

The last ones standing in Cagliari ☝️🏆#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/ScdZXUPKDW

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 7, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz took the lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on Sunday by winning the Mutua Madrid Open. It is the first time this season the Spaniard has led the Live Race.

The 20-year-old in Madrid passed both Daniil Medvedev (3,300 points) and Novak Djokovic (2,565 points) to surge into the top spot. He owns a 110-point advantage over Medvedev leading into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the season’s fifth ATP Masters 1000 event.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

The Live Race serves as the year-to-date standings and the barometer for the battle to finish as the year-end ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone. Last year, then-19-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest year-end No. 1 in history. The Live Race also determines the qualifiers for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held in Turin at the Pala Alpitour from 12-19 November.

After Rome, Alcaraz is also poised to return to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, which accounts for a player’s results over the past 52 weeks.

When the Internazionali BNL d’Italia draw is released, Alcaraz will lead Novak Djokovic by 995 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. By playing his first match, he will earn at least 10 points, guaranteeing his return to World No. 1.

Alcaraz is now 29-2 on the season with four titles. After missing the Australian swing due to injury, the Spaniard has triumphed in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid. His earliest loss of the year came in the semi-finals of Miami to Jannik Sinner.

The player Alcaraz defeated in the Madrid final, Jan-Lennard Struff, climbed 18 places to 13th in the Live Race with 1,102 points. The German is within 428 points of eighth-placed Karen Khachanov for the final qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Carlos Alcaraz captured his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title Sunday when he overcame German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to successfully defend his crown at the Mutua Madrid Open.

The 20-year-old Spaniard joined Rafael Nadal as the only consecutive Madrid champions in tournament history and is the youngest player to successfully defend an ATP Masters 1000 title since Nadal at Monte-Carlo and Rome in 2005-06.

With his 29th win of the season and 10th tour-level title, Alcaraz will rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after playing his opening match in Rome.

“For me it is so, so special,” Alcaraz said. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and [being] a champion is so special. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.”

Alcaraz struggled on serve at times throughout the two-hour, 25-minute final, winning just 60 per cent (27/45) of his first-serve points in the opening two sets. The top seed battled hard, though, and survived an attacking bombardment from the big-serving German. He blasted his explosive groundstrokes at the incoming Struff with authority and precision in the third set, striking nine winners in the third set to triumph.

“It was a really tough match,” Alcaraz said. “Jan was playing great, really aggressive. In the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn’t take it and it was tough for me to lose it. I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set.”

Alcaraz has now earned 21 consecutive wins at Spanish clay-court events and improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Struff. The 33-year-old Struff was the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since the series started in 1990 and was aiming to become just the fourth player and first in more than 20 years to win his first tour-level trophy at an ATP Masters 1000.

Struff, who upset Stefanos Tsitsipas and avenged his qualifying loss against Aslan Karatsev en route to his second tour-level final, is up to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Alcaraz has won four tour-level titles this season. He triumphed on clay in Buenos Aires and Barcelona and clinched the crown on hard in Indian Wells. With his victory in the Spanish captital, he took the lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. It is the first time this season Alcaraz has led the Live Race.

“Once again it has been amazing. The crowd, my people, since the first day, were cheering my name,” Alcaraz added. “It is really amazing to have a lot of people behind you and supporting you and pushing you on.”

The defending champion survived heavy-hitting from the German throughout the 53-minute first set, hanging in rallies with his exceptional agility to force Struff into errors. Alcaraz gained what proved to be the decisive break of the first set at 3-3 when Struff double faulted, battled from 0/40 to hold when serving for the set.

Struff responded by striking his clean-hitting groundstrokes with authority against Alcaraz. He serve and volleyed throughout the second set and crucially saved five break points at 3-1 to hold before levelling the match.

Alcaraz won just 60 per cent (27/45) of his first-serve points in the first and second sets but improved to 81 per cent (17/21) in the decider. He began to win the lengthy exchanges and hit with more freedom as the match went. He also pulled Struff around the court with his drop shot to earn victory.

Did You Know?
At 20 years old and two days, Alcaraz is the sixth-youngest player to win 10 tour-level tournaments in the Open Era.

Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed a reunion on Sunday at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

The pair shared a hug before the start of the race, which is held around Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

@rogerfederer @F1 @f1miami @atptour
❤️ pic.twitter.com/lh5jOZNK4y

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) May 7, 2023

Federer and Del Potro shared a special ATP Head2Head rivalry, competing in 25 tour-level matches — including six finals — against one another. 

Both men have shown an interest in Formula 1 before. Last year, Federer spent time with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Del Potro, who attended the Miami race last year, caught up with polesitter Sergio Perez on Saturday.

CHECO 🤝 DELPO‼️

What a 🎾 x 🏎️ duo at @f1miami 😎 @delpotrojuan @SChecoPerez pic.twitter.com/DO6l5eAy4b

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) May 6, 2023

Federer was in the spotlight earlier in the week when he returned to the Met Gala. The Swiss star was joined at the event by tennis players including Serena Williams, Matteo Berrettini and Andy Roddick.

Andy Murray overcame a slow start and World No. 17 Tommy Paul to triumph Sunday at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence.

In front of a packed stadium in southern France, the Scot found consistency from the baseline to rally to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory against top seed Paul at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole.

“This last year, 18 months has been a bit of struggle with my game. But [my team] have been there supporting me and working with me to try and get better,” Murray said during the trophy presentation. “We keep going from here.”

^{Sunday’s final between Andy Murray and Tommy Paul filled the stands in Aix-en-Provence. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour}

Murray earned his third Top-20 win of the season Sunday by defeating the World No. 17 Paul en route to capturing his third Challenger title and first since the Binghamton Challenger in 2005.

“The most important part of this week [was] the fans who came out to support,” Murray said. “The atmosphere from the very first match right to the end was incredible. It’s so important for these tournaments to have the support of the local community and you guys came out even before the tournament started.

“[During] the practice sessions, you were out here watching and supporting. It means a lot to the players, but it’s so important to this event as well.”

A three-time major champion, Murray’s victory in Aix-en-Provence is his first clay-court title at any level since winning the Rome ATP Masters 1000 event in 2016. Sunday’s triumph is Murray’s first title of any kind since claiming the ATP 250 event in Antwerp in 2019. Murray climbed to No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings thanks to his efforts in France. 

The former World No. 1 won 68 per cent of his second-serve points compared to 47 per cent for Paul. Murray earned nine break points in the match, converting four of them to triumph after one hour and 55 minutes.

Watch Full Match Replay