World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Mutua Madrid Open, the tournament announced Saturday on Twitter.

“@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN,” the event tweeted. “Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole.”

🇷🇸 @DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN

Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole 😘 pic.twitter.com/M44rUvnrH1

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 22, 2023

Djokovic is a three-time champion in Madrid, where he has earned a 30-9 record. Last year at the Caja Magic he reached the semi-finals, in which he fell in a final-set tie-break to Carlos Alcaraz.

The Serbian is 17-3 in 2023, including title runs in Adelaide and at the Australian Open, where he claimed his record-tying 22nd major crown. Djokovic this week competed in Banja Luka, where he lost in the semi-finals to countryman Dusan Lajovic.

Andy Murray has reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, won three major titles and lifted 46 tour-level trophies overall. But ‘Coach of daughter Edie’ is staying off the resume for the time being.

Murray, the father of four children, has often spoken about how important his children are to him. But according to his Instagram Stories, it sounds like one of his daughters believes he needs to improve his level of tennis coaching.

“Dear daddy I am not going to play tennis for a while lots of love Edie,” Edie wrote in a note to him.

Murray has taken the feedback in stride by posting about it.

“My first venture into the coaching world has ended in disgrace,” Murray wrote on his Instagram Story. “5 year old daughter has quit telling me I don’t want to play anymore.. you stand too close to me.”

Perhaps Murray will consult coach Ivan Lendl for advice. For now, the 35-year-old will turn his attention to the Mutua Madrid Open.

Murray is a two-time champion at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event, which begins on 26 April. He owns a 29-9 record at the tournament.

A warm welcome for our two-time champion @andy_murray! 👋🏻

The 🇬🇧 is the first player in the Manolo Santana Stadium at this year’s #MMOPEN.

Welcome Andy! pic.twitter.com/eEqYtZvgYn

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 21, 2023

Top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz continued their smooth progress at the BMW Open by American Express on Friday with a 7-5, 6-4 win against fellow Gemans Oscar Otte and Jan-Lennard Struff. It was a second win against countrymen in as many days for Krawietz/Puetz, who opened their Munich campaign with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Yannick Hanfmann and Daniel Masur on Thursday at the ATP 250.

While both teams created eight break points in the quarter-finals, the top seeds converted three times while losing serve just once to advance to the last four on home soil. They will next face Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald, who beat Christopher O’Connell and Albano Olivetti on Thursday.

Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler also advanced on Friday in Munich with a 6-4, 6-7(7), 10-7 win against Quentin Halys and David Pel. They will meet Indians Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni in Saturday’s semis.

Koolhof/Skupski Survive In Barcelona QFs

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski navigated a Match Tie-break at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to edge Nicolas Mahut and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Friday’s quarter-finals. The top seeds earned a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory, saving eight of nine break points to advance at the clay-court ATP 500.

The Dutch-British duo will face Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in Saturday’s semi-finals after the Indian-Australian team scored a 6-2, 6-4 win against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Banja Luka Final Set

Francisco Cabral and Aleksandr Nedovyesov upset second-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 10-8 to advance to the final at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka on Friday, preventing a championship showdown between the top two seeds at the ATP 250.

Top seeds Michael Venus and Jamie Murray reached the title match with a 6-3, 7-6(1), win against Andrey Golubev and Denys Molchanov.

Despite winning just four games across their previous two meetings, the 32-year-old Lajovic earned a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory after fending off 15 of 16 break points faced to advance. Lajovic saved three set points in the second-set tie-break.

“I’m overwhelmed, it is the biggest win of my career,” Lajovic said in his on-court interview. “The emotions are very mixed because I’m playing here in front of the home town and I’m also playing against Nole who is a good friend and he’s a hero of our country. Beating him, it’s something that I didn’t even think is going to be possible, but it happened.”

Lajovic stayed aggressive, sometimes serve-and-volleying to put Djokovic under pressure, and moved the 22-time major champion to all corners of the court to earn his third career victory against a Top-5 player.

After Lajovic failed to convert three break points at 4-4, 0/40 in the second set, Djokovic rallied to later force a tie-break, where he raced to a 6/3 lead. But Lajovic held his nerve to win five straight points, including a dramatic 15-ball rally at 7/6, to secure a two-hour, 29-minute victory.

“His percentage of the first serve was not the greatest,” Lajovic said. “So I was able to use that to my advantage. But overall I think it was very good tennis from my side.”

Lajovic will meet another Serbian in the last four when he meets Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeat Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-0 behind seven breaks of the Czech’s serve. 

Lajovic plays his best tennis on clay. In 2019, he rose to a career-high No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings shortly after a runner-up finish at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. Fognini), where he became the lowest-ranked finalist (No. 48) at the event since No. 53 Hicham Arazi in 2001. Lajovic earned his first Top-5 victory en route to the final, defeating Dominic Thiem in the round of 16.

A few months after his Monte-Carlo run, Lajovic earned his lone tour-level title at the ATP 250 event in Umag.

Djokovic suffered his third loss this season and first to a fellow Serbian since Janko Tipsarevic defeated him at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid in May 2012. Djokovic praised his friend following the defeat.

“Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy,” Djokovic said. “Someone I’ve known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I’m happy for him, to be honest. I know this is an important win for him considering the last 12 months that he’s been through, it’s not been easy for him. He’s playing well and he deserved to win today.”

The 93-time tour-level titlist Djokovic will next be in action at the Mutua Madrid Open, which runs from 26 April-7 May.

For the second straight day at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Carlos Alcaraz shook off a stern test from a fellow Spaniard to advance in straight sets at the clay-court ATP 500. After beating Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday, the 19-year-old edged Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to return to the semi-finals on home soil.

“It was really tough for me,” Alcaraz assessed. “I started playing pretty well, serving for the first set. I was not able to win [that game]… I was going really fast, a lot of things on my mind. [After the first set] I was talking to myself, positive things, trying to play long rallies, trying to [be there] through the points, trying to feel more comfortable with myself.”

Alcaraz has not lost a set in four Barcelona matches against his countrymen, including a win against Pablo Carreno Busta in last year’s final. He is now 9-1 against Spanish opposition since the start of 2022 and 8-1 overall at the ATP 500 event, his lone defeat coming to Frances Tiafoe in his 2021 debut.

With two more wins, Alcaraz would become Barceiona’s first repeat champion since Rafael Nadal won three straight titles from 2016-18. He will face Daniel Evans or Francisco Cerundolo in Saturday’s semi-finals.

While he did not produce his best tennis consistently in the chilly and windy conditions, Alcaraz managed the big moments well after losing the lead in both sets. While his level ebbed and flowed, he relied on his trusty drop shot at several key points and willed his way to victory at the end of each set.

Davidovich Fokina fought power with power and troubled Alcaraz throughout the two-hour, 10-minute match. He was two points away from winning the opening set on four occasions, but he never saw a set point after letting an early lead slip in the tie-break.

The pair split 22 break points in the match, with Alcaraz converting on four to his opponent’s three. Alcaraz saved six of those break points to hold for 2-1 in the second set and capitalised with a break in the ensuing game, only to see Davidovich Fokina snatch it back with the shot of the match — a wicked drop volley that bounced back onto his side of the net, drawing a smile from Alcaraz.

“The hot shot is from him today,” said Alcaraz, who produced a shot-of-the-tournament contender of his own against Bautista Agut on Thursday. “He played really well, great shots. Probably not only the one hot shot. He made a lot of them, probably more than me. It was a really fun match.”

Alcaraz sealed victory with a break of serve in the match’s final game and will now wait for the result of Barcelona’s Friday nightcap between Evans and Cerundolo to find out his next opponent.

Holger Rune continued his love affair with the BMW Open by American Express on Friday when he moved past Chilean Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Munich.

The 19-year-old, currently at a career-high No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, lifted his maiden tour-level title at the ATP 250 event last year and moved to within two wins of matching that feat this week with a dominant display against Garin.

The Dane demonstrated his all-court game in front of the German fans. He hammered his groundstrokes, used the drop shot effectively and closed the net sharply to earn his 19th win of the season after one hour and 31 minutes.

“Today was tricky, especially in the second set,” Rune said. “There were some nerves as you might have seen, but it was good. I am very happy with the win. I have played a lot of matches, so the body is maybe not ideal. But I love this place and I love to play on this court in front of a nice crowd.”

Rune has made a strong start to his clay season, having reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo last week. Rune, who leads Garin 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, is seeking his fourth tour-level trophy in Munich.

The second seed now holds a 7-0 record in Munich and will next meet Christopher O’Connell. The Australian upset Alexander Zverev earlier this week and backed that up by defeating #NextGenATP Italian Flavio Cobolli 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to his second tour-level semi-final.

Earlier, Dominic Thiem advanced to his second quarter-final of the season when he clawed past eighth-seeded Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

After play was suspended midway through the second set on Thursday evening, Thiem returned on Friday and came out firing. The former World No. 3 broke Huesler three times across the second and third sets to advance after two hours and 38 minutes.

Thiem was unable to overcome Taylor Fritz in his second match later on Friday, though.

The American produced a dominant performance, moving past the Austrian 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals. The World No. 10 will meet Botic van de Zandschulp after the Dutchman defeated Marcos Giron 7-6(5), 6-3.

Fritz, who is making his debut in Munich, holds a 25-7 record on the season. He lifted his fifth tour-level trophy in Delray Beach in February before he advanced to the last four in Monte-Carlo last week.

Andrey Rublev maintained his perfect start to the clay-court swing on Friday when he defeated Bosnian wild card Damir Dzumhur 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals at the Srpska Open.

The second seed lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo last week and has continued to play aggressive, front-foot tennis in Banja Luka.

Rublev, who dispatched Juan Pablo Varillas in his opening match, overcame a tough test from home favourite Dzumhur, who was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final of the year. He railed from 2-5 in the first set, saving one set point at 4-5, before he fended off all four break points he faced in the second set to earn his seventh consecutive win after one hour and 52 minutes.

“We have always had tough battles and today was the same,” Rublev said. “I was losing 2-5 and I was able to come back. It was a tough match. A lot of long games and a lot of long rallies but in the end I was able to win and that is the most important thing.”

With his 20th win of the season, Rublev improved to 5-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Dzumhur. Seeking his 14th tour-level title and fifth on clay, the World No. 6 will next face Alex Molcan.

The Slovakian Molcan defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to reach his first tour-level semi-final of the season. The 25-year-old is up 16 spots to No. 57 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

A rising teen on the ATP Challenger Tour, Shintaro Mochizuki has occasionally leaned on Japanese icon Kei Nishikori for advice. But Mochizuki’s quest for knowledge doesn’t just come from fellow tennis players.

The 19-year-old looks up to Japanese baseball stars, notably Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani and San Diego Padres’ Yu Darvish. Mochizuki researches their off-field routine and tries to implement pieces of it into his training plan.

“I watch a lot of baseball,” Mochizuki told ATPTour.com. “I watched the World Baseball Classic last month. I watched most of Japan’s games, they have some great players. There are several Japanese players playing in the MLB, so I watch them a lot.

“Especially Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish, they’re my favourite. I’ve never met them, but I think they’re super strict with nutrition, fitness, everything they do is amazing. I think that’s why they’re playing at that level. I learn a lot of things from baseball players. Those guys always have a purpose to work, to practise, to go to the gym, to sleep, also their recovery is very important.

“Those are the things that I always want to know about what they do after a game, before a game, and their routine. I try to find them on the internet. If I get a chance, I want to meet them and I want to ask them a lot of questions.”

The last month has been one to remember for Mochizuki. Japan defeated the United States 3-2 to win the World Baseball Classic in Miami and Ohtani was named Most Valuable Player. Nearly three weeks later, #NextGenATP star Mochizuki earned his maiden Challenger title in Barletta, Italy.

Shintaro Mochizuki triumphs at the Barletta Challenger. Credit: Open Citta della Disfida.

Mochizuki became the third Japanese teenager to win a Challenger title, joining Nishikori (Bermuda 2008) and Yoshihito Nishioka (Shanghai 2014). Coached by former World No. 42 Davide Sanguinetti, the Kawasaki native dropped just one set all week at the Barletta Challenger to rise to a career-high No. 216 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I didn’t expect it actually,” Mochizuki said. “My best Challenger result was three quarter-finals. It was a surprise to me, I know I could beat those guys but winning a tournament is different. You have to win five, six matches in a row, which is really difficult. I believed I could do it, but after I won, it was a surprise.”

A former junior No. 1, Mochizuki completed a dream run at Wimbledon in 2019, when he became the first Japanese male player in history to win a major boys’ singles title. His reaction to lifting the junior crown at the All England Club was something he considers a ‘pinch-me’ moment.

“Winning Wimbledon juniors was my first year playing Grand Slam juniors, I didn’t know anything about the level,” Mochizuki said. “I didn’t feel anything after I won it, it was a weird feeling. It was awkward like, ‘Am I winning a junior Grand Slam?’ I was already hoping to become a professional player but that made me feel even more like I want to be a great player.”

Among those to congratulate Mochizuki on his biggest career title was former World No. 4 Nishikori, whom he built a relationship with when they shared a training base at IMG Academy for several years.

“I got to know Kei when I moved to Florida at 12 or 13,” Mochizuki said. “He was already like Top 10 when I first met him. I didn’t know anything about professional tennis, so I was like, ‘Maybe I can beat this guy!’ Now I feel like what he’s achieved is incredible, it’s super difficult.

“I don’t want to say that I can’t do it but being Top 5, Top 10 for so many years is unreal. I want to be like that. I want to do as good as he did in the past years. I don’t know if it’s going to happen but I’m going to do whatever I can, work super hard to become like those players.

“When I see Kei, he’s always nice and talks to me. There’s so many things that I don’t know and he has experience, so when there’s something I want to know, when I see him I always ask. He’s always super nice to give me advice.”