“Basically, every kid wants to win over here, and you have absolute battles.”

Alex de Minaur is in no doubt about the impact his partial upbringing in Spain had on his tennis. The 24-year-old Australian’s renowned competitive spirit was first harnessed on the clay-courts of Alicante.

“I think I learnt how to win matches from a young age here in Spain,” De Minaur told ATPTour.com this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. “You play on the clay, you can play matches for three or four hours as a little kid, and whether [your opponent] is moonballing or anything, you’ve got to find a way to win.”

De Minaur credits those early developmental days in Spain for his ability to disarm more powerful opponents with his relentless chasing and variety of shots. Born in Sydney to a Uruguayan father and Spanish mother, De Minaur’s childhood featured two different homes, two different sets of friends, but also two contrasting styles of tennis.

“From a young age, I wasn’t the biggest or the strongest guy, so that allowed me to think outside the box and how to find different ways that I could win tennis matches,” said De Minaur, who spent time in both Australia and Spain throughout his childhood. “That developed a lot of different shots in my game. The drop shot, coming to the net, all these kinds of things.

“In Australia, when I went there, I was able to learn more structure, more work ethic… My move over there was at a time in my life when things became a little bit more serious, so that meant more hours on court, in the gym. It’s always been a healthy balance between the two cultures.”

It is not just on the court where his dual upbringing has helped De Minaur cope with the demands of the ATP Tour. His fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios has spoken about the challenge of spending much of the year far from his homeland. That is less of a problem for De Minaur, who has Alicante as a semi-permanent European base.

“It’s definitely a gamechanger,” said the Australian. “It’s extremely tough on all my fellow Aussie teammates that normally spend nine, 10, 11 months abroad, and barely get to go back home because it’s so far away.

“I’m a bit more fortunate in that sense, I’m able to have a base in Europe where, especially throughout this time of the year, I can go back to it and it’s kind of a home away from home.”

Alicante’s close proximity to Barcelona also makes the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell feel almost like a home tournament for De Minaur. He reached the third round on event debut in 2021 and his 2022 semi-final run was only ended by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard had fended off two match points.

“I think it’s a beautiful venue. I’ve played a couple of years now, and I had a very good run last year,” said De Minaur. “Obviously, it’s closer to home, where the family is and friends, so it’s often a week that I get to see my friends come along. It’s always good to see them.

“It’s a place that I always look forward to. It’s one of the better venues on Tour. It’s a nice old club with a lot of history, and as a player you can cherish that sort of thing when you’re away for a long time in the year.”

De Minaur begins his 2023 Barcelona campaign on Wednesday against Alexander Shevchenko. Once he steps on to Pista Andres Gimeno, the Australian will try to channel the positive vibes he still feels from winning the biggest title of his career in February in Acapulco.

“It gives a lot of confidence,” said De Minaur, who beat Holger Rune and Tommy Paul en route to the ATP 500 crown in Mexico. “Not everyone can say they’re a 500 winner, so it’s a pretty good feeling to have.

“Now it’s about keeping the momentum going, trying to win a lot of matches, staying tough. Making your opponents beat you and keeping that same mentality and mindset that I had there in Acapulco.”

Dominic Thiem advanced to the second round of the BMW Open by American Express on Tuesday in Munich. The former World No. 3 led Constant Lestienne 6-3 and was serving at Ad/40 in the first game of the second set when the Frenchman retired.

“It was a surprising end, not the way I wanted,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “But it’s okay and on to the next one.”

The Austrian is making his first appearance in Munich since 2016, when he reached the final. Thiem is happy to be back at the ATP 250, where he is pursuing his first title since the 2020 US Open.

“Of course I love to play here. The memory of snow in the first round, the break because of heavy snowfall is very funny. I’ll have it in my head forever, so I really like to remember that and also the week in 2016 was great,” Thiem said. “Just a little bit sad when Philipp Kohlschreiber went by with the winner’s car. It was tough, but obviously I love to play here and very happy to be in the second round.”

Thiem will next play Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler, who battled past Briton Kyle Edmund 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3.

Another Swiss, qualifier Alexander Ritschard, eliminated in-form German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-5. It was the second tour-level victory of the season for Switzerland United Cup team member Ritschard, who nearly had his right arm amputated when he was 22.

In other action, Hungarian Marton Fucsovics rallied past German wild card Max Hans Rehberg 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3. A home favourite reached the second round when Oscar Otte defeated Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-3, 7-5.

Carlos Alcaraz showed scant sign of feeling home pressure on Tuesday in his opening match at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where the World No. 2 raced past Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-1 at the ATP 500.

The 19-year-old is bidding to successfully defend a tour-level title for the first time this week in Catalunya and took a confident first step towards that goal with a hard-hitting display against the No. 79-ranked Borges. Alcaraz was sharp on return off both wings throughout the 63-minute encounter and converted five of seven break points to improve to 19-2 for the season.

“I feel great. Playing here in Barcelona, [my] first match on clay since Rio [in February],” said Alcaraz. “I feel great. Moving well, hitting the ball really well so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona. It’s a really special place for me.”

Prior to their match, Borges had spoken about being impressed by the 16-year-old Alcaraz’s ‘huge hitting’ at a tournament in Spain three years ago. He was soon reacquainted with Alcaraz’s clean ballstriking on Pista Rafa Nadal, where the home favourite quickly opened a 5-1 lead.

Alcaraz had not competed since Miami in March after missing last week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters due to post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in the spine. There were some signs of rustiness from the Spaniard, and uncharacteristic unforced errors helped Borges reclaim a break in the eighth game. That was as good as it got for the 26-year-old, however. Alcaraz dropped just one more game in the match to improve to 6-1 at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.

The top seed, who has lifted titles in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells already this year, faces fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round in Catalunya. The 13th seed beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 for the right to take on the defending champion.

Another Spaniard, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, also progressed to the third round on Tuesday. The 10th seed downed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3 to claim his first main-draw win in Barcelona at the third attempt. Davidovich Fokina next faces Emil Ruusuvuori, who rallied from 0-3 in the final set to upset fifth seed Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4.

Feliciano Lopez, making his 22nd and final appearance in Barcelona before he retires this year, battled hard but ultimately fell to David Goffin on Pista Rafa Nadal. The Belgian prevailed 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-0, and will next take on 16th seed Yoshihito Nishioka.

Dusan Lajovic won a battle of Serbians on Tuesday in Banja Luka, where he defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Srpska Open.

Lajovic has now won all three of the pair’s clay-court ATP Head2Head meetings and leads their series 3-2. The World No. 70 converted five of his nine break points to triumph after two hours and 14 minutes.

Another Serbian advanced when Laslo Djere eliminated Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2. The 27-year-old has enjoyed success on clay before, having lifted an ATP 500 trophy in Rio de Janeiro in 2019.

Former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet earned his place in the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 17-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. The 36-year-old claimed his 14th ATP Tour crown earlier this year in Auckland.

In an all-qualifier clash, 19-year-old Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh defeated Swede Elias Ymer 6-1, 7-5 for his first ATP Tour win. The teen will next try to upset fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic.

Radu Albot earned his 100th tour-level win. The Moldovan led Federico Coria 6-4 when the Argentine retired.

Fourteen-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, two-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz headline the Roland Garros entry list, which was released Tuesday.

Nadal will try to extend his slew of records at the clay-court major, where the Spaniard has tallied a 112-3 record. The lefty claimed his 14th Coupe des Mousquetaires last year, when he defeated four Top 10 players en route to the championship.

Djokovic, currently the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, triumphed on the Parisian clay in 2016 and 2021. The Serbian is 85-16 at the tournament.

Alcaraz will pursue his second major title in his third main draw appearance at Roland Garros. The Spaniard made his deepest run at the event last year, when he advanced to the quarter-finals.

Casper Ruud, last year’s finalist, will try to go one step further this year with other players including 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka trying to make their mark.

The current cut for the field is World No. 98 Alexander Shevchenko. Two-time finalist and former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem is the third alternate. Former Top 10 star Fabio Fognini is the fifth alternate.

Wild cards are still to be announced.

Casper Ruud kick-started his 2023 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell campaign with a successful revenge mission on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Norwegian held off #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton 6-2, 7-6(1) to book a quarter-final spot at the ATP 500 in Catalunya. Despite Shelton recovering a 3-5 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break, Ruud reasserted his dominance in time to wrap a 70-minute second-round triumph against the 20-year-old lefty.

“He was playing great, and I think I was playing great,” said Ruud. “I played a perfect first set and he was making maybe a few too many mistakes… But I think all throughout the second set was tough games, tough rallies.

“It can be difficult. In the first set you feel like you get a lot of free points, and so on, but then suddenly he starts playing almost like a wall and playing really good from on defence. It’s tough when someone changes in the middle of the match, but I’m very happy that I was able to stay calm and play a very good tie-break.”

With the win, the World No. 3 levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Shelton at 1-1. Last August, the then-No. 229-ranked Shelton upset Ruud in straight sets at the Western & Southern Open. A repeat result on the Barcelona clay appeared unlikely early as Ruud charged to the first set behind some big serving and his powerful forehand, which pulled his opponent around the court to great effect.

Despite Shelton’s second-set comeback, Ruud’s greater experience on clay ultimately showed at key moments on Pista Rafa Nadal. The 24-year-old, a nine-time tour-level titlist on clay, saved four of five break points he faced against a player who was competing on red clay for just the fifth time in his life.

“Obviously I wanted my revenge,” said Ruud when asked about whether his Cincinnati defeat had given him extra motivation. “Different surface, different continent, different tournament… I felt like I had a little bit more time here to build the points on clay, which is normal.

“It was in the back of my mind. I think Cincinnati last year was a breakout tournament for Ben, where things started going so well for him. Obviously, this year as well [at the Australian Open], where he made the quarter-finals, so he’s had an unbelievable progression in a short period of time… I had to be on top of my game and tried to feel more at home than him somehow on the red clay.”

Ruud advances to a quarter-final against 15th seed Francisco Cerundolo or Francesco Passaro in Catalunya. The Norwegian, who also reached the last eight in Barcelona in 2022, is hoping to build on the title he won in Estoril earlier this month after a modest start to the year.

Also on Tuesday, Diego Schwartzman delivered a commanding opening performance at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. The Argentine dispatched Wu Yibing 6-2, 6-2 to set a second-round showdown against fourth seed Jannik Sinner.

Schwartzman will hope his 79-minute win, during which he converted five of 11 break points against the fast-rising Chinese star Wu, can be the catalyst for further improved results in 2023. The 30-year-old Argentine is now 5-10 for the year and he knows how to win matches in Barcelona: Schwartzman reached the quarter-finals in 2021 and the semi-finals a year ago.

ATP Coach member Philip Farmer is enjoying a special moment in his career. One of his players, Austin Krajicek, partnered Ivan Dodig to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title and is now No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. It has been a satisfying run of success, as the pair qualified for last year’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

But that is not all that Farmer has on his plate. He also coaches John Isner and doubles player Hans Hach Verdugo. The trio have formed a team based out of Dallas, Texas.

ATPTour.com spoke to Farmer about how he balances coaching three players, the crazy behind-the-scenes story of the week his son was born and what makes Isner’s serve special.

How do you balance figuring out what you need to work on with both singles and doubles players?
I’ve been coaching on Tour since 1997, and so you understand that every player is wired differently. They grew up in different cultures, different backgrounds, different coaching styles, and obviously [have] different games. So you just learn to adapt, you learn to be flexible, you try to look through their lens as well to understand what they’re going through.

Besides motivating and coaching and helping, I also try to be a really good listener, and understand what they’re going through and what needs they have. And for each one it’s different. John’s about to have his fourth child under the age of five. Austin just got married over a year ago and doesn’t have kids and Hans doesn’t have kids [and] is not married yet. So there are three kinds of really different home situations that require different attention and time and things like that.

So as a coach, you’re just trying to help manage the player’s life and make it easy for them to just go out and compete and play with as little stress as possible. Just try to be open-minded, try to think outside the box and be a good listener.

Read More Coaches’ Corner Features 

Where you have two of your guys at some tournaments — and you’ve had three at the same event — what is a day in your life like?
Busy, nonstop. It’s really important to have good communication with all the guys. So we’ll have individual chats, we’ll have group chats. It helps that I have amazing guys that are flexible, and understand that there’s a team involved, even though it’s primarily an individual sport. So that helps to have three flexible guys that understand the team concept.

We just try to make sure we communicate and [know] who’s playing, who needs the priority at that time, where the warmups are, and then try to just make sure you communicate with the ATP and also the tournament referees. They do a great job of saying if you have multiple players, you let them know before the tournament starts, they put it in a little database and it helps at least try to keep their matches staggered, so that you can watch all the matches.

What was it like in Turin last year when Austin qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals with Ivan Dodig and you got to coach there?
It was surreal, it was a dream come true, because last time I had gone to the World Finals was with the Bryan Brothers in 2003 and 2004. They won both of those as well back-to-back and those were in Houston. So to go back 20 years later with Austin and Ivan was really, really special, and especially how they did it. We literally had to win everything… It was really special to have Austin qualify to get back there for me 20 years later. And then for me to to bring my wife, who was pregnant with our son, she was able to fly to Turin and experience it. So it was very, very special.

During this year’s Dallas Open your son Finn was born. What was that whole experience like?
It’s just been a crazy, crazy year… I just really had John there [in Dallas]. But Nataliya ended up going into labor the Monday the tournament started, so baby Finn was born. And then the next day John was the night match and Finn was barely a day old. She was holding him in the hospital room and it was about 6:30 at night. John was going to be around playing around 9, 9:30.

She just looked at me and she goes, ‘Go’, and I was like, ‘What?’ And she’s like, ‘Go do your thing. Go be with John and help him win this tournament and win this match tonight.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?’ And she’s like, ‘I’ve got it. My parents are here. I’m good. I want you to be with him. I want you to help him.’

And so I literally showered in the hospital room. I had my tennis bag there. I got in the car, drove to the match got there just in time right before he was going on. He even looked shocked. ‘What are you doing here?’ And I said, ‘Hey, man, my wife wanted me to be here with you.’ And he thought that was really, really cool, really special. Obviously, he was blown away at how amazing my wife is and she understands this career and the passion and the work behind it and wanted me to be there for John for the hometown tournament.

It was an unbelievable run, getting to the final, epic match, match points and played a guy [Wu Yibing] who was extremely hot all week and just came up a couple inches short and almost got the hometown title. But I was really proud of his effort, proud of my wife, for her strength and allowing me to be there for that experience.

What can you say about John’s serve that people maybe don’t realise? People know how great it is, but what is something that you see as his coach that people might not understand?
I think it’s deceiving because of his height. And obviously, there are advantages to that. But just because you’re tall doesn’t mean that you can hit your spots, that you can hit those spots and hit those aces and second-serve unreturnables under pressure. So I would say he’s got the best serve in history, in my opinion, first and second serve.

I think it’s one of the smoothest, most efficient motions, which allows him to go after it, and allows him to be brave and very accurate in big moments and under pressure. It’s not simple as in the simple, easy, but it’s a simplified motion that’s very, very fluid with a lot of rhythm to it. And it’s just a beautiful thing to watch. It’s almost peaceful and graceful to watch.

I think that’s why he gets such a big fanbase because of the world-class player he has been and sustained over his career… He’s an unbelievable ambassador for tennis and so professional for our game and gives back and he’s just a great sportsman and a great person for our game. But the fans also come out, because they want to see that big serve. They want to see how many aces, they want to see what the speed is. And it’s beautiful to watch. It’s just very smooth. It’s like watching the ocean, it’s fluid and it’s really smooth and he’s able to just hit those spots under pressure, which is not easy. I don’t care how tall you are.

Editor’s note: This story was first published on ATPTour.com/es

Pablo, Carlos and Álex are scampering around their father’s feet. The youngest of the family, Gabriela, is curled up in her mother’s arms. Her husband, Pablo Andújar, is trying not to let the moment get to him, wiping away the tears during an emotional goodbye at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he has just hit some of the last shots of his career.

The Spaniard is still not completely sure if he said his final farewell to the ATP Tour on Monday 17 April, with 405 matches under his belt. However, his uncertainty about receiving wildcards before the season is out meant he was sure to savour every moment of his encounter with Tomás Martín Etcheverry as if it were his last, even though he lost 6-2, 7-5.

“I’ve been coming here since I was little with my tennis club to see the only professional tournament we had near us,” the finalist in Barcelona in 2015 told the crowd. “To me, it’s a dream that the same tournament is paying tribute to me today. I’ve played here 11 times. To me that’s incredible. I can only say thank you, a thousand thank yous, for having invited me and given me this opportunity.”

Andújar claimed four ATP Tour titles; in Casablanca in 2011 and 2012, Gstaad in 2014, and Marrakech in 2018. He reached a further five finals and peaked at No. 32 in the
Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I’m leaving very happy. I’m empty, I have nothing more to give,” admitted the Cuenca native who now calls Valencia home. “Since last year, my head has been saying ‘stop’, I had other priorities. Above all, when I came back from the injury [in 2018], I made a huge effort and I felt it. I’m quite old, despite the fact that I have older colleagues and they are still playing at a great level. I didn’t think I’d be playing great tennis at 37.”

This is what has led him to hang up his racquet this season. As well as at his last ATP Tour match, he will be saying goodbye at home, in the ATP Challenger Tour event that takes place in Valencia in November.

“Honestly, I want to play my last match at the ATP Challenger in Valencia. That will be the real goodbye,” he announced. “I don’t have a high ranking on the tour, any invitations would be welcome, I’ll keep training, but I now have different priorities. If this is my last match, I’d happily accept it. If they were to give me an invite, it’ll be in places where I’ve had memorable experiences, and Barcelona is one of those places.”

One of those memorable moments came not too long ago in Geneva. It was in the last sixteen in Geneva in 2021, when he faced Roger Federer for the first time. Not only was it a chance to be on the opposite side of the net to the Swiss legend, he also ended up winning the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

“Choosing one match is very difficult, but the one with Federer is undoubtedly a huge moment in my career,” said the Spaniard looking back. “Above all, because it was towards the end and I’d never played against him. If playing against him was a dream, then beating him was a double dream.”

Whatever happens, having wiped away the tears, Andújar will leave Barcelona smiling from ear to ear. On the Rafa Nadal Court, certainly enjoyed the support of the fans.

“There was a tremendous connection with the crowd, there were points when I hit good shots and even I was smiling. I won’t forget that connection with the fans, which I will never have again. It’s another phase of my life and I’m happy about it and I know that I’ve given my all,” he explained.

This new phase of his life will still include ties with the ATP. While he was already a member of the ATP Player Advisory Council in 2021 and 2022, this year he became one of four player representatives on an expanded ATP Board.

“The opportunity came up, this new position in the ATP, and when I spoke to my family about it we thought that we needed the kind of player who had ties in the locker room and was close to the players on the Board,” he said of his new role.

“I did a presentation, I think I had very clear ideas about what I want and where I think we can improve and the project went ahead. I’m very happy. My idea is for the group of players outside the Top 100 to make a slightly better living and grow the ATP so that all of us are more content,” he ended having just taken some of his final steps as a professional tennis player.

Novak Djokovic was clear that he wanted to quickly move on from his third-round defeat at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last week against Lorenzo Musetti. The World No. 1 will have his chance to do so in Banja Luka.

The Serbian superstar is the top seed this week at the Srpska Open. Djokovic explained Monday in a press conference that he has enjoyed the atmosphere in Bosnia & Herzegovina since he first visited the country more than a decade ago.

“It feels great to be here. I’ve been to Banja Luka several times in the past, once to visit the president and to receive a medal of honor and then the second time was in 2009, I played with Viktor Troicki an exhibition match in an indoor facility here,” Djokovic said. “So I remember those couple of visits really fondly.”

At practice Monday it was clear how thrilled the local fans were to simply get a look at Djokovic. There was a big crowd of fans behind barricades to watch the Serbian prepare for the ATP 250.

“The people welcome me wholeheartedly with great reception and so much love and support,” Djokovic said. “So I’m super excited to be here because I think it’s one of the best places for us Serbian tennis players and athletes in general to be able to perform where we have so much love and support from local people.”

Despite his loss to Musetti, Djokovic has still enjoyed a good start to the season. The 25-year-old is 16-2 in 2023, including titles in Adelaide and at the Australian Open.

Djokovic, a 93-time tour-level titlist, will reach 1,050 tour-level match wins this week if he advances to the final. Only four other men in the Open Era have made that milestone: Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,251), Rafael Nadal (1,068) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).

Djokovic will begin his tournament in Banja Luka against #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche, who battled past World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Monday.