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.

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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.

Swiss Alexander Ritschard is not only lucky to be playing tennis, but also fortunate to have his right arm, which was almost amputated when he was 22.

Following a career-best season on the ATP Challenger Tour, the 29-year-old is set to compete in his second tour-level event of the year at this week’s ATP 250 event in Munich, where he advanced through qualifying and will meet Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round.

Eight years ago, everything wasn’t so smooth for Ritschard. While studying studio arts and enjoying a standout collegiate career at the University of Virginia, professional tennis didn’t seem likely as Ritschard dealt with a scary situation.

“I was in the gym, working out, and I felt a sting in my shoulder,” Ritschard told broadcaster Chris Bowers on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast in October. “I was like, ‘Maybe I pulled a muscle.’ It turned out to be this huge deal where my artery clogged up and [there was] no more blood flow to my arm. It was just a big, crazy couple months.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to play [tennis] because I have a stent in the main artery to keep it open so that the blood flows through. I couldn’t train more than 90 minutes after the surgery so I was like, ‘I don’t think I can go professional with only training 90 minutes at a time.’”

What initially didn’t seem like a major problem, turned out to be an issue that almost saw the Zurich native lose his arm. With no prior signs of injury outside of not being able to properly stretch his right arm over his head, Ritschard carried on with life as usual until the freak incident.

How close was Ritschard to having his right arm amputated?

“I can only go by what they told me, they said they had to make a decision within the next five minutes and it wasn’t opening,” Ritschard said. “I guess I got lucky, it opened, and blood started flowing again. That was the first operation where they made sure just to open up the artery.

Alexander Ritschard at the 2022 Hamburg Challenger, where he was crowned champion. Credit: Witters Sportfotografie

“I had a total of three [operations]. One just to get the artery open, the second one to remove the problem, which was the rib that was too tight and then my lungs just filled with blood and I had to pump the blood out.”

While Ritschard was recovering, he was forced to limit his training, which put doubts in his mind as he contemplated professional tennis. The Swiss helped the University of Virginia win three straight NCAA team titles (2015-17) and with Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, they set a single-season school record for doubles winning percentage, boasting a 25-1 record in 2017. Giving up his talent wouldn’t have been easy.

“I was thinking about quitting right after college,” Ritschard said. “I was telling my parents, ‘I can’t do more than 90 minutes, it doesn’t make sense.’ But then I stuck to it. I felt like I invested my whole life into this and it would be too quick to give up. And here we are.”

Last season, Ritschard enjoyed a professional breakthrough. He won his first Challenger Tour title in Hamburg, advanced through qualifying at Wimbledon and the US Open, and earned his maiden Davis Cup win in September.

Ritschard drew tough first-round opponents in his Grand Slam appearances, facing Stefanos Tsitsipas at the All England Club and Felix Auger-Aliassime at Flushing Meadows. Ritschard took a set off both Top-10 players.

Alexander Ritschard made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at Wimbledon in 2022. Credit: Adrian Dennis/Getty Images

The World No. 209 Ritschard stated that he’s recently begun to treat his job more professionally with help from his coach, Juan Ramirez, who has instilled a new life perspective in him that has produced on-court results.

“He’s really helped me off the court as well,” Ritschard told ATPTour.com. “Nothing too crazy, just help keep some things in perspective and get me motivated. I bought into a process mindset that he introduced and a work ethic he introduced. I was always a very impatient person and he taught me how to think more process oriented and more long term.

“Also he just helped me organise my life outside the court and that would then help me on the court. I feel like I’ve only really started doing things right and professionally about two years ago. I feel like I wasted time, if I’m honest.”

If the arm injury had spoiled Ritschard’s professional tennis career, perhaps he would be in the music production business or working as a disc jockey, a hobby he picked up while recovering in 2015.

“I couldn’t play tennis so I put myself together with a friend of mine in college who liked to DJ,” Ritschard said. “Started getting into music and just DJ’ing all year. We actually got pretty big, it was pretty funny. We started playing festivals, night clubs, and stuff. I ended up enjoying it.

“I like DJ’ing more as a hobby, but I really enjoy music production. It’s mainly electronic, dance music. Sometimes hype or techno. I kind of really fell down the rabbit hole there when I was recovering.”

Still early in his young career, Alexander Shevchenko may never forget this week on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 22-year-old, who was one of four Challenger champions Sunday, captured this third Challenger title in Madrid to move into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

In the final of the II Open Comunidad de Madrid, Shevchenko defeated top seed and defending champion Pedro Cachin 6-4, 6-3 to win his second title of the season (Tenerife). Despite making less than half of his first serves against Cachin, Shevchenko won 17 of 20 points off his first delivery.

“It feels amazing to win the title,” Shevchenko said. “It was a tough week, didn’t start that well but ended up winning it… In the semi-final, I knew if I would win that, it would be tough but I would be safe in the Top 100.”

After dropping the opening set 0-6 in his semi-final against Francesco Passaro, Shevchenko rallied to survive, winning the next two sets 6-2, 6-3. The victory over the third-seeded Italian helped lift Shevchenko to a career-high No. 98.

Shevchenko is the sixth Top 100 debutant of 2023, joining Wu Yibing, Max Purcell, Luca Van Assche, Christopher Eubanks, and Alexandre Muller.

“My reaction to the Top 100 is amazing, I always dreamed of it as a kid,” Shevchenko said. “After the Phoenix Challenger, I pretty much knew I would stay close, but all the guys were playing so well and put me under pressure to get into Roland Garros main draw. There were some tough weeks but now it feels unreal that I made it.”

Shevchenko, who has lived in Vienna since age nine, made a breakthrough at last month’s Challenger 175 event in Phoenix, where he advanced through qualifying en route to a finalist finish. During the Arizona Tennis Classic, Shevchenko upset top seed Matteo Berrettini and defeated his childhood idol Gael Monfils.

Alexander Shevchenko celebrates winning the Madrid Challenger. Credit: Alberto Simón

In other Challenger Tour action, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard claimed his maiden Challenger title at the Mextenis Leon Open. The 19-year-old survived a marathon 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 7-6(3) final against Argentine Juan Pablo Ficovich.

Mpetshi Perricard’s final two matches in Leon consisted of five tie-breaks. The 6’7” Lyon native held his nerve in his first Challenger final, firing 21 aces against Ficovich, to rise to a career-high No. 229.

The big-serving Mpetshi Perricard is the fifth teenage Challenger champion of the season, joining Luca Van Assche, Arthur Fils, Shintaro Mochizuki, and Hamad Medjedovic.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard triumphs at the Challenger 75 event in Leon, Mexico. Credit: Ricardo Sanchez

Mpetshi Perricard, Van Assche, and Fils are the first French teen trio to claim Challenger titles in a single season since 2005: Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD

At the Split Open in Croatia, Zsombor Piros earned his third Challenger crown and first of the season. The 23-year-old went through an eventful Sunday to collect the title, including defeating Slovakian Norbert Gombos 7-6(2), 7-6(9) in the championship match, which was held shortly after he completed his semi-final against top seed Christopher O’Connell.

The semi-final was delayed due to rain Saturday, with Piros leading 6-2, 3-2 when play resumed the following day. Matches were moved indoors Sunday, but the Hungarian held his ground to oust the Aussie 6-2, 6-4. Later in the evening, Piros had his hands around the Split Challenger trophy.

Zsombor Piros is crowned champion at the Split Challenger. Credit: Split Open

The Budapest native fended off two set points in the second-set tie-break against Gombos before converting his third championship point. Following the Challenger 75 title, Piros propels to a career-high 137.

On the green clay of Sarasota, Florida, fifth seed Daniel Altmaier dropped just one set all week en route to collecting his seventh Challenger title. In the final, the German ousted defending champion Daniel Elahi Galan 7-6(1), 6-1 to win the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open.

The 24-year-old Altmaier, who earned three Challenger titles in 2022, joins a strong list of former champions in Sarasota, where Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Kei Nishikori, and James Blake have all triumphed.

Daniel Altmaier in action at the Sarasota Challenger. Credit: Janet Combs

In Sarasota doubles action, Julian Cash and Henry Patten defeated Guido Andreozzi and Guillermo Duran 7-6(4), 6-4 to be crowned champions and improve to a 11-2 record in Challenger finals. In 2022, the British duo’s 10 team titles marked a Challenger Tour record. Earlier this month, Cash and Patten competed in their first tour-level final in Houston, but fell short to Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

It was very nice to be invited to the Sarasota challenger today. I won this event in 2010. It was even nicer to hear they are naming their Court 1 the Kei Nishikori Court. Thank you! 🙏🙏. Very honored. @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/UXuFOBVx49

— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) April 15, 2023

Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald made a winning start at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Matthias Bachinger and Dominic Thiem.

The Dutch-Austrian duo broke serve four times on 10 chances to advance to the quarter-finals in their second straight event. They previously reached the last eight in Estoril in their first tournament as a pair this season.

Also victorious on Monday in Munich were Indians Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni, who upset third-seeded Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-3, 7-6(4).

Glasspool/Heliovaara Dominate Match Tie-break In Barcelona
At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara completed a comeback against Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski with a shutout success in the Match Tie-break.

The British-Finnish team earned a 2-7, 7-6(5), 10-0 victory to advance to the quarter-finals. They are joined in the last eight by Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, who beat Spaniards Jaume Munar and Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 7-6(6).

Goransson/McLachlan Win In Banja Luka
Andre Goransson and Ben McLachlan scored a 7-6(7), 6-2 win against fourth seeds Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar in the opening round of the Srpska Open. The Swedish-Japanese winners saved seven of eight break points while converting three of six break chances on return.

Nuno Borges has watched Carlos Alcaraz play up close before. The circumstances were considerably different to those he will step into on Tuesday when he takes on the World No. 2 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

“We shared a court one time in Spain, in Martos,” Borges told ATPTour.com on Monday after his first-round win against Ilya Ivashka at the clay-court ATP 500. “It was an [ITF World Tennis Tour] 25k. He was 16… He was hitting huge already and was really physical for his age. I guess you can see that now.”

In the three years since, Alcaraz has claimed eight tour-level titles, including a maiden Grand Slam at the US Open and three ATP Masters 1000 crowns, and become the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Even if the Spaniard dropped to No. 2 behind Novak Djokovic last month, Borges is expecting Alcaraz to bring his best to the pair’s second-round clash on Pista Rafa Nadal.

“No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, I just know for sure he is up there for a reason,” said the 26-year-old Borges. “I’ve seen him grow up the past few years, he’s shown up in Portugal a couple of times. I’m just excited. I’ll try to do my best. I know he’s going to come after me with all he’s got and that’s what he always does. So I’ve got to be on top of my game and just try to enjoy the atmosphere.

“[It’s a] great tournament, I’m just happy that I’m here and will try to absorb a bit the big things I’ve been doing.”

The ‘big things’ Borges refers to include lifting two ATP Challenger Tour titles in the opening three months of 2023 and rising to a career-high No. 63 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in early April. The former Mississippi State University college player, who first cracked the Top 100 last September, hopes that momentum can help him build on his 3-6 tour-level start to the year.

“I’ve built a lot of confidence throughout the past few weeks,” said Borges. “I still need to prove myself this year on clay, and I’m just really happy. I’ve been feeling great on these courts. I know I was playing great tennis, it’s just up to being able to do it on court in a match.

“I’m just really happy that it’s been going well. Staying healthy has been a really big thing for me, just really happy and excited for tomorrow. A big match.”

Perhaps the most notable barometer of Borges’ progress was his Challenger Tour triumph in Phoneix in March. He defeated Alexander Shevchenko in the championship match to prevail from a field that included Matteo Berrettini, Gael Monfils, Jiri Lehecka and the player Borges beat in the first round, former World No. 8 Diego Schwartzman.

“That tournament was just proof that in tennis anything can happen,” said Borges. “They came out with three big wild cards and none of them went past the quarters. It just shows that some of those [lower-ranked] guys are able to beat the top guys some days of the week. Maybe not every day in [all] conditions, but if you believe in that situation, I think you can do great things.

“That’s what I’m going to try to do tomorrow [against Alcaraz]. Honestly, just try to enjoy it. Really, I can’t expect too much from myself. I’m [just] going for it.”

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Twenty-five seasons have gone by since Feliciano Lopez took to the clay of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 to play in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell for the first time. It was April 1998, and the Spaniard was a promising young 16-year-old who had been given a wild card for the qualifiers. After winning two matches, he played the first of the 991 main-draw tour-level matches he has competed in so far during his distinguished career.

It was a brief first encounter with ATP Tour tennis, because Jiri Novak sent him packing in the first round, 6-0, 6-2. “I came back down to earth with a bang,” Lopez told ATPTour.com this week in Barcelona. “He thrashed me, and I told myself: ‘Time to practise, there is still a long way to go’. I would have signed on the dotted line for everything that has happened to me since that match.”

That teenager could never have imagined the records he would go on to set: playing more consecutive Grand Slam main draws than any other player, participating in more ATP Masters 1000s than anyone else, and being a member of the 500-wins club.

Even though his breakthrough came on clay, the young Lopez was different to his compatriots. He didn’t fit the mould of a classic Spanish player. His qualities were different, try as they might to make him like the rest. He was a rebel, a left-hander with an exceptional serve and an innate gift for volleying.

“In my day Spaniards didn’t go to Wimbledon, it was said that grass was for cows,” he remembers with a chuckle. “I wasn’t told, based on my physique and my style of play, that I had to focus on fast courts. I was another product of the system of that era, a prototype Spanish player on clay.”

His time as a junior, as was the norm, was spent at satellite tournaments (such as those on the ATP Challenger Tour) in Spain, while he also enjoyed junior experiences at Roland Garros and the Orange Bowl. “As I grew up, I started to feel that I wasn’t really that style of player,” said Lopez.

Still a teenager, he set off with his father to play in his first Wimbledon qualifiers. “I think I won a match, although it wasn’t a great experience for me,” he said. He would have to wait until 2002 for his first magic moment on the green lawns.

Ranked No. 103 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Lopez earned himself a place in the main draw at 2002 Wimbledon. On his first appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam, he reached the fourth round.

“I played a match in the last sixteen against Andre Sa, who wasn’t a grass specialist, but I was 20 years old, and I couldn’t play because I was so nervous,” said Lopez. “I kept thinking that I was in the last sixteen, against an opponent I could beat if I played well and then I would face [Tim] Henman, the home favourite, on centre court at Wimbledon. The situation was too much for me. That’s when I realised grass was a surface I could play well on.

“On grass, I feel comfortable after five minutes, the ball bounces low, which I like, my serve works… But I had never experienced it as a kid because we didn’t play on it,” he continues. “It was unexpected, but I realised straight away. That’s how it was. When I played in the quarters in 2005, no Spaniard had gone that far since Manuel Orantes. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with it.”

Such was his prowess on the surface that he produced a huge upset on it late in his career. In 2019, he won the Cinch Championships in both singles and doubles (with Andy Murray) at The Queen’s Club.

“If anyone had told me at 16 years of age that I’d be playing tennis at 37 I would have said they were crazy,” he admits. “Now I think about it, and it seems impossible. Sometimes we’re really not aware of the things that happen to us. When you analyse all of this, winning the singles and doubles at Queen’s, you think; I have been so lucky in life.”

It is this luck, of a privileged physique and a unique style, that allowed him to bust a Spanish myth; that grass is only for cows.

#NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche picked up his first Top 100 win on Monday at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka, coming back from a set down and recovering a break deficit in the final set to defeat Stan Wawrinka at the ATP 250.

The 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 result gave Van Assche his second tour-level win and sets up a second-round showdown with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“I’m very happy with my win. It was a pleasure to play in front of you all,” said the 18-year-old, who won the crowd over with his smooth game over the course of the two hour, 42 minute match. “It’s normal that at the beginning [the fans] were for Stan because he’s an amazing legend of the sport and I’m very happy to win this match.”

The Frenchman saved eight of 11 break points, including four at 5-5 in the second set, to set himself up for the biggest victory of his career. In the final set, he won four straight games after falling a break behind at 1-3, absorbing the heavy baseline blows of Wawrinka to turn the match around.

Van Assche made his ATP Tour debut last year in Antwerp before picking up his first tour-level win earlier this month in Estoril. After entering this week at a career high of World No. 87, he moved up four further places in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings to No. 83 with his Monday win.

After discussing his opening triumph, Van Assche looked ahead to his first meeting with Djokovic: “It will be incredible for me and I’m only 18,” he said. “I know that the crowd will not be with me, I think, but I will enjoy it and I will try to win.”

Also on Monday in Banja Luka, Alexei Popyrin upset fifth seed Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in a match that did not feature a break of serve. Popyrin erased all three break points against him while Griekspoor fought off seven. The Aussie dominated on first serve, winning 89 per cent (39/44) of points behind his first delivery in the victory.

His next opponent will be Alex Molcan, who advanced with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win against Japan’s Taro Daniel. The Slovakian was an efficient six-for-eight on break points in his first action since a hip injury forced his withdrawal in Miami ahead of a third-round meeting with eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

In the day’s final singles match, Dusan Lajovic led Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 4-6, 2-0 in an all-Serbian affair that was suspended due to rain. They will resume on Tuesday as they bid to reach the second round in Novak Djokovic’s quarter.