This week’s jam-packed ATP Challenger Tour 175 events began main-draw action Tuesday, with stars such as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alexander Bublik among those who made a winning start.

The Australian Kokkinakis defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round after winning 17 of 21 points off his first serve and converting seven of 11 break points at the Sardegna Open in Cagliari, Italy.

Kokkinakis will next meet Alessandro Giannessi or Francesco Passaro at the clay-court event, where Yoshihito Nishioka and Ben Shelton are the top two seeds.

It was a day for Italian Mattia Bellucci to remember, as he earned his first Top-100 win by upsetting fifth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. The 21-year-old will next face his countryman Giulio Zeppieri, who survived wild card Andrea Vavassori 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-4.

In other Cagliari action, Japan’s Taro Daniel downed American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. Daniel, World No. 109, will meet third seed Mackenize McDonald on Thursday.

Aix-en-Provence
Sixth seed Alexander Bublik enjoyed a strong start at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole, where he edged Riccardo Bonadio 7-6(5), 7-5. The Kazakh will meet three-time Challenger champion Otto Virtanen in the second round after the Finn earned a hard-fought 7-6(4), 7-6(7) win against Frenchman Alexandre Muller.

David Goffin ousted home favourite Benoit Paire 7-6(0), 6-1. The Belgian fended off three set points at 4-5 in the opening set before rallying to down Paire after one hour, 25 minutes. Goffin will clash against fourth seed Mikael Ymer on Thursday.

David Goffin in action at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour

The 18-year-old Luca Van Assche, who is World No. 86, overcame Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-1 to set up a meeting against countryman and third seed Adrian Mannarino. Van Assche is the youngest player in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and a three-time Challenger champion.

A star-studded Wednesday in southern France will include a showdown between three-time major champion Andy Murray and former World No. 6 Gael Monfils. Also among the Aix-en-Provence field is Tommy Paul, Alexander Bublik, and 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima.

Murray motion 🎞️ #ATPChallenger | @andy_murray pic.twitter.com/8gzG4LlpU6

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 2, 2023

A year on from their 2022 final clash, Carlos Alcaraz conjured a repeat result and a similarly scintillating performance against Alexander Zverev to charge into the quarter-finals at this year’s Mutua Madrid Open.

Alcaraz was dominant from the outset in Tuesday’s clash, barely putting a foot wrong in his 6-1, 6-2 triumph against the two-time champion Zverev on Manolo Santana Stadium. He dropped just eight points behind serve and was a constant menace on return as he broke the German’s serve four times in an emphatic 83-minute triumph

“For me it’s amazing to play the level that I played today,” said Alcaraz. “It’s been a question mark for me… I played well, I feel really good right now and this match gives me a lot of confidence.

“At the beginning [I felt nerves], but you have to handle [them]. The best players in the world handle the nerves really [well] and I want to be like them. Trying not to show the opponent that I’m nervous at all. I just want to enjoy playing here in the Caja Magica in front of my home crowd. It’s been amazing for me to play here, so I just enjoy every moment.”

Stepping on court seeking his 18th straight ATP Tour victory on Spanish soil, Alcaraz immediately set about demonstrating his best level to the vocal home fans. He struck the ball with power and accuracy from the first game to heap pressure on Zverev and broke the German’s serve in the second and sixth games en route to the opening set.

Zverev, who prevailed in the pair’s most recent previous ATP Head2Head meeting at Roland Garros last year, was unable to raise his level to match the 19-year-old Spaniard. Alcaraz reeled off five games in a row from 1-2 in the second set as his lightning-fast movement around the court enabled him to redirect his opponent’s heavy groundstrokes with ease.

The Spaniard finished the match with 21 winners to Zverev’s nine, and his triumph improved his ATP Head2Head record against the German to 2-3. Alcaraz will take on Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals in the Spanish capital after the 10th seed downed Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev 7-6(8), 6-4 earlier on Tuesday

Now 26-2 for the season, Alcaraz has extra motivation as he pursues his fourth tour-level title of the year in Madrid. If he successfully defends his trophy in the Spanish capital, he will be guaranteed to usurp Novak Djokovic and return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome later this month.

“I will try to play this level,” said Alcaraz when asked about his quarter-final against Khachanov. “I will say this is my best level. I have to show that in the quarter-final, but obviously playing this match gives me a lot of confidence… Let’s see what happens.”

Also in action Tuesday, Borna Coric escaped Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) to advance to the Madrid quarter-finals for the first time since 2017.

Locked in the third-set tie-break, Coric earned a mini break at 5/5 with a dead let cord that left the Spaniard no chance of retrieving the ball. The World No. 20 Coric closed out the three-hour, 28-minute victory on the next point.

The Croatian will next meet German Daniel Altmaier, who defeated home hope Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-0 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. The 24-year-old Altmaier, who was slotted into the main draw as a lucky loser, won 12 of 15 points off his second delivery and saved all four break points faced to advance.

Altmaier is the first lucky loser in the Madrid quarter-finals since Coric’s run to the last eight in 2017.

Aslan Karatsev reaffirmed his return to top form with a stunning upset of second seed Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open.

The former World No. 14 and three-time tour-level titlist delivered a remarkable barrage of baseline hitting en route to a 7-6(1), 6-4 triumph against the in-form Medvedev on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. Karatsev’s power and the consistent depth of his groundstrokes proved too much even for Medvedev, one of the best defenders on Tour, to handle.

“I’m feeling great, playing well,” said Karatsev, who now holds a 6-7 record against Top 10 opponents. “I just have to focus every match, so I will be prepared for the next one… [Against top players] you just concentrate more, you have to be 100 per cent, you have to focus more because they do not give you any free points.

“You have to be consistent and mentally tough, so I think I’m doing well.”

Karatsev charged to the first-set tie-break with four clean winners in eight points and claimed a decisive break in the fifth game of the second set to seal a 93-minute victory. The World No. 121, who came through qualifying to reach the main draw in Madrid, will next face Taylor Fritz or Zhang Zhizhen at the Caja Magica.

Karatsev dropped as low as No. 129 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on 17 April after a modest past 12 months, but the 29-year-old has now defeated seeded players Botic van de Zandschulp, Alex de Minaur and Medvedev in consecutive rounds in Madrid. Now up to No. 89 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his exploits in Spain, he is feeling confident as he prepares for his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

“I was struggling last year,” said Karatsev after improving his ATP Head2Head record against Medvedev to 2-1. “I’m really happy with my game [now], so well see what [happens next].”

Good friends and doubles partners, but there could only be one winner Tuesday on the singles court.

It was Karen Khachanov who kept his cool to down Andrey Rublev 7-6(8), 6-4 in the pair’s fourth-round clash at the Mutua Madrid Open. The 10th-seeded Khachanov took control of a closely fought encounter by rallying from 4/6 to claim the first-set tie-break and he carried that momentum to a one-hour, 42-minute victory on Manolo Santana Stadium.

“It’s always tricky to play against each other because on one side we know each other’s games perfectly because we’ve been training together for so many years,” said Khachanov. “At the same time we know what to expect, but also of course a bit nervous to play against each other. We are good friends, but on the court we are rivals.

“It was all a matter of keeping the serve, and if you have any chances on the return, go for it. That’s what I did.”

Khachanov saved the only break point he faced and won 80 per cent (35/44) of points behind first serves to take a 3-2 lead in his ATP Head2Head series with Rublev. The pair also met in Monte-Carlo three weeks ago, when Rublev prevailed en route to lifting his maiden Masters 1000 crown.

“Both of us served really well and we didn’t have any chance on return in the first set,” said Khachanov of the pair’s Madrid clash. “The tie-break was really crucial I would say, pretty similar to how it was in Monte-Carlo. He took the first set in a tie-break [there] and started to believe more in the second set.”

With his Madrid win, Khachanov moved to 19-0 in matches when he has won the first set in 2023. The 26-year-old, who has risen one spot to No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Madrid run, will take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or 13th seed Alexander Zverev next at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 as he attempts to reach his third tour-level semi-final of the year.

Despite his Madrid campaign coming to an end, the World No. 6 Rublev is still in the hunt for a trophy at the Caja Magica. He and Khachanov are set to take on Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the quarter-finals of the doubles.

“At the end of the day, this match is over,” said Khachanov when asked about returning to court alongside Rublev. “We need to have some time maybe to absorb it. That’s how it was in Monte-Carlo. The day before we played doubles, we lost a very tight match, and then the next day he beat me. After one day, life goes on. He’s doing well this year, I’m doing well, I’m just happy.”

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

Pedro Cachin is as Argentinian as they come: kind, respectful, friendly, genuine. The values he absorbed in his native Bell Ville have been evident throughout his ATP Tour career. However, it is in Spain, more than 10,000 kilometres from home, that the 28-year-old Argentine has taken the biggest steps in his tennis career.

On Monday at the Mutua Madrid Open, he beat Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 7-6(2) to reach the Round of 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his life.

“I’ve always liked Madrid, the conditions here really suit me,” explains the No. 67 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, who is still yet to relinquish a set in the tournament. “I’m really happy. Everything is going better than I expected. This will help me believe I belong here, to feel that I’ve earned the right to be at this kind of tournament.”

CACHIN FIRE ❤️‍🔥🇦🇷

World No.67 @pecachin1 knocks out Tiafoe 6-1 7-6(2) to move into the last 16 in Madrid!#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/jVIcscMj9Z

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 1, 2023

Until very recently, he was not so sure of himself. At the end of March, his 2023 tour-level record was 2-10 and doubt plagued his mind. Perhaps the responsibility that comes with playing your first full year on the ATP Tour was something of a burden. Pedro decided to return to the ATP Challenger Tour to regroup and search for some much-needed confidence. He found it at an event in Spain.

“Luckily I did really well at the Challenger in Madrid. I was convinced that I was going to take a step forward and win matches,” continued Cachín, who arrived at the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open with a 1-2 record at Masters 1000s. Now he is 4-2. “I hope the result is a turning point in my season,” he added. “I have faith in the process.”

Cachin’s love affair with Spain began sometime in 2014. Back then, he decided to move to Barcelona and work under the watchful eye of Alex Corretja, the World No. 2 in 1999.

“He changed my life, on and off the court. He’s like a father to me,” the Cordoba native said on Monday. Corretja was Cachin’s head coach for four years. Since then he has continued to advise him from afar.

“I went to live in Barcelona nine years ago,” Cachin explains. “An opportunity came up to work with Alex Corretja. He understands certain moments in tennis like nobody else. As a player he didn’t have great shots, but he did have a great head and an understanding of the game that were far superior. He finds the solution in so many situations.”

The bond between them, so important in Cachin’s career, was a product of his desire to reinvent himself. He could have taken the easy road and stayed close to his family. As a teenager he wanted to explore a new world, even though this would often mean loneliness, nostalgia and a longing to go home.

“I committed myself to leaving and investing in my career. The best option was to come to Europe, and I’m still here,” he remembers.

Cachin may have left his native Argentina many years ago, but his country has never left him. Proof of this lies in his love of Boca Juniors and the Argentine football team, his habit of carrying mate with him wherever he goes, and his frequent enjoyment of Argentinian barbecue or asado. His last such meal was at his home in Sant Cugat del Valles before the ATP 500 in Barcelona. Several of his countrymen from the ATP Tour were there, including Diego Schwartzman and Francisco Cerundolo. There was no shortage of Fernet either.

However, as Argentinian as he may be, the Caja Magica still has plenty of reason to support him this week. Cachin is practically a Spaniard at this point, and he hopes to bond further with the Madrid crowd when he meets Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the quarter-finals.

“Struff has shown the player he is, but I am feeling really good going forward,” he said, looking ahead to Tuesday’s match. “I hope to enjoy it to the max.”

The entirety of the remaining men’s singles field will play on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open, with the fourth round set to be completed over the course of a packed day at the ATP Masters 1000.

The pick of the eight matchups is a rematch of last year’s Madrid final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, with Top 10 seeds Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov also squaring off in the draw’s top half. Daniil Medvedev’s meeting with Aslan Karatsev is another highlight, while three Spaniards in addition to Alcaraz hope to advance to the quarter-finals, led by 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 

ATPTour.com looks at some of the key fourth-round matchups on the Day 9 schedule across the men’s singles draw and men’s doubles draw.

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [13] Alexander Zverev (GER)

Alcaraz dominated the 2022 Madrid final against the Zverev, capping an emphatic three-match stretch in which he defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and the German. That victory clinched a trophy double for the Spaniard across Barcelona and Madrid, and the 19-year-old is now four wins away from repeating that feat this season. If he does claim the title, Alcaraz would be guaranteed to return to No. 1 the week after Rome simply by playing a match in the Italian capital.

A successful Madrid title defence would extend Alcaraz’s winning streak on home soil to 21 matches, but for the moment he is fully focussed on Zverev, who leads their ATP Head2Head 3-1 and owns two Madrid titles of his own (2018, 2021).

“I really want to play that match. We played a few times, head-to-head he is up,” Alcaraz said after beating Girgor Dimitrov to set the showdown encounter. “I really want to show my great level here in front of my home crowd. I have great memories from last year in the final but obviously I have to be really focussed in that match. I know that Sascha is a really good player, a really aggressive one with good serves. I have to show all my skills.”

While Zverev was not at his very best against Alcaraz in last year’s Madrid final, having played deep into the night each of the previous two days, he enters Tuesday’s matchup with plenty of rest. The 13th seed cruised past Hugo Grenier 6-1, 6-0 on Sunday, continuing the fine form he showed in closing out Roberto Carballes Baena in a 6-0 final set in his opening match.

“Today I felt great,” he said after beating Grenier in just 55 minutes. Zverev’s sky-high Shot Quality on both serve and return underlined his stellar performance against the Frenchman, and he will need a similar showing to stop Alcaraz in front of his home crowd.

A serve & return masterclass 👏@AlexZverev serving 🚀 and returning like a wall 🧱#TennisInsights | @atptour | @MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/4s1b7aImZg

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) April 30, 2023

Beating Alcaraz in Spain is a challenge no player has been able to meet in the past two years on the ATP Tour. But Zverev has been able to conquer the World No. 2 in meetings in Acapulco (2021), Vienna (2021) and Roland Garros (2022). The German has particularly fond memories of their meeting on the Parisian clay, where he avenged his Madrid loss just three weeks later. 

“Of course with Carlos that would be a matchup people would look forward to. We played in the final here last year, played a massive match at [Roland Garros] before I got injured,” he said of his 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) victory.

Nearly a year has passed since that match, and Zverev has endured a long road to recovery after the ankle injury he suffered against Rafael Nadal in his very next outing. But he is beginning to rediscover the sort of form that saw him reach back-to-back semi-finals at the clay-court Grand Slam. 

The German, who is seeking his sixth quarter-final in as many Madrid appearances, is one of the few players on the ATP Tour who can match Alcaraz for power. While he may not have the speed of the Spaniard, his length serves him well in defence and gives him an advantage on serve in the matchup.

Both men will be eager to land the first strikes in the rallies, with either player more than capable of ending points at any time with one big swing. With so little separating the opponents, this match could be won on the margins, by the man who can steal just a few extra points from defensive situations.

[5] Andrey Rublev vs. [10] Karen Khachanov

Rublev and Khachanov will press pause on their successful doubles partnership this week in Madrid to break a 2-2 tie in their ATP Head2Head singles series on Tuesday. Into the doubles quarter-finals in the Spanish capital, the partners will be on opposite sides of the net for the second time this month after Rublev earned a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory against Khachanov in Monte-Carlo en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

The pair is now set to meet in the Round of 16 once again at that prestigious level, with Rublev seeking his third straight win against his good friend. Rublev also carries a four-match winning streak against Top 20 opponents into the match and is one win away from equalling his career-best run to the Madrid quarter-finals last season.

Khachanov has 11 Top 10 wins on his resume, but only two on clay, most recently against Juan Martin del Potro at Roland Garros in 2019. Earlier that same season, he earned his most recent win against Rublev at Indian Wells. After three-set wins against Thiago Monteiro and Roberto Bautista Agut propelled him into the Madrid fourth round for the first time, he will now attempt to be the first man to take a set off Rublev at this edition of the tournament.

A win for Khachanov would take him past Holher Rune into eighth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he pushes for his first appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Rublev expertly navigated two tricky opening matches against Stan Wawrinka and Yoshihito Nishioka to improve to 5-2 in Madrid. The road won’t get any easier in the quarter-finals for the winner of this showdown, with Alcaraz or Zverev next up.

[2] Daniil Medvedev vs. Aslan Karatsev

After beating one friend in qualifier Alexander Shevchenko on Monday, Medvedev returns to face another in Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday. Medvedev, along with Taylor Fritz, is hoping to make it four straight ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals to start the season (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid), a feat that would match Milos Raonic’s 2016 effort. 

Madrid and Rome are the only two Masters 1000s at which Medvedev has not reached the quarter-finals or better, and his recent form could see him rectify that statistic within the month of May. After winning four titles in five hard-court events, including a maiden Miami crown, Medvedev reached the quarters in Monte-Carlo before his run in Madrid.

Karatsev qualified for the Madrid main-draw and has reached the fourth round with upset wins against Botic van de Zandschulp and Alex de Minaur, the latter result coming in three sets on Monday. 

The 29-year-old has a history of success against the ATP Tour’s best, sporting a 5-7 record against Top 10 opponents and a 2-3 mark against the Top 3. But he has not added a win to either tally since 2021, when he beat Medvedev in Rome. 

If he can improve to 2-1 against the World No. 3, he will find himself in the quarter-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time after falling one match short of that stage three times.

Also In Action…

Four other seeded players are in action on Tuesday, including two who will play against one another. Among the Top 10, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles and eighth seed Taylor Fritz meets China’s Zhang Zhizhen, who is enjoying his best run at a Masters 1000.

Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 29th seed, faces 17th seed Borna Coric, with the home favourite looking to back up his upset win against Holger Rune late Sunday night.

Jaume Munar — set to meet German lucky loser Daniel Altmaier — is the fourth Spanish player into the fourth round. The four home hopes in the Round of 16 is the most since 2015.

Spaniards In Madrid Round Of 16

Germany is also making some history with two lucky losers in the fourth round. Jan-Lennard Struff, who faces Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, joins Altmaier in that regard. Since the ATP Masters 1000 series began in 1990, only 15 players have reached the quarter-finals as lucky losers.

Two doubles quarter-finals are also on the Tuesday schedule. Fouth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer meet Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov after eighth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin face Simone Bolelli and Fabrice Martin on Court 3.

Roger Federer returned to the Met Gala on Monday for the first time since 2017, when he intrigued fans worldwide in a crystal cobra on his tuxedo.

Federer wore a less adventurous outfit on Monday evening, but the GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Decade was in his element in at The Metropolitan Museum Of Art.

Earlier in the day, the Swiss legend joined friend and Editor in Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour for a look at The Costume Institute’s exhibition — Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

^{Photo Gallery: AFP/Getty Images}
Federer enjoyed his time in New York ahead of the Met Gala. The Swiss visited the Cary Leeds Center to speak with local junior players. He also caught up with comedian Trevor Noah.

A 🍕of home in the Big 🍎🇨🇭@Trevornoah pic.twitter.com/3fLhmJcoLq

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 1, 2023

Plenty of fans were also intrigued by a post Federer made at a local restaurant. The 41-year-old, who retired at last year’s Laver Cup, indulged in a burger and fries.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Roger Federer (@rogerfederer)

Federer was not the only tennis star in attendance at the Met Gala. Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick and his wife, Brooklyn Decker, were also there.

^{Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images}
Matteo Berrettini, who first attended the Met Gala in 2021, was also at the celebrity-filled event. 

Spotted in NY: @MattBerrettini #MetGala pic.twitter.com/Yi2ZC4UgjE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 2, 2023