Carlos Alcaraz fought off a late charge from countryman Roberto Bautista Agut to notch his second straight-sets victory this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The 19-year-old continued his title defence with a 6-3, 7-5 win, looking at home on the Spanish clay in his first tournament since his hard-court run to the Miami semi-finals.

“Today was really tough. The conditions, it wasn’t easy,” Alcaraz said of the heavy winds that led to a combined eight breaks of serve. “Of course I had to adapt my game from the wind. It was really tough. Roberto’s a great player, a really solid player. I had to stay focussed all the time, be there all the time and try to take my chances.”

The victory improved Alcaraz to 9-1 against fellow Spaniards, with his only loss coming to Rafael Nadal in last year’s Indian Wells semis. Playing on the Barcelona centre court named for Nadal, Alcaraz is bidding to become the first repeat champion at the ATP 500 since the Spanish legend reigned from 2016-18.

He will face another Spaniard, 10th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in Friday’s quarter-finals.

After going behind an early break at 2-3 in the opening set, Alcaraz rattled off six straight games to take command. He hit the shot of the match to bring up his third and final set point of the first set, sliding into a desperate backhand and floating a slice beyond a stunned Bautista Agut, who thought he had the point won with his overhead.

“It was lucky. Honestly I didn’t expect to make that shot,” Alcaraz said of the magic moment. “I just closed my eyes, [swung] the racquet. It was a lot of luck that I made that shot. Something like that is so special.”

Though he was broken twice midway through set two, Alcaraz powered through the finish line by winning the final 11 points from 4-5, 15/15. He wrapped up the win in one hour, 53 minutes after breaking serve on five of 10 chances, with Bautista Agut also doing damage on return with three breaks in seven opportunities.

Bautista Agut was stopped short of his third Barcelona quarter-final (2015, 2018) as Alcaraz denied him his first Top 10 win on clay. At 35, he was the oldest player in the last 16.

Taylor Fritz continued his strong start to the European clay-court season with a debut win on Thursday at the BMW Open by American Express. The American backed up his run to the Monte-Carlo semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory against Marton Fucsovics to advance to the quarter-finals at the Munich ATP 250.

“First match, I had to get used to the conditions,” Fritz said of his performance. “Everything plays a bit different. It’s obviously very cold. I took some time to feel it out and I feel like I just played better as the match kept going.”

Fritz improved to 29-25 on clay courts with the win, with a 4-1 mark this season. The second seed will seek his 30th career victory on the dirt against either Dominic Thiem or eighth seed Marc-Andrea Huesler on Friday.

After dropping serve twice in the opening set against Fucsovics, Fritz faced just one break point across sets two and three, crucially saving it at 2-2 in the third. He scored his fourth break of the match on his seventh break point late in the decider and served out the victory in the ensuing game, wrapping up the win in just under two hours.

Fritz fired nine aces and won 83 per cent (35/42) of his first-serve points in the victory.

The American, who reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 5 in February, entered Munich as the World No. 10. He is seeking his second title of 2023 after his triumph on home soil in Delray Beach.

The Thursday nightcap in Munich between Thiem and Huesler was suspended due to darkness with the Swiss leading 7-5, 3-3. Huesler defeated Kyle Edmund in three first-round sets while Thiem won the first set against Constant Lestienne in his opening match before the Frenchman retired with a calf injury.

Fresh off his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo last week, Andrey Rublev continued where he left off at the Srpska Open on Thursday when he defeated Juan Pablo Varillas 6-2, 6-2 in his opening match in Banja Luka.

The second seed opened his shoulders and dictated play at the ATP 250 clay-court event, overpowering the Peruvian with his destructive forehand to earn his sixth consecutive win in 70 minutes.

Rublev now holds a 19-8 record on the year and will next meet Damir Dzumhur in the quarter-finals after the 30-year-old clawed past Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3).

Rublev arrives in Bosnia and Herzegovina off the back of winning the biggest title of his career in Monte-Carlo. The 25-year-old defeated seeds Karen Khachanov, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune to clinch his 13th tour-level crown in the Principality.

Rublev is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and could climb to fourth if he lifts his second trophy of the season in Banja Luka, where Novak Djokovic is the top seed.

In other action, Dusan Lajovic beat Gregoire Barrere 6-3, 6-0, while Miomir Kecmanovic ended Abedallah Shelbayh’s run, overcoming the Jordan qualifier 6-4, 7-6(3).

A two-time finalist at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Stefanos Tsitsipas moved a step closer to capturing his first title at the ATP 500 event on Thursday when he overcame 14th-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-2.

In a heavy-hitting clash, the Greek demonstrated great footwork to dictate on his forehand. The second seed saved both break points he faced and hit his groundstrokes with weight on the Barcelona clay, successfully targeting Shapovalov’s backhand to improve to 2-3 in their ATP Head2Head series and reach the quarter-finals.

“I tried to stay as aggressive as I could from the baseline,” Tsitsipas said. “Against Denis you have to keep up with the pace and be ready to attack when you can. It wasn’t easy out here but I did a very good job. I was responsible with my decision making. It was a good day.”

Tsitsipas is making his fifth appearance in Barcelona, with his best result runs to the final in 2018 and 2021. Chasing his first title of the season, he will next meet Alex de Minaur after the Australian received a walkover from Grigor Dimitrov.

With his 77-minute win, the World No. 5 moves to 18-5 on the season, highlighted by his run to the Australian Open final. Shapovalov started his clay-court season with a victory against Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik on Wednesday. The Canadian was aiming to reach his second quarter-final of the year, after advancing to the last eight in Adelaide in January.

Earlier, Jannik Sinner survived a second-set dip to move past Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and reach his seventh quarter-final of the season.

After Sinner raced to a one-set lead, Nishioka’s variety started to cause problems for the Italian, who was pulled from corner to corner at times at the clay-court event. The fourth seed found a way, though, breaking Nishioka’s serve three consecutive times in the third set to triumph after two hours and eight minutes.

Sinner advanced to the semi-finals on debut in Barcelona in 2021 and will aim to match that feat when he faces seventh seed Cameron Norrie or ninth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals.

The Italian is 26-6 on the season and arrives in Barcelona off the back of a run to his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the year in Monte-Carlo. He is currently third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he aims to qualify for the prestigious year-end event on home soil.

Holger Rune made a winning start to his title defence at the BMW Open by American Express on Thursday when he moved past German wild card Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4 in Munich.

The 19-year-old was No. 70 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he earned his maiden tour-level title at the clay-court event 12 months ago. This week he returns to Munich at a career-high No. 7 after reaching the final in Monte-Carlo.

In the first ATP Head2Head meeting between Rune and Hanfmann, it was the Dane who quickly found his range in Munich, taking the ball early to hit through the German. He timed the ball cleanly off both wings and broke his opponent’s serve three times to advance after one hour and 25 minutes.

“It was a tough match,” Rune said. “I am happy with the way I played. It is difficult to play the first match, different conditions. Thank you guys for the support. I really love this tournament. I had made my breakthrough with my first title here last year, so it is special to be back.”

Rune now holds a 18-8 record on the season. The top seed is chasing his fourth tour-level title this week and will next face Cristian Garin or Lorenzo Sonego in the quarter-finals.

World No. 16 Alexander Zverev lost against Rune in his opening-round match in Munich last year and suffered an early exit at the ATP 250 event again on Thursday when he fell to Christopher O’Connell.

The Australian overcame the 19-time tour-level titlist 7-6(2), 6-4 to earn the biggest win of his season after one hour and 58 minutes. Into his third tour-level quarter-final of the year, O’Connell will next meet Flavio Cobolli after the #NextGenATP Italian defeated Oscar Otte 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.

German Zverev, who lifted the trophy on home soil in Munich in 2017 and 2018, will now head to Madrid, where he has clinched the title twice (2018, 21).

In other action, Aslan Karatsev clawed past Daniel Altmaier 4-6 7-6(2), 6-2, while American Marcos Giron overcame Alexander Ritschard 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Mutua Madrid Open, with the five-time champion revealing that he is not ready to return to competitive action following the leg injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January.

“The last few weeks and months have been difficult,” Nadal said in a video published on social media on Thursday. “As you know, I picked up a significant injury in Australia, to my psoas. First it was going to be a six to eight-week recovery period, we’re in the 14th week and the reality is that the situation is not what we expected.

“In any case, I have followed the medical advice but the progress has not been as they told us at the beginning. We find ourselves in a difficult situation, the weeks are passing by. I was excited to play in the most important tournaments in my career such as Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros. So far, I’ve missed Monte-Carlo and Barcelona and I also wanted to tell you that I won’t be able to be in Madrid.”

Hola a todos. Hace un tiempo que no me comunico directamente con vosotros. Han sido unas semanas y unos meses difíciles. Como sabéis me hice una una lesión importante en Australia, en el Psoas. pic.twitter.com/m0TbsGFn5t

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 20, 2023

The Mutua Madrid Open will be the third tournament of the clay swing that Nadal has missed due to injury.

“Unfortunately, the injury has still not healed and I can’t work on what I need to in order to compete,” said Nadal, who withdrew from Monte-Carlo and Barcelona earlier this month.

Despite attempts to come back as quickly as possible, the Spaniard is erring on the side of caution and intends to return to competition when he is fit enough to do so.

“I was training, but a few days ago we decided to change course, try another treatment, and see if things improve to try and be ready for what is to come. I can’t specify time periods because if I knew them I would tell you, but I don’t know. Given the current situation, I wanted to inform you,” Nadal said.

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

Despite having won 12 tour-level titles and finished three consecutive seasons in the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Andrey Rublev started 2023 with one thing on his mind; winning a bigger tournament. It was mission accomplished at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he picked up his first ATP Masters 1000 crown. To do so, however, he had to reinvent himself and practically rebuild his entire team in January.

One of his new mentors is fitness coach Marcos Borderias, one of the driving forces behind Rublev’s impressive season. The Spaniard was working with Maria Jose Martínez and Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo, and with Argentine player Pedro Cachin, whom he was alongside during his rise from No. 253 to No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. However, he received an Instagram message that persuaded him to change tack. It was a job offer from Galo Blanco, former World No. 40 and Rublev’s agent.

“I couldn’t sleep for three days. I couldn’t believe it. In two years I went from training players outside the Top 500 to the World No. 6. It was a huge leap,” remembers Borderias in conversation with ATPTour.com.

A few days after accepting the job on Instagram, he met his new pupil at a club in Barcelona. Fernando Vicente, Rublev’s main coach since 2016, was also there. Borderias’ admiration for the current No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings did nothing to prevent him from being objective and he was quick to diagnose which aspects needed work.

“When they contacted me they said, among the best in the world, in terms of fitness, Andrey was at the top,” remembers Borderias. “He may be very good at everything, extraordinary. But when I started I saw that there was room for improvement in his coordination. And there was also work to be done on speed, which is comprised of acceleration, deceleration, footwork and effort. And he’s really improved a lot. We’re still working on it.”

A lot of people may think that adding muscle volume would be the priority for a player who is 6’2” and weighs 75 kilos. To Borderias, though, Rublev’s slight build may even be an advantage.

If Rublev were to increase his muscle volume, he wouldn’t necessarily hit the ball harder. It may even have the opposite effect and rob him of his individuality.

“The best thing about him is his ability to produce power with loads as low as a racket… his hand acceleration is incredible! The time it takes him to complete the concentric phase of racket acceleration is insane, I’ve never seen that in my life,” he added. “And he’s so good technically, which is what allows him to suddenly produce a match in which he hits 40 winners.”

But Rublev’s power was less surprising than his personality. When they met, the 25-year-old player was shy, even to the point that he found it difficult to speak. But since then, they have become much closer through their intense sessions between tournaments and by travelling together to events like Indian Wells and Miami.

“Before we started working they had already told me he was a great guy. I thought: ‘Let’s see if it’s true.’ And honestly, as a person, I’d say you won’t find anyone better. In daily life he is incredible. He’s so generous, altruistic and affectionate with the fans and with us. He always wants to give us the best,” said Borderias.

On court, it’s a different story. Rublev’s strong temperament can be an advantage when it comes to facing big challenges, or a disadvantage if it gets the better of him when things are not going his way. That was another of the aspects that needed work, like his fitness, in 2023. Spanish coach Alberto Martin played a fundamental role in achieving Rublev’s goal of finding emotional balance.

‘Beto’, the former World No. 34 and three-time ATP Tour champion, joined this year as the second coach to complete a team that now also includes Portuguese physiotherapist Carlos Costa and Spanish nutritionist Antonia Lizarraga. ‘Beto’ Martin, however, has a double role to play; he is both coach and psychologist, as he studied psychology at the University of Barcelona and graduated with a Masters from UNED.

“The idea is to help Andrey walk the line between being calmer and not going crazy at the slightest provocation,” says Martin. “But we don’t want him to lose the spark he has which makes him so good, or the aggressiveness. He is a player that has to play very aggressively, and if he’s passive and only pushes the ball, it doesn’t work. And we spoke about this with the team, about trying to find that balance. And, so far, he’s finding it.”

Rublev has endured moments of frustration during the year. But he has increasingly more tools to quickly come through them and keep his chances of winning alive. Against Rune in the Monte-Carlo final, for example, he came back from 1-4 in the third set. Weeks earlier, he picked up three wins after saving match points; again against Rune in Australia, and against Tallon Griekspoor and Alejandro Davidovich in Doha.

All these success stories are also thanks to his team. “Alberto is a very humble and friendly guy,” said Rublev himself in his post-final press conference in Monte-Carlo. “He has studied sports psychology, and he can explain things to me easily during stressful moments. That has really helped me.”

The new methodology has borne fruit very quickly, and although the long-awaited first ATP Masters 1000 title has finally arrived, nobody on the team is thinking about downing tools just yet.

“The idea is to keep improving to get more results,” said Martin.

Borderias concurs: “Andrey can beat anyone and the idea is for him to keep having chances to win at the big tournaments.”

But to achieve that, all they can do is continue in the same direction.

Rublev announced in Monte-Carlo: “I like how I’m working now with my new team in terms of fitness, treatment, tennis and mentality. I feel this is the right path.”