For the first time this season, things were looking truly bleak for Carlos Alcaraz. Qualifier Nicolas Jarry was giving the Spaniard all he could handle in Saturday’s Rio Open presented by Claro semi-finals. The Chilean was twice within two games of victory at 4-4 and 5-5 in the second set, with Alcaraz receiving treatment on his upper left leg after holding on both of those occasions.

Watch the Rio de Janeiro final Sunday from 9.30pm CET/3.30pm ET

But just when he seemed at his most vulnerable, not having seen a break point since he stopped Jarry from serving out the opening set at 5-3, the 19-year-old reeled off eight straight games in devastating fashion for a 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-0 victory.

“I’m so proud of myself,” Alcaraz said after winning his eighth match in 11 days. “To be in a final again in my second tournament is a really special moment for me… I couldn’t ask for a better start of 2023.”

Both men entered the matchup on winning streaks, and their play on Court Guga Kuerten showed why. By improving to 8-0 on the season, Alcaraz ended the five-match Rio run of Jarry, who did not drop a set across two qualifying and three main-draw victories.

Jarry took the match to Alcaraz early and took a quick 3-0 lead, making it three staight sets in which the Spaniard conceded the opening break. While Alcaraz was able to erase those deficits in the quarters against Dusan Lajovic, Jarry’s power game got him over the line this time despite a late wobble as he attempted to serve out the set. 

The Chilean hit 10 forehand winners to Alcaraz’s five in the opener, and won 89 per cent (16/18) of his first-serve points.

“It was a really tough first set, coming back from a break down,” Alcaraz said. “And then playing a tie-break that I didn’t really play well, it’s tough to come back.

“Then I came back from 0/40 in the first game [of the second set]. It was really tough. But [I kept] a positive attitude to stay there and [took] my chances… It’s all I can say. But honestly, I don’t know how I did it.”

Jarry continued to mix power with well-timed drop shots in set two—taking a page straight from the Alcaraz playbook—but he could not convert from 0/40 in the opening game as Alcaraz erased four break points. The next break point for either man doubled as a set point, which Alcaraz snatched in style.

The final blow, effectively, came on a shot-of-the-season contender, with the Spaniard disappearing from the TV broadcast deep in his forehand corner and landing an impossible passing shot on break point for 2-0. It was all academic after that, with Alcaraz cruising to victory in two hours, 42 minutes.

For the second straight week on South American clay, Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie will meet in an ATP Tour final as the top two seeds. Alcaraz earned a 6-3, 7-5 win against the Briton last week in Buenos Aires to improve to 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Norrie advanced to the final with a three-set win of his own, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) against Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Asked if his leg issue was a concern for Sunday, Alcaraz played down any fresh injury fears.

“I don’t worry about that. It’s a tennis player’s life,” he said. “Playing with some pain is normal for a tennis player. Even more if we are playing win by win, no break for almost 14 days in a row. It’s normal. I’m going to take care of that and go into the final 100 per cent.”

Jarry, who was playing in his first ATP Tour semi-final since his 2019 Bastad title run, soared 53 places up the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings to No. 86 this week. Returning to the Top 100 for the first time since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings froze due to COVID-19 in March 2020, the 27-year-old is set to pass countryman Cristian Garin as the Chilean No. 1 on Monday—just in time for next week’s ATP 250 in Santiago, where his aunt, Catalina Fillol, is tournament director.

Novak Djokovic will put his unbeaten record in 2023 on the line this week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The Serbian, who is 12-0 this season, will be in action this week for the first time since collecting his record-extending 10th Australian Open title. On Saturday, Djokovic practised with Croatian Borna Coric ahead of the ATP 500 event.

The 35-year-old will begin his quest for a sixth Dubai crown against a qualifier before meeting the winner of Tallon Griekspoor and Constant Lestienne. Djokovic could meet eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz or Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.

On Monday, the 22-time major champion will add to the record books. Djokovic, who will enter his 378th week as World No. 1, will surpass Stefanie Graf with the most weeks atop the sport. Following his title in Melbourne, Djokovic reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and his leap from World No. 5 marked the biggest jump to top spot in history (since 1973).

In 2022, Dubai was Djokovic’s first tournament of the season. He suffered a quarter-final exit to eventual finalist Jiri Vesely. Already a two-time titlist this year (Adelaide, Australian Open), Djokovic aims to continue his sizzling start to the year in the United Arab Emirates.

Holger Rune and Ben Shelton are set to team up on the doubles court next month in Indian Wells. But before they join forces for the first time, they will contest their ATP Head2Head matchup in the singles opening round at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Saturday’s draw for the ATP 500 event also revealed Mackenzie McDonald as top seed Carlos Alcaraz’s first opponent and set an all-American showdown between third seed Taylor Fritz and John Isner.

View Draws: Singles | Doubles

Returning Acapulco quarter-finalist Marcos Giron, who opens against countryman Michael Mmoh, was on hand for the draw ceremony and shared his matches to watch in the opening round.

“I would want to see Mackie, a fellow American, playing against Carlitos,” the 29-year-old said. “Carlitos is obviously playing great I think that would be a fun one.” McDonald will be bidding to upset a Spaniard ranked at No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the second time this season after his second-round upset of Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.

“Also Holger Rune against Ben Shelton, I think that’s going to be a really good one,” Giron added. “Ben’s been playing great, quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Holger is young, in the Top 10 in the world. So I think that’s going to be a really good match.”

Giron is one off 11 Americans in the singles main draw, not including potential qualifiers, with third seed Fritz and sixth seed Frances Tiafoe leading the way. If the American No. 1 Fritz can move past Isner in the first round, he will face the winner of another marquee opening match between Denis Shapovalov and Miomir Kecmanovic. Tiafoe opens against Japanese No. 1 Yoshihito Nishioka.

Second seed Casper Ruud will begin against a qualifier and could face J.J. Wolf in the second round. In the other half of the draw, Alcaraz’s potential path could include a quarter-final against seventh seed Tommy Paul and a semi-final against Fritz.

In the doubles draw, brothers Jacopo Berrettini and Matteo Berrettini will meet Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the opening round. The winner of that match will play top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski or Mexcan wild cards Hans Hach Verdugo and Migiel Angel Reyes-Varelo.

Main-draw action begins Monday, with the player-favourite tournament being held at the Arena GNP Seguros for the second year.

“Playing here in Acapulco is incredible,” said Giron. “This tournament’s incredible, one of the best of the year. The fans are awesome, the facilities are great, especially this new stadium. I’ve got nothing but good memories.”

One week after a narrow defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Buenos Aires final, Cameron Norrie has done his part to earn a rematch in the Rio Open presented by Claro title match.

The Briton edged Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) on Saturday in Brazil to reach his third final of the season and improve to 17-3 on the year. Norrie, who also reached the Auckland final last month, leads the ATP Tour in wins in 2023.

A pair of one-sided sets gave way to a thrilling decider on Court Guga Kuerten. Norrie won five games in a row to win the opener without facing a break point before Zapata Miralles levelled behind a 3-0 start in set two, denying Norrie a break chance in the set.

“It was good from him and I was a little bit impatient,” Norrie said of the turnaround after a strong opening set. “I tried to finish the points a little bit too early. I was a bit overconfident. But credit to him, he came back strong.”

Following a trade of breaks midway through the third, Norrie fended off a break point at 5-5 with a brave approach and a deft drop volley placed just out of the reach of the sliding Spaniard. Norrie opened the tie-break with a clever forehand drop shot from the frontcourt and never trailed, winning the final three points to seal his final place.

After the two-and-a-half-hour win in what was his eighth match in the past 11 days, Norrie was pleased with his ability to grind out another gruelling win. 

“That’s all it was today was physical in that third set,” he said. “I just found a way, it was really tough. He fought hard. I’m serving much better, hitting my spots much better.

“I’m going to have to finish the points [in the final] and execute and execute well otherwise I’m going to have no chance.”

Norrie will meet either top seed Alcaraz or Nicolas Jarry in the final. Alcaraz will bid to improve his perfect 2023 record to 8-0 when he takes on the Chilean in the day’s second semi-final.

Zapata Miralles, who reached his first two ATP Tour semi-finals in consecutive weeks (l. to Alcaraz in Buenos Aires), has guaranteed himself a Top 50 debut. The 26-year-old is up 21 places to No. 42 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Daniil Medvedev maintained his red-hot February form on Saturday to power to victory at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where the third seed prevailed 6-4, 6-4 against Andy Murray to claim the title on tournament debut in Doha.

Medvedev made a fast start in both sets to complete his one-hour, 47-minute victory in a battle between two former World No. 1s, opening up a 4-1 lead in the first and a 3-1 lead in the second. Murray, who won all four of his previous matches in Doha this week in three sets, reclaimed a break in each set, but Medvedev denied another comeback for the 35-year-old to clinch his 17th tour-level title.

“[It was] a tough match,” said Medvedev after his win. “It was a little bit windy today, so both of us were struggling to find our rhythm… Today was a big fight for both of us. Sometimes we were playing bad, then suddenly both of us were playing amazing, and I’m happy to win.”

Having also triumphed in Rotterdam last week, Medvedev is the first player to clinch back-to-back singles titles in the 2023 ATP Tour season. On Monday, the 27-year-old will leapfrog Rafael Nadal to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as a result of his Doha title run.

“I managed to find momentum in Rotterdam,” said Medvedev, when asked about his recent form. “The first two matches I played there were tough. I didn’t feel good before that tournament, and then starting in the quarter-finals against Felix [Auger-Aliassime], I started to find my rhythm.

“I started to play really good. Serve better, move better. Today it was tough for Andy to put the balls through me many times, and now the question is [if it] can continue. I’m going to try as long as I can.”

Medvedev entered Saturday’s final having not dropped a set against Murray in the pair’s two previous ATP Head2Head meetings. In Doha, he started confidently against the Briton once again, opening a double-break lead at 4-1 by staying solid while Murray struggled to find his best level.

However, as he had in each of his victories this week, the Briton demonstrated resilience when under pressure. Murray began to match Medvedev in the longer rallies, with the 46-time tour-level titlist striking his backhand particularly cleanly. He reclaimed one of the breaks and held another break point at 4-5, but Medvedev held firm to move ahead.

Pinpoint accuracy 📍
@QatarTennis | #Qemo2023 | @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/GAMffTm1Wq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 25, 2023

The defining feature of Medvedev’s recent form has been his relentlessness from the baseline, and his retrieving abilities helped him break Murray’s serve again in the first game of the second set. Although Murray again rallied, levelling for 3-3 with some inspired defence on break point, another decisive break for Medvedev in the ninth game helped extend his winning streak to nine tour-level matches.

The windy conditions may have contributed to an uncharacteristic six double faults for Medvedev, but the third seed saved five of seven break points to improve his season record to 14-2. Sixteen of his 17 tour-level titles have now come on hard courts.

Despite falling just short of winning his first ATP Tour title since 2019, Murray rose 18 spots to No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings thanks to his string of marathon wins in Doha. The Briton will look to build on his form next week, when he and Medvedev both join the field at the ATP 500 event in Dubai.

Hubert Hurkacz booked his place in the Open 13 Provence final with a straight-sets victory on Saturday, but not before the Pole and his opponent Alexander Bublik had treated the Marseille crowd to a richly entertaining semi-final clash at the indoor ATP 250.

Top seed Hurkacz prevailed 6-4, 7-6(4) in a match defined by plenty of creative and, at times, outrageous shotmaking. With both players also dialled in on serve, it was the World No. 11 who raised his level at crucial moments to book his spot in the championship match against Benjamin Bonzi or Arthur Fils. (Watch Hurkacz v Bonzi or Fils, Sunday 2pm CET/8am ET)

The highlight of the 94-minute clash was Hurkacz’s tweener pass from way behind the baseline to bring up 15/40 on Bublik’s serve in the third game of the second set. Although the Kazakhstani went on to hold in that game and ultimately saved all seven break points he faced in the second set, Hurkacz progressed to his seventh tour-level final with a rock-solid showing in the tie-break.

In amongst the cat-and-mouse exchanges, Hurkacz struck 22 aces and won 82 per cent (41/50) of points behind his first serve. The Pole, who is chasing his first ATP Tour title since he triumphed on the grass in Halle last June, saved all three break points he faced as he improved his ATP Head2Head lead against Bublik to 5-1.

More to follow…

A meeting between fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz and 2017 champion Andy Murray headlines the first-round action at next week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev lead the field at the hard-court ATP 500.

View Draws: Singles | Doubles

Both Hurkacz and Murray will arrive in Dubai off the back of deep runs at ATP 250 level in the past week. The World No. 11 Hurkacz plays his semi-final in Marseille on Saturday, with former World No. 1 Murray due on court in the Doha championship match against Medvedev shortly after.

Hurkacz leads Murray 2-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, but the pair has not played since 2021. Should the winner of the Dubai clash go on to reach the quarter-finals, they could face top seed Djokovic.

The Serbian has been drawn to play a qualifier in his first match since lifting a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title at January’s Australian Open. Djokovic, a five-time champion in Dubai, would face Tallon Griekspoor or Constant Lestienne in the second round if he prevails in his opener.

Third seed Medvedev is a potential semi-final rival for all of Djokovic, Hurkacz and Murray. The Rotterdam champion leads the second quarter of the draw in Dubai, where he also opens against a qualifier. Medvedev’s quarter-final opponent could be the winner of a first-round matchup between eighth seed Borna Coric and Daniel Evans.

In the bottom half of the draw, Rublev begins his title defence against Filip Krajinovic, with Karen Khachanov a potential quarter-final challenger for the second seed. The 25-year-old Rublev will be playing for his sixth ATP 500 crown.

A stacked third quarter offers plenty of intriguing first-round matchups, including fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime taking on the serve-and-volley game of Maxime Cressy. Seventh seed Alexander Zverev meets the fast-rising 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka, with the winner guaranteed to face a big-serving threat in the second round from Marc-Andrea Huesler or Lorenzo Sonego.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz extended his perfect record in 2023 to 7-0 after a fighting 6-4, 7-6(0) win over Serbian Dusan Lajovic to advance to the semi-finals of the Rio Open presented by Claro on Friday.

The 19-year-old Spaniard rallied from 2-4 in both the first and second sets before putting away the World No. 80 for the second time in as many weeks, having beaten the 29-year-old 6-4, 6-2 in the Buenos Aires quarter-finals.

Despite clubbing 32 winners to Lajovic’s 13 and winning 16 of 17 net approaches, Alcaraz will not be entirely happy with his performance after forcing himself to work harder than perhaps needed for victory. In addition to going down breaks in both sets and making 25 unforced errors, the Spaniard was broken at 5-all in the second despite holding a 40/0 lead in the game.

The former World No. 1 was forced to save a set point with some inspired play at net in the following game before running away with the win in the tie-break.

“That’s the point… to find a way to come back against a tough opponent,” Alcaraz said. “I had to be really focussed and be there all the time waiting for my chances.”

Closing in on back-to-back titles after triumphing in Buenos Aires last week in his season debut, the World No. 2 will meet the winner of Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry and sixth-seeded Argentine Sebastian Baez on Saturday.

Should he win his eighth tour-level title Sunday, Alcaraz will join World No. 1 Novak Djokovic with 7,070 points in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. But the 10-time Australian Open champion will remain atop the rankings because he has earned more points at mandatory events during the past 52 weeks.

Earlier in the day second seed Cameron Norrie kept alive the possibility of a final showdown with Alcaraz for the second consecutive week after he rallied from a set down to defeat Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. But he will be looking for a sharper start Saturday against Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, who reached his second consecutive semi-final after taking out countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“I didn’t start too well, was missing a lot of returns and not making points physical like I wanted to,” Norrie said. “[After the first set] I needed to be patient with myself. I’m not sure what happened but I didn’t make a lot of returns and missed a couple of first balls on my serve, which is uncharacteristic. I just hung in there and stepped it up when I needed to.”

The Briton had a mixed day on serve. He won a commanding 84 per cent of points on his first serve but had trouble at times with his toss and threw in seven double faults, including two on match points in the final game of the match.

”I felt I hit my spots better than I did yesterday,” Norrie said. “I had a couple of double faults but he was really putting a lot of pressure on my second and maybe I went after it a little too much. But I’m not worried about it. I just need to come out a little stronger tomorrow and make it more physical like I did in Thiago in the second round.”

The rapid rise of Arthur Fils continued unabated Friday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. The #NextGenATP Frenchman dispatched former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 at the indoor hard-court event to reach his second consecutive ATP Tour semi-final.

Fils’ converted four of 12 break points in his dominant 66-minute victory to underline his status as one of the breakout stars of 2023 so far. The 18-year-old is 5-1 on the ATP Tour after reaching the semi-finals in Montpellier and now in Marseille. He also began the season by going 9-1 on the ATP Challenger Tour.

In a dominant quarter-final performance, Fils dropped just one point behind his first serve against Wawrinka, who struggled to find his best form after coming through tough-three-setters against Zizou Bergs and Richard Gasquet in his opening two rounds.

The home wild card Fils later admitted that it felt slightly surreal to defeat a three-time Grand Slam champion, for whom he served as a hitting partner just under four months ago at November’s Rolex Paris Masters. Fils made his ATP Tour main draw debut as a qualifier at that event, where he pushed Fabio Fognini to three sets in the first round.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Fils. “I was watching him [Wawrinka] play during all my young career. I was hitting in Bercy with him as a sparring partner, and now I beat him. It’s a long way, a long way for my coach and my family, but it’s not over yet and I want to enjoy more.”

Arthur with an arrow 🏹@Open13 | #open13provence | @ArthurFils1 pic.twitter.com/3cFBuvqjMZ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 24, 2023

Fils only registered his maiden ATP Tour victory 18 days ago. Now a two-time semi-finalst, the 18-year-old has already demonstrated his ability to consistently compete against some of the best players on Tour.

“[My progress is] fast, but I can be faster, so I will try to be,” said Fils of his rapid rise. “I will try to enjoy every moment on the court, as I did today, and I’m very happy with the crowd and everything.”

Fils’ run in Marseille so far has lifted the Frenchman 14 spots to No. 104 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Should he defeat his fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in Saturday’s semi-finals, Fils will break the Top 100 for the first time.

Bonzi booked his own spot in the final by upsetting third seed Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in the final match of the day in Marseille. The 26-year-old broke his Australian opponent’s serve four times in a one-hour, 40-minute win, just his second against a Top 25 opponent in 11 attempts.

The World No. 60 Bonzi will be bidding to reach his second ATP Tour final when he steps on court against Fils. He also reached the championship match in Pune in January, when he fell in three sets to Tallon Griekspoor.