Jannik Sinner clinched the win on Monday at the Mutua Madrid Open, but the 10th seed had to come back from the brink against Tommy Paul at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Paul let slip two match points when serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set and another at 6-5 on the Sinner serve in the Spanish capital. The Italian upped his level at crucial moments to bounce back for a dramatic three-hour win.

Sinner is yet to reach a semi-final in 2022 but has shown good form at some of the biggest events this year, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the Masters 1000 events in Miami and Monte Carlo. The Italian will hope his hard-fought win over Paul can be the catalyst for a deep run at the Caja Magica, where he holds a 1-1 match record.

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Things were running smoothly for Sinner early as he dominated from deep in the opening stages on Manolo Santana Stadium, but Paul admirably stuck with his opponent. The American began to settle into the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting and recovered 2-4 to force a first-set tie-break, which he took comfortably after opening an unassailable 5/0 lead.

Paul continued to strike the ball cleanly and show imagination when coming forward, but the momentum of the match changed when the American served for it at 5-3 in the second. Sinner ripped a series of blistering forehands to reclaim the break and then fended off another match point to force a tie-break.

Dropping the HAMMER 🔨@janniksin swinging from the shoulder to stay alive in Madrid!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/v3hd9CAxYC

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 2, 2022

The 20-year-old looked to have found his range and after claiming the tie-break to level the match, he began to find searing winners off both wings to clinch an intriguing encounter 6-3 in the final set. A powerful serving performance aided the Italian when other parts of his game weren’t firing — he struck eight aces and won 72 per cent (46/64) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Sinner now faces a second-round meeting with Alex de Minaur, who earlier defeated home favourite Pedro Martinez, 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3. Sinner holds a 3-0 ATP Head2Head series lead over the 23-year-old Australian, a record that includes a straight-sets win for the Italian in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

The clay-court swing on the ATP Tour is a time for high-bouncing balls, lung-busting exchanges, red-stained socks and sliding into shots.

For Hubert Hurkacz, the period represents a chance to climb the ATP Rankings as he looks to transfer his strong hard-court form onto the red dirt. The Pole went 1-4 on clay in 2021 but has already earned three wins on the surface this year after advancing to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Ahead of making his third appearance at the Mutua Madrid Open, Hurkacz revealed he is feeling confident that his game can continue to match up well on the clay this year.

“It is going to be better than last year because I was not winning matches then,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “I have done some work with my coach and I am starting to feel better on clay courts. I think my game is going to be good. I think I have the capacity to play really well on the surface.

“I think I can move decently on clay courts. That helps, I can get to the ball. I feel that I can hit the ball hard on clay because I have more time on clay, so that is beneficial for me. I am just working on my game generally to improve on the surface.”

The World No. 14 has enjoyed standout results on both hard and grass, capturing his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami last year before he defeated Roger Federer en route to the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

While his thunderous groundstrokes and powerful serve are well suited on hard and grass courts, Hurkacz actually played primarily on clay when he was younger as he developed his game in Poland.

“In Poland we have so many clay courts, so when I was young I played a lot on clay courts,” Hurkacz said. “I definitely played way more on clay than I did on hard. From the age of eight all the way through until I was 16, I used to play on clay courts and enjoyed it. I feel comfortable playing on it.”

Hurkacz is defending just 143 ATP Ranking points from this week through the week of 20 June. He has already earned 180 points on the surface this year from Monte Carlo. With American Taylor Fritz the only player ranked above Hurkacz defending fewer points in that period, the Pole is targeting a return to the Top 10, after dropping out on 4 April 2022.

“It is definitely a focus to get back into the Top 10,” Hurkacz admitted. “If I can play at a good level, I will have chances to win tournaments. It is all about getting my game to a good spot and then I will have bigger opportunities to produce better results and reach finals.”

The 25-year-old was ranked outside the Top 30 at the start of the 2021 season. However, after capturing three tour-level titles, he qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin for the first time.

He is aiming to use the prestigious end-of-year event as fuel for further motivation in the coming weeks.

“Turin was a huge experience for me. I felt great there and the experience has really helped me,” Hurkacz said when reflecting on the prestigious end-of-year event. “It is also a big motivation to try and qualify again this year. Trying to become a better player and person. I want to improve my ranking and qualify for Turin.

“At the beginning of the year I had high expectations of myself. I wanted to do really well. I feel that I have got used to it now and am dealing with the pressure better and doing well.”

Hurkacz will face Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien in his opening match in Madrid as he looks to carry his Monte Carlo momentum into the second clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

“I really, really like the city. Madrid is great,” Hurkacz said as he aims to win his first title of the season in the Spanish capital. “It is quite quick the surface here, which I feel suits my game and I feel I can have a good run here.”

No. 45 Holger Rune, +25 (Career High)
The #NextGenATP Dane cracks the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings for the first time after marching to a maiden tour-level title at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich without dropping a set. Rune notched a first Top 10 win over Alexander Zverev in the second round and celebrated his 19th birthday by dropping just two games in a stunning quarter-final win over Emil Ruusuvuori. He then lifted the trophy after Botic van de Zandschulp retired in the championship match. Read Munich Final Report & Watch Highlights.

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No. 31 Botic van de Zandschulp, +9 (Career High)
The 26-year-old continued his solid rise with a run to a first ATP Tour final in Munich, jumping nine places to a career-high No. 31 after a productive week in Bavaria. The Dutchman took out second seed Casper Ruud in an impressive straight-sets win and battled past the in-form Miomir Kecmanovic in the semi-finals before he was forced to retire from his encounter with Rune.

No. 40 Sebastian Baez, +19 (Career High)
The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist joins Rune in breaking the Top 50 after a stirring run to the title at the Millennium Estoril Open. The unseeded 21-year-old beat 2018 winner Joao Sousa, former World No. 3 Marin Cilic and defending champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas on the way to the championship match in Portugal, where he dominated fifth seed Frances Tiafoe to clinch a maiden ATP Tour title. Read Estoril Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 20 Grigor Dimitrov, +2
No. 25 Frances Tiafoe, +4 (Career High)
No. 30 Sebastian Korda, +7 (Career High)
No. 32 Miomir Kecmanovic, +6 (Career High)
No. 53 Oscar Otte, +9 (Career High)
No. 84 Alejandro Tabilo, +7 (Career High)

Having endured a bumpy start to the season, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina arrives at the Mutua Madrid Open flying higher than ever after his year took off in style at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last month.

The Spaniard produced aggressive and explosive performances as he soared to his maiden tour-level final at the ATP Masters 1000 event, climbing to a career-high No. 27 in the process.

It was a welcome return to form for Davidovich Fokina, who had struggled to achieve the results his hard work deserved in the early months of the season. The 22-year-old was 4-9 on the year prior to his arrival in the Principality and admitted that he was drained following his first-round defeat in Marrakech at the start of April.

“The beginning of the season was tough,” Davidovich Fokina told ATPTour.com. “The week before I played in Marrakech and I lost in the first round. I needed to reset my mind because it was not going well. I took three days off, and went away to disconnect my mind. I continued to work on my fitness but I turned my phone off, I was just reading books and was trying to see what I wanted to do with my life.

“I took a flight to Monte Carlo on Saturday and then played Sunday and I was like ‘OK, I don’t care’. I just wanted to reset my mind. In the first round I played against [Marcos] Giron on the centre court and it was fun and I was nervous but it felt different. I was refreshed and it was good.”

Following his opening win, the refocused Spaniard then met World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was competing at an event for just the second time this season. Davidovich Fokina battled hard in front of a packed Court Rainier III to topple the Serb 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 for the biggest win of his career.

For the two-time ATP Challenger Tour champ, it was another key moment in the changing of his fortunes.

“From the beginning of the tournament I didn’t think I would reach the final. I had a very tough draw,” Davidovich Fokina said. “In the second round, I had Djokovic. He had not had a lot of rhythm of matches, so I thought I had an opportunity to win that match. After that win, I had a lot of confidence in myself.

“The beginning of the season was tough because in a lot of matches I had a lot of control but that escaped, and I lost. However, after beating Djokovic, everything grew confidence-wise and I started to believe in myself and pushing myself to see where my limits are.”

Push himself he did, earning further victories against David Goffin, Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov, before World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas halted him in the final.

By advancing to his maiden tour-level championship match, Davidovich Fokina was rewarded for all the hard work he has put into his game for the past decade.

A crucial figure behind the 22-year-old’s success is coach Jorge Aguirre. The pair has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship after they started working together at Racket Club Fuengirola, Malaga, in 2011.

“I started with him when I was 11. He is obviously my coach but he is more like my father,” Davidovich Fokina said, cracking a smile. “He is teaching me new things every day, keeping me in line. The good line. Because sometimes you go to a line you shouldn’t. Without him and his help, I wouldn’t have been a tennis player.”

Under Aguirre’s guidance, Davidovich Fokina has won two ATP Challenger titles, competed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019 and steadily climbed the ATP Rankings.

Now his goals for the rest of the season are clear.

“Our objective this year was to be Top 20. But after the start of the season, I was around No. 50 and struggling a little bit. However, to be in the Top 30 after Monte Carlo, it has changed a lot of things,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I have to believe in myself more and be more ambitious. I want to be Top 20 before the clay season is over. Then after that we will see what happens.”

The Spaniard, who revealed he loves watching the Marvel movies when he is not competing, will begin his Mutua Madrid Open campaign against Lloyd Harris on Monday. It will be the first time Davidovich Fokina has played on home soil this year and he is relishing the opportunity.

“For me to play in Spain is so exciting. You play in front of your people and the Spanish fans,” Davidovich Fokina said. “It is my third year here playing in Madrid and it is always fun because you can feel the support and the energy the people can give you. After what I did in Monte Carlo, I have more confidence to play well and I will really enjoy it.”

After a trio of matches opened men’s singles play Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open, a full slate awaits on Monday. A marquee evening matchup between Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray headlines the action on Manolo Santana Stadium, with 10th seed Jannik Sinner set to open the day’s play against Tommy Paul.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

Thiem and Murray will play for the fifth time, with their ATP Head2Head series locked a two wins apiece. But they have not met since 2019, when Thiem won the only straight-sets match in their history in Beijing.

The Austrian is seeking the first win of his comeback from a right-wrist tear following appearances in Belgrade and Estoril. Murray is playing for the first time since posting a 2-2 record at the Indian Wells and Miami ATP Masters 1000 events, and accepted a wild card after initially announcing he would skip the clay season. 

Both are previous ATP Masters 1000 champions, with Thiem winning Indian Wells in 2019 and Murray owning 14 titles at that level, most recently in Paris in 2016.  The Briton is a two-time Madrid champ, lifting the title at the 2008 hard-court event and the 2015 edition on clay. Thiem has been to the semi-finals or beyond in each of his past four Madrid appearances, including back-to-back finals in 2017-18.

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Sinner and Paul will meet for the first time, with the 20-year-old Italian making his first appearance since his Monte Carlo quarter-final run. Sinner is making his second Madrid appearance after a second-round showing one year ago. While Sinner stands at No. 12 in the ATP Rankings, three spots off his career high, Paul enters at No. 34, just one spot off his own career best. With a 15-9 record on the season, Paul will be looking to atone for his lone first-round loss last week in Estoril.

Rounding out the centre court action is another first-time matchup between Gael Monfils and Spanish wild card Carlos Gimeno Valero, with the winner advancing to face top seed Novak Djokovic. The 20-year-old Gimeno Valero will be making his ATP Tour main-draw debut, while World No. 21 Monfils seeks to return to the Madrid quarter-finals for the third time. The Frenchman last played in the Spanish capital in 2019, when he lost a third-set tie-break to Roger Federer in the last 16.

Also on the schedule for Monday is 13th seed Diego Schwartzman vs. qualifier Benoit Paire, and 14th seed Denis Shapovalov vs. lucky loser Ugo Humbert. Prior to those two matchups on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, home favourite Alejandro Davidovich will face South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.

In doubles action, Miami champions Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner will open their Madrid campaign against Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar on Court 5.

Holger Rune’s rapid rise hit new levels this week, as the #NextGenATP Dane clinched a maiden ATP Tour crown at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich.

The World No. 70 only broke the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings in January, but he looked more than comfortable on the big stage as he took the title in Germany without dropping a set all week after Botic van de Zandschulp retired in the first set of Sunday’s championship match.

The Dane’s impressive march to the final included taking out top seed Alexander Zverev for a maiden Top 10 win and a blistering 6-0, 6-2 quarter-final victory over Emil Ruusuvuori on Friday, Rune’s 19th birthday. ATPTour.com sat down with Rune after his breakthrough run in Munich to find out more about his life on Tour, on and off the court.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means a lot. It was my ultimate goal for this year to be able to win my first ATP 250 title. It happened today and I’m super happy about that and excited about the future. This can only bring good things out of me and I’m going to stay working hard and just try to achieve more things.

How did you start playing tennis? What are some of your early memories playing the sport?
I started playing when I was six years old, and it was with my sister. That’s the first memory I have, playing with my sister in the club. We played with the soft balls, mini-tennis, and we had a lot of good fights together, tie-breaks and stuff. She was obviously better than me because she’s four years older, but she kept pushing me and I got better and better.

What do you consider to be your biggest passions outside of tennis and can you tell us a little bit about those interests?
I like sports in general, like football and basketball. Honestly, I’m pretty lazy, so I like to watch a good movie and watch some Netflix.

This is a milestone moment in your career. How will you celebrate this victory? You’re not playing next week, that’s well planned!
It’s really nice. It’s always so nice when you win a tournament to not play the next week. I’m going to see my family and I’m so excited for it. These are the ones who are always with me and I appreciate that so much.

We didn’t plan anything yet, but for sure we will celebrate all together, with my coach, my mum, everybody, so it’s huge.

You are such an energetic presence on the court. How would you describe yourself off the court?
I’m very relaxed actually, very down-to-earth. I try to be like this all the time because mainly I’m just happy and I’m doing what I love. I love playing tennis, I love travelling, and this is what I’m doing. I’m actually living my dream right now and I’m really enjoying that.

We have heard your secret talent is juggling. How did you discover that and how good are you?
Actually my coach was in the circus. He can do all these things, and he taught me how to do it. I can do it with three or four balls. I’m good at it, but not unbelievable!

What has the reaction been to your success in Denmark? Do you have a message for your fans back home?
I want to say a huge thanks to these [fans], because it means so much when you’re on the court that you know, even at the side [of the court] and at home, there are so many who only want you to play the best that you can. It’s really a good feeling stepping on the court.

You are still quite new to the Tour. Away from the tennis, what are you enjoying most about travelling around the world?
I would say probably seeing new tennis courts every time! It’s a fun one, but I like to play in different conditions every week and this what we have to do. We have to adapt, and I really like that challenge.

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has consistently broken records and hit new heights in 2022, with his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami and Top 10 breakthrough two standout moments.

Speaking before his opening singles match at the Mutua Madrid Open Sunday, the 18-year-old revealed that the fundamental factor behind his rapid rise on the ATP Tour has been his mental fortitude.

“”I think that as a player I have grown a lot, [and also] as a person,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Last year I came here to live these kinds of matches, to be able to gain some experience, to be able to level myself against the best players in the world. Now I consider myself one of them.

“I would say my fitness has been important but definitely the most important part has been the mental game. I feel I have grown up so much in that part. That is why I am the World No. 9 right now and that is why I am playing at a good level. That is why I have been able to win great matches, so I think [my mentality] is the most important thing.”

Alcaraz arrives in Madrid off the back of capturing his third tour-level title of the season in Barcelona. With the seventh seed now 23-3 on the season and third in the ATP Race To Turin, expectation levels have increased for the teenager.

However, the World No. 9 feels that he can cope with the pressure and is just relishing the opportunity to compete on Spanish soil again this week.

“It’s not easy to play at home. There is a lot of expectation, a lot of people that want to see you doing it well,” Alcaraz said. “But I’m a player that turns things around. I take that as a motivation, as an extra punch, extra help.

“I am really excited to be competing here. It is great to play in Spain in front of my home crowd. I try not to think about the pressure. I just try and think about myself and play my best on court. I am trying to have a great time with the crowd pushing me up. I don’t try and think about the expectations.”

Alcaraz, who faces Nikoloz Basilashvili or Fabio Fognini in his opening singles match, took to court in the doubles earlier on Sunday with countryman Marc Lopez for the first time.

Alcaraz said that he was honoured to partner the 39-year-old, who has won 14 tour-level doubles titles in his career.

“I have known Marc for a long time. It is pretty amazing to play with him,” Alcaraz said following their Match Tie-break win against Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. “I am so proud to share the court with him and learn from him. I thought it was a great match and I enjoyed every single second on court.

“It was his idea. He texted me and he said he was going to play his last tournament here in Madrid. He was real excited to play this doubles with me.”

#NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper earned the second ATP Masters 1000 win of his season and career on Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The 20-year-old wild card was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over World No. 27 Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Draper dropped serve just once in the Madrid opening-round match, but it came at a crucial time as he served for the first set. After missing out on a set point, he bounced back to break for the set. The Briton again faced a break point as he served out the match, but was able to close it out for the straight-sets victory.

The World No. 124 has won four ATP Challenger Tour events in a strong start to the 2022 season, and defeated Gilles Simon at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March. He next faces sixth seed Andrey Rublev.

Daniel Evans joined his countryman in the second round after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Federico Delbonis as he looks to kickstart his clay swing.

“I think all of it was pretty good,” Evans said of his performance against the Argentine, who reached the last 16 as a qualifier last year in Madrid. “I played pretty well throughout the match. I served well, I mixed it up well.

“I’ve played well this year on clay,” he added, “just haven’t got my head in front really.”

New Conversion and Steal Insights from Tennis Data Innovations reveal how Evans won the match despite Delbonis being the more aggressive player. The left hander won the Balance of Power decisively, hitting from an attacking position 31 per cent of the time to Evans’ 20 per cent.

But the Brit was much better at converting from attacking positions, boasting a Conversion score of 82 per cent. In contrast, Delbonis won just 61 per cent of points when he worked his way into offense.

Evans also enjoyed an emphatic edge over Delbonis in the new Steal score metric, winning an impressive 39 per cent of points in which he found himself in a defensive position, handily above the clay average of 35 per cent.

Learn more about Conversion & Steal scores

In the only other main-draw singles match on Sunday, John Isner defeated Filip Krajinovic, 7-6(8), 6-4.

In Madrid doubles action, Carlos Alcaraz teamed with Marc Lopez for a 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-4 win in what was the youngster’s Madrid doubles debut. Another Spanish pairing — Pablo Carreno Busta and Pedro Martinez — also advanced via a Match Tie-break, beating Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov, 6-7(6), 6-3, 10-1.

Novak Djokovic, the top seed this week at the Mutua Madrid Open, has been eager for competitive match play as he ramps up his activity on the ATP Tour. He got that and more in Belgrade, where he played four three-setters in a runner-up finish at his hometown Serbia Open. 

Though he lost to Andrey Rublev in a three-set final — “running out of gas”, as he described it — Djokovic left the ATP 250 event happy with his performance.

“I was looking to spend more time on the court, and that’s what I got. So of course playing finals is a good result and I have to be positive about it,” he said in a Madrid pre-tournament presser.

“I like a lot of things about the way I was hitting the ball. Of course it’s not at the level still where I wish it to be. It is a process, and I have to be patient. Hopefully things will progress in the right direction also this week.”

While Djokovic attributes the gaps in his game to his lack of match play, he feels his fitness struggles are due to lingering effects from an illness he had prior to Monte Carlo.

“But [it was] different in Belgrade than it was in Monaco,” he explained of his fitness level. “Knowing that I played four almost-three-hour matches and long, three-set battles gives me enough reason to believe that it’s headed in the right direction.

“I had a very good week of training now, put more emphasis on fitness and building the stamina and endurance, because that’s what’s going to be necessary in order to compete with top guys on the slowest and physically most demanding surface in our sport.”

Djokovic will open his Madrid campaign against Gael Monfils or Spanish wild card Carlos Gimeno Valero. His last-16 matchup promises to be an enticing one against one of Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, Denis Shapovalov and Ugo Humbert.