Despite losing to Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is aiming to take encouragement out of his run in Belgrade as he looks to build on his newfound momentum in the coming weeks.

“I have to look at the positives. [I] played the final in front of my home crowd,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “It was unfortunate that in the third set I ran out of gas and couldn’t give it more of a fight. Congrats to Andrey for playing another great week. He is at the top of the men’s game and one of the best players for a reason.

“I could have easily lost in the first match, so after four tough three-set battles all I can say is I am tired. Winning the tough three-set battles before this match will serve me well for the continuation of the season.

The Serbian fell to Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match in Monte Carlo last week, but showed signs he is returning to form at the ATP 250 clay-court event, earning three hard-fought third-set wins to reach his maiden final of the season.

Djokovic defeated Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov in front of his home support, but was unable to find one final push against Rublev as he faded in the deciding set, with the second seed triumphing 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0.

“I didn’t feel too tired until the end of the second set,” Djokovic said when reflecting on the match. “The 5-4 game was a long game and that is when I started to not feel great. I think I played well in the tie-break. I came out ready to fight another set, but it wasn’t [a] very pleasant thing for people to see on the court, so I am sorry for that kind of experience as I knew people wanted to see me fight and try and win. But it wasn’t to be this time.”

The 86-time tour-level titlist will continue to compete on Tour over the next month and while he is not 100 per cent happy with where his fitness levels are currently, he is pleased with the progress that he has made this week.

“At least this bad feeling physically came in the fourth match rather than the first match in Monte Carlo,” Djokovic said. “Things are progressing slowly but surely.”

Former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem feels that he is ready to step up his progress when he competes in just his second tour-level event of the season this coming week at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The Austrian suffered a tear in his right wrist last June, which kept him out for the rest of 2021. But he returned to the ATP Tour at the Serbia Open in Belgrade last week, showing signs of promise during his defeat to Australian John Millman in his opening match.

“I feel much better already than Belgrade. The improvement is there every single day,” Thiem said. “In practice points I’m still having troubles — not with the wrist, the wrist is fine also in points — but [in] all the movement, all the reaction, all the anticipation, I’m still not 100 per cent yet. It will take many more matches until I’m back at the top level there. So I’m not feeling capable of winning this tournament.

“But every match is super important for me now. I’m going to try my best, I’m going to fight 100 per cent from the first to the last point, even when I’m not playing my best tennis, which can happen. And that’s it. I have low expectations this week and also the next ones to come. But obviously I’m trying everything to win and I’m going to see what comes out at the end.”

While the 28-year-old understands that it will take time to return to his best, he is excited to be able to compete and train with those at the top of the game once again as he looks to build his fitness heading towards Roland Garros in May.

“Of course it’s the matches which I need, but also it’s the practice sessions with top players and those you can only get [at] the tournaments,” Thiem said. “I think that they are as important to get used to the pace again, to get used to the fast movements again, anticipation, reaction, that’s so important.

“The first short-term goal to be in a decent shape again is the French Open. I’m definitely not going to be a favourite there, but maybe I can win some matches there and if I face a top opponent, maybe I can give him a hard match. That’s the short-term goal. To make big things, I think I’m going to have to wait until the second part of the season.”

Thiem has not earned a tour-level win since May 2021, when he defeated Marton Fucsovics in Rome. The 2020 US Open champ will be eager to change that record when he faces Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in his opening match at the ATP 250 clay-court event.

Thiem, who also played at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Marbella in March, has produced some of the best tennis of his career on clay, clinching 10 of his 17 tour-level titles on the surface. The Austrian will make his debut in Estoril this week after accepting a wild card.

“I have only been once in this country before,” Thiem said when discussing his reasoning for playing in Estoril. “When I’m traveling all around the world I want to visit all the countries, all the cities, so it was easy to choose this tournament.”

Carlos Alcaraz has taken the ATP Tour by storm in 2022 with three ATP Tour titles, including his triumph on home soil Sunday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Has the 18-year-old revealed the secret to his success?

Alcaraz confirmed in his post-match interview that he motivates himself by listening to the soundtrack of the Rocky series.

“I try to listen to that song before every match. It motivates me,” Alcaraz said, cracking a smile. “When I listen to the music, I remember the movie and it’s amazing the fighting spirit that Rocky has. I try to have that experience in every match, so that motivates me.”

The motivation has worked all year for the teen, but especially Sunday when, like Rocky did, Alcaraz had his back against the ropes. Due to rain, the semi-finals were played Sunday morning. Alex de Minaur had two match points to clinch a straight-sets victory against the teen. On one of those points, De Minaur had a short forehand that he would normally put away.

But instead, he hit the ball too close to the middle of the court and Alcaraz contorted his body to somehow slap a forehand passing shot for a winner. The teen rallied to win the match and just hours later, despite needing three hours and 40 minutes against De Minaur, defeated mentor Pablo Carreno Busta to lift his third trophy of the season.

In a young career full of memorable moments, Carlos Alcaraz wrote another unforgettable chapter Sunday in Barcelona.

The fifth seed defeated mentor and eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Alcaraz, who has now won three titles this season, is projected to climb to No. 9 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Rafael Nadal did it exactly 17 years ago after lifting his first Barcelona trophy.

“It means a lot. I’ve watched this tournament since I was a kid. I always wished to play in this tournament and of course to be able to win this tournament,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “I’m really, really happy to be part of the [historic] Spanish list.”

Plenty of Spanish legends have won the Barcelona title, including Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya. Alcaraz, Nadal and Sunday’s Belgrade champion Andrey Rublev lead the ATP Tour this season with three titles each. 

“I’ve always been a normal guy. I’m not scared of fame,” Alcaraz said. “I’m not going to change the person I am. I’m happy to know that at 18 years old I’m in the Top 10, and to do it [at] the same age as my idol Rafa is impressive.”

Although the scoreline of the final looks straightforward, the day was anything but. The semi-finals were pushed to Sunday because of rain, and the 18-year-old needed three hours and 40 minutes to defeat Alex de Minaur in the longest best-of-three match of the season. In that clash, the Aussie had two match points to win in straight sets. On one of those match points, De Minaur had a short forehand with the court open, but allowed Alcaraz a look at a passing shot, which the teen delivered perfectly.

The #NextGenATP star showed no fatigue in the final, overwhelming Carreno Busta, who is like Alcaraz’s older brother, in one hour and six minutes. Both Spaniards train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy and Carreno Busta’s coach, Samuel Lopez, used to coach Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. During the trophy ceremony, Alcaraz and Carreno Busta even sat on the same bench as they waited to be called up.

So although this was the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, they were plenty familiar with one another. Alcaraz’s power controlled the action and he did not face a break point, while converting four of his 10 break chances to triumph.

“When my semi-final match finished, I rested, ate and I did my routine,” Carreno Busta said. “As we share team members, we do similar routines and we have coincided in some moments. We are friends first and we have to respect that.”

Earlier in the day, Carreno Busta defeated sixth seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets. But he was unable to find the same consistency against his countryman, missing a forehand long at 2-2 to relinquish the first break of the match and a short backhand on set point to give up another service break.

It was clear Carreno Busta had to go for more to try to match Alcaraz’s weight of shot, but he was never able to find enough of a rhythm to trouble his younger opponent.

“It wasn’t the match I expected,” Carreno Busta said. “Carlos was playing a very aggressive game this afternoon and he was very effective. It was very difficult play against him today.”

One year ago in Barcelona, then-World No. 119 Alcaraz lost in the first round against Frances Tiafoe in straight sets. Now he is the tournament winner. 

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Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies claimed an emotional victory at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday afternoon, fighting past Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski to clinch their first title together since successfully defending their crown at Roland Garros in 2020.

The German duo reunited at the start of the year after Mies missed most of 2021 following knee surgery, and the unseeded pairing looked back to its best as it came from behind in the final to secure a 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 10-6 win at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.

“It feels amazing,” said Mies after the pairing completed its maiden ATP 500 triumph in Spain. “It’s been a long time since we won our last title, the end of 2020, and I was injured all of last year, so I couldn’t be more relieved right now.”

The championship match triumph was the second match of the day for both teams, with Krawietz and Mies stepping on court early on Sunday to win their rain-delayed semi-final clash with Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, 6-7(6), 6-4, 10-7.

“It’s a special moment for us, we came through a lot of tough matches this week, a lot of close ones, we could have been out a few times already,” added Mies. “Especially this morning, playing two times today, tough matches. I’m very happy with our performance and how we managed to get the win in the end, unbelievable.”

Back in the winner’s circle 🏆

Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies clinch the Barcelona title!#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/rVqde0xwc0

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 24, 2022

Krawietz and Mies recovered from the disappointment of losing the opening-set tie-break to edge Koolhof and Skupski in both the second-set tie-break and the Match Tie-break as they proved the more consistent team over the course of a two-hour, 27-minute clash on Pista Rafa Nadal.

“In doubles it’s always tight with a Match Tie-break to stay mentally strong,” said Krawietz. “We played not so well sometimes, but in the tournament we were mentally good, so we are happy to have managed the matches and of course we are very happy to win the tournament here in Barcelona.”

Despite the defeat, Koolhof and Skupski can look back on another strong week as they extend their winning record in 2022 to 29-6. The Dutch-British duo have been one of the in-form pairings on Tour this year, picking up three ATP 250 titles and reaching the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Andrey Rublev captured his third tour-level title of the season Sunday, overcoming World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and a lively Serbian crowd to complete his Serbia Open debut in style.

In a hard-fought clash, the second dug deep against Djokovic as he hit with relentless power and intensity to outlast the home favourite 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0 at the ATP 250 clay-court event.

The 24-year-old saved five set points in the second set to force a tie-break and while he was unable to prevent Djokovic from levelling the match, Rublev regrouped in the decider as he looked the fitter of the two to triumph after two hours and 29 minutes.

“It is big to play against you and share the court for the second time,” Rublev said to Djokovic during the trophy ceremony. “I hope we have more battles. I feel so great here, it is a very nice city. It feels really special. I want to say a big thanks to all the spectators for supporting all the players all week. To see full crowds again is special for all of us.”

Rublev has now equalled Spaniard Rafael Nadal for the most tour-level titles in 2022, having also clinched crowns in Marseille and Dubai in February. With his maiden victory over a World No. 1, the World No. 8 has levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Serbian Djokovic at 1-1, gaining revenge for his defeat at the Nitto ATP Finals last season.

Djokovic was competing in his third event of the season as he aimed to clinch his maiden title of the year against Rublev. The 34-year-old, who lost in the quarter-finals in Dubai and suffered a shock second-round defeat against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte Carlo, battled past Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov in three sets as he worked his way back into form. However, the court time eventually caught up with the top seed against Rublev..

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Rublev arrived in Belgrade off the back of disappointing ATP Masters 1000 performances in Miami and Monte Carlo, where he lost in the second round and third round, respectively.

However, he found his top form this week, dropping just one set en route to the title as he also eliminated #NextGenATP Czech Jiri Lehecka, Japan’s Taro Daniel and Italian Fabio Fognini with heavy-hitting performances.

Sunday’s final was the fourth championship match of the season that featured two Top 10 players, with Rublev’s win improving his tour-level championship match record to 11-5.

In an entertaining final, Rublev quickly found his range as he demonstrated good footwork to dictate on his aggressive forehand. The second seed continuously forced Djokovic deep behind the baseline as he took large cuts at the ball to pull the Serbian around the court. The World No. 8 broke Djokovic twice in the first set and saved the one break point he faced to move ahead.

Fuelled by confidence, Rublev would have been eager to pull away at the start of the second set, but Djokovic had other ideas. He began to hit with greater depth and started to win the backhand exchanges to pull into a 2-0 lead. However, Rublev demonstrated his fighting qualities as he quickly levelled at 2-2, before he saved two set points in a mammoth service game at 4-5 to hold.

Djokovic then fended off a break point himself at 5-5, before Rublev once again found big serves and heavy forehands at the crucial moment to save three more set points on serve at 5-6 and force a tie-break. The Serbian would not be denied, though, storming into a 5/2 lead in the tie-break before letting out a roar when he levelled the match.

The effort the World No. 1 put into the second set seemed to catch up with him in the decider, though, with Djokovic fading fast in the third set as he was unable to match Rublev’s intensity. The second seed continued to strike the ball aggressively in the third set, but Djokovic no longer had the answers, with Rublev soaring to victory.

Djokovic now holds a 37-6 record in Serbia, having lifted the trophy at the Serbia Open in 2009 and 2011 and at the Belgrade Open last season.

Carlos Alcaraz came back from the brink to oust Alex de Minaur in a semi-final full of high drama at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday, as the #NextGenATP sensation’s dream 2022 showed no signs of slowing down at the ATP 500 event.

The 18-year-old saved two match points in the second set, one with an outrageous forehand pass on the run, as he overcame a slow start to notch a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 win and book a championship match appointment with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta later on Sunday at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.

“I was lucky,” said Alcaraz after the match. “I did that passing shot, I don’t know how I did it, it was pretty close, but I was fighting until the last ball. I had my chances. I did it at the end of the second set, breaking his serve twice. It was an unbelievable match, very close, but I was fighting.”

Alcaraz was made to dig deep in the three-hour, 40-minute marathon between two of the best movers on the ATP Tour. With the match resuming at 2-2 in the opening set following rain delays on Saturday, it was De Minaur who initially looked the stronger of the two early on Sunday morning. But the reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals stepped up a level in the second and third sets to move within one win of a third title of 2022.

“It’s tough to play a final this afternoon after this match, after this whole week, but it’s a final,” said Alcaraz of his clash with Carreno Busta later on Sunday. “You have to give 100 per cent, you have to fight until the last ball. It’s no time to be tired now, so you have to fight like the first day.”

De Minaur’s strong start on Pista Rafa Nadal saw him carve out two set points on the Alcaraz serve at 6-5, and although the Spaniard rallied to hold it was De Minaur who clinched the opening set with some impressive all-court play in the tie-break.

De Minaur combined his renowned defensive skills with some big forehand striking and solid serving to ensure Alcaraz remained under pressure throughout the pair’s first tour-level meeting. But the Australian failed to serve out for victory at 5-4 in the second set and then missed two match points at 6-5 in the second set, most notably when Alcaraz demonstrated his top-class athleticism by adjusting his body to find a forehand winner when down 40/15. Alcaraz sensed his chance and reclaimed the break before letting out a roar after levelling the match in a tie-break as De Minaur struggled to keep up with his rejuvenated opponent.

Although at times Alcaraz struggled to reach the level that has earned him 21 match wins in 2022 and took him to a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March, the Spaniard demonstrated his resilience in a series of entertaining exchanges as he fought his way back into the match. Alcaraz made the decisive move in a topsy-turvy final set as he broke for 5-4, serving out to love to extend his match record for 2022 to 22-3.

The win takes Alcaraz to a 9-0 match record in ATP 500 tournaments in 2022, having won his maiden title at that level at the Rio Open presented by Claro in February. Lifting the trophy in Barcelona would cap a milestone week for the Spaniard, who will break into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on Monday, becoming the youngest player to achieve that feat since countryman Rafael Nadal did so after winning at the Barcelona event in 2005.

Alcaraz will face eighth seed Carreno Busta in the championship match after the Spaniard beat Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in the other semi-final rescheduled for completion on Sunday morning.

Carreno Busta was emotional upon sealing a 99-minute victory on Pista Jan Kodes. The World No. 19 suffered semi-final losses at the Barcelona event in 2018 and 2021, but he broke Schwartzman three times after resuming at 2-2 in the first set to ensure there was no more final-four heartbreak in the city where he resides.

“Of course, it’s very special,” said Carreno Busta after the match. “Barcelona is my home. It’s very, very special to be in the final here. I lost two times in the semi-finals so finally I can play in the final. I know I have to be at 100 per cent again, and I will try to enjoy it because it is not normal to be in this situation.

“After yesterday with 12 hours at the club and we could only play four games, I think it was positive for me to have one more day to rest. Today I feel very good, I feel comfortable, playing with the crowd, it’s very important to be at home.”

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The Spaniard dropped his serve in the opening game of the match on Saturday night as the No. 6 seed Schwartzman started well, but Carreno Busta was not broken again as he extended his ATP Head2Head series lead over Schwartzman to 3-1. It is the second year in a row that Carreno Busta has defeated the Argentine in Barcelona, having prevailed in three sets at the quarter-final stage in 2021.

Sunday’s championship match with Alcaraz will be the first all-Spanish final in Barcelona since 2013, when Rafael Nadal defeated Nicolas Almagro. It is Carreno Busta’s first final of the year, and the 30-year-old is hunting a first title since winning his maiden ATP 500 crown at the Hamburg European Open in July.

Persistent rain continued to frustrate at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Saturday as play was suspended in the early stages of the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event, with both matches now scheduled to be completed on Sunday morning.

The semi-finals will resume at 11am local time (CEST), with the championship match scheduled for 4pm CEST.

Fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz’s maiden tour-level meeting with Alex de Minaur stands at 2-2 in the opening set. The 18-year-old #NextGenATP Spaniard defeated top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals on Friday, a victory which confirmed the Miami Open presented by Itau champion will break into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on Monday.

The semi-final between sixth seed Diego Schwartzman and eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta also stands at 2-2 in the first set. It is the second year in a row the pair have faced off in Barcelona, with Carreno Busta prevailing in three sets at the quarter-final stage in 2021.