Andy Murray will make an appearance on the European clay in 2022 after the Mutua Madrid Open announced the two-time champion will receive a wild card for the ATP Masters 1000 event, to be held from 1-8 May.

Having previously announced his intention to skip the red dirt this year in order to focus on his preparations for the grass season, 14-time Masters 1000 champion Murray will instead compete in the Spanish capital, his first appearance at the event since a third-round exit at the hands of Borna Coric in 2017.

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Despite a lack of clay-court action in 2022, Murray will be confident of making an impression at a tournament where he holds a 27-9 match record. Former World No. 1 Murray beat Gilles Simon in the 2008 championship match to claim his first Madrid title before a stunning 6-3, 6-2 win over five-time champion Rafael Nadal brought the Brit a second crown in 2015.

Other wild cards confirmed by tournament organisers on Wednesday are Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals contenders Jack Draper and Carlos Gimeno Valero, and five-time ATP Tour titlist Lucas Pouille. The tournament will be held at the Caja Magica, where World No. 3 Alexander Zverev will be the defending champion.

Carlos Alcaraz’s meteoric rise has taken the tennis world by storm. The 18-year-old Spaniard recently became the youngest Miami Open presented by Itau champion in tournament history and this week in Barcelona the World No. 11 has the chance to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

Impressive as that is, Alcaraz has also set a new milestone that has gone under the radar. When the reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion earned his 50th tour-level win in the Miami semi-finals, he had just 20 losses. According to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, that’s a faster clip than the 27 players to reach World No. 1.

“He obviously started playing young, but so did so many others and he’s played a lot of tournaments and matches already. The greatest thing about the stats and the computers is they don’t lie,” former World No. 4 Brad Gilbert told ATPTour.com. “Whether or not he gets to what some of these other lofty people who were on there is yet to be seen. But it’s an amazing start.”

Fast To Fifty
Ordered by total weeks spent at No. 1

Gilbert coached Andy Roddick, the former World No. 1 who came closest to Alcaraz’s mark at 50 wins (50-22). Five former World No. 1s — Jimmy Connors, Juan Carlos Ferrero (Alcaraz’s coach), John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and John Newcombe — were 50-23. Newcombe also played in pre-Open Era matches, for which the ATP does not have complete records.

But such a quick start is not a guarantee Alcaraz will reach World No. 1, and not all players who have climbed to the top have enjoyed a good start to their tour-level career. Roger Federer was 50-47, yet he has held World No. 1 longer than anyone in history except Novak Djokovic.

“Fed played a lot at a young age, but the thing was he improved his serve, he improved his backhand. He did things while he was still playing [at tour-level] as opposed to playing Challengers, so he took some losses,” Gilbert said. “But the big thing about him is he made big leaps. Sometimes you get too good at a young age and you don’t make those changes in your game because you’re winning so much.”

That is not to say Alcaraz has any particular holes in his game, but the road is just beginning for the Spaniard. Now 51-21 after winning the Miami title and losing in his opener at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, he will look to maintain his good form at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in front of his home fans.

“It’ll be fun to watch the next few years,” Gilbert said. “But the greatness of tennis is that nothing is guaranteed.”

Dominic Thiem may not have scored the win Tuesday on his ATP Tour return at the Serbia Open, but the Austrian earned a moral victory in a two-and-a-half-hour battle against John Millman.

“It felt good,” the former World No. 3 said after his first tour-level match since tearing his right wrist last June. “Actually, I’m really happy because it was a match; it was a fight.”

Thiem produced a spirited display to be proud of in a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 defeat against the Aussie on centre court.

“I’m happy [with] how I was fighting, how I was defending, how I was moving.” he said. “The backhand was pretty good. The forehand is not there yet, but I know this and I’m practising so that it’s getting better.”

After making his competitive return on the ATP Challenger Tour in March, Thiem won a set for the first time in his comeback against Millman. But for now, he is keeping his expectations in check.

“There’s not too much to expect here and neither in the next three weeks,” he explained. “My goal is to be in good shape in Roland Garros and today doesn’t change [that]. Obviously I’m disappointed; I wanted to win. But still, the match itself, how long it was and the intensity, I’m pretty happy about it.

“Of course there are things missing, things that are not that great in my game. But that was completely clear also before this match.”

What is also clear — at least to Thiem’s opponent — is that the Austrian will soon return to the top of the game. Standing at No. 5 in the ATP Rankings at the time of his injury, Thiem is now at No. 54.

“When you get 100 per cent fit, I’m going to struggle, bud,” a smiling Millman said during a warm post-match handshake.

Pure honesty from @johnmillman 😅@domithiem #SerbiaOpen pic.twitter.com/W5NTAcYQe4

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 19, 2022

Having last played on the ATP Tour nearly one year ago, when COVID restrictions limited crowds, Thiem was also happy to play in front of a packed stadium once again. 

“That was great. I’m super happy that the fans are back,” he said of the experience. “Before my injury it was still pretty tough with COVID. There were many tournaments in front of empty stands.”

One such event was the 2020 US Open, where Thiem broke through to win his first Grand Slam title.

“Here, it’s full,” he continued, “and I’m super pumped for the next weeks to come.”

Diego Schwartzman put the disappointment of a heartbreaking Monte Carlo quarter-final loss behind him with an assured victory to open his Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell campaign on Tuesday.

The sixth-seeded Argentine was a 6-2, 6-2 winner against American Mackenzie McDonald on Pista Rafa Nadal. 

“Last week I had the chance to be in the semi-finals. It was very sad after the match against Tsitsipas,” Schwartzman said post-match. “He won the tournament, so I lost against the champion but I had an opportunity to be in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo, a Masters 1000.

“Maybe that is the positive thing from last week. This week already I won the first round. I have to keep improving some things but in this way, I know that I have the chance to win many matches in this clay season.”

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The World No. 15 broke in seven of his eight return games against McDonald, taking the last seven in a row after the American saved four break points to win the opening game of the match. But Schwartzman also dropped his own serve three times, leaving him not entirely satisfied with his performance.

“Maybe I have many things to improve for the next round,” he assessed. “Maybe I was not serving [great]. I was doing at the beginning of the match maybe too many mistakes, for me.

“At the end I think in the second set I was playing my best, but I made too many mistakes. He had another opportunity to come back in the match [after he broke for] 4-2. I took the chance one more time and at the end I think I did great in the last game.”

Schwartzman will next face #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 7-6(8) win over 12th seed Daniel Evans. The 20-year-old led by an early break in set two but had to stop Evans from serving out the set at 5-3. He then saved a pair of set points in the extended tie-break before closing it out on his second match point.

Saving his best for last!

Musetti comes up with a stunner before closing out a quality battle vs Evans in Barcelona 💯 pic.twitter.com/vgq9yP2PGb

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 19, 2022

Musetti and Schwartzman met less than one week ago in the Monte Carlo last 16, when the Argentine won a three-setter, and will square off again at the same stage in Barcelona. Musetti won the first of their two ATP Head2Head meetings last season in Acapulco, also in three sets.

Fourth Cameron Norrie closed out the day’s action with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over qualifier Egor Gerasimov, battling back from 1-3 down in the decider to notch his first clay-court victory of the year and his 16th overall.

John Millman prevented Dominic Thiem from making a winning return Tuesday, edging the Austrian 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Serbia Open.

The former World No. 3 was competing in his first tour-level match since June following injury and he showed glimpses of what he is capable of during the two-hour, 35-minute clash against the Australian.

Thiem struck his backhand aggressively, but was unable to produce his best level, with Millman breaking in the 10th game of the third set to advance. The 28-year-old, who played at an ATP Challenger Tour event at the end of March, is a 17-time tour-level titlist, with 10 of his victories coming on clay.

“It is great to be back here,” Millman said in his on-court interview. “I was looking forward to coming back and play. All credit to Domi. I can’t claim it was one of my biggest wins because he is just coming back from injury and I know how hard that is, coming back from three surgeries myself.

“I know it has been tough for Domi but the game is better having him back. Especially on this surface. I have got to take this win because when he gets better and fitter, it is going to be tough.”

With his victory, Millman claimed his first win in four career meetings with Thiem. The World No. 80 will next meet Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

#NextGenATP Czech Jiri Lehecka overcame Henri Laaksonen 6-2, 7-5 to continue his strong start to the season. The 20-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam in February, is fifth in the ATP Race To Milan as he bids to make his debut at the 21-and-under event in November. Lehecka will next face second seed Andrey Rublev.

Serbian Laslo Djere recorded a win on home soil, defeating countryman wild card Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 7-5, while Roman Safiullin downed Mikael Ymer 7-5, 6-0.

Spanish qualifier Carlos Taberner earned the biggest win of his season Tuesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, cruising past World No. 37 Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-0 to earn just his second ATP 500 victory.

The World No. 94, who was making his debut in Barcelona, won 100 per cent (8/8) of points behind his second serve in his first-round clash against Korda and saved the one break point he faced to triumph after 67 minutes in front of his home support.

The 24-year-old will next face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. The Canadian will be bidding to lift his second trophy of the season this week, after capturing the crown in Rotterdam in February.

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South African Lloyd Harris booked his spot in the second round with a 6-4, 7-6(0) victory over Roberto Carballes Baena. The World No. 40 lost in the first round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last week in his first clay match of the year, but responded with a consistent display to set a meeting with Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Marton Fucosvics, who downed Harris in Monte Carlo, eliminated Australian Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2, while Emil Ruusuvuori defeated former World No. 12 Feliciano Lopez 6-0, 6-1.