Daniil Medvedev will miss at least the start of the clay-court season after announcing on Saturday that he will be out of action for the next one to two months. The 25-year-old has undergone a minor procedure to fix a “small hernia” that he has been playing with in recent months.

Medvedev, who posted a photo of himself watching football while recovering, said he “will work hard to back on court soon”.

The 25-year-old made his debut at Wold No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 28 February, but ceded the top spot back to Novak Djokovic following an early exit at Indian Wells. He fell one victory short of reclaiming the position with a quarter-final exit in Miami, though he left South Florida happy with the direction of his tennis.

Medvedev has few points to defend during the spring clay season. He reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in 2021, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but managed just one win between the Madrid and Rome ATP Masters 1000 events. Those were his only clay-court events last spring.

Hi everyone. The last months I have been playing with a small hernia. Together with my team I have decided to have a small procedure done to fix the problem. I will likely be out for the next 1 – 2 months and will work hard to be back on court soon. Thanks for all the support.

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) April 2, 2022

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has caused untold disruption to the lives of millions, but heart-warming stories of humanitarian efforts continue to emerge from the most difficult of circumstances.

The Premier Tennis Club in the city of Kremenchuk, situated in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine, is one such example. The club, which hosted a Davis Cup tie between Ukraine and Slovakia in 2013 and has also been the venue for several ITF Futures events, is currently providing shelter for around 50 people displaced by the conflict.

“All the people were coming by train from the parts [of Ukraine] that are really dangerous to stay, [such as] the cities of Kharkiv and Mariupol,” Vitaliy Sachko, the Ukrainian World No. 222, told ATPTour.com this week. Sachko’s father, Dmytro, opened the club with a friend in 2010. “There were some groups in the city that were helping all the people and asking everybody who can help with the food, who can help the people [find somewhere] to stay.”

^{Photo Credit: Premier Tennis Club}

Dmytro immediately raised his hand to help, despite being based in the Czech Republic, where the family moved when Sachko was eight years old. “We told them we have a tennis club [in Kremenchuk] and people that had lost their homes were happy for any kind of help,” said Sachko.

The sheer number arriving in Kremenchuk means the tennis club has been an invaluable sanctuary to many, no matter how long they plan to stay. “Some people were staying for one night and then travelling to Europe,” explained Sachko. “Some were staying for a couple of days and going to the west of Ukraine, some are waiting until the war is over so they can get back to their homes.

“There are still people that need a place to stay, but [the club] cannot take any more people because everything is full.”

Space may be limited but there is no shortage of local people willing to help. “[Organising things] has not been a big problem because the volunteers are helping us to get beds and blankets,” said Sachko. “They can find even more beds. [It’s all about] the financial part. It’s tough to pay for all the people because they are taking showers and we have to pay for the warm water. If you [look after] someone, you have to look after them [properly].”

With Dmytro organising from afar, the tennis community in Kremenchuk is taking care of things on the ground. “There are people from the club, volunteers that are bringing food, they are helping a lot,” said Sachko. “The wife of my father’s friend who built the club with him is there every day. If someone needs medical help or anything else, she is helping them and she is there with other people cooking for them every day. She is buying the products for them, so she is doing a lot of jobs.”

^{Photo Credit: Premier Tennis Club}

As for many Ukrainians living abroad, the personal effect of the war on Sachko and his family has been profound. “[My father] is so worried about the situation,” he said. “He wants to go back. He wants to support the workers that stay there because he owns the company, and as the leader of the company he wants to support them and say that everything will be alright, we’re going to pass through it, just this basic stuff.

“My grandmother – his mum – is also there so he wants to help her as well, because she is alone there with his sister. He is very worried, and he just wants to do everything that he can to help.”

Despite being based abroad, Sachko has long been aware of the impact the club has had on the local community in Kremenchuk, even before war broke out. “When I started playing, we had only one indoor tennis court in our city of 250,000 people, which was shared with football and volleyball,” he said. “So, in winter we basically had no tennis courts.

“That’s why my father decided with his friend to build a club together, to do something for the people, to make sport popular in our city, because everybody that was playing tennis was struggling and saying that if somebody could do this good thing for the city it would be amazing.”

^{Photo Credit: Premier Tennis Club}

It is only recently that the club was there for Sachko himself at a difficult moment. “I was practising there during the Covid pandemic,” he says. “Everything was closed but I could practise and at least do something, nobody was there. In the Czech Republic everything was closed, and we don’t have a court here. So that’s why we decided I to go and I was there for two months.”

Sachko is trying his best to balance focusing on his day job with assisting those in his homeland. “I cannot say I am so brave that I would just take a gun and go to fight because it’s a war and nobody wants to die, but I am trying to help as I can,” he said. “I find the first aid stuff that our fighters need, and I send it to Ukraine. I am volunteering [while] I try to do what I do best, play tennis.”

The situation has raised the stakes for Sachko every time he steps on the court. He reached his career-high of 220 in the ATP Rankings on 7 March, but now feels like every match takes on extra meaning. “Of course, it affects me in some parts,” he said. “Because you start thinking that my father was helping me financially all my life, and I’m so lucky for that and I had no sponsors.

“Now there is a war he cannot work, he cannot earn money, and I have to play better and put even more pressure on myself. I need to win more matches and move up the rankings.

“I really love playing tennis and I don’t want to stop this way. I’m going to keep trying until my body allows me to and it’s a lottery, you know? You never know which tournament you’re going to win and which tournament you’re going to lose.”

Carlos Alcaraz ended the 10-match tournament winning streak of defending champion Hubert Hurkacz to advance to the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Friday evening. With his 7-6(5), 7-6(2) victory, the Spaniard has reached the biggest final of his young career, going one better than his semi-final run at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

“I have a lot of emotions right now. It’s something that you dream of when you are a child,” said Alcaraz, who is one win away from becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s 37-year history. “It’s really good to be in the final here in Miami. I love playing here. The crowd is amazing. I’m going to approach the final like a first round, trying to mask the nerves. I’m going to enjoy it, it’s going to be a great final.”

Alcaraz trailed 3/5 in the opening-set tie-break, but repeated his heroics from Thursday’s quarter-final win against Miomir Kecmanovic by winning four straight points to close it out. 

After erasing two break points at 5-all in the second set — taking his tournament total to 15 of 17 break points saved — Alcaraz controlled the second tie-break with help from some untimely Hurkacz errors. A drop shot at 5/2 set up match point, and a dipping pass attempt forced a volley into the net to close out the match.

“I couldn’t return his serves, but I knew that the match was going to be long sets like it was, 7-6, 7-6,” said Alcaraz, who dropped deep with his return positioning, in contrast to his previous matches. “At the beginning, I saw that I couldn’t return. I thought we were going to play a lot of tie-breaks… A little bit different [than my previous matches] with his serve, but it’s a great win for me.”

Hurkacz tallied one more winner than Alcaraz on the night, 23 to 22, but gave up that advantage by committing 37 unforced errors in the match. Early in the second set, the frustrated Pole shouted to his coach: “I can’t do my backhand.”

But this was far from a standard matchup of baseline blasts as both men attacked the net with regularity, a total of 47 times between them, with both posting a 70 per cent win rate. Alcaraz also hit 16 drop shots in the match, winning 11 of those points (69 per cent). 

In a match that did not see a break of serve, both men saved three break points, with each coming up clutch to fight off a pair when serving at 5-all. After failing to convert late in the first, Alcaraz provided a moment of good sportsmanship by offering to replay a point as he served at 5-6, 30/0 after an incorrect “not up” call. Hurkacz applauded the gesture but was not able to get a look in the service game.

Things you love to see 👏

Brilliant sportsmanship from @alcarazcarlos03 in his #MiamiOpen semi-final vs Hurkacz! pic.twitter.com/fPl0dXWiIM

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 2, 2022

By reaching the final, Alcaraz moves up to third place in the ATP Race to Turin, with an opportunity to move up to second with the title. The World No. 16 improves to 6-6 against the Top 10, having won the opening set in all six of his victories and lost the opener in all six defeats.

Casper Ruud, another first-time ATP Masters 1000 finalist, awaits in Sunday’s final following his 6-4, 6-1 win over Francisco Cerundolo. Alcaraz is bidding to become the third-youngest man to win a title at this level, behind only Michael Chang (1990, Toronto) and Rafael Nadal (2005, Monte Carlo). He’s also the second-youngest finalist in Miami history, behind only Nadal, who lost the 2005 final to Roger Federer.

Alcaraz is projected to move up to a career-high of No. 12 in the ATP Rankings with his final run, and will reach No. 11 with the title. It’s a just reward for his red-hot 22-2 run dating back to the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, including straight-sets wins over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 21st seed Marin Cilic in Miami.

Casper Ruud is thrilled to be through to his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open presented by Itau, but he’s also excited about The Masters — one of golf’s four majors, which is set for next weekend in Augusta.

“I have always watched The Masters in golf, and obviously it’s coming up next week and I can’t wait for it to watch on TV again,” said the Norwegian, who has a separate Instagram account dedicated to his golfing adventures. “It’s fun, because I will probably be here in the country while it’s ongoing, in Houston next week at the tournament.

“I enjoy watching both sports [tennis and golf], and I try to watch a lot of golf, especially here in the States. You have your own Golf Channel, so it’s easy to watch the tournaments. It’s building up to be I think hopefully a good Masters next week.”

Ruud also shared that he’s played a a few rounds with Rafael Nadal in Mallorca, calling the Spaniard a “very good golfer”. The pair has yet to compete on the ATP Tour, though Nadal took the victory on the golf course.

“He’s a very, very tough competitor,” Ruud shared. “Honestly, a bit tough to play with, because he doesn’t say much because he’s so focused. Usually on the golf course you are laughing a little bit and joking around. With him, it’s no jokes,” he said with a smile.

Florida is known as a premier golf and vacation destination, and Ruud was a frequent visitor in his junior days, when he would stay at his grandparents’ vacation house in Tampa and compete at Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl during the winter.

“I was never able to do too well unfortunately, but I always enjoyed those junior tournaments and was pretty much like World Cup for tennis in junior tournaments, to play the Orange Bowl and try to win it of course, but I was never able to do so,” said Ruud, who reached junior World No. 1 in 2014.

“Then we just stayed over Christmas… Couple of years I tried to play even some Futures down there in January in the Miami area. So I was still fairly young, but I haven’t been here too much like the past five, six years, because there are other places you are as a tennis player when you play on the Tour in those months. But I always enjoy coming back here.”

Casper Ruud broke new ground Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau as he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final, ending Francisco Cerundolo’s dream run in the process.

The Norwegian held a 0-3 record in semi-finals at Masters 1000 level heading into his match against World No. 103 Cerundolo. However, the sixth seed produced an aggressive and consistent display on Hard Rock Stadium to ensure he would not fall at the penultimate stage again, triumphing 6-4, 6-1 after one hour and 34 minutes.

“It was not where I imagine myself playing my first Masters 1000 final [on a hard court], but I will take it,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It is a great feeling and I am enjoying the city and the tournament. It was pretty brutal today. Very humid, which made the breathing a little tough.”

Ruud has captured seven ATP 250 crowns in his career and advanced to the last four on debut at the Nitto ATP Finals last year. The World No. 8 used all of his big-match experience to his advantage against Cerundolo, who was making his Masters 1000 debut this week.

Cerundolo held a 0-2 tour-level record on hard courts when he arrived in Flordia, but he has had enjoyed a fairytale journey in Miami. The 23-year-old overcame Tallon Griekspoor, Reilly Opelka (second-set retirement), Gael Monfils, Frances Tiafoe and Jannik Sinner (first-set retirement due to foot blisters) en route to the last four.

However, Ruud outplayed Cerundolo in the crucial moments in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, pulling Cerundolo from corner to corner as he broke four times to seal victory.

“It is a great feeling. I am standing here smiling,” Ruud said. “I have had three tough loses in my previous Masters [1000] semi-finals and I thought today was a good chance to reach my first final. I started a little shaky but I was able to pull through and raise my level when I really needed to.”

The Norwegian’s dominance in the second set was demonstrated by the Balance of Power, Tennis Data Innovation’s new analysis tool. During that second stanza, the metric shows that Ruud played 31 per cent of his shots in attack, compared to 17 per cent for his opponent. In the opening set, the Balance of Power was locked at 18 per cent.

Ruud, who earned the biggest win of his career by ATP Ranking when he eliminated World No. 4 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the last four, will face reigning Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz or #NextGenATP Spaniard in the championship match on Sunday.

Ruud, who advanced to the semi-finals at Masters 1000 clay-court events in Rome (2020), Monte-Carlo (2021) and Madrid (2021), is aiming to capture his second tour-level title of the season this week, having lifted the title in Buenos Aires in February.

With his victory over Cerundolo, Norway has become the 33rd country to be represented in a Masters 1000 final. Ruud is also the first Scandinavian to advance to a final at this level since Swede Robin Soderling in Paris in 2010.

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In a lively start, breaks were exchanged as both players tried to find their range and brush aside early nerves. Having settled, Ruud began to impose himself on Cerundolo with his water-tight groundstrokes. He hit with great precision and was eventually awarded for his patience in the 10th game of the set when Cerundolo fired long to hand Ruud the lead.

Fuelled with confidence, Ruud put his foot down in the second set as he forced Cerundolo to overhit by striking with great depth. The Norwegian saved all four break points he faced in the set and secured his victory on serve after sucking the energy out of the Argentine with his intensity.

Cerundolo was the first player to reach the semi-finals on his debut at this level since Pole Jerzy Janowicz advanced to the title match in Paris in 2012. The World No. 103 was also the lowest-ranked Miami semi-finalist in the tournament’s history (1985-2019, 2021-22).

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have claimed 12 tour-level titles as a duo since 2016. But when it comes to cooking skills, they might struggle to come up with a baker’s dozen worth of meals to put on the menu.

The successful British/Brazilian pairing nonetheless enjoys a wide array of cuisine and in this edition of The Tour – Food Court, ATPTour.com caught up with the doubles stars to grill them on a few of their favourites.

If you were having some buddies over for dinner, what would you cook and why?
Bruno: I don’t cook. I would order sushi because it’s my favourite food. I just love sushi, been eating sushi for a long time. It’s a big part of my diet. I think it just goes well with sports. It’s nice, healthy and light. I love it.

Jamie: I would do barbecue because that’s about the only thing I can manage. I would do steak, for sure, picanha.

Would you call yourself a good cook?
Jamie: Not at all. My wife’s an amazing cook, she cooks all the time. I just eat it.

Bruno: Jamie’s an amazing eater! (Laughs.)

Jamie: That’s my strength.

Bruno, do you have anything in your repertoire in the kitchen?
Bruno: I actually do a decent barbecue as well. That’s pretty much all I can manage. Also some very basic stuff, eggs, omelettes. Anything more complicated, I’m a no-go.

We talked about sushi being super healthy… How about the opposite? What cheat meals do you enjoy?
Jamie: I’ve got a pretty sweet tooth. Chocolates, desserts… I’d go all in for that.

Bruno: I have to control the sweets as well, like a good condensed milk, anything related to that… dulce de leche. I also like a good burger. But a burger is easier for me to control. Sweets are tough — got to keep an eye on that.

What about when you’re being careful about what you eat? Do you have a go-to meal the night before a big match, or the day of?
Jamie: The night before, as long as I get a good meal, it could be anything. It could be steak, sushi, Mexican, fish. I’m not really picky about that at all. It’s more just before we play, I don’t tend to eat things that are too heavy.

Bruno: The same for me. I think the night before, any good, healthy meal. Before the match, it really depends what time we play. If we play right after breakfast, like the first match at 11, I’ll just have my normal breakfast, which is an omelette, bread, maybe an avocado or something. And if we play after lunch, my lunch will be something lighter, maybe a bowl of rice just to get ready for the match. I won’t eat anything quite heavy.

What are your no-gos? Is there anything in particular you won’t eat?

Bruno: I don’t think there’s a food that I don’t eat, to be honest. I can eat everything. I try to avoid junky food a lot, or processed food, fast food. I feel like because I enjoy sushi so much, I kind of have a healthy diet most of the time. The other times I try not to go over the line too many times.

Jamie: Spicy foods, I can never handle that.

What about food from your country, your culture? Are there any particular dishes that you like?

Jamie: We’re not known so much for our food culture (laughs). I guess growing up I was eating a lot of salmon, Scottish salmon. Haggis, I guess.

Bruno: For me would be the acai for sure. This is a very Brazilian thing. I’ve been eating acai since I was eight, 10 years old. Super healthy, super good. Grew up with it. I try to have it every day.

It’s a berry from the amazon. It’s a fruit. There’s a lot of energy; it’s considered a super food. What we do is, you make a bowl out of it, and it’s amazing. It grows only in two parts of Brazil, in two states, and not even the whole year. It’s three months of the year that you can get it. So it’s quite an interesting process, the acai culture. I love it.

Jamie, has he gotten you into acai? 
Jamie: Yeah, I like it. It’s nice. It’s definitely a lot more common in the U.K. now than what it used to be. You don’t have to hustle that hard to find it. But I like it. It’s good stuff. 

Bruno, I understand you’re involved in an acai business? Can you tell me a little more about that?
Bruno: Like I said, I’ve been eating acai my whole life. And I’ve always wanted to invest in an acai business. Never really found anything until I had Oakberry for the first time.

I have a company myself that we have some investments back home in Brazil. When I started having Oakberry for the first time, I went there as a client, had my first bowl there. Really liked the concept.

Long story short, a couple of months after, we invested in the company. It’s been a great ride since we started with them. It’s growing quite fast. We finished last year with over 500 shops worldwide. It’s quite nice. Oakberry is part of my life now, a lot. Not only business-wise, but my diet as well.

Are you involved in the day-to-day operations?
Bruno: I’m pretty hands-on. Not day to day on the company’s daily routine. But I’m quite involved in specific projects that we do together to help the company grow.