Atp madrid 2023

Carlos Alcaraz (right) and Jan-Lennard Struff played three hard sets on the clay in Madrid with the Spaniard emerging victorious. Photograph: Oscar J Barroso/AFP7/Shutterstock Carlos Alcaraz (right) and Jan-Lennard Struff played three hard sets on the clay in Madrid with the Spaniard emerging victorious. Photograph: Oscar J Barroso/AFP7/Shutterstock The world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz beat the lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the Madrid Open final on Sunday to defend last year’s title and win his fourth ATP Tour trophy of the year and his 10th overall. Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season, came back in top form last month to win the Barcelona Open for the second consecutive year. In Madrid, the 20-year-old Spaniard had to play his best tennis to beat a relentless Struff in three sets in a packed Caja Magica. Read more Struff’s aggressive returns helped him to rush to a 3-0 lead in the second set, which he took 6-3, but Alcaraz woke up in the third, breaking to lead 3-1 and taking the set 6-3. The victory was the fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy for Alcaraz, who became the youngest world No 1 last September when he won the US Open. “For me it is so, so special,” he said. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and be a champion is so special. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.” ...

Just as the WTA 1000 competition did a couple of years ago, in 2023 the Mutua Madrid Open will become a two-week ATP Masters 1000 tournament, true to the spirit of growth that has defined the event since its arrival in Madrid in 2002. Starting next year, the ATP draw at the Mutua Madrid Open will be increased in size (from 56 players to 96) and duration (from 8 days to 12). The qualifiers will take place on Monday 24 and 25 April, while the first round in the main draw will kick off on Wednesday 26 before the competition reaches its climax on Sunday 7 May, completing a total of 22 sessions of the best tennis in the world. In addition, the WTA tournament will expand its draw from 64 players to 96, and will take place in parallel with the men’s competition, guaranteeing a spectacular event and offering the fans a range of great options to follow in the Caja Mágica. “It’s fantastic news”, said Feliciano López, director of the Mutua Madrid Open. “Having managed to grow the WTA tournament, now we’re taking the final step by increasing the duration and participants in the ATP draw, and also expanding the number of players in the WTA draw. It’s a change that will benefit the fans, the players and of course the city of Madrid, as well as all the sponsors of the Mutua Madrid Open”. Forming part of the European hard-court swing at the end of the season, the Mutua Madrid Open started out as an ATP Masters 1000 event in 2002. In 2009, the tournament underwent the biggest change in its...

Iguales will be presented by Jaime Leal ‘Gravesen’ and can be watched exclusively on the Mutua Madrid Open YouTube channel, as well as being available in audio format on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iVoox. Every episode of the podcast, which will be approximately 30 minutes long, will include a special guest from the world of tennis, starting with Feliciano Lopez, the director of the Mutua Madrid Open, on Monday 24 April.

Spain's Alcaraz, who turns 20 next week, overcame a slow start to win 2-6 6-4 6-2 against the world number 41. There were fewer concerns for women's top seed Iga Swiatek, who won 6-3 6-2 against Austria's Julia Grabher. However, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered a surprise defeat to Russia's Anna Kalinskaya. The Madrid Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments outside of the Grand Slams and an important clay-court event in the build-up to the French Open, which starts on 28 May. Alcaraz fights back after being 'about to lose' Alcaraz is the favourite to win the ATP Masters 1000 event with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal absent because of injury. The world number two defended the Barcelona title last week without dropping a set, but on his return to the Spanish capital initially lacked clarity and assurance in his shots. Ruusuvuori dominated his service games in the first set, winning 100% of first service points and dropping just two on his second serve. But the contest swung back in Alcaraz's favour after he saved five break points to stop his opponent moving 4-2 ahead in the second set. "It was really tough, I was about to lose. He was just one point away at 3-2 in the second set - it was like a match point for him," US Open champion Alcaraz said. "Emil was better than me until 3-3 in the second set. It was tough to come back but I finished with a lot of confidence." • ATP to replace human line judges with technology • Halep losing 'days, weeks & months' i...