2023-04-23 16:27:49
Tennis professional Holger Rune defended his title at the Munich ATP tournament following defending once morest four match points and set the next call sign on sand a month before the French Open. In a repeat of last year’s final, the 19-year-old Dane beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6:4,1:6,7:6(3) in a true clay court thriller. For Rune it was the fourth tournament win of his career.
In the deciding set, Rune had saved two match points each at 2:5 and 5:6 before he finally converted his first match point following 2:52 hours. A week following his final defeat in Monte Carlo, the teenager put on a mixed performance on the packed center court, had problems with his shoulder and right ankle, but was still able to celebrate in the end.
The favorites also prevailed in Barcelona, but far more clearly. Last year’s winner, the top seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, also won the title at the ATP 500 tournament. The still only 19-year-old Alcaraz dispatched the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in 78 minutes with 6: 3, 6: 4 on Sunday. It is already the ninth title of his career, the first he has successfully defended. And that without losing a sentence. Alcaraz now holds a season record of 23-2 wins, it is his third title in 2023 following Buenos Aires and Indian Wells. In this form, he will be at the top of the list of favorites for the French Open.
“Lifting the trophy here in front of my family and friends is incredible,” Alcaraz said while still on the pitch. “Playing at this level is very fulfilling for me.” He wanted to go onto the pitch completely relaxed and just enjoy it, and the still teenager, who will be 20 on May 5, managed that perfectly. After the award ceremony, the champion jumped into the pool, which is traditional for this ATP 500 tournament, side by side with the ball children. Dominic Thiem also experienced this in 2019 following smooth victories over Rafael Nadal (semifinals) and Daniil Medvedev (finals).
In Stuttgart, Iga Swiatek also won the title for the second time in a row. As in the previous year, the Polish world number one prevailed in the final once morest Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus and celebrated a largely safe 6:3,6:4 victory. 21-year-old Swiatek converted her first match point following 1:50 hours. For 24-year-old Sabalenka, this year’s Australian Open winner, it was the third final defeat in Stuttgart in a row.
The expected winner was not at the ATP 250 tournament in Banja Luka. After the early exit of top favorite Novak Djokovic, his compatriot Dusan Lajovic jumped into the breach and surprisingly defeated the number two seeded Russian Andrej Rublev 6:3.4:6.6:4 in the final. It was Lajovic of all people who eliminated “Djoker” in the quarterfinals.
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