Category: Articles

  • Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal react to Carlos Alcaraz’s Monte Carlo Masters title win

    Carlos Alcaraz’s maiden Monte Carlo Masters title has drawn reactions from Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and other stars of the sporting world.

    The Spanish star defeated Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the final of the clay-court Masters 1000 tournament to secure his second title of 2025.

    Alcaraz became the sixth Spanish player to win the Monte Carlo Masters after Manuel Orantes, Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nadal.

    The 21-year-old has now secured four of the nine different Masters 1000 crowns, having also triumphed in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.

    The four-time Grand Slam winner has overtaken Alexander Zverev to claim the world No 2 spot in the ATP Rankings.

    In reply to Alcaraz’s Instagram post celebrating his victory, 11-time Monte Carlo champion Nadal wrote: “Congratulations! Great week in a very special place.”

    Djokovic, a Monte Carlo winner in 2013 and 2015, posted: “Congratulations titan.”

    Guillermo Coria, a 2004 Monte Carlo Masters champion and former world No 3, replied: “Grande Carlitos. You gonna have to buy a separate ticket for that trophy.”

    Fabio Fognini, who won the tournament in 2019, wrote: “Now if you can talk (laughing emojis).”

    Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Jakub Mensik were among the other tennis stars to congratulate Alcaraz.

    Vinicius Junior and Brahim Diaz — players for Alcaraz’s beloved Real Madrid — also shared their support with congratulatory emojis.

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    Following his triumph in Monte Carlo, Alcaraz addressed whether he had proven a point.

    “I don’t feel that way,” he told the media. “I always say that, let’s say freak talk, when you’re not winning or people have high expectations of you when you don’t win tournaments or matches they probably talk a lot.

    “I just realised that I don’t have to think about all they are talking about and just focus on myself. So I’m not going to say I just proved them wrong.

    “I’m just really happy to be able to refocus on the important things and just be focused on myself and the part that I have to follow with my team. Just playing for myself. So I’m just really happy that I was able to do it.”

    He continued by stating: “It’s been a tough month for me. On and off the court. I don’t want to say in public, but I was struggling stepping on the court. It’s been difficult to find a way to not think about everything.”

    READ NEXT: ATP Rankings Winners & Losers Monte Carlo: Alcaraz No 2, Djokovic No 5, Tsitsipas -8, Musetti rises

    The post Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal react to Carlos Alcaraz’s Monte Carlo Masters title win appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Elena Rybakina forced to skip Stuttgart resulting in WTA Rankings knock

    Elena Rybakina is set to drop out of the top 10 of the WTA Rankings for the first time in two years as she was forced to make a tough decision over her Stuttgart Open title defence.

    The 2022 Wimbledon champion won the WTA tournament last year after beating then world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-final and surprise finalist Marta Kostyuk in the showpiece match.

    But she opted not to return to Germany this year for the Porsche event due to scheduling conflicts as she instead decided to focus on representing Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King qualifying tournament.

    And the decision has come at a cost as it will affect her position in the rankings.

    Rybakina was part of the team that beat Australia and Colombia in Group D action at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane as she won both her singles matches over the weekend.

    With that event taking place in Australia, Rybakina would have had to scramble to get back to Europe in time for the Stuttgart tournament had she entered the event.

    Instead, she chose her country over her title defence.

    “I know that the schedule overall is very packed, and it’s not easy to even schedule Billie Jean King Cup,” the former world No 3 said.

    “But ideally, if we go to one part of the world, it will be nicer to play the same part. Now, for example, the clay court [season] starts and [some have] already played even tournaments on clay.

    “So to come back and play hard, it’s a bit tricky. And ideally, if there is a tournament, it’s better to schedule it closer to where we want to be.”

    Kazakhstan’s 2-0 win in the qualifiers helped them to secure their place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in September with the tournament being staged in Shenzhen, China.

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    She added: “I can’t play all the tournaments. Of course Stuttgart is nice, but I always like to play team competitions.

    “It’s nice to play for your country, so I’m happy to make this decision and I’m happy to play finals [in Shenzhen].”

    The 25-year-old will lose 500 ranking points this week, resulting in her dropping out of the top 10.

    Rybakina is currently at No 10 on 3,808 points and for now the “punishment” is not too bad as she has slipped just one spot to No 11 in the Live Rankings.

    The last time she was outside the top 10 was in January 2023 as she started the year at No 21, but surged back up the list after finishing runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open.

    Rybakina’s next two events are the WTA 1000 Madrid Open and Italian Open before she heads to Paris for the French Open.

    The post Elena Rybakina forced to skip Stuttgart resulting in WTA Rankings knock appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Carlos Alcaraz hints at a ‘tough month’ minutes after winning the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters

    Carlos Alcaraz has dismissed outside expectations as ‘freak talk’ as he looks to put a ‘difficult’ month behind him after triumphing at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters.

    The Spaniard battled from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and lifted his first trophy since his 2024 Wimbledon victory.

    Alcaraz looked far more comfortable on the clay courts of Monaco than over the last few months, where he had most recently lost to David Goffin in the second round of the Miami Open.

    “I don’t feel that way,” stated Alcaraz, when asked if his win had ‘proved a point.’

    “I always say that, let’s say freak talk, when you’re not winning or people have high expectations of you when you don’t win tournaments or matches they probably talk a lot.

    “I just realised that I don’t have to think about all they are talking about and just focus on myself. So I’m not going to say I just proved them wrong.

    “I’m just really happy to be able to refocus on the important things and just be focused on myself and the part that I have to follow with my team. Just playing for myself. So I’m just really happy that I was able to do it.”

    He continued by stating: “It’s been a tough month for me. On and off the court. I don’t want to say in public, but I was struggling stepping on the court. It’s been difficult to find a way to not think about everything”.

    Whilst the Spaniard had only played one match at the Monte Carlo event prior to this season’s edition, he has had plenty of history with his next two tournaments.

    In Barcelona, Alcaraz is a two-time champion (2022 and 2023) – withdrawing from the event in 2024 due to forearm issues.

    Additionally, at the Madrid Open, he is also a two-time champion (2022 and 2023). It was in the Spanish capital where he truly announced himself to the tennis world at large, being the first – and only – player to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the same clay-court event.

    “I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be difficult months ahead because a lot of people have high expectations of me having a really good clay season,” Alcaraz admitted.

    “Probably they want me to win almost every tournament, so it’s going to be difficult to deal with it, I guess.

    “But one thing that I learned the last few months is I have to think about myself. I have to think about myself. I have to just think about my people, my team, my family, my friends, my close friends.

    “No matter what happens on the court, if I win, if I lose, I just have to leave the court happy.

    “I’m proud about everything I have done. So that’s something that I learned, and I think I did it this week and it paid off.”

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    The former world No 1 was also quizzed as to if he will approach the upcoming tournaments any differently, given that he has now won his first title of 2025.

    “I will try to just keep going the same way that I approach this tournament (in Monte Carlo) and not think about the people talking about expectation.”

    Alcaraz is also the first Spaniard to lift the singles title in Monaco since Nadal in 2018, which marked the legend’s 11th triumph.

    “I hope to win the title here more than once. Thinking about 11 is impossible, honestly,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion.

    “I’ve spoken several times with my team about what Rafa achieved on clay. It’s one of the most complicated things in sport in general, not just tennis.

    “Winning the same tournament 11 times, 14 Roland Garros, the best tournaments in the world, is impossible to repeat. We’ll see how many I can get. If I stick with just one, I’ll be happy. I’ll be 23 in no time, so I hope to play this tournament for 10 or 15 more years, we’ll see if I can add some more. Now I just want to enjoy this moment.”

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  • ‘He has a kind of aura’ – Lorenzo Musetti heaps praise on ‘legend’ Carlos Alcaraz after final defeat

    Lorenzo Musetti was on the verge of defeat against Yunchaokete Bu in the first round of the 2025 Monte Carlo, but – ultimately – reached the showpiece match.

    The Italian defeated the likes of Alex de Minaur, Matteo Berrettini, and three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas to make the biggest match of his life.

    However, once there, and faced with Carlos Alcaraz, the former Grand Slam semi-finalist was defeated 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.

    Musetti looked the far more comfortable player on the court in the first set, but fatigue and discomfort from the tough week eventually caught up to him – taking a medical timeout in the deciding set.

    “We don’t know the specific nature of the injury yet, but it’s clear that we’re going to do some tests in the coming days,” admitted Musetti.

    “As you have seen, I couldn’t finish the match as I wanted, but in a final,  I didn’t want to retire. It was the best way to finish, even if I wasn’t able to play much more. It is what it is.

    “The toughness of the whole week, of the long matches I played, was what took its toll on me today.

    “In this final, I was very clear about what I had to do. Especially after the first set, which I played probably my best tennis, and of course I was feeling the ball really well today. I had a clear mind what I had to do.

    “But physically I was struggling, the physical problems and the fatigue and all the, let’s say, stress accumulated in the past days, past matches, they were there. So unfortunately I couldn’t finish the match. I mean, I couldn’t, let’s say, fight till the end.”

    Despite the tough end to an impressive tournament performance, the Italian says that he hopes to take away optimistic sensations heading into the rest of the European clay-court season.

    “I take a lot of positive stuff. You know, I have reached some of my goals,” reflected Musetti.

    “After this, of course, we are already focused on other goals, on trying to be ambitious and motivate ourselves even more, because we have not yet reached the top-10.

    “Right now, that’s probably the main goal of the season: we’re close enough to keep fighting and keep dreaming. As I said on court, I don’t want to make any excuses today. Carlos probably deserved to win, but it was a shame that I couldn’t show my best tennis until the last point.

    “Now I’ll take a week off, I won’t go to Barcelona, and I’ll play in Madrid. I hope to be there 100%.”

    After his Monte Carlo run, the soon-to-be world No 11 now possesses a 64-37 win/loss record on clay courts – with his biggest title arriving on the surface (Hamburg 2022).

    “Yes, clay is probably my favorite surface,” stated the runner-up.

    “Let’s say it’s my natural habitat. This week gave me the confidence to be more ambitious even in bigger tournaments like this one or, for example, in French Open. That’s a massive point of the season, for me really important, which I don’t have so many points to defend.

    “So hopefully I can be prepared, you know, to do some great things there. I think I have the level to be at the top on clay.”

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    Whilst Musetti will undoubtedly be disappointed in how the final ended, he was quick to further credit Alcaraz for his performance and overall demeanour.

    “Carlos is already a legend of this sport, despite being younger than me,” commented the 23-year-old.

    “He’s a record-breaking guy, and on the court you feel like he has a kind of aura, so to speak. Today, honestly, I think I played a fantastic first set, which made him change something in his tennis.

    “If I had been 100% physically, I could have kept more energy, which is what you need to beat someone like Carlos. I hope to get revenge soon.”

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  • ‘I told him to retire’ – Lorenzo Musetti’s coach reveals the Italian’s Monte Carlo final injury

    Lorenzo Musetti’s coach Simone Tartarini has given specific details as to the physical issue that hindered the Italian’s efforts to win the 2025 Monte Carlo final against Carlos Alcaraz.

    Musetti looked in fine form in the first set, claiming it 6-3 against an impatient Spaniard.

    However, in the second set – especially with Alcaraz’s form on the rise – the 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist’s movement seemed somewhat hindered, losing it 6-1.

    By the third set, the issues were far more pronounced, and Alcaraz capped off the final with a 6-0 in the third victory.

    Musetti’s coach Simone Tartarini, who has been working in that role since the Italian was eight, revealed the details of the discomfort to Ubitennis.

    “This morning, during the warm-up, Lorenzo had a problem with his quadriceps,” explained Tartarini.

    “We took all the necessary precautions, but, during the match, he felt more and more pain.

    “He was already in pain after the first set, then – after playing on top of it at a certain point – he was in a lot of pain. But obviously, he didn’t want to retire since it was a final: he stayed on the court for the sake of it because the final must be played.”

    Whilst it was clear that the Italian was in discomfort in the second half of the match, Musetti seemed determined to finish the match – opposing the advice given to him by his team.

    “Halfway through the second set I told him to retire, he was in a lot of pain,” stated the future world No 11’s coach.

    “I was thinking about the future, there was a risk of getting hurt, but he said he wanted to finish the match. I think the crowd understood, but he wanted to finish.

    “We will do the tests, it could be a small strain. Now we will do all the necessary medical things because in the heat of the moment you can’t even do ultrasounds. Maybe a little edema, so a little bit of a stop is definitely needed.”

    In his interview after the match, Musetti reiterated a similar sentiment of duty to the final.

    “I’m really disappointed that I could not finish the match in the best way, for the crowd, for all of the support I received this week, but you deserve it,” the Italian said.

    “I will try to come back for the revenge.”

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    After his victory, Alcaraz admitted to noticing Musetti’s leg discomfort.

    “It is not the way I would have wanted to win a match,” the newly-crowned Monte Carlo champion admitted during his on-court interview.

    “Thinking about Lorenzo, he has been through a tough week, played long matches. I feel sorry for him. It is one of his best results, ending up like this is not easy. Hopefully it is nothing serious and he will be 100% soon.”

    Alcaraz went on to state: “I am really happy to win Monte-Carlo for the first time. It has been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations. I am proud with how I dealt with everything. It has been a difficult month for me, so coming here and seeing the hard work pay off makes me happy.”

    The post ‘I told him to retire’ – Lorenzo Musetti’s coach reveals the Italian’s Monte Carlo final injury appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Carlos Alcaraz seals major rankings boost with Monte Carlo Masters triumph

    Carlos Alcaraz has sealed a significant jump in the ATP Rankings after rallying from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

    In an intriguing contest, second seed Alcaraz claimed his sixth Masters 1000 title and first Monte Carlo title with a rallying 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 triumph over a tiring and hampered Musetti on Sunday.

    It is Alcaraz’s second title of 2025, following his victory at the Rotterdam Open back in February, and is his first Masters 1000 title since winning in Indian Wells back in March 2024.

    “This is not the way that I would have wanted to win a match,” reflected Alcaraz.

    “Thinking about Lorenzo, I think he’s had a really tough week, really long and intense matches, so I just feel really sorry for him to end [like this].

    “One of the best results he has done and ending like this, it’s not easy, so I just wanted to say hopefully it’s nothing serious and hopefully he’s going to be 100% really soon.

    “I’m just really happy to have won Monte Carlo for the first time. It’s been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations that I’m really proud of myself, how I dealt with everything.

    “It’s been a really difficult month for me outside and on the court, so coming here and seeing how the hard work paid off, I’m really happy.”

    Victory for Alcaraz has significant rankings implications right at the very top of the sport, with the Spaniard now set to overtake Alexander Zverev as the world No 2.

    The 21-year-old will move to 7,720 ranking points on Monday, with Zverev – who was beaten in round two – dropping to 7,595 points.

    Alcaraz has also closed the gap to world No 1 Jannik Sinner, earning a full 1,000 ranking points in Monte Carlo after missing the event 12 months ago.

    Sinner will drop 400 semi-final points after missing Monte Carlo due to his ongoing suspension, though the Italian will still hold 9,930 points on Monday – a cushion of 2,210 points over Alcaraz.

    All eyes will now be on whether Alcaraz can close the gap towards Sinner, and hold off Zverev as the world No 2.

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    Both Alcaraz and Zverev are in action on home soil this coming week, with the Spaniard competing at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, and German Zverev competing at the ATP 500 Munich Open.

    Two-time Barcelona champion Alcaraz has no points to defend after missing the event in 2024, while Zverev has 50 quarter-finalist points to defend in Munich.

    Both men will also be in action at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid before Sinner returns next month.

    Despite defeat, there is also good news for Musetti from an ATP Rankings perspective.

    A run to a first Masters 1000 final will see the Italian dramatically eclipse his previous career-high of world No 15, with the 23-year-old set to be ranked 11th come Monday.

    Read NextATP Rankings Winners & Losers Monte Carlo: Alcaraz close to No 2, Djokovic No 5, Tsitsipas -8, Musetti rises

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  • Emma Raducanu suffers blow as £3 million-a-year sponsorship deal is reportedly axed

    Emma Raducanu has reportedly been dropped by leading sponsor Vodafone after “demanding too much money”, reports have claimed.

    The Mail on Sunday has reported that the 22-year-old, who shot to fame following her stunning US Open triumph back in 2021, will not see her deal with the phone company renewed.

    The report states that sources close to Vodafone, who also sponsor the likes of Jack Draper, decided to end the partnership with Raducanu due to her financial demands.

    Raducanu was initially announced as a Vodafone ambassador back in December 2021, one of countless sponsorship opportunities that flew her way in the aftermath of her US Open victory.

    However, her partnership with Vodafone was thought to have been her most lucrative partnership, with the Brit reportedly raking in £3 million a year thanks to the partnership.

    The MoS report claims that this placed her Vodafone partnership ahead of other high-profile deals with the likes of Dior and Tiffany & Co, which allegedly earn Raducanu £2m.

    The loss of the Vodafone partnership could come as a significant blow for the 22-year-old, whose struggles since her epic triumph in Flushing Meadows have been well-documented.

    Raducanu has famously not won a WTA title since that victory and has struggled repeatedly with injury issues, though she did rise back inside the top 60 in 2024.

    A recent run to the quarter-final of the Miami Open saw her reach the last eight of a WTA 1000-level event for the first time and return to the top 50, with Raducanu currently ranked 47th in the world.

    Despite her struggles on court, she has remained, up until now, one of the most marketable athletes off it, being named as the seventh highest-paid female athlete of 2024.

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    The majority of the $14m reportedly earned by Raducanu in 2024 came from sponsorship, and only one non-tennis player – skiing star Eileen Gu – earned more than her.

    However, the reported loss of the Vodafone partnership could suggest that her star power may be on the wane – and that her marketability is being affected by inconsistency within her career.

    Last year, it had been reported that Raducanu’s longstanding deal with Porsche had ended, though this was later denied by the car manufacturer.

    World No 47 Raducanu has not played since her run to the Miami Open quarter-final, which was ended by a three-set defeat to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula.

    The Brit has since gone on to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers and the Rouen Open, and is currently expected to return at the Madrid Open.

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  • Carlos Alcaraz makes brutally honest Jannik Sinner confession as he reaches Monte Carlo final

    Carlos Alcaraz has powered to within one win of a return to the world No 2 ranking after reaching his first final at the Monte Carlo Masters, with his post-match comments confirming he has been feeling a little extra pressure in recent weeks.

    The 21-year-old Spaniard beat compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(2), 6-4 victor to secure his first appearance on finals Sunday at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he will look to ease past Alexander Zverev to take the No 2 ranking.

    Alcaraz allowed three set points to slip through his fingers in a long first set that lasted just over an hour and he also struggled to get over the winning line, as he needed six match points to reach his 23rd tour-level final.

    That number of finals is remarkable for a player of his tender years and he was in an upbeat mood as he spoke to the fans in Monte Carlo and toasted his first appearance in a Masters 1000 final since Indian Wells in March 2023.

    “It’s been a long time,” said Alcaraz. “I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again. Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament. I’m really happy to give them the chance to watch one of my finals again.

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    “I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point.

    “I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match. He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy to [have] thought about myself. The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”

    Alcaraz also made some interesting comments in his post match press conference, as he admitted the absence of Jannik Sinner over the last few weeks has added to the pressure he has felt to pick up titles.

    World No 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension for a doping violation and is due to return in next month’s Rome Masters.

    Alcaraz won the title in Rotterdam in February as he looked to close the rankings points gap on Sinner, but he struggled to find his best form in the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments, with Sinner’s absence clearly on his mind.

    “Since Jannik hasn’t been able to play tournaments, a lot of people have asked me about it and talked about it, about how important a time it is for me to reach No 1 again or to win tournaments,” said Alcaraz.

    “Probably, in a way, I’ve been thinking about it too much instead of playing good tennis and enjoying myself on the court and in the matches. After Miami, I realized the path I have to follow, the things I have to do. I don’t have to think about the results or anything else, I just have to have fun.

    “That’s the most important thing for me, and not paying attention to expectations or what people say about you. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I think it’s going well for me so far. Today was the best match I’ve played so far in this tournament. I didn’t let him get in, dominate, and come back. I showed my good tennis throughout the match.

    “I’m happy to have reached this level, but I think I can do better. At the beginning of the week, with the first clay-court tournament, you focus on adapting to the conditions. The ball comes to you differently, the game on clay is different. Once I’ve reached this level, I have to keep improving and, if possible, raise it in the final.”

    Sinner may not be playing in Monte Carlo, but his shadow is hanging over Alcaraz before their rivalry is renewed at some point during this already compelling European clay court season.

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  • Does Novak Djokovic ‘have a problem’ after a radical shift in his approach?

    Does Novak Djokovic ‘have a problem’ after a radical shift in his approach?

    After Novak Djokovic’s unexpected decision to play at the Monte Carlo Masters was backed up by a poor performance and a defeat in his opening match, the idea that he may ‘have a problem’ was floated.

    Former top ten star Arnaud Clement voiced his concerns after Djokovic’s flat performance as he lost against Chile’s world No 32 Alejandro Tabilo in his one and only match at this year’s Monte Carlo Masters.

    Djokovic described his straight sets defeat against Tabilo as ‘horrible’ and Clement pondered why the Serbian agreed to play in the first ATP 1000 Masters event of the season just a few days after his draining run to the final of the Miami Open.

    “The shock, ultimately, is more the manner and the attitude than the elimination itself,” Clement told Eurosport France.

    “It’s true that we didn’t feel he was happy on the court, we didn’t feel he was fulfilled. Did he want to? We don’t know. Did he have a problem? We don’t know. But there was certainly something wrong with Novak Djokovic.

    “And it wasn’t simply the fact that his tennis wasn’t in place. He didn’t give the impression, as can often be the case with him when things aren’t going well, of finding solutions and resources.”

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    Clement’s comments were speculative, but a few things don’t add up when we assess Djokovic’s decision making in 2025.

    He was criticised last year for playing a part-time schedule on the ATP Tour, with many experienced observers suggesting Djokovic would struggle to add to his haul of Grand Slam titles if he only played a handful of tournaments a year.

    His response to that criticism was pretty clear, as he insisted spending time with his wife and two children was more important to him than playing in ATP Tour events he no longer had the motivation to compete in.

    Time away from his home appeared to be a non-negotiable condition for Djokovic to continue his career a year ago, but he has played in far more tournaments this year and spent long periods away from his wife Jelena and their two children.

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    His appearance at the Qatar Open in February was a surprise a few weeks after he pulled out of the Australian Open with an injury problem and then he spent almost a month in America, playing at the Indian Wells Masters and then appearing at the Miami Open for the first time since 2019.

    Taking time off after that long run away from home may have been understandable, but Djokovic appears to be ready to devote more of his time to playing tennis in 2025 and he confirmed as much by getting straight back on court in Monte Carlo.

    With a lack of preparation time on clay his defeat was not a surprise, but he conceded the level of his performance was worrying.

    “It was actually more like the worst day. Look, I was hoping this is not going to happen, but it was quite a high probability I’m going to play this way,” said a downbeat Djokovic.

    “I don’t know, just horrible. Horrible feeling to play this way and I’m just sorry for all the people that have to witness this.

    “I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this, I mean this is horrible.

    “I did not have high expectations, really. I knew I’m gonna have a tough opponent, and I knew I’m gonna probably play pretty bad. But this bad… I didn’t expect.”

    Presumably, Djokovic will now have a chance to cram in some valuable time with his children before he returns to court and the next big test of his new approach will be revealed later this month in Madrid.

    This has often been the clay court Masters 1000 tournament Djokovic has skipped in recent years and he has only played in Madrid once since 2019.

    If he does show up for a tournament played at altitude in conditions he admits do not always suit him, it will be clear that he is putting his tennis first as he chases a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title before he calls time on his career.

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  • Why Emma Raducanu has ‘a big chance’ to be seeded for Wimbledon

    Emma Raducanu is preparing to kick-start her clay court campaign for 205 and she could have a new coach alongside her when she steps onto the red clay.

    The 2021 US Open champion is scheduled to play at the Madrid Open later this month, with Mark Petchey rumoured to be weighing up an offer to take over as her coach.

    Petchey worked briefly with Raducanu before her famous Grand Slam win in New York and he also stepped into her camp for the Miami Open, after she parted company with Vlado Platenik shortly before her opening match in the WTA 1000 tournament.

    Petchey’s influence certainly appeared to have a positive impact, with Raducanu playing her best tennis since her US Open win as she made it through to the quarter-finals in a run that included wins against top ten player Emma Navarro and recent WTA 1000 tournament winner Amanda Anisimova.

    Now opportunity is about to knock for Raducanu, as she is entering a period of the season that gives her a huge chance to make a big rankings leap.

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    By the time she returns to action, Raducanu will have just 10 ranking point to defend over the rest of the clay court season.

    If she plays at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, that will offer her a chance to compete for 2,000 ranking points.

    That same haul of points will be on offer at the French Open and any wins at Roland Garros will be extra points added to her current total as she failed to play at the second major of the year in 2024.

    Raducanu would need to be in the top 32 of the WTA Rankings to be seeded for the French Open and she will not need to many wins on clay to make that happen.

    A couple of victories in Madrid would propel her up towards the top 40 of the rankings and two more wins in Rome would take her close to that rankings goal.

    If she could string together three wins in both events, she would be knocking on the door of a seeding for Roland Garros.

    Raducanu’s uncertainty on clay courts may make the ambition of being seeded for the French Open a little ambitious, but she could have a better chance of being among the seeds when she gets onto grass courts at Wimbledon.

    Two or three wins at the French Open would give Raducanu a boost in her ranking and if she is among the top 32 seeds at the All England Club in July, she will be a threat to have a long run once again.

    Raducanu has made it through to the last-16 at Wimbledon on two occasions and had a big chance to go further last year as she blew her chance to make it through to the quarter-finals with a disappointing defeat against Lulu Sun.

    Raducanu struggled to kick on after that Wimbledon run last July, but the mood around her is very different after those sparkling wins in Miami.

    If Petchey is added to Raducanu’s team and she can steer clear of injuries over the next few weeks, there is every reason to believe a player who had been written off by too many of her critics could be a big contender on the WTA Tour in the second half of this year.

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