Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

“It’s almost like a first [title] again,” said an emotional Alexander Zverev in July after becoming champion at his hometown event, the Hamburg European Open, for the first time. “It’s such a long time, 18 months, and I’m just super happy right now.”

If an ATP Tour career can be broken up into chapters, the German has followed up one of the most tumultuous of his career with a stirring comeback storyline in 2023. One that has seen him lift his 20th and 21st tour-level trophies in Hamburg and Chengdu, respectively, and qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth time.

Zverev had no such expectations at the start of the season, when he returned to competitive action after missing the second half of 2022 with a serious ankle injury sustained during his Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal. Although the three torn ligaments in his right ankle may have physically healed, Zverev’s 3-6 start to 2023 reflected the fact that after-effects from such a serious injury remained.

"I think at the beginning of the year I was still managing pain, I was still dealing with pain,” Zverev told the ATP Tennis Podcast. “I was not moving the way I wanted to move, I was not sliding around the court, if you look back at the matches that I played. It was more that for me.”

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Former finalist Dominic Thiem made a winning start at the Moselle Open on Monday when he brushed past French lucky loser Matteo Martineau 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round.

The former World No. 3, who advanced to the title match on debut in Metz in 2016, saved the one break point he faced and won 80 per cent (28/35) of his first-serve points to advance after 84 minutes.

Thiem has now won eight of his past nine tour-level first-round matches, with his best result a final run in Kitzbühel in August. Chasing his first title since his US Open 2020 triumph, the Austrian will next play Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

In other action, defending champion Lorenzo Sonego made a winning start to his title defence, clawing past American Marcos Giron 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

The Nitto ATP Finals will award a record $15 million in prize money at the 2023 season finale, which will be played at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 12-19 November. 

If the champion at this year’s tournament lifts the trophy with a perfect record, he will earn $4,801,500, an increase over the previous record, which was set in 2022 when Novak Djokovic won $4,740,300. That remains record prize money for a champion in all of tennis.

Like in the 2022 edition of the tournament, three matches at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals will be worth more than $1 million. Each semi-final victory will be worth more than $1.1 million and the championship match will yield the winner $2,201,000.

Singles Prize Money (2023)
Alternate	$152,500
Participation Fee	$325,500*
Round-robin match win	$390,000
Semi-final match win	$1,105,000
Final win	$2,201,000
Undefeated champion	$4,801,500

*Singles Participation Fee Schedule (2023)
1 match: $162,750
2 matches: $244,125
3 matches: $325,500

If a doubles team lifts the trophy without losing a match en route to the title, it will split $943,650.

The world’s best players will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin next week, when Novak Djokovic will chase a record seventh title at the prestigious season finale.

When is the Nitto ATP Finals?

The 2023 Nitto ATP Finals will be held from 12-19 November. The indoor hard-court event, established in 1970, will take place at the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The event director is Adam Hogg.

What is the format & who is playing at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals?

The event in Turin will see eight players divided into two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune will compete.

When is the draw for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals?

The Turin draw will be made on Thursday 9 November at 3 p.m.

What is the schedule for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals?

* Main Draw Round-Robin Matches: Sunday 12 November – Friday 17 November. Afternoon session starts at 12:00 p.m. (doubles), 2:30 p.m. (singles). Evening session not before 6:30 p.m (doubles), 9 p.m. (singles) from Sunday-Thursday. Not before 6 p.m (doubles), 8:30 p.m. (singles) on Friday.

* Semi-finals: Saturday 18 November. Afternoon session starts at 12:00 p.m. (doubles), 2:30 p.m. (singles). Evening session not before 6:30 p.m. (doubles), not before 9 p.m. (singles).

* Final: Sunday 19 November. Doubles final at 3 p.m. and singles final at 6 p.m.

View On Official Website

What is the prize money for the Nitto ATP Finals?

The prize money for the Nitto ATP Finals is $15,000,000

Singles
Undefeated Champion: $4,801,500
Final Win: $2,201,000
Semi-Final Win: $1,105,000
Each Round-Robin Match Win: $390,000
Participation Fee: $325,500
Alternate: $152,500

As he prepares for his fifth consecutive Nitto ATP Finals appearance, Daniil Medvedev has a score to settle. The world No. 3 went 0-3 last season in Turin, but that record tells just a small part of the story.

One year after winning two final-set tie-breaks in a runner-up finish at the season finale, Medvedev lost all three of his 2022 Turin matches in decisive tie-breaks — defeats against Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. But as a former champion, the 27-year-old is not too concerned about a repeat performance.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

“I feel definitely maybe a little bit less pressure, because before I won [the 2020 title], I lost three matches in a row,” he pointed out. “But the same time, tennis is such a… let's call it a cyclic thing. Last year, I lost three matches, and three of them were really close in the decisive tie-break, I think two of them I was serving for the match. 

“So for sure this year coming there, I want to try to be better. And that's exactly what happened a couple of years ago, when I managed to win it. So let's hope it's going to be the same story.”

The backhand built an impenetrable brick wall.

Novak Djokovic defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters on Sunday by relying heavily on his backhand to control the flow of points from the back of the court.

This was a defensive, old-school approach from Djokovic, who only went to the net five times and hit just 15 run-around forehands standing in the Ad court for the match. Djokovic invested heavily in his backhand, and after a rocky start, it paid dividends with his 40th ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Djokovic committed six errors in his first 13 backhand groundstrokes (excluding returns & volleys), as Dimitrov successfully attacked it with his slice backhands and aggressive run-around forehands. Djokovic said post-match that he thought both players were tight at the beginning of the match, but it was the Serbian who settled down the quickest.

Djokovic made his last 29 backhands of the opening set and cranked up the pressure on Dimitrov to basically have to hit winners to collect points. Overall, Djokovic hit more backhands than forehands for the match as he was content to build points through the Ad court and force Dimitrov to red line his game to win baseline exchanges.

Novak Djokovic’s champion’s mentality was shown on Sunday after he won the Rolex Paris Masters. As happy as the Serbian was to claim his record-extending seventh title at the season’s ATP Masters 1000 event, he was clearly hungry for more.

“It's great, but it's already behind me. I'm very of course proud of the achievement but I'm already turning the next page. This is, fortunately or unfortunately, the way it works for me, and the way I think is the correct, so to say, mentality moving forward,” Djokovic said. “Because while I'm still active, I still want to win more and I still want to play at the highest level. Obviously Grand Slams and Masters events are the most valuable tournaments in our sport.

“So considering the circumstances I had in the last seven days, this win has more weight and more value and it's extra sweet, particularly at this stage of my career. I don't even know in which stage of my career I am anymore, but I think that every win in a big tournament, maybe the value is double nowadays.”

The 36-year-old won three consecutive three-setters to make the championship match, which he won against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. The 40-time Masters 1000 champion was honest about how difficult it was to capture the trophy.

“A very challenging week. I think also off the court, dealing with the stomach virus that really took a lot of energy out of me, but somehow I managed to, I guess, find this extra energy when it was most needed, particularly in the days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, where I was probably closer to losing these matches than winning,” Djokovic said. “So considering what happened in the last six, seven days, this win is definitely one of the most special wins in the Masters 1000 category.”

Grigor Dimitrov’s disappointment at just missing out on the Rolex Paris Masters title on Sunday was plain to see. Yet the Bulgarian’s courtside tears were not necessarily just a reaction to his championship-match defeat to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

“It's difficult to explain emotions, I think,” said Dimitrov after Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the French capital. “You want it. It's tough when it doesn't happen. Only I know, in a way, without feeling sorry for myself, what I've gone through the past months on and off the court.

“Those are happy tears. I don't want to have them as something negative. I'm human, after all. At the end of the day, I think just the buildup, not only of the last two weeks, the last months of hard work and the big trip in China, everything has been kind of snowballing day after day, match after match.”

This moment ?@DjokerNole ❤️ @GrigorDimitrov @RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/LwEtUDO8w2

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 5, 2023

Dimitrov was appearing in his first Masters 1000 final for six years, and his biggest championship match since his 2017 triumph at the Nitto ATP Finals. The 32-year-old has now gone six years without lifting a trophy, but he can still reflect on 2023 as a year of undoubted resurgence.

Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert won his first tour-level singles match in more than 20 months on Sunday when he defeated his #NextGenATP countryman Arthur Cazaux 7-6(7), 6-4 in the first round of the Moselle Open.

Herbert, who is competing in Metz for the first time since 2019, had not won a tour-level singles match since February 2022 in Marseille. He will next play second seed Alex de Minaur.

“It was a tough match today against a very good opponent. He had an amazing year, so I knew I had to play a great match to be able to win,” Herbert said in his on-court interview. “For me, this win is quite special because I've not been playing this tournament for almost [four] years.

“I’ve had some difficult times so really, really happy. And being able to share that moment with this box is just amazing.”

World No. 372 Herbert, who has climbed as high as No. 36 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, saved the two break points he faced and won 79 per cent of his first-serve points to advance after one hour and 53 minutes.

Novak Djokovic continues to rewrite the record books, extending his sizable 'Big Titles' advantage by winning the Rolex Paris Masters on Sunday.

By defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the Paris-Bercy final, the Serbian claimed his 40th ATP Masters 1000 trophy, becoming the first player to reach that milestone.

Djokovic has now won 70 'Big Titles', which is a combination of Grand Slam championships, trophies at the Nitto ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and Olympic singles gold medals. 

Djokovic has won one ‘Big Title’ for every 3.1 events played (70/217). Only three other players have claimed 'Big Titles' at a rate better than one for every five events played: Nadal (1/3.5), Federer (1/4.4) and Pete Sampras (1/4.9).

The 36-year-old has won the Rolex Paris Masters seven times, also a record. Having also emerged victorious in Cincinnati this year, he has earned multiple Masters 1000 titles in 12 seasons during his career.

Novak Djokovic has moved within one set of a record-extending 40th ATP Masters 1000 crown after moving ahead in Sunday’s Rolex Paris Masters championship match against Grigor Dimitrov.

Djokovic leads 6-4 after pulling away from the Bulgarian following a cagey start inside Accor Arena. The Serbian, who is chasing a record-extending seventh title at the indoor hard-court event, won 88 per cent (15/17) of points behind his first serve in a largely solid first-set display.

That dominance behind his delivery allowed Djokovic to hit freely on return, and he clinched a decisive break in the seventh game as Dimitrov, who made a costly 19 unforced errors in the set, struggled to match the 36-year-old’s consistency from the baseline.

The World No. 1 Djokovic entered Sunday’s final on a 17-match winning streak and having won his past nine Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes with Dimitrov. Should he go on to complete victory in Paris, he will increase his Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin lead over Carlos Alcaraz to 1490 points and make it highly likely he will claim the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour for a record-extending eighth time.

More to follow…

Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin extended their late-season winning streak to eight on Sunday to clinch the title at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The seventh-seeded duo defeated Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 to lift the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the French capital. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin converted both break points they earned to claim victory, holding firm after dropping their first set of the week in the championship match in Paris.

“The set we lost, it’s totally my fault. I did a pretty bad game in the second set, but Santi helped a lot at the changeover,” said home favourite Roger-Vasselin. “[He said] ‘It’s OK, we’re just going to fight every point and enjoy the crowd’. For me it’s super special to win here in Paris, so I’m really thankful to Santi. He played amazing all week, and I’m really happy to win this trophy here.”

The franchise players ⭐️⭐️

The moment @gonzalezsanty & @ERogerVasselin locked up the doubles title in Paris, defeating Bopanna/Ebden 6-2, 5-7, 10-7!@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/e5lP9GGm0w

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 5, 2023

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin, who also lifted the trophy in Basel a week ago, defeated the second, third and fourth-seeded pairs en route to their second Masters 1000 crown of the year. The duo has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where the pair will enter the prestigious season finale on a high.

The final ATP 250 action of 2023 takes place in Metz and Sofia, where a host of top stars line up at a pair of indoor hard-court events.

Alex de Minaur leads the field at the Moselle Open in Metz, where Karen Khachanov and Stan Wawrinka also feature in the draw. At the Sofia Open, Lorenzo Musetti, Adrian Mannarino and Jan-Lennard Struff are among the Top 30 players eyeing a successful end to the year.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN METZ
1) De Minaur Headlines Draw: Although his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes were ended by quarter-final defeat at the Rolex Paris Masters, De Minaur will aim to cap a strong year with a deep run in Metz. The Australian, who lifted the biggest title of his career in Acapulco in March, will take on one of two home wild cards first up — Pierre-Hugues Herbert or #NextGenATP Arthur Cazaux.

Grigor Dimitrov has the chance to end a rock-solid year in spectacular fashion at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Bulgarian has been the model of consistency in 2023, racking up a 41-20 record and reaching one tour-level championship match and four other semi-finals. Although the 32-year-old Dimitrov’s wait for his ninth ATP Tour title has now gone on for nearly six years, he is determined to be proactive in trying to change that in Paris-Bercy as he takes on Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final at the ATP Masters 1000. (Watch live from 3 p.m. CET/9 a.m. ET)

“I think for me where I'm at right now, things in a way, they're going my way, but also I'm looking for them as well,” said Dimitrov after he overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas in Saturday’s semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event. “I'm not waiting for my opponent to do something with it or I'm not waiting for them to miss.

“I want to win or lose on my own terms… I can control my attitude, and I don't want to feel sorry for myself for the past years. I don't want to feel like I have missed opportunities. Have I? Yeah, of course, too many, if you ask me. Have I made mistakes? Yes, too many.

“There comes a point where it's like, okay, I'm accepting all that had been thrown at me, what I had to face, and I continue. I get to have another chance. So when you get that chance, try to use it. So I'm trying to give myself a chance.”

Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect record in semi-finals at the Rolex Paris Masters on Saturday evening, but not before overcoming a marathon hard-hitting test from Andrey Rublev in the French capital.

The World No. 1 prevailed 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 against the fifth-seeded Rublev to move within one win of a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Masters 1000. Despite some uncharacteristically wayward baseline play and having treatment from the physio on his lower back between the second and third sets, Djokovic held firm in the decider to clinch a three-hour, two-minute triumph.

"Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match," said Djokovic. "He was playing an extremely high level that he possesses, but today he was off the charts, honestly. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good."

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Djokovic is now 9-0 in semi-finals in Paris-Bercy, where he will compete for his 40th Masters 1000 crown in Sunday’s championship match. His opponent there will be Grigor Dimitrov, after the Bulgarian earlier defeated Stefanos Tstisipas 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3).

Grigor Dimitrov’s late-season charge shows no sign of abating at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Bulgarian held his nerve for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 triumph against Hubert Hurkacz on Friday to book a semi-final spot at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 event. Dimitrov capitalised on a slow start from the 11th-seeded Hurkacz to race to the opening set at Accor Arena, before staying consistent in the decider to reach the semi-finals in Paris-Bercy for the second time.

“My body is feeling well for now, that’s the most important thing,” said Dimitrov, who also upset third seed Daniil Medvedev this week in Paris. “My head is good. If I’m able to play like that on a consistent basis throughout every game, I put myself in a position to do better.

“Today was no different. A completely different opponent again. Every day you have to adapt, and I’ve been able to do so these four or five days.”

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Running back into form without a moment to spare, defending champion Holger Rune has given himself the chance to reprise his stunning win over Novak Djokovic last year at the Rolex Paris Masters and boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals after a key win Thursday night.

The 20-year-old Dane produced a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win over German Daniel Altmaier to charge into the quarter-finals and set another meeting with the World No. 1, whom he denied a seventh Paris title in last year’s final.

Rune’s title run last year left him one place outside the cut for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he served as the alternate. This year he is trying to hang onto the eighth and final place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

How about Holger tonight? ?@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/rqZcATepud

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 2, 2023

In addition to his 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Djokovic in last year's final, the World No. 7 defeated the Serbian in three sets in the Rome quarter-finals earlier this year to take a 2-1 lead in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Novak Djokovic was on the brink of becoming the latest upset victim at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday night. Instead, he battled back from a set down to defeat Tallon Griekspoor and advance to his ninth straight quarter-final at the event.

The Serbian won the final eight points of the match to escape with a 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory, extending his winning streak to 15 matches and tightening his grip on the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. He now leads Carlos Alcaraz — who was upset by Roman Safiullin in his Paris opener — by 670 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a barometer in the battle for year-end No. 1.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Following the match, Djokovic revealed he was struggling with a stomach issue — though he was full of praise for Griekspoor's effort.

"I don't want to take anything away from his performance. He didn't drop the level," the Serbian said. "Maybe in the third set a few games he did a bit, but he was playing at a very high level and credit to him for that performance. If he would be the winner tonight, it would be absolutely deserved. 

"I started off well but I ran out of steam. I've been struggling the last couple of days with my stomach and I just didn't feel myself at all. I was just trying to hold my serve and get to a tie-break, which happened in the second. I got lucky on a couple of shots there. It could have easily gone his way, but overall I played a good tie-break and I started to feel better in the third. I'm really, really glad to overcome this challenge."

Can Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow ride their red-hot late-season form all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals?

The American pair maintained its push for a debut at the prestigious season finale Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where it overcame rivals Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals. Lammons and Withrow converted two of the seven break points they earned to clinch their 94-minute triumph and set a last-eight clash with Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

Lammons and Withrow have lifted four tour-level titles since July (Newport, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Astana) and their run so far on debut at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy has consolidated them in eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

An eighth-place finish won’t be enough for Lammons and Withrow to book a spot at the prestigious season finale this year, however, after Australian Open winners Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler’s qualification as the only Grand Slam champions to finish the regular season between eighth and 20th was confirmed earlier on Thursday. Lammons and Withrow therefore need to overhaul Gonzalez and Molteni in seventh to reach Turin — the Argentines are currently 355 points ahead of the Americans.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski extended their winning streak in Paris-Bercy to five matches by defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6(5). The 2022 champions began their title defence by wrapping a 93-minute win to set a quarter-final with Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, whose Nitto ATP Finals qualification was also confirmed on Thursday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive year. The Greek will join Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev at the season finale, which will be played at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 12-19 November.

“It's awesome. What a great relief to finally get that spot,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve been working extremely hard the whole year… and it's a moment of relief that I've made it to one of my favourite events of the year and I get the opportunity to play in from my Italian fans, but also get some Greek people in.”

? The 2019 #NittoATPFinals Champions has qualified ?

How will @steftsitsipas close the 2023 season? ? pic.twitter.com/QXS0EhOtyO

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 2, 2023

Tsitsipas made his debut at the year-end championships in 2019, capturing the prestigious title aged 21. The victory made him the youngest Nitto ATP Finals champion since a 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.

Now 25, Tsitsipas earned his way to the tournament with deep runs at some of the world’s biggest tournaments. The Greek advanced to his second major final at the Australian Open and also reached the championship match in Barcelona.