On Sunday, Andrey Rublev clinched the ATP tournament in Marseille. In the final, he upset Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) to win his first ATP Tour title since March 2021.

Rublev's mental fortitude was on display in the match. The Russian came back from a set down in the first set, rebounded from missing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set. Afterwards, he averted a set point on his sharp serve in the second set to triumph in one hour and 57 minutes.

Read more: Felix Auger-Aliassime clinches his first ATP title in Rotterdam

The match in a nutshell

Auger-Aliassime jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a fast start. Rublev, on the other hand, swiftly found his range by stepping inside the baseline and pinning the Canadian far behind the baseline. The Russian, who had seven aces in the first set, then elevated his game at the end of the first set. He rallied for a 6-5 lead before holding service to close off the first set.

The second set was a nail-biter, with both players trading blows from the baseline. Auger-Aliassime, on the other hand, showed indications of exhaustion after his hectic current calendar. From 2-2, three breaks were traded in succession, with Rublev gaining two of them. With Auger-Aliassime tugging Rublev from edge to edge as he broke back to love, the Russian failed to serve out the match at 5-4. However, the Russian swiftly regained his composure, preserving a set point on service at 5-6, before winning the tie-break with a strong and aggressive performance. Thus, he was able to secure his victory.

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The Russian, who advanced to the final of the ATP 250 event in Marseille after defeating three Frenchmen, has now won nine tour-level titles. Also, the 24-year-old won the doubles final, accompanied by Denys Molchanov. Thus, he became the third player in the tournament's 30-year history to win both the singles and doubles titles in the same session.

Rafael Nadal on Thursday has confirmed on social media that he will not play in the Monte Carlo Masters event.  

Also Read: India's Anirudh Chandrasekar and Vijay Prashanth make place in the quarterfinals of US Men's Clay Court Championship

The former world number one has not participated in an ATP Tour tournament since returning to the court in Brisbane in January. Nadal returned with a lot of promise earlier this year and his performances in Australia raised questions about whether the 37-year-old could compete for the trophy.   

Injuries could be a concern for Nadal

Injuries remain a matter of serious concern for Rafael Nadal. After withdrawing from the Australian Open, Qatar Open and Indian Wells, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has now confirmed that he will be unable to compete at the Monte Carlo Masters next week. Nadal's return after an 11-month sabbatical has not gone according to plan, and missing the start of the clay season is another blow he will have to overcome if he is to prove he is still one of the greatest players in the game. 

Nadal Got injured in Australian Open

Rafael Nadal suffered a hip injury in last year's Australian Open, which forced him to sit out the rest of the season. He returned this year at the Brisbane International, but lost to Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals. Nadal has not played any tour-level matches since then. However, he did compete against Carlos Alcaraz in an exhibition bout in Las Vegas last month. Former world No. 1 has fallen to 649th in the current ATP rankings. 

Also Read: The Era of the Big Four: Tracing the Dominance and Twilight of Tennis Titans

Nadal has six weeks to get himself fit for French Open

The recurring setbacks will be a major hurdle in Rafael Nadal's season plans, putting his goal of winning the French Open, which he has won 14 times, in jeopardy. He has six weeks to get himself in peak condition for the Grand Slam, and a great performance could allow him to compete at the Paris Olympics 2024 at Roland Garros.  

Indian pair of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Vijay Prashanth reached the doubles quarterfinals of the US Men's Clay Court Championship on the ATP Tour in Houston on Monday. 

Also Read: India's Rohan Bopanna becomes the oldest player to win a Masters title with the Miami Open triumph

The Indian pair defeated American wild cards Michael Mmoh and Frances Tiafoe by 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 19 minutes match. Now they will face fourth seeds M Purcell and J Thompson of Australia in the US Men's Clay Court Championship quarterfinals. Prashanth is currently at 101st and Chandrasekar at 113th in the doubles ranking. 

A few other Indians are also in the fray in the doubles competition of the US Men's Clay Court Championship. Arjun Kadhe and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan play against the pair of Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Luis Martinez of Venezuela in the pre-quarterfinals while N Balaji and his German partner Andre Begemann face top seeds Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in another round of 16 match. 

Also Read: Jannik Sinner wins Miami Open title with a dominant victory over Grigor Dimitrov

Earlier, Anirudh and Vijay defeated second-seeded N Lammons and J Withrow 6-4, 7-6(2) to register the biggest win of their career at ATP Dallas 250 in February. 27-year-old Anirudh entered the top 100 rankings last year. In January this year, Anirudh and Vijay played their first-ever Grand Slam event at the Australian Open last month after they received a wildcard entry. 

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal withdrew his name before the first round match of 2024 Paribas Open aka Indian Wells on Thursday. Nadal says he is 'not ready to play at the highest level'.

Also Read: "I expect from myself to expect nothing.": Rafael Nadal reduces euphoria about his return

The 37-year-old player had also withdrawn from the ATP 250 event held in Doha in late February, but recently he was seen playing against another Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam exhibition match.

Three-time champion reached the final in 2022 on his last visit to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, would have been making his second appearance of the year. 22 Grand Slam champion missed almost a year with a hip flexor injury and returned to action in Brisbane in January, where he won two matches. After that, he suffered a micro tear to a muscle near his left hip during a quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson in his last contested ATP match. As a result, he missed this years' Australian Open.

"It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament. Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here at Indian Wells. That's also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready." Nadal tweeted.

"I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don't find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event. It is not an easy decision, it's a tough one as a matter of fact but I can't lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success," he added.

Also Read: Djokovic vs Nadal vs Federer: Tennis Title Battle

Nadal traveled to California to compete in 2024 Paribas Open and also practiced in front of fans on Tuesday evening but will not play against Milos Raonic in the opening round. Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal will take part in this match in place of Nadal, who bowed out to South Korea's Hong Seong-chan in a tough match during the final qualifying round.

The main draw of the 2024 Paribas Open begins on Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Novak Djokovic continued his brilliant performance by defeating Jannik Sinner in straight sets and won the ATP Finals tennis tournament title for a record seventh time.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic set to bid for a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title after defeating Carlos Alcaraz

World number one player Novak Djokovic achieved a new achievement at the age of 36 by defeating local player Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes.

In this way, Djokovic, who started the year with a record, also ended the year by making a new record. He won her record tenth title at the Australian Open in early 2023. After this, he broke Rafael Nadal's record by winning the French Open and winning his 23rd Grand Slam title. Moreover, Djokovic finished top of the year-end world rankings for the eighth time.

Djokovic had to face defeat from Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon but after that he won the title in the US Open. He swept past young pretenders Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on his way to triumph in Turin and is gunning for more glory in 2024, when Paris hosts the one major event where he has not won, the Olympics.

The Serb has now won seven ATP Finals titles, breaking his tie with Roger Federer. Earlier, the record of winning most titles in ATP Finals was jointly held by Djokovic and Federer. He continues to head towards his own century with 98 titles, a distinction achieved only by Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103) in the men's game. On Monday Djokovic will enjoy a ridiculous 400th week at world No 1, now 90 weeks greater than Federer in second place.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek will participate in United Cup mixed-team event

Djokovic will have many more milestones ahead of him in 2024. He is just two trophies away from 100 career titles. With 1,086 victories, he is likely to become just the third man in history to pass 1,100 match wins (Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer). And he will look to add to his record 24 Grand Slams (including 10 Australian Opens) and 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles.

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic qualified for the final of the ATP Finals 2023 in Turin this evening after defeating Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic captures the top ranking for the 8th time by beating Holger Rune in the ATP finals

Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in a ATP Finals semifinal match between the top two ranked players on Saturday night after Sinner had earlier dispatched Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1. At the start of the first set, Djokovic saved two break points in the first game. The Serb had the first break point at 4:3, used the second to take the Spaniard's serve, and then won the game without losing a point for a 1:0 lead in the sets.

In the second set, the Serb broke for a 2:1 lead, and then at 3:1 he missed a break point for 4:1. With the lead of the best tennis player on the planet 3:2, Alcaraz did not use two break points, thus missing the last chance to return to the match. Djokovic then made another break and reached the final, where he will try to defend the ATP Finals title he won last year.

Alcaraz and Djokovic had played each other four times previously and won two each. Djokovic won their most recent encounter in the final in Cincinnati in August, while Alcaraz beat the Serb in five sets in the Wimbledon final.

The final match of the ATP Finals 2023 is scheduled for Sunday after the doubles final, in which Marcel Granollers (Spain) and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) will play against Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (Great Britain) from 15:00.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek will participate in United Cup mixed-team event

The 36-year-old Djokovic is currently tied with Roger Federer on six ATP Finals titles at the season-ending tournament for the year's top eight players, while Sinner is the first Italian to reach the final. However, Sinner recorded his first-ever victory over Djokovic earlier this week and the Serbian will also have to contend again with a passionate, partisan crowd.