WASHINGTON, May 10, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

Although the final scoreline reflected that Jan-Lennard Struff came up just short in winning his first ATP Masters 1000 crown, losing Sunday evening’s title match of the Mutua Madrid Open to World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, it was an incredible journey for the German to go from lucky loser to tournament runner-up.

“Yeah, I think it will sink in the next few days,” Struff, 33, said during his post-match press conference inside Caja Mágica, about an hour after the final. “Just realizing, it’s strange, it’s [a] two-week tournament. … It was a new feeling for me to be that long in tournament. It felt like it was way longer than two weeks, I would say, because it feels like I’m four weeks in Madrid right now. But it was a great time.”

An incredible ✌️ weeks for both @Struffitennis & @carlosalcaraz 👏 @MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/C3foAu8DM9

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 7, 2023

Looking back, Struff had few if any regrets. He beat two seeded players (No. 32 Ben Shelton of the United States and No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece) en route to the title match against Alcaraz. “Of course, I wanted to go all the way to win today, but I would definitely say if someone told me two weeks ago ‘You’re going to play the finals,’ I would take it. Yeah, definitely,” he said.

“I’m proud of the way I played, proud of the way I presented myself, and yeah, that’s the way to go.”

“INCREDIBLE” 👏 @Struffitennis | @MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/OTPoc20Skq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 7, 2023

Struff, whose ranking jumped from 65th to a career-high No. 28 following his Madrid Open journey, has put himself into the conversation for players to watch out for at the French Open, which begins in less than three weeks. Not bad when one considers that Struff was ranked 150th at the start of the year.

“Yeah, it’s been an incredible journey from lucky loser to be in the final, runner-up here,” Struff said. “I hope that it gives me a lot of push for the next weeks and months.”

Moving 🆙 Welcome to this week’s movers! 🔥@PepperstoneFX | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/BSs0PnCuVb

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 8, 2023

Madrid women’s doubles players get slighted during trophy ceremony

While both the Madrid women’s singles and doubles finals garnered plenty of attention for how the players delivered on the court, it was the trophy ceremonies for both – particularly the doubles – which left a bitter taste for many.

On Sunday, after Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil beat top-seeded U.S. duo Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the tournament denied them a proper trophy ceremony as is customary – and was afforded a day earlier to the men’s doubles champions. It was hurried – despite taking place nearly two hours before the start of the men’s singles final – and there was no microphone to enable the winners or losers to speak. If left all four competitors dumbfounded and confused.

🏵️🏵️ Champion duo! 🏵️🏵️

Azarenka/Haddad Maia take the women’s doubles crown at the 2023 #MMOPEN. pic.twitter.com/KBerxD82L1

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 7, 2023

Afterward, Gauff shared her thoughts in writing on Twitter that she was denied saying in front of the Manolo Santana Stadium audience that attended the final.

also thanks to my team and Jess’s team of course! Also for the ball kids, tournament staff, and everyone else who works hard behind the scenes. Twitter format doesn’t allow me to say everything I would’ve said during the speech if we had one. But just wanted to say I ‘m thankful

— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 7, 2023

Azarenka also chimed in via social media, saying the lack of a proper trophy ceremony denied her the opportunity to say hello to her son. “Hard to explain to Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony.”

Hard to explain to Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) May 7, 2023

After arriving in Rome for this week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she is the No. 3 seed in singles and the top seed in doubles with Gauff, Pegula addressed the Madrid trophy ceremony in her Media Day press conference.

Jessica Pegula on the Madrid trophy ceremony:

“Even in a $10K final you would speak. I don’t know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision or had a conversation and decided, like, ‘Wow, this is a great decision and there’s going to be no-backlash.”

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) May 9, 2023

As Tumaini Carayol, tennis correspondent for London’s Guardian, wrote earlier this week: “Madrid’s treatment of its women players has been a regular talking point since it gained the WTA event in 2009. In the past, the tournament has scheduled the women either extremely early or late in the day and frustration from the women over the years has been palpable, despite the event awarding equal prize money.”

There has been no public comment by either Mutua Madrid Open tournament officials or the WTA Tour about the trophy ceremony oversight.

Alcaraz wins Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award

A day after securing his second straight Mutua Madrid Open crown, Carlos Alcaraz received the 2023 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award in ceremonies held Monday evening in Paris.

Last year, the 20-year-old Spaniard won his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid as well his first major title at the US Open last September. He also became the youngest World No. 1 in ATP Tour rankings history.

“A very special night in Paris!” Alcaraz wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for this Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award! Thank youto the academy and everyone who made this possible. And, of course, congratulations to all the winners and nominees!”

A very special night in Paris! 🏆😍 Thank you for this Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award! 😊Thank you to the academy and everyone who made this possible. And of course congratulations to all the winners and nominees! 😘 #Laureus23 pic.twitter.com/BOt0CNL8bp

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) May 8, 2023

Other nominees for the award included WTA Top 20 star Elena Rybakina, the Morocco men’s football team, figure skater Nathan Chen and track and field star Tobi Amusan.

Great Britain wins BNP Paribas World Team Cup men’s wheelchair title

It was a weekend to remember for Great Britain. The British men, led by Alfie Hewitt, beat the defending champions Netherlands 2-0 to win the BNP Paribas World Team Cup men’s wheelchair title at Vilamoura Tennis and Padel Academy in Portugal.

World Champions 🤝 Great Britain 🇬🇧

A weekend to remember for the Brits as they regained the BNP Paribas World Team Cup men’s title with a 2-0 victory over defending champions Netherlands 🏆#WheelchairTennis | @the_LTA

— ITF (@ITFTennis) May 9, 2023

By the numbers

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has won the Internazionali BNL d’Italia six times. Seeded first at this year’s Rome event, the defending champion Djokovic is set to make his 17th consecutive appearance at Foro Italico, where he has never lost before the quarterfinal round. Last year, the Serbian earned his 1,000th tour-level victory, in the semifinals against Casper Ruud. This year, Djokovic opens against Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina.

“Quotable …”

“I don’t have a goal anymore, really. In my head, I want to try to enjoy, to have more good memories. I’m playing because I love tennis and I love being on court. Until I can, I think I’m going to do this.”

– Sara Errani, 36, of Italy, on what motivates her to continue playing pro tennis, as told to Alex Macpherson of the WTA website.