The Weekly Recap: Pro Tennis Around the Globe

What happened this week on the ATP and WTA Tour? Did our home-state Floridians win big? While we can't go over all of the action, here are a few key highlights to keep you updated...

Alcaraz Finds Form in Monte-Carlo

With no WTA tournaments and only one ATP, all the focus was in Monte-Carlo this week as the top men battled on the city's prestigious clay. For Floridian players, this wasn't an exciting week with Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul both out of the draw, and Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton picking up some early losses. While our home-state representatives weren't so prominent, other familiar faces leave the small city with positive results and confidence as Roland Garros rapidly approaches around the corner. Let's take a look at what happened this week. 

Just 15 days ago, Novak Djokovic was in the Miami final and looked to have found form after a few months of mediocre tennis. After a disappointing loss to teenage star Jakub Mensik in the 305, Djokovic headed across the ocean with hopes of even better scores under his name. That wasn't in stock. Clay specialist Alejandro Tabilo felt right at home when taking on the 24-time grand slam champion, and the result proved that: a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of the #3 seed. Granted, Djokovic didn't play a comparable level of tennis that we're used to at all, describing his performance as "horrible." But a lot of credit goes to Tabilo who stayed calm consistent, not letting Djokovic back into the match when he found himself on the cusp of victory, a pattern we've seen play out far too often with the Serb. 

Above: Carlos Alcaraz. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.

Alexander Zverev entered the tournament with little confidence and one goal: win a match! But that box was also not checked off as the top seed found himself in a devastating defeat to Matteo Berrettini. Berrettini has had a rough go of it the past few years, but he deserves a lot of praise for his first round performance here. Even after losing the first set 2-6, Berrettini reset and found ways to exploit Zverev's weaknesses, keeping a consistent ball in play and forcing the German to make the error. This tactic directly contradicts Zverev's aggressive game style, and on a surface like clay where the play is slower and the ball bounces higher, this was certainly a viable option. With a 48-point rally deep in the third set, the Italian fought hard for this victory and struck gold, taking home the dub 6-3, 7-5 in the final two. 

While other headlines filled the news, one man was working behind the scenes and taking care of business quietly. His name is Carlos Alcaraz. You heard of him? This tournament was especially important for the Spaniard who needs some solid results going into Roland Garros; he will be the defending champion in next month's event. He avoided an early upset scoring wins over a dangerous Francisco Cerundolo and Daniel Altmaier, before taking on Frenchman Arthur Fils. Fils, who recently claimed the #1 French player over Ugo Humbert, produced solid results at the Sunshine Double and continued the trend onto the clay. He even managed to swipe a set off of Alcaraz 6-4 in the opener, but the 21-year-old responded beautifully and avenged Fils from the brink of defeat, 7-5, 6-3. 

Above: Carlos Alcaraz. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.

A semi-final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was also a highly anticipated clash, with Fokina finding form after taking out both Ben Shelton and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper. But this didn't bother Alcaraz one bit. After a grueling first set clinched by the #2 seed 7-6, he was then able to convert a rare opportunity and get the second done a bit quicker 6-4 to reach the final. And the man waiting for him on the other side was a seasoned opponent, someone who has taken down Alcaraz before and knows what it's like to play on the big stages: Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti claimed the first set again 6-3. But after that, there's really not much to talk about. Something clicked for Alcaraz, and there was no stopping him. The Spaniard went on to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-0, completely dominating the Italian and leaving him with no answers. 

It was a good week for Alcaraz after all, but the biggest take-away I have is the fact that he changed something---something not related to the physical game and more about the mental side. In the past few tournaments he's faced some tough challenges, and seemed to have given up on his game when defeat looms near. This week, more than half the matches he won he came back from one set down, demonstrating enormous maturity and confidence in his game, something that he will continue to develop and will be an important asset for him going into rougher waters ahead. 

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Written by Will Turvey. Photo credit (top): Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.