Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed a reunion on Sunday at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

The pair shared a hug before the start of the race, which is held around Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

@rogerfederer @F1 @f1miami @atptour
❤️ pic.twitter.com/lh5jOZNK4y

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) May 7, 2023

Federer and Del Potro shared a special ATP Head2Head rivalry, competing in 25 tour-level matches — including six finals — against one another. 

Both men have shown an interest in Formula 1 before. Last year, Federer spent time with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Del Potro, who attended the Miami race last year, caught up with polesitter Sergio Perez on Saturday.

CHECO 🤝 DELPO‼️

What a 🎾 x 🏎️ duo at @f1miami 😎 @delpotrojuan @SChecoPerez pic.twitter.com/DO6l5eAy4b

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) May 6, 2023

Federer was in the spotlight earlier in the week when he returned to the Met Gala. The Swiss star was joined at the event by tennis players including Serena Williams, Matteo Berrettini and Andy Roddick.

Andy Murray overcame a slow start and World No. 17 Tommy Paul to triumph Sunday at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence.

In front of a packed stadium in southern France, the Scot found consistency from the baseline to rally to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory against top seed Paul at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole.

“This last year, 18 months has been a bit of struggle with my game. But [my team] have been there supporting me and working with me to try and get better,” Murray said during the trophy presentation. “We keep going from here.”

^{Sunday’s final between Andy Murray and Tommy Paul filled the stands in Aix-en-Provence. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour}

Murray earned his third Top-20 win of the season Sunday by defeating the World No. 17 Paul en route to capturing his third Challenger title and first since the Binghamton Challenger in 2005.

“The most important part of this week [was] the fans who came out to support,” Murray said. “The atmosphere from the very first match right to the end was incredible. It’s so important for these tournaments to have the support of the local community and you guys came out even before the tournament started.

“[During] the practice sessions, you were out here watching and supporting. It means a lot to the players, but it’s so important to this event as well.”

A three-time major champion, Murray’s victory in Aix-en-Provence is his first clay-court title at any level since winning the Rome ATP Masters 1000 event in 2016. Sunday’s triumph is Murray’s first title of any kind since claiming the ATP 250 event in Antwerp in 2019. Murray climbed to No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings thanks to his efforts in France. 

The former World No. 1 won 68 per cent of his second-serve points compared to 47 per cent for Paul. Murray earned nine break points in the match, converting four of them to triumph after one hour and 55 minutes.

Watch Full Match Replay

Nearly 24 hours after winning a four-hour quarter-final marathon, Ugo Humbert returned to court Saturday, when he advanced to the championship match at the Sardegna Open. The Frenchman will fight for the title against Laslo Djere, who rallied to upset second seed Ben Shelton at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari.

The Frenchman Humbert ousted Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2, 7-6(3). Despite holding a 5-2 lead in the second set, including a match point on serve at 5-4, the 24-year-old was pushed to a tie-break before closing out the match in one hour, 41 minutes; a sharp contrast to Humbert’s four-hour, 13-minute victory against Taro Daniel in the quarter-finals, where he saved three match points to survive.

“I was just trying to do my best every point, even if I was serving for the match,” Humbert said in his post-match press conference. “You have to stay focused and wait for a good opportunity.”

Humbert, a seven-time Challenger champion, will aim for his first clay-court title in Sunday’s final.

“Normally I only win one or two matches on clay per year, but I’m enjoying it this year,” Humbert said. “Super proud to be in the final.”

Fourth seed Djere defeated World No. 38 Ben Shelton 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Challenger final since June 2018.

Laslo Djere celebrates a semi-final victory at the Sardegna Open. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

This isn’t the first time the Serbian Djere has found success in Cagliari. In 2020, Djere captured his second tour-level title at the ATP 250 event on the Italian island.

In doubles action, top seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni will contest third seeds Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler in the championship match.

Ready. For. This. 👊#ATPChallenger | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/dGoGLZJChG

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 6, 2023

Fans at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France are in for a treat Sunday, when three-time major champion Andy Murray and World No. 17 Tommy Paul will battle for the title.

Murray and Paul both earned straight-set victories in Saturday’s semifinals at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole. The Briton Murray displayed superb all-court coverage and fended off all four break points faced to down home hope Harold Mayot 7-5, 6-1.

Mayot, 21, showed a variety of tactics, often deploying drop shots and working his way forward in his first Challenger semi-final of the year.

Top seed Paul, who is yet to drop a set this week, defeated David Goffin 6-4, 6-2 in the last four after the American won 54 per cent of return points.

“Goffin is an unreal player, he’s had an unreal career,” Paul said. “I think I returned really well and played the big points well. There were a couple times where I was down break point and I came up with a first serve. I was really happy with that.”

Tommy Paul in action at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour

Looking ahead to Sunday’s blockbuster final, both Murray and Paul feel their level has improved as the week’s gone on.

“[It will be] a great challenge for me. Tommy has had a great year so far, playing the best tennis of his career,” Murray said. “He’s played well this week also. He’s a brilliant athlete. My game I think is in a good place. I feel like I’ve played much better the last couple matches. Hope for another good performance tomorrow.”

Paul said, “The field is definitely strong here [in Aix-en-Provence]. There’s a tonne of really, really good players. I knew that every match I had to play better and better and I think every match, I have played a little better. I’m happy with how today went. Looking forward to the match tomorrow.”

In 2021, Paul defeated Murray in their lone ATP Tour-level meeting at the 250 event in Stockholm, where the American went on to win the title.

Both staples on the ATP Tour, Murray could claim his first Challenger title since winning the Binghamton Challenger in 2005. Paul last won a Challenger title in 2019, when he won the Tiburon Challenger.

Did You Know?
This season, the ATP Challenger Tour announced the all-new 175 events, which are played during the second week of select ATP Masters 1000 events. The Arizona Tennis Classic in March was the Challenger 175 event debut, which Portugal’s Nuno Borges won. Bordeaux, France and Turin, Italy will also host Challenger 175 tournaments later this month.

Long-time friends Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev captured their first tour-level doubles title together Saturday when they defeated seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Competing in front of a lively crowd on Manolo Santana Stadium, the singles stars produced a strong serving performance to triumph after 71 minutes. They won 83 per cent (25/30) of their first-serve points and raced away in the Match Tie-break to seal victory.

Khachanov and Rublev showed grit throughout their run to the trophy, earning Match Tie-break wins in four of their five matches. They also defeated seeds Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer.

Khachanov and Rublev were competing in their third ATP Masters 1000 final, having advanced to the championship match in Miami in 2018 and Paris in 2019. With their victory, Rublev has now won four doubles trophies. It is Khachanov’s first tour-level doubles title.

Bopanna and Ebden were chasing their third tour-level title of the season together, having won in Doha and Indian Wells. The Indian-Australian tandem are first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Typically you call someone a loser at your own peril.

But in tennis, when a player is told by tournament officials that he is a ‘lucky loser’, those two words are music to his ears.

A lucky loser is a player who lost in the qualifying rounds but later was given passage into the main draw following a player’s withdrawal from the main draw, typically due to illness or injury.

On Sunday, German Jan-Lennard Struff will attempt to become the first lucky loser to win an ATP Masters 1000 title when he plays top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the Mutua Madrid Open final. In the semi-finals, Struff also had the rare satisfaction of avenging his defeat in the final round of qualifying to Aslan Karatsev.

So how does the lucky loser process work?

The timing of a player’s withdrawal from the main draw determines which qualifying losers have the chance to gain entry to the main draw as a lucky loser.

If a main-draw withdrawal occurs after the completion of qualifying, then the highest-ranked player who lost in the final round of qualifying moves into the main draw as a lucky loser. If a second main-draw withdrawal occurs after the completion of qualifying, the second slot is awarded to the second highest-ranked loser from the final round of qualifying.

If one main-draw withdrawal occurs before the completion of qualifying, then the two highest-ranked losers in the final round of qualifying go into a random draw for the main-draw spot. If two main-draw withdrawals occur before the completion of qualifying, then the three highest-ranked losers in the final round of qualifying go into a random draw for two main-draw slots.

After falling to Karatsev in qualifying 11 days ago, Struff has been on a tear, defeating fast-rising American Ben Shelton, Banja Luka champion Dusan Lajovic, Pedro Cachin and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas before exacting revenge against Karatsev to become the first lucky loser to reach the final at an ATP Masters 1000 event (since 1990). If he beats Carlos Alcaraz and wins his maiden tour-level title on Sunday, the 33-year-old will become the second lucky loser to triumph at a tour-level event this season.

Soonwoo Kwon lost against Tomas Machac in the final round of qualifying in Adelaide in January before he defeated the Czech in the main draw en route to the trophy at the ATP 250.