“He only wanted to hit forehands, so I was hitting everything there.”

Cameron Norrie was happy to bow to the demands of an unexpected hitting partner in Florida in March.

The 27-year-old Briton took to court with Jon Bon Jovi prior to the Miami Open presented by Itau after the two were put in contact by the music legend’s daughter, a college friend of Norrie’s girlfriend Louise.

“It was so cool,” Norrie told ATPTour.com. “We went to a tennis club next to his place in Palm Beach and I played with him for 25 or 30 minutes. He only started tennis a couple years ago, so he was obsessed with it. For someone who had only played like two years, he was pretty good and [has a] really good technique on the forehand.

“Then he said, ‘Follow me, and we’ll go back to my house’ and we had some food. His house is obviously unbelievable, and he’s such a nice guy. So down to earth and so humble. It was really cool.”

Getting ready for a different kind of tour ..!!@cam_norrie @carlosalcaraz @FTiafoe @RafaelNadal @DaniilMedwed @rogerfederer @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/dbYtzkUBBt

— Jon Bon Jovi (@jonbonjovi) March 22, 2023

Norrie, No. 13 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, was almost taken aback by the strength of his famous host’s passion for the sport.

“He just loves tennis in general and was so pumped for the [Miami] tournament to go and watch,” said Norrie. “He came to watch me practise [at Hard Rock Stadium] and he was already planning to go to Wimbledon [this year]. He’s got some concerts lined up over the summer [in the UK] and yeah, he was pumped.”

Although admitting he is no Bon Jovi ‘superfan’, Norrie was familiar enough with Bon Jovi’s work to realise he was spending time with rock royalty.

“Obviously I know all his big songs,” said the New Zealand-born 27-year-old. “I love it, but I was not like a huge fan. So I was pretty relaxed, honestly, but I know how big he is and how much of a legend he is. So it was just cool to see how humble he was. He treated me and my girlfriend so well and he was so down earth.”

Norrie’s trip to Palm Beach was not the first time he rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous this year. In Indian Wells in March, he suddenly found himself next to Microsoft co-founder and businessman Bill Gates.

“I was doing a photo shoot there and I said hi, and I talked to him for a little bit,” said Norrie. “He said he plays [tennis] three hours every day, which is a lot. I didn’t get to see him play so I don’t know if he’s any good, but it looks like he obviously likes it.”

Norrie is renowned as one of the most down-to-earth and hard-working players in the locker room. So how does he cope with the occasional celebrity encounters that crop up as part of his life on the ATP Tour?

“I wasn’t [nervous] with [Bon Jovi or Gates], but I think for [some] other famous people I would be,” said Norrie. “Like when I met Andy [Murray] for the first time, I was so nervous, and [Roger] Federer. Guys who I really respect, and I’ve been watching and seeing them.”

On Tuesday at the Foro Italico, Norrie will attempt to make headlines himself when he chases a first win in three attempts against six-time champion and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

That may seem a tough ask for a player who had only limited exposure to clay courts growing up, yet Norrie has worked hard to improve on the surface. In 2022 he lifted his first clay-court ATP Tour title in Lyon, and in February he became one of just three players to defeat Carlos Alcaraz so far this season with victory in the Rio de Janeiro final.

“I think obviously some good results in South America was great for me,” said Norrie, who went 8-1 across Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, when asked about his prospects for the European clay. “It gave me a lot of confidence, but I think I need to go back to square one and I’m going to have to play my best tennis to have a chance with the best guys in the world.”

The 93-time tour-level champion Djokovic certainly counts as one of those, but Norrie has a clear idea of how he can push the Serbian great when he steps on court for the pair’s fourth-round clash in Rome on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m going to have to make sure I’m rested and play long points,” said Norrie. “On clay it’s no secret, to win matches, for me especially, I’m not going to go out and hit someone off the court. So, I’m going to have to slowly chip away and make it competitive.”

Roland Garros tournament organisers announced that prize money for this year’s clay-court major will total €49.6 million, an increase of 12.3 per cent compared to 2022.

The men’s and women’s singles champions in Paris will each receive €2.3 million and the finalists will earn €1,150,000.

The prize money for first-round losers has increased more than 11 per cent year-on-year from €62,000 to €69,000. Prize money for losers in the second and third rounds has increased by nearly 13 per cent each.

Overall the prize money for the singles draws has increased by 9.1 per cent compared to last year. The men’s doubles and women’s doubles championship teams will claim €590,000 per pair.

The year’s second major will be played from 28 May-11 June.

Men’s & Women’s Singles Prize Money

Men’s & Women’s Doubles Prize Money

J.J. Wolf is competing in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he has defeated Hugo Grenier and Hubert Hurkacz to reach the third round on his tournament debut in Rome.

Ahead of his third-round match against Alexander Zverev in the Italian capital, the American spoke to ATPTour.com about his hidden talent, ideal dinner guests and love for country music.

How would you describe your perfect day if you are not playing tennis?
I would go to bed early so I wake up rested, but not wake up too late. So maybe at 8 or 9 a.m., even though I never wake up that early. I would have breakfast, watch the sunrise. Go and do something fun and outdoors with my friends and girlfriend. Something active to get a sweat going.

Then [I would] come back, have some lunch and eat really good food. Then maybe go on a rollercoaster. Dinner, a few drinks and I love a bonfire, so we would have a bonfire by a lake. Then you could go waterskiing as well.

What is the most interesting thing you have ever done in your life?
The most interesting thing was being there for my dad going through cancer treatments. I thought it was interesting. I didn’t know how someone could be so strong. I would be really scared going through something like that. But seeing him so strong and showing no fear, drawing strength from that has been the experience that I have valued the most.

If you could choose any three people to go to dinner with, who would they be and why?
I am going to take a weird approach to this. I would take three random ancestors of mine that I have never heard of and talk to them and get to meet them about where they came from and what it was like.

Do you have a hidden talent and can you tell me a bit about how you got into that?

I can dance. I have got some rhythm, I can bounce out some moves. I can groove around. I took a break dancing class when I was 12, so maybe if I can remember some of those moves. 

If you weren’t a tennis player, what job would you want and why?
Some sort of athlete. I would have to be competing. Or a white-water rafting guide. Anything outdoors I love, so something like that would be good.

If you had to choose between attending a music concert or a sporting event, what would you choose and why?
Music concert every day of the week. Maybe a Dead & Company concert or a country concert. I love Zach Bryan. It is hard for me to choose.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Flying for sure. I would love to fly wherever I wanted. I could just go to different places or tonight I could quickly fly home, sleep in my own bed and then fly back. That would be awesome.

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos held their nerve for a thrilling first-round upset on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The Spanish-Argentine pairing snapped the 10-match winning streak in Rome of fifth seeds and Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic with a 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-8 victory at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.

Granollers and Zeballos appeared to have lost their momentum when they lost five straight points to let a 6/2 lead slip in the Match Tie-break, but they held firm for a one-hour, 46-minute win against the 2021 and 2022 champions.

There were no such problems for top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski or second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. Koolhof and Skupski defeated Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies 6-7(3), 6-3, 10-4 while Ram and Salisbury beat Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-3, 6-2.

After a busy Sunday at the Foro Italico, the third round will be completed on Monday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the final in Rome last year, will try to hold off home hope Lorenzo Sonego. Carlos Alcaraz continues his first Foro Italico appearance against Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan and 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti meet in a clash of Next Gen ATP Finals alumni.

ATPTour.com previews Monday’s action.

[5] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)

Tsitsipas made a deep run in Rome last year when he advanced to the final. Will Italian Sonego stop the Greek early this year?

The pair have met twice previously, with both meetings coming on hard courts in 2021. Tsitsipas won on both occasions, but needed three sets to triumph at that year’s Western & Southern Open.

Sonego has enjoyed success on home soil before. Two years ago he advanced to the semi-finals in Rome behind back-to-back Top 10 wins, two of the five he has earned in his career (5-17). Earlier this year, Sonego upset then-World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in Dubai.

The Italian will try to rely on his heavy groundstrokes to make Tsitsipas work hard on the clay. Due to rain Saturday, Tsitsipas also needed to briefly return to action Sunday to close out his victory over Nuno Borges. Will that play a factor?

[2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [Q] Fabian Marozsan (HUN)

It has been a tournament of firsts for Hungarian Fabian Marozsan. The 23-year-old arrived in Rome having never competed in an ATP Tour main draw and with an 0-2 record in tour-level matches (Davis Cup). Marozsan qualified at the Foro Italico and has earned two wins in the main draw, completing an upset of 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka on Sunday.

Will the Hungarian be able to produce his biggest stunner of all against second seed Carlos Alcaraz?

It has been difficult for all the stars of the ATP Tour to compete with the Spaniard this year. Alcaraz has won 12 consecutive matches and back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid.

“I feel great even [though] the conditions were tough… Apart of that, yeah, I felt the love from the people,” Alcaraz said after defeating countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round. “It was great to have a lot of people, even [in] really tough conditions, really tough day, waiting the whole day. It was great to play my first match here in Rome.”

[12] Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs. [18] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)

Tiafoe is one of the biggest fan favourites on the ATP Tour. His infectious smile and entertaining game are well-known throughout the world. But he will face a stiff test from artistic Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who also enjoys rallying the crowd to his side.

The pair have split two previous ATP Head2Head meetings, and Tiafoe’s win was a retirement in the final of this year’s United Cup. Musetti defeated Tiafoe during his breakthrough run in Acapulco two years ago. They also met twice at ATP Challenger Tour events in 2020, splitting those clashes.

Their encounter at the Foro Italico promises to be thrilling. The key will be which player is able to prevent the other from finding rhythm. Both men have proven that when at their best, they can put on a show.

More To Watch…

Earlier this year Andrey Rublev saved five match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Dubai. Rublev trailed 1/6 in their second-set tie-break before rallying for the victory. They will meet again as Davidovich Fokina seeks his first win in their ATP Head2Head series.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev earned his first win in Rome against Emil Ruusuvuori on Sunday and will try for his second against 31st seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Italian Marco Cecchinato will try to use the support of his home fans to defeat German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, who upset ninth seed Taylor Fritz. Fifteenth seed Borna Coric faces Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena for a place in the fourth round.

Casper Ruud’s best ATP Masters 1000 event has been the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Norwegian’s confidence at the Foro Italico proved helpful on Sunday when he overcame Alexander Bublik in a third-round thriller.

The magnetic Kazakhstani Bublik rallied the crowd to his side with his inimitable brand of shotmaking and shot selection. But Ruud was rock solid when it mattered most to triumph 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(0) for a place in the fourth round at an event where the 24-year-old has made the semi-finals in his past two appearances.

“It’s been a very good tournament for me in my career. I’ve reached the semis here twice and twice I lost to Novak in the semi-finals, so it sort of shows that I’ve been beating a lot of good players up until facing one of the best ever,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “I have a lot of good memories from here and the Italian fans are incredible, even though today they were maybe cheering even more for Bublik. It’s an incredible experience playing out here on this court, Pietrangeli.

“It’s a very special court and you can see it’s full almost every single match no matter who plays, so it was really fun and it gives me good vibes being here in Rome.”

As always Bublik used every shot up his sleeve to try to put Ruud into discomfort. After going down an immediate mini-break in the final-set tie-break, the Kazakhstani stood almost up to the service line to return his opponent’s serve.

But in the most critical moment, Ruud locked down from the baseline and allowed Bublik to misfire.

“In the tie-break I just played luckily very good, didn’t do any mistakes and it was very nice to have a 6/0 lead there at the end,” Ruud said.

It was an entertaining match and the pair shared a lengthy, friendly exchange at the net. The crowd chanted Bublik’s name as he walked off the court.

“I take every point serious no matter what the score is. Then you play Sascha, who has unbelievable talent and I’m up 5-0 after 17 minutes on court where he just sort of does mistakes and I’m just there putting the ball in,” Ruud said. “At least he still has fun with it because at 0-5 he starts hitting underarm serves and gets the crowd involved even though he’s down. From then on he’s serving great.

“He can do everything from a 40 km/h drop shot underarm serve to 220 out wide, a bomb. So it’s very difficult to know what’s coming. And as long as the score is kind of close, you feel like he’s fighting and giving it all.”

In the last match of the evening, home favourite Jannik Sinner clawed past lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2.

Shevchenko positioned himself well in the second set by playing aggressive tennis to push back the powerful Italian. The No. 93 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings let slip an opportunity to serve out the set. But despite his disappointment, Shevchenko recovered well in the tie-break to force a decider.

Sinner did not panic, earning an early break in the third set to halt his opponent’s momentum and continue his pursuit of a maiden Masters 1000 title.

“I think I was quite in the zone, trying to play every point in the maximum,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I missed a couple of points, especially in the second set and in the tie-break, but you have to cut this part away and then try to be ready for the third set, which I’ve done. I reacted very well.

“Trying to take all the positives. Obviously I won the match so I’m very happy and happy that I can play one more match here in Rome.”

The eighth seed will next play 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Novak Djokovic overcame second-set frustration with a high-class third-set showing on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he overcame Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in Rome.

The top seed and defending champion had appeared set for a routine third-round victory when he led Dimitrov by a set and a break at 6-3, 4-2. An inspired run of four games from the Bulgarian forced a decider at the Foro Italico, but Djokovic expertly raised his level to reach the fourth round with his 1050th tour-level victory.

“[I was] very solid. I think I could have won in straight sets,” said Djokovic. “I was a set and 4-2 up and had a pretty decent forehand in the middle of the court at deuce on his serve and missed that. He held his serve well, we had new balls the next game, I did a double fault, the crowd got into it and got behind him and of course the energy of the place and the of the match changed.

“I dropped my level a bit, but luckily I managed find it right away in the first game [of the third set], made that crucial break and kind of shifted the momentum to my side, so I’m really pleased with the way I closed out the match.”

With his two-hour, 20-minute win, Djokovic improved to 11-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Dimitrov. The 35-year-old will next take on 13th seed Cameron Norrie or Marton Fucsovics as he bids to reach the quarter-finals for the 17th time in as many appearances in Rome.

“Luckily for me in my career I managed to win more matches than those that I lost when I was facing difficult circumstances,” said Djokovic when asked about his ability to produce his best under pressure. “I also lost a lot of matches, particularly in the beginning of my career. For a few years, whenever I needed to make that final step or win a Slam, I didn’t manage to do that, so I learned a lot.

“I got stronger because of the rivalries, particularly with [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal and [Andy] Murray. Just staying the course, staying patient and believing in the process and the journey… Understanding what works for you best, what’s your winning formula mentally and also physically and emotionally, and then sticking to it.”

Djokovic made a sluggish start for the second match in a row at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000, where he was broken to love in the first game by the 26th seed Dimitrov. However, just as he did against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening match, the Serbian responded in style. He reeled off four games in a row en route to a first set in which he made just three unforced errors.

Despite letting slip his dominant position in the second set, the decider saw Djokovic return to the level that he has frequently shown in Rome across his career. Striking cleanly off both wings and offering few short balls for Dimitrov to attack, he broke the Bulgarian’s serve three times to complete his win and improve to 66-10 in the Italian capital.

Holger Rune remains a potential quarter-final opponent for Djokovic after the seventh-seeded Dane raced past home favourite Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2 earlier on Sunday.

The Rome debutant Rune converted four of his eight break points to advance after 77 minutes and improve to 24-9 for the 2023 season. The 20-year-old is chasing his second Masters 1000 crown after he beat Djokovic to lift the title at the Rolex Paris Masters last November. His fourth-round opponent will be Alexei Popyrin, the Australian qualifier who defeated Roman Safiullin 7-5, 7-5.

Daniil Medvedev arrived at this year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia with 76 ATP Masters 1000 match wins, but none of them had come in Rome.

The 27-year-old added a victory in the Eternal City to his collection in style on Sunday afternoon, when he overcame Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round at the clay-court event.

“It is a little bit [of a relief],” said Medvedev. “We can talk about all of the matches I lost here, they were different. The first one, I feel like I should have won, but it is [what it is]. Whenever I come to a tournament, I know that I can play well, so I’m happy to finally get the win here in Rome.”

Medvedev managed a potentially tricky opening match with a typically resilient display of baseline hitting. He redirected Ruusuvuori’s powerful groundstrokes to great effect on Court Pietrangeli, where he broke the Finn’s serve five times en route to an 88-minute triumph.

With his Tour-leading 32nd match win of the year, the third-seeded Medvedev improved to 10-0 in opening rounds for 2023. After tasting victory on the Rome clay for the first time in four main-draw appearances, the five-time Masters 1000 champion will seek to maintain his momentum in a third-round clash against Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

“I want to win as many matches as possible,” said Medvedev. “I know it can be a little bit trickier for me on clay, but honestly this year I am playing really well.

“The matches I lost, I lost against great opponents who [just] played better than me and not much [else] to say. I’m doing my absolute best and playing well. I already beat a lot of good opponents. Last week [in Madrid] Emil was one of only two players who won a set against Carlos [Alcaraz], so I’m feeling great and just looking forward to trying to play my best tennis until the end of the clay season.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas did not take long to join Medvedev in the third round. After play was suspended due to rain on Saturday evening with the Greek leading Nuno Borges by a set and a break at 6-3, 4-3, the fifth seed won eight of 11 points on Sunday to wrap a 6-3, 6-3 triumph.

The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas reached his maiden Rome final in 2022 and now holds a 10-5 record in the Italian capital. A two-time Masters 1000 champion on clay after he triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2021 and 2022, the 24-year-old will next take on home favourite Lorenzo Sonego as he chases his first ATP Tour title of the season.