Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov are the final two participants in the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro, the innovative tournament in which the best tennis players in the world will square off from their homes from 27 to 30 April in a Manolo Santana Stadium that has been recreated in exquisite detail in the Tennis World Tour video game (Nacon Gaming).

Tsitsipas and Shapovalov join Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem Alexander Zverev, Gael Monfils, David Goffin, Kei Nishikori, Fabio Fognini, Diego Schwartzman, Karen Khachanov, John Isner, Lucas Pouille, David Ferrer and Frances Tiafoe to complete the entry list for the tournament. The event will be streamed on Facebook Gaming.

Tsitsipas, a finalist at the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Djokovic), currently occupies the No. 6 spot in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The Greek player, who captured his second straight Open 13 Provence title in Marseille this year, has become one of the biggest stars on the ATP Tour at just 21 years of age. At the end of last season, Tsitsipas won the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 in London to claim the biggest title of his career.

“Happy to prove my parents wrong back in the day when they used to tell me playing video games would bring me nowhere in my life,” said Tsitsipas. “It’s great being part of the first virtual online tennis tournament with actual professional tennis players.”

Shapovalov is also looking forward to testing his skills at the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro. The Canadian, ranked No. 16 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, reached the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals on his tournament debut in 2018.

“I like this original idea very much and I am excited to be part of it”, said Shapovalov. “I will start practising and get back into competition mode to be performing well. Watch me perform.”

The Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro can be followed in English on the Mutua Madrid Open’s page and in Spanish on PlayStation España’s Facebook page

Streaming will start on Friday at 4pm CEST with the draws for the competition. The ATP and WTA draws will be followed by the charity tournament draw, which will see content creators come together with tennis stars.

Eight content creators will participate, in parallel with the official competition, in a charity tournament that will see clashes between the biggest-name professional gamers in the industry; DjMaRiiO, Cristinini, Alexby, Seb Delanney, Gravesen, Borja Iglesias, Ibai Llanos and Grefg.

In addition, the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro will be sponsored by Orange. For the past two years, thanks to Orange, the tournament has run the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual, with six qualifying heats (where Tennis World Tour was played in various Orange stores around Spain) and a final stage in the Caja Magica, during the week of the Mutua Madrid Open.

For the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro, Orange was quick to join the initiative and lend its support to the first virtual tennis event to be played by professional tennis players. Once again, with the sponsorship of the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro, Orange has demonstrated its commitment to e-sports and also its interest in tennis, which it shares with the Orange Group (a regular supplier at Roland Garros). Its commitment to the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro will bolster the growth of electronic sports in Spain, where they are currently booming.

Like the other players in this pioneering online charity competition, Tsitsipas and Shapovalov will both have the chance to help the tennis players most in need at this time, those that have no income to help them through these months of inactivity and those affected by COVID-19.

The tournament will include a purse of €150,000 in both draws (ATP and WTA), from which the winners will be able to decide on how much they donate to the tennis players currently suffering economically, and €50,000 that will all go towards reducing the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The format for the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro will be as follows: 16 singles players in each of the two draws (ATP and WTA) initially divided into four groups. The groups will decide which players qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament. In addition, in parallel with the official competition, there will be a series of benefit matches that will see some of the biggest content creators in the gaming world take on the professional tennis players to raise funds to help those affected by COVID-19.

In the WTA draw, Donna Vekic and Caroline Wozniacki will feature alongside Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Bianca Andreescu, Belinda Bencic, Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys, Kristina Mladenovic, Carla Suarez Navarro, Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta, Fiona Ferro, Eugenie Bouchard and Sorana Cirstea.

The Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro will officially kick off on Monday 27 April with broadcasts beginning at 3pm CEST each day. The broadcast, which will be similar to the television production for the conventional Mutua Madrid Open, will include a presentation for each match, with commentary, interviews with the players after each match and the presence of special guests, such as ex-tennis players and well-known journalists. A summary programme with the highlights of the day will round off each day of competition.

An added bonus for spectators will be the option of watching the tennis stars play from their home thanks to two windows on the screen. This means that everything that happens in the Tennis World Tour video game will be enhanced by the reactions of the biggest ATP and WTA stars.

Italian Marco Cecchinato lost in the final round of qualifying in straight sets at the 2018 Hungarian Open. Yet seven days later, then World No. 92, he left Hungary as a first-time ATP Tour champion.

After gaining entry to the main draw in Budapest as a lucky loser, Cecchinato never looked back. And even though he had never reached a tour-level semi-final prior to that event, the Italian defeated Aussie John Millman, another first-time finalist, 7-5, 6-4 to claim his maiden trophy.

”It is amazing because the first title in my career is not possible to forget in my life,” Cecchinato said. “I am very happy because I lost last Sunday [in qualifying] and now I won the tournament. It is incredible. It is amazing. I don’t know, maybe it is a dream.”

Cecchinato rallied from a set down in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals against powerful German Jan-Lennard Struff and savvy Italian veteran Andreas Seppi, respectively. But despite winning only six games in the final round of qualifying against Jurgen Zopp, Cecchinato dug deep to earn what was the biggest result of his career.

”Every match was tough. Today I was tired, because [I played] five matches in the main draw, plus two in qualifying,” Cecchinato said after the championship match. “But the final is the final, it is one match and after [you get to] rest.”

Cecchinato accomplished his biggest goal in 2015, when he cracked the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. But he never imagined what he would accomplish in Budapest.

”My dream was to be in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings,” Cecchinato said. “Never [did] I think I would win an ATP Tour title.”

Later that clay-court season, Cecchinato made an even bigger splash. He defeated then-World No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta, 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin and current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic en route to the Roland Garros semi-finals.

Cecchinato had lost in the first round of his first four Grand Slam main draws. But in Paris, the Italian carried the momentum he had earned earlier during the clay season, especially from his run in Budapest.

“I think I started two months ago, not [just] the past two weeks, because I also won Budapest,” Cecchinato said after losing in the semi-finals against Dominic Thiem. “Every week I’ve played very, very well… and I want to continue like this.” 

First week at No. 1: 23 August 1973
Total weeks at No. 1: 40
Year-End No. 1: 1973

As World No. 1
Temperamental and talented Ilie Nastase was the first No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, when the ATP established the new world ranking system on 23 August 1973. Nicknamed ‘Nasty’, the right-hander once said, “The player who wants to conquer the summit cannot afford to be kind… He must want to kill”. The Romanian spent 40 straight weeks in top spot until 3 June 1974, when he was replaced by John Newcombe of Australia, and was a member of the Top 10 until February 1978.

Grand Slam highlights
Nastase reached five major singles finals, winning the 1972 US Open title over Arthur Ashe in five sets and over Nikki Pilic at 1973 Roland Garros, when he became the first man to lift the trophy in Paris without losing a set. Two years earlier, he lost to Jan Kodes in the 1971 final.

His narrow 7-5 fifth-set loss to the fellow Army lieutenant Stan Smith in the 1972 Wimbledon final showcased the best of Nastase. Three-time former champion Fred Perry had told the Romanian before the start of The Championships, “If you can beat yourself, you can win Wimbledon.” Nastase also lost to Bjorn Borg in the 1976 final, at the start of the Swede’s five straight Wimbledon triumphs. He made his Grand Slam championship debut at Roland Garros in 1968 and his final appearance at the 1985 US Open.

Nitto ATP Finals highlights
His record was spectacular, winning on four occasions in 1971-73 and 1975, and he was runner-up to Guillermo Vilas in five sets in 1974. He compiled a 22-3 match record (.888). Only Roger Federer (six), Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl and Novak Djokovic (five) have won more titles in the 50-year history of the season-ending championship (1970-2019).

Arguably, the most controversial moment came when the elite event was held in Stockholm in 1975, when Nastase’s clowning around during a round-robin match proved to be too much for Arthur Ashe. It led to the first double disqualification. Ashe led 1-6, 7-5, 4-1 and 40/15, when he walked off court because of Nastase’s antics. Walking onto court, referee Horst Klosterkemper said, “I had made up my mind to disqualify him (Nastase). But I had no chance because Arthur Ashe left the court.” Needing to win two matches to qualify for the semi-finals, Nastase regrouped and went on to beat Borg in the final. He never qualified for the season-ending championships again.

Tour highlights
Nastase, an all-court player, considered one of the fasted players on the 1970s circuit, announced himself on the world tennis scene in 1966 when he partnered fellow Romanian Ion Tiriac to the Roland Garros doubles final. But it wasn’t until 1970 that he came to the fore as a singles competitor, winning his first of two Internazionali BNL d’Italia trophies. In 1973, the year he won 16 singles tournaments and was the undisputed World No. 1, with a 118-17 record (59-3 on clay), he lost just three games to Manual Orantes in the Rome final. Nastase reached four straight Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finals between 1971 and 1974, winning on four occasions. With Tiriac, they won the 1970 Roland Garros doubles title and contested the 1969, 1971 and 1972 Davis Cup finals. He also won the 1973 Wimbledon and 1975 US Open doubles title with Jimmy Connors, who would become the third player to rise to No. 1 in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings on 29 July 1974. In 1976, Nastase became the first European to exceed $1 million in career prize money.

Overall ATP Match Win-Loss Record: 866-321
Overall ATP Titles/Finals Record: 62-39

Biggest Rivalries
At his peak, few got the better of a focused Nastase, but his matches against Stan Smith (11-10), Tom Okker (10-11) and Guillermo Vilas (7-5) stand out for their intensity. He also had winning records against Jimmy Connors (16-12), Jan Kodes (16-8), Manuel Orantes (16-7) and Adriano Panatta (15-6).

Legacy
Ashe once described Nastase as a “walking paradox”, an incredibly gifted and devoted athlete “who somehow can lose from 5-2 and 40/0; it is impossible to fathom him.” It was because of Nastase’s behaviour at the 1975 season-ending championships that Ashe and the sport’s governing bodies voted to implement Open tennis’ first formal code of conduct. His first wife, Dominique Grazia, explained, “I married two men. There is the man I see at home, and that other man I see on the court. I live the two parts — the good and the bad. It is the special thing about Ilie… you either love him or hate him. You see there is no middle with Ilie.”

Certainly, there have been few tennis players as quick around the court, as entertaining, though so mystifying. Bud Collins, the late journalist and broadcaster, once said, “When his concentration held together, he was an artist creating with great originality and panache.” Tiriac commented, “He is scared to lose, he is scared to win, he is scared of everything.” What’s certain is that when Nastase’s mind matched his talent for a six-year period between 1970 and 1976, he was among the world’s best players.

Memorable Moments
Although Nastase was good-natured, likeable and friendly off-court, on 3 October 1977, he controversially used a double-strung racquet against Vilas, riding a 46-match winning streak, in the Aix-en-Provence final. The racquet, known for creating a large amount of spin and unpredictable bounces, was subsequently banned by the ITF the following week, but not before Vilas walked off the court having lost the first two sets. “I am completely disconcerted and discouraged by the trajectory of those balls,” said Vilas. “You understand that Nastase, plus the racquet, that’s just too much.”

Two years later, aged 33, Nastase began to stall and argue when he played John McEnroe in the 1979 US Open second round. With McEnroe serving at 2-1, 15/0 in the fourth set, Nastase began to argue about a line call and he sat in a linesman’s chair, refusing to play. The umpire, who had previously docked Nastase a point in third set, docked Nastase a game, so McEnroe led 3-1 in the fourth set. Cue pandemonium, with the crowd throwing beer cans and cups on the court. The match was eventually restarted with the chair umpire being replaced by the US Open referee.

Nastase on Nastase
“Everybody is not the same. Everybody’s personality is his own. Arthur Ashe is Arthur Ashe and I am me. I don’t try to make trouble; what happens outside comes from inside and I pay for it — fines, defaults, all those things… I was always rather nasty. I was willing to be friends with the Devil, just to cross the bridge.”

Kei Nishikori has found a home away from home in Barcelona, where the Japanese star has captured two titles from three finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

It took Nishikori four goes to land the heavy 13kg silver trophy, returning from a three-week lay-off due to a groin injury to reach the 2014 final and beat Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2. He became the first non-Spaniard to win the title since Gaston Gaudio in 2002. “This title and (my run in) Miami helped my confidence, especially this week on clay,” said Nishikori.

“I was good on clay when I was little. Like 14 [years old]. I was winning all the European juniors events. Now it’s much tougher than hard courts and I was struggling a bit, but I’ve been playing well these past couple years so there’s no fear to play on clay.”

Nishikori returned the following year to retain the Barcelona crown, once again beating Roberto Bautista Agut in a three-set quarter-final, prior to overcoming Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 in the final. He was the seventh player in the Open Era (since April 1968) to clinch back-to-back trophies in Barcelona.

Nishikori went on to stretch his winning streak to 14 matches in Barcelona before coming face-to-face with Rafael Nadal, the then eight-time champion, in the 2016 title match. Nishikori fought hard in his bid for a 12th ATP Tour title, but ultimately fell short to Nadal 6-4, 7-5.

He missed the 2017 edition due to a right wrist injury, which flared up again in 2018 against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round. However, last year, Nishikori demonstrated once again why he’s such a force at the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona by reaching the semi-finals. He led Daniil Medvedev by a break in the decider, but lost the momentum to lose 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

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Rafael Nadal, who first competed at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell as a 16-year-old in 2003, has made the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona a second home, winning 11 titles across 15 appearances. Nadal has lost just one set in posting a staggering 11-0 record in Barcelona finals. Three years ago, the centre court was renamed in the Spaniard’s honour as ‘Pista Rafa Nadal. No player has won an ATP 500-level tournament on more occasions.

The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell was set for this week, but due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, this year’s tournament will not proceed as scheduled.

ATPTour.com breakdown Nadal’s title runs at the famous 121-year-old club, where he has 61-4 record.

2005: The Reign Begins
Just two years after his Barcelona debut, Nadal returned to begin his eight-year reign. Full of confidence after listing his first ATP Masters 1000 crown at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the 18-year-old beat former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3 in just under three hours for his first trophy on home soil. “I’m delighted and feel incredibly happy with what has been an amazing two months,” said Nadal, amidst a record 24-match winning streak for a teenager. “It’s brilliant to be ranked number seven in the world as early as April and it’s been a dream come true to win here and in Monte Carlo. It’s been a fantastic two weeks.” With his fourth ATP Tour title of 2005, he moved into the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time.

2006: Nadal Moves Past Borg
Down a set and 1-4 against Jarkko Nieminen in the quarter-finals, Nadal looked a long way from retaining his Barcelona title. But fight back he did, and the World No. 2 went on to record a 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 victory against 2004 champion Tommy Robredo in the final. “This was not an easy match for me,” said Nadal. “It’s a dream to keep on winning. Tommy is a tough fighter but I was able to beat him. I’m playing well on clay. I’m working to keep my level. I will need this kind of form in the coming weeks.” Nadal powered his way to a 47th match win on clay courts, surpassing the impressive run of Bjorn Borg in 1979, with only Guillermo Vilas’ 1977 record of 53 consecutive victories in sight. “I think I can reach the record, but I can’t say how long it will take,” said Nadal.

2007: Nadal Matches Wilander With Third Straight Title
The 20-year-old Nadal underlined his status as the foremost clay-court performer with his third Barcelona crown, making the 20th title of his career. The Spaniard did not drop a set all week, beating Guillermo Canas, who’d twice overcome Roger Federer the previous month, 6-3, 6-4. “To win another final, in Barcelona, at home here, it’s a great feeling,” said Nadal. “The first time I won it was like a dream, so what can I say, to win it for a third time, to win my 20th title here, it is an amazing feeling.” As the first player since Mats Wilander to win three successive Barcelona crowns (1982-84), the victory also took his record winning streak on red dirt to 72 matches.

2008: Nadal Hits 25th Career Trophy
Nadal swept into his fourth consecutive Barcelona final without the loss of a set, but came up against stiff resistance from David Ferrer in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory in two hours and 14 minutes. “The one thing I wanted to do was to not let him dominate early on, but he started so strongly,” said Ferrer. “I think I played a good match but what can you do? That’s Rafa. He has been playing at this level for four years now and you never have a moment to relax against him.” It was the 25th title of Nadal’s career, and afterwards he said, “The first set I played very well, almost perfect, but he was very strong in the second set and I am just very happy to have won here again,” said Nadal. “When I did make mistakes, in the second set, David was unstoppable, but I kept very focused throughout and I am very happy to be the first man to win four years in a row.”

2009: Nadal Beats Ferrer Again
For the second time, Nadal captured the Barcelona trophy without dropping a set, beating Ferrer for the second consecutive year in the final, 6-2, 7-5. “I could have never even imagined that I could win here for the fifth time,” said Nadal, who also beat World No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals. “For me, this is much more than a dream.”

2011: Nadal Returns For Milestone Win
After missing the 2010 tournament, Nadal returned to the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona and once again did not drop a set. The 24-year-old recorded the 500th match win of his career by beating Ivan Dodig in the semi-finals, becoming the second-youngest to reach the mark behind Borg, who was 23 and seven months. Nadal met World No. 6 Ferrer, who he’d beaten in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final the week before, for the third time in a Barcelona final and completed a 6-2, 6-4 win in one hour and 49 minutes. “It’s incredible to come back here to my tournament after not being able to play last year,” said Nadal. “I am very, very happy for the win. It’s my sixth title here and it’s a huge delight.”

2012: Nadal Hits Another Record
Nadal completed a stunning week to become the first man in the Open Era to capture two ATP Tour events at least seven times (also Monte Carlo). He saved five set points to clinch the first set tie-break in a 7-6(1), 7-5 victory over Ferrer. “This is the hardest match I had on clay courts this season, David always takes you to the limit,” said Nadal. “A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today.” The victory also marked the 10th anniversary of his first match on the main tour. On 29 April 2002, Nadal beat Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-4 in Mallorca.

2013: Nadal Wins Eighth Crown
After losing to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo final, the week before, Nadal recovered from a 0-3 deficit against Nicolas Almagro in wet conditions during the Barcelona final for a 6-4, 6-3 win over one hour and 32 minutes. Almagro had won 37 of his 39 service games to reach the final, but Nadal broke him four times. “I am very happy,” Nadal said. “It has been an important week for me to win here again and a great source of joy after everything I have been through. I didn’t know in 2005 that I would win again or that in 2013 I would still be winning.”

2014, 2016: Almagro Ends Streak, Returns To Winning Ways
Nadal, who had not dropped a set in Barcelona since the 2008 final, suffered a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 loss to Nicolas Almagro in the 2014 quarter-finals, bringing to an end his 41-match winning streak — and run of 44 straight sets — at the tournament. World No. 20 Almagro converted his second match point by hitting a forehand down the line for his first victory over his fellow Spaniard at the 11th attempt. “I had a lot of opportunities in the second set,” said Nadal, who didn’t convert five break points in the set. “I didn’t take advantage of break points, so credit goes to him.” Almagro said, “This is an important win for my career.”

After his earliest Barcelona loss in 12 years to Fabio Fognini in the 2015 third round, Nadal bounced back in style the following year. After avenging his loss to Fognini in the quarter-finals 6-2, 7-6(1), the Spaniard dethroned two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori in a 6-4, 7-5 final victory over two hours and four minutes. In notching his 49th clay-court crown, Nadal drew level with Guillermo Vilas atop the Open Era clay-court titles list.

2017: Nadal Wins La Decima In Barcelona
One week after securing a record 10th Monte Carlo title, Nadal etched his name in the history books once again, lifting a 10th Barcelona trophy with a 6-4, 6-1 win over World No. 5 Dominic Thiem. “I’m very satisfied. It’s been an emotional day for me,” said Nadal. “Playing in front of my crowd and my club and winning a 10th title here is something that’s impossible to even dream of. It’s very special and unique. I played my best match of the tournament this afternoon against probably the toughest opponent in the tournament, so I’m very happy.” He was only broken twice in 47 service games throughout the week.

2018: Nadal Storms To 11th Crown
Twenty-four hours after recording the 400th clay-court win of his career, a 6-4, 6-0 semi-final victory over David Goffin, Nadal stormed past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1 for his 11th crown. “It’s very difficult to describe how to win 11 titles at one tournament. To win 11 Monte-Carlos and 11 Barcelonas is something I couldn’t imagine doing. I’m just enjoying every week and the fact I’m playing in a tournament that I enjoy so much means a lot to me.” He extended his winning streak on clay to 19 matches and sets-won streak on the surface to 46 in a row. Last year, Nadal saw his 18-match run end at the hands of Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals.

Matteo Berrettini arrived at the 2019 Hungarian Open in Budapest with little momentum, carrying a five-match tour-level losing streak. He had won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Phoenix, but wasn’t in his best form.

That didn’t stop the Italian, who upset seventh seed Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round and never looked back. Berrettini, who was the No. 55 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, used his championship run at the ATP 250 as a launching pad to the best season of his career, eventually becoming the fourth Italian to crack the world’s Top 10 and later qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.

“I didn’t win a lot of matches this year because I played the best tournaments in the world, so it’s always tough against these guys,” Berrettini said after reaching the semi-finals in Budapest. “I’m really happy because I’m sure on clay I am better now, and I improved a lot on the fast surfaces, so I’m happy because I’m doing a lot of new experiences and I’m proud of.”

Berrettini ran into a physical issue in the quarter-finals. He won the match 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 against Pablo Cuevas, but the Italian turned his right ankle. That got him worried about not only that match, but the rest of the week and tournaments ahead.

“I twisted my ankle and I was a little bit nervous, because last year also I twisted my ankle here. I was thinking about last year, about my injuries,” Berrettini said. “I was really focussed on the third set. I just thought to fight point after point.”

That mentality served Berrettini well, as he cruised past Laslo Djere 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals, and then maintained his form for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory against Filip Krajinovic in the championship match.

“It was a really tough match. The conditions [were tough], it was cold and windy. The balls were moving a lot. So I was really focussed on my game,” Berrettini said. “After the first set, I just told myself to fight game after game, point after point, and I’m really happy, because it was really difficult.”

It was a big turnaround for Berrettini, who then made the Munich final the following week. The Italian won his third ATP Tour title less than two months later in Stuttgart, surged massively at the US Open — where he made his first Grand Slam semi-final — and he has not suffered any setbacks since.

Berrettini’s serve has proven a big weapon, which he follows up with a powerful baseline game, spearheaded by a dangerous forehand. The confidence he earned last year in Budapest helped give him the confidence he needed to continue his ascent.