ATP BNP Paribas Open Masters
Dimitrov avenges Acapulco loss, outlasts Atmane to earn Alcaraz meeting at Indian Wells
Dimitrov beat Terence Atmane 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 at Indian Wells, to set up a meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.
Grigor Dimitrov reversed a defeat from nine days earlier to Terence Atmane, grinding out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory in windy conditions at Indian Wells. The match lasted just under two and a half hours and set up a high-profile second-round encounter with Carlos Alcaraz.
Nine days ago in Acapulco, Dimitrov lost to Atmane in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, in the first round of the ATP 500 event. On Thursday he answered that loss by edging the Frenchman in a tight three-setter. He threatened to avoid a decider when he held seven break points at 5-all in the second set; Atmane held and then broke in the next game to force a third. Dimitrov produced an early cushion in the final set and protected it to snap a four-match losing streak.
“Those are the matches that actually matter to me the most right now,” he said after the match. “Being able to win in such a manner, it gives me confidence, and that’s what I want right now. It’s been a difficult seven or eight months, and I’m just trying to find my game around the court a little bit more. I think overall the body’s been holding up well, but you just never know what you’re going to get on the day, and I think today was one of those days when I really had to dig deep in terms of my experience. I’ve been in the situation like today more than once, but being able to really register quick enough and knowing what I have to do in certain moments, it definitely helped.
“Here we are, back at it, slowly but surely.”
Dimitrov, who missed almost the entire second half of 2025 with a pectoral injury sustained at Wimbledon, will next face the current No. 1. “Of course it’s going to be a tough one—let’s see it for what it is,” Dimitrov said. “I love watching him play. He’s just crushing the ball.
“I love him, in a positive way, but at the same time these are the moments for me that the fun part begins—how, or what can I do differently, or new or interesting, that could potentially not only rattle him but put him in a position where he doesn’t really like that. You never know how the game will unfold because it’s always in your hands, and I believe if I do the right things and cut down on a few mistakes here and there, something good can come out of it. So I’m going to come out with that mindset, and just stay locked in.”
Alcaraz received a bye in the first round and enters Indian Wells 12-0 on the year. Alcaraz leads the pair 4-2 overall, though Dimitrov has won two of their last three meetings, a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win in Shanghai in 2023 and a 6-2, 6-4 victory in Miami in 2024.
ATP Madrid Open Masters
Draper Withdraws From Madrid and Rome After Right-Knee Tendon Flare-Up
Draper withdraws from Madrid and Rome with an aggravated right-knee tendon; ranking set to tumble.
Jack Draper will miss the upcoming ATP Masters events in Madrid and Rome after an aggravated tendon in his right knee forced him to retire late in the third set of his Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell match with Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The left-hander has been limited to four tournaments this season after recovering from a lengthy left-arm injury, and this latest setback compounds an already interrupted campaign.
“It’s frustrating for sure, but I am thankful it isn’t anything more serious,” he said in a statement reported by British press. “Recovery is going well and I feel good about my chances of being fit for Roland Garros. I am looking forward to building momentum from there.”
Draper’s 2025 clay-court form is central to the stakes here. He was a surprise finalist at the Mutua Madrid Open and reached the quarterfinals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He later advanced to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, only to have momentum interrupted by a bone bruise in his left arm that stalled his climb toward the ATP’s Top 4.
Those two ATP Masters 1000 events that precede the season’s second major still account for nearly 53 percent of Draper’s current point total. With the Madrid and Rome results set to drop off the rankings, the world No. 28 is projected to fall outside the Top 70 ahead of his bid to get fit for Paris.
The immediate priority for Draper is recovery and timing his return for Roland Garros. He has signaled confidence in his rehabilitation, but the loss of points from the Masters series will produce a rapid ranking decline unless he can replicate past performances on the clay leading into the Grand Slam.
1000 ATP Madrid Open
Jannik Sinner’s Madrid test: which opponents can end a 17-match run?
Sinner arrives in Madrid on a 17-match streak; with Alcaraz and Djokovic absent, Americans loom big.
The 2026 Mutua Madrid Open draw sets the stage for Jannik Sinner as he pursues a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title and his first at the Caja Magica. Sinner, the world No. 1, received a first-round bye and will open against a qualifier. He reclaimed the top ranking from Carlos Alcaraz by winning the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, and with both Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic absent from the draw due to injuries, a new challenger must emerge to halt his 17-match winning streak.
Two Americans stand out as potential obstacles. Tommy Paul, the 15th seed, could meet Sinner in the fourth round. Paul began the clay season by winning the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. Ben Shelton, the No. 4 seed, is on course to meet Sinner in the semifinals and arrives fresh off a BMW Open title in Munich. Shelton’s Munich win was the biggest clay-court title for a U.S. man since Andre Agassi’s run to the Rome title in 2002, months before Shelton was born.
Paul will open against either Roberto Bautista Agut, who is competing in his final season, or Thiago Tirante. Shelton faces either Raphael Collignon or Matteo Berrettini in his opening match.
The top half of the draw also features Barcelona champion Arthur Fils, who anchors a quarter that includes 2025 finalist Jack Draper and No. 6 seed Lorenzo Musetti. With Alcaraz absent, Alexander Zverev is the No. 2 seed and will play his first match against Nuno Borges or Mariano Navone. Zverev has produced consistent results during the 2026 season but has tended to falter in the late rounds, most recently at his home tournament in Munich.
Also sharing Zverev’s quarter are No. 17 seed Learner Tien and No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev is seeking to recover after a rare 6-0, 6-0 loss in Monte Carlo. With several clay-form winners and higher seeds missing, the draw leaves room for new narratives as Sinner attempts to extend his streak in Madrid.
ATP ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Rafael Jodar Cracks ATP Top 50 After Barcelona Semifinal Run
Rafael Jodar rises to No. 42 in ATP rankings after Barcelona semifinal; a year ago he was No. 686 ’26
Rafael Jodar has completed a rapid climb up the ATP rankings, leaping from No. 55 to No. 42 to register his first appearance inside the Top 50. The 19-year-old Madrid native reached his first ATP 500 semifinal in Barcelona, a run that delivered the ranking boost.
A year ago Jodar was ranked No. 686. His rise accelerated in recent weeks: three weeks ago he broke into the Top 100 for the first time, moving from No. 109 to No. 89 after reaching the third round in Miami as a qualifier. Two weeks later he captured the first ATP title of his career in Marrakech, which propelled him from No. 89 to No. 57.
The Barcelona run extended his winning streak to eight consecutive matches, and at one point he won 13 sets in a row. Those results are enough to make him the youngest player in the ATP Top 50 and the Top 100, roughly one month younger than fellow 19-year-old Joao Fonseca, who is ranked No. 31.
There are several other notable moves this week. Corentin Moutet moved from No. 31 to No. 30 for his Top 30 debut after reaching the second round in Barcelona. Twenty-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce made his Top 100 debut, rising from No. 101 to No. 99. Landaluce had surged from No. 151 to No. 106 after Miami, and despite a first-round loss in Barcelona he crossed into the Top 100 as other players fell.
Winners and runners-up at last week’s ATP 500 events also advanced. Ben Shelton, who won Munich, remains at No. 6 but narrowed the gap to Felix Auger-Aliassime from a 200-point deficit (4,100 to 3,900) to just 30 points (4,100 to 4,070). Munich runner-up Flavio Cobolli rose from No. 16 to a career-high No. 13. Arthur Fils, the Barcelona champion, climbed from No. 30 to No. 25, his highest ranking since last September. Andrey Rublev, the finalist, moved from No. 15 to No. 12, his best position since last August.
On the WTA side, Elena Rybakina remains at No. 2 after winning the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, and Marta Kostyuk moved from No. 28 to No. 23 after taking the WTA 250 title in Rouen.
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