Weekend Tennis Roundup

 

Novak Djokovic won his 83rd career title while Sebastian Korda and Barbora Krejcikova each won their first -- plus the French Open got under way. Highlights of it all BELOW.

Poor Grigor Dimitrov: He was up two sets, 5-1 and three match/break points on Marcos Giron today when his back went out, forcing him to retire after losing nine games in a row. Welcome to 30!

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic captured the 83rd title of his career on Saturday with victory on home soil at the Belgrade Open. The Serbian superstar -- with his kid brothers, above -- lost his serve three times in the first set before changing his game to defeat Slovakian qualifier and first-time ATP Tour finalist Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 in 88 minutes at the Novak Tennis Center. The 34-year-old improves to a 20-3 record on the season and will next travel to Paris, where he will play American Tennys Sandgren in the Roland Garros first round.

In doubles, 44-year-old Jonathan Erlich helped Andrei Vasilevski celebrate his 30th birthday by capturing their first ATP Tour team title on Friday with victory over Sweden’s Andre Goransson and Rafael Matos of Brazil 6-4, 6-1.

Sebastian Korda won his first ATP trophy with a straight-sets victory over Italian wild-card Marco Cecchinato at the Emilia-Romagna Open on Saturday. Korda became the first American man in 11 years to lift a trophy on European clay, since Sam Querrey won in Belgrade in 2010. Korda, who is 20 but could pass for 35, did not drop a set all week in Parma, carrying that run into the final to see off the 104th-ranked Cecchinato 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes. Korda had lost the only other final he had contested, against Hubert Hurkacz at the Delray Beach Open in January.

In doubles, Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez clinched their second ATP Tour team title on Saturday with victory over Austria’s Oliver Marach and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-3, 6-3.

And Barbora Krejcikova charged to her first WTA singles title on Saturday with an emphatic 6-3, 6-3 victory over Sorana Cirstea in the Internationaux de Strasbourg final. The third time was the charm for No. 5 seed Krejcikova, as she emerged victorious, following runner-up showings at 2017 Nurnberg (lost to Kiki Bertens) and in Dubai earlier this year (lost to Garbiñe Muguruza).

Elsewhere around the Net ...

Andrew Bettles got the thrill of a lifetime when Gael Monfils -- fiancé of Andy's star pupil, Elina Svitolina -- arranged for some court time with a guy named Roger Federer

My favorite practice session: Jordan Thompson vs. Stevie Johnson!

Smoldering Stefanos Tsitsipas

Rebuilding Kyle Edmund 

Cristian Garin finishing his day with birthday/victory cake as the sun sets in Paris.

Denis Kudla looked like a million bucks losing in the Paris quallies

Matt Ebden also lost in the singles quallies, but he and John-Patrick Smith will take on Jan-Lennard Struff and Robin Hasse in the doubles first round

And the same thing for Quentin Halys, who lost to Taro Daniel in the singles quallies but will team up with Adrian Mannarino to play Hugo Nys and Tim Putz in doubles on Tuesday

Kevin Krawietz is teaming up with Horia Tecau in Paris ...

While his partner, Andreas Mies, continues recovering from knee surgery

I don't know if it's the girlfriend or turning another year older, but Christian Harrison seems to have stopped being such a cranky white dude lately. Happy birthday!

Hubba-hubba: Cesar Ramirez looks like he's moved on from Christian to Ivar Aramburu

Hot Couple Alert: David Vega Hernandez and Adam Sanjurjo?

Jan-Michael Gambill is fit and ready for life on the mainland, again

Stefano Travaglia looks ready to take on Alex de Minaur in Paris

You probably need to watch Benjamin Lock's ASS with your own eyes to believe it

Now that he's recovering from surgery, Borna Coric has plenty of time for other pursuits ...

Holger Rune turned 18 and can now officially man-spread 

The Great Dane reached the final of the Challenger event in Oeiras, Portugal

... losing to 30-year-old native Gastao Elias 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday

In doubles, Jesper de Jong and Tim van Rijthoven won the title byr defeating Julian Lenz and Roberto Quiroz 6–1, 7–6(7–3) in the final.

Get out the lube: Maximilian Marterer takes on Filip Krajinovic in Paris

Thomas Fabbiano turned 29 this week

Marton Fucsovics treated himself to a Mercedes-Benz then won his first match in Paris

Mats Moraing: The other white Mats

Matteo Berrettini on the town

Janko Tipsarevic's tennis academy must really gives him a huge presence in Serbian media. In addition to the standard shots with his players and coaches -- like David Nalbandian, who is working with local boy Miomir Kecmanovic -- he and his Real Housewife seem to be all over the country's lifestyle magazines ...

After winning the Ultimate Tennis Showdown

Corentin Moutet came up short in his first-round match against Laslo Djere in Paris

Robert Farah can't control himself

Adrian Jourdan, CSCS has access to all the hot boys

Rub a dub dub: Alex Bancila and J.J. Wolf in a tub

Jannik Sinner and Karen Khachanov had better look for a new hitting partner now that Dominic Thiem crapped out against Pablo Andujar in the first round in Paris. 

The 35-year-old's a stunner, all right

Winner of the 2021 ATP Sofia Kenin Mental Toughness Award

Tommy Haas was feeling artsy

Danilo Petrovic lost to Oscar Otte in the final round of quallies, but his budding mustache was a winner!

I don't know what was going on here, but I do know seeing Virginia Wade again made my weekend! 

What a surprise: James McGhee is good at pickle ball 

(huh-huh)

You can probably see why I post so many photos of 6-6 Frenchman Albano Olivetti, even though he's never been inside the Top 150

Sam Groth took a break from Daddy Duty to call some matches

Oscar Otte took the first two sets off countryman Alex Zverev in Paris yesterday before falling in five. I felt bad for him, but he seemed to enjoy the moment.

And last but not least: I'll give aspiring influencer Tommy Paul a break this week as the American actually had a decent week in Parma, reaching the semis before falling to eventual champ Korda. Tommy takes on hunky Aussie Christopher O'Connell in the first round in Paris.