Former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem recorded nine aces while delivering a 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory over Alexandre Muller of France in the first round of the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Switzerland on Monday.

The Austrian saved all four break points he faced during the 95-minute victory. Thiem will next face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, who posted a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Zhizhen Zhang of China, the fifth seed.

Belgium’s Zizou Berge notched a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Serbian Laslo Djere, the eighth seed. Also winning matches were Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, Spain’s Jaume Munar and Austria’s Jurij Rodionov.

Nordea Open

Luca Van Assche converted 32 of 36 first-serve points (88.9 percent) while registering a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Swedish wild card Dragos Nicolae Madaras in the first round of the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden.

The 19-year-old Frenchman had a 3-2 edge in aces. Van Assche will face defending champion Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the second round on Wednesday.

Also, Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia. Galan had a 10-9 edge in aces.

Infosys Hall of Fame Open

No. 7 seed Jordan Thompson of Australia cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in first-round action in Newport, R.I.

Thompson converted six of his 10 break-point opportunities and defeated Kovacevic in a tidy 66 minutes.

Eighth seed Corentin Moutet of France opened with a 7-6 (7), 6-0 win over American wild card Eliot Spizzirri. Great Britain’s Liam Broady and Australia’s Rinky Hijikata also won in straight sets.

–Field Level Media

No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz snapped Novak Djokovic’s run of four straight singles titles at Wimbledon, besting Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an epic final that approached five hours on Sunday in London.

The final at the All England Club was just Alcaraz’s fourth time playing a tournament on grass.

Djokovic, seeded second, cruised through the first set, seeking to win his eighth Wimbledon and extend his record of most Grand Slam wins by a man to 24. But the 20-year-old Alcaraz appeared to lose some of his opening-set jitters in the second, even with King Felipe VI of Spain in the Royal Box to watch the coronation of his country’s next great tennis player.

“I played in front of you twice,” Alcaraz said, addressing his remarks to the king post-match. “Twice that I won. I hope you are coming (to) more.”

Alcaraz dug out of a hole in the second-set tiebreak, down three points to start, to win the 90-minute set and shift the momentum his way. He seemed to take firm control of the match when he broke Djokovic’s serve in a 27-minute game to take a 4-1 lead in the third set by winning the seventh break point.

But the 36-year-old Djokovic, of Serbia, wasn’t about to abdicate his throne without a fight, breaking the Spaniard’s serve twice in the fourth set to force a fifth, and deciding, set.

Djokovic lost his composure following Alcaraz’s service break in the third game of the fifth set. Down 2-1, Djokovic smashed his racket on the wood holding up the net and never had a break opportunity the rest of the match.

In all, Alcaraz posted 66 winners and 45 unforced errors, compared to 32 and 40, respectively, for Djokovic in the four-hour, 42-minute drama-filled match.

Alcaraz won his second Grand Slam, following his victory at the U.S. Open in 2022.

Djokovic, a winner at the Australian and French opens earlier this year, was looking to continue his quest for a calendar Grand Slam and tie Roger Federer for the most championships by a man at Wimbledon. Instead, he lost at Wimbledon for the first time since the 2017 quarterfinals.

Since Lleyton Hewitt won in London in 2002, no one other than Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray had won Wimbledon until Alcaraz.

Alcaraz won his first grass-court tournament at the Queen’s Club Championship on June 25.

“I thought that I will have trouble with you only on clay and maybe hardcourts but not on grass but now it’s a different story,” Djokovic said after the match.

Even Alcaraz marveled at the speed with which he has taken to the unfamiliar surface.

“I fall in love with grass right now,” the new champion said. “It’s amazing. I did not expect to play at this level in a really short period.”

“It’s a dream come true,” he continued. “I’m really, really happy with the work that we are doing coming into the grass season.I learned really, really fast and I’m really, really proud.”

–Field Level Media

Novak Djokovic dispatched Jannik Sinner to reach his ninth Wimbledon men’s final with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory on Center Court on Friday in London.

The No. 1 ranking also will be on the line Sunday when the second-seeded Djokovic takes on top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz for the championship. Alcaraz whipped No. 3 Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

“Semifinals, always going to be very close, very tense match,” Djokovic said post-match. “I think maybe the score line doesn’t give the reality of all that was happening on the court.

“Just a lot of pressure in the third especially. He has proven why he’s one of the leaders of the next generation and one of the best players we have in the world, no doubt. It’s great to be part of this new generation. I love it.”

Sinner made it interesting in the third set, going up 6-5 as the fiery Italian followed his eighth ace of the match with a powerful forehand finish.

Djokovic appeared to slip reaching for a return and spent most of the break between games stretching his legs. He bounced right back with a pair of aces and forced a tiebreak, and he worked another rally after being down 3-1 to grab a 4-3 advantage. Sinner evened it up at 4-4 with a smashed forehand Djokovic was unable to return as he slipped to the surface.

Sinner’s return error set up Djokovic’s serve at 5-4 in the tiebreak, and a return into the net brought match point. Djokovic sealed the win in two hours, 46 minutes and improved to 20-5 in tiebreaks in 2023. The Serbian has won 15 consecutive major tiebreaks.

Playing his 12th semifinal at the All England Club, Djokovic will attempt to claim his eighth Wimbledon title in 12 years on Sunday. He’s in the Wimbledon final for the fifth consecutive time.

“I’d like to believe that’s the case,” Djokovic said when asked if he’s playing his best tennis ever. “You have to rely on yourself. … I try not to look at the age as a hindrance or a factor. Thirty-six is the new 26, I guess.”

Djokovic led the second set 2-1 when he was called for hindrance for a long grunt following a backhand return down the line that the umpire said was meant as a distraction for Sinner. Later in the match, umpire Richard Haigh called Djokovic for a time violation. The Serbian, who improved to 3-0 all-time vs Sinner, squatted in surprise and calmly told Haigh “that’s not how this works.”

The only male to win all four majors three times, Djokovic can increase his record for Grand Slam titles (24) with a victory. He will set a record of Grand Slam finals appearances with 35, one ahead of Chris Evert.

Djokovic is 1-1 in his career against the 20-year-old Alcaraz, the fourth-youngest Wimbledon finalist in the Open Era (since 1968) and the third Spanish man to reach the grass-court final (Rafael Nadal, Manuel Santana). Alcaraz and Djokovic met in the French Open semifinals last month with Djokovic prevailing in four sets.

“It is going to be incredibly difficult but I will fight,” Alcaraz said about facing Djokovic. “I believe in myself and I will believe that I can beat him here. He hasn’t lost on this court since 2013, so it is going to be a really tough challenge for me. I dream since I started playing to play a final here and it is even more special playing against Novak. It is a final. There is no time to be afraid, be tired. I will go for it.”

Alcaraz struck 26 winners and broke Medvedev’s serve six times during their one-hour, 49-minute semifinal. The 2022 U.S. Open champion is seeking his second Grand Slam title.

“It was really, really difficult to close the match,” Alcaraz said after beating Medvedev. “I had to be really, really focused. He fought until the last ball. He is an amazing fighter. I had to show my best in that tough moment and play aggressive. Be myself all the time and I think that was the key to close out the match.”

–Field Level Media