Although the ATP Tour 500 events are not as high-profile as the tennis Grand Slams and 1000 Masters events, winning these competitions is no mean feat. Here is our ATP 500 Review 2023.
ATP 500 Review 2023
Often, the world’s best compete in the men’s fourth-level tournaments. Regularly, the top ten players compete for ATP 500 titles. However, these events are not always dominated by the leading names in men’s tennis.
In the 2023 ATP Tour 500 finals, several players from the top ten and outside have shone. This has led to one of the most exciting years for men’s tennis, as data from FreeBetOffers.org.uk shows.
Alcaraz’s Rise
World number one Carlos Alcaraz burst onto the scene after he won the 2022 US Open. The 20-year-old followed his maiden Grand Slam with an epic Wimbledon victory when he defeated 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the final.
But Alcaraz’s consistency at other ATP events has been equally impressive. At ATP 500 level, the Spanish player has won two of his three tournament entries.
First, Alcaraz cruised to a title win on clay in Barcelona without dropping a set. Then, the 20-year-old lifted his first title on grass before Wimbledon when he won at Queen’s.
Medvedev Quality on Show
Early in the 2023 season, Russian player Danill Medvedev showed plenty of quality and consistency. This was certainly clear in ATP 500 events.
After crashing out in the third round at the Australian Open in January, Medvedev bounced back with three consecutive tournament wins. Two of these came at ATP 500 events. First, the world number three won the Rotterdam Open and produced a stunning comeback in the final against Jannik Sinner. Medvedev lost the first set 7-5 before racing back to win the remaining sets 6-2. 6-2.
Then the Russian player won the Qatar Open – an ATP 250 event – before his next 500 series win at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Here, the 27-year-old completed the competition win without dropping a set. A highlight performance also came in the semi-finals when Medvedev cruised past Djokovic with a 6-4,6-4 victory.
Maiden Titles for Four
Although some ATP top ten have dominated 500 series competitions, other players have caused a stir throughout the 2023 season.
British number one Cameron Norrie was the first player to win the first ATP 500 career title at the Rio Open. Norrie faced Alcaraz in the final and managed to hit back after losing the first set to win his biggest title of the season.
Norrie’s fellow Brit Dan Evans also lifted his first ATP 500 title at the Citi Open in Washington. The 33-year-old didn’t drop a set on the way to a historic victory. In addition, the veteran Brit defeated highly ranked players, including Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov, during the competition.
2023 has also been a season of ATP 500 firsts for world number 18 Alex de Minaur and world 28 Alexander Bublik. Australian de Minaur won the Mexican Open in March, beating Holger Rune in the semi-finals and Tommy Paul in the final. Bublik also impressed in his maiden ATP 500 win at the Halle Open. The Kazakhstani beat top ten players Sinner and Andrey Rublev during the tournament.
