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With the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin heating up, Jannik Sinner strengthened his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a semi-final run in Sofia, while Novak Djokovic boosted his chances by triumphing in Tel Aviv.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Race following a three-tournament week on Tour.

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No. 12 Jannik Sinner, +1
The Italian is up to 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin after he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the Sofia Open. The 21-year-old, who competed at the Nitto ATP Finals last year as an alternate, defeated Nuno Borges and Aleksandar Vukic before he was forced to retire in the third set against #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune.

With 500 points on offer this week at ATP Tour events in Astana and Tokyo, the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin continues to gather pace as players vie for the four remaining available spots at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals.

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas have all qualified for the prestigious end-of-year event, with Daniil Medvedev well placed in fifth. However, below the battle is tight.

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Hubert Hurkacz (2635 points) and Taylor Fritz (2385) sit in ninth and 10th place, respectively, and will be aiming for deep runs to break into the Top eight. Hurkacz, who qualified for Turin last year, is competing at the Astana Open, where he will face Francisco Cerundolo in the first round.

Yoshihito Nishioka produced a stunning counter-punching display against Denis Shapovalov at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Sunday to claim his second ATP Tour title in style at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

The 26-year-old Japanese downed the fourth seed 6-4, 7-6(5) with a performance full of blistering shotmaking from deep. Despite Shapovalov finding improved rhythm behind his serve and powerful forehand as the match wore on, Nishioka’s movement and stoic defence proved key as he rallied from a 1-3 deficit in the second set before staying solid in the tie-break to secure a one-hour, 55-minute victory.

Nishioka lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Shenzhen in 2018 and was appearing in his second championship match of 2022 at that level after reaching the Washington final in August, a run that included wins against Alex de Minaur, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev. His triumph in Seoul lifts the 26-year-old 15 spots to No. 41 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

More to follow…

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Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect week at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open in style on Saturday, when the top-seeded Serbian produced a high-class semi-final showing to see off Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-6(3) and reach his fourth tour-level final of 2022.

Djokovic dropped just three points behind serve in a near-flawless first-set performance as he stamped his authority early in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the World No. 104. Safiullin raised his level in the second set, finding his range with his powerful groundstrokes to break the top seed when he was serving for the match at 5-4, but Djokovic showed trademark composure in the tie-break to complete his third straight-sets victory of the week in Israel in 95 minutes.

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“I think it was a very competitive match, especially in the second set,” said Djokovic. “I must say I was quite emotional on the court today in the second set, there was a lot of tension, and that was also due to his aggressive style of tennis. Big serves, and when he has time, he’s so solid from the forehand and backhand corner.

“I knew that I had to stay very strong, and that he was definitely going to raise his level in the second set, which happened. I was serving for the match and played a couple of loose points, but credit to him for fighting back. It was an enjoyable evening on the court for sure.”

Go Soeda began to close the curtains on his 20-year career on Saturday at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. The 38-year-old played his final ATP Tour match in the Tokyo qualifying draw before bowing out in front of his home fans at the Ariake Colosseum.

He will close out his career at the All Japan Tennis Championships later this month.

“I feel no limits,” Soeda said, reflecting on his time as a professional. “20 years, I had no big injuries. I had a big target to reach the Top 100, and I [achieved] that… I’m just happy.”

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A native of nearby Kanagawa, Soeda competed in Tokyo 15 times, including 13 main-draw appearances. At his home tournament, he squared off against the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and countryman Kei Nishikori, calling his 2019 matchup with Djokovic his “biggest memory” and “one of the big days in my life”.

Mikhail Kukushkin admits it has been a tough year for him on court but, as he prepares to compete at next week's Astana Open, the home favourite is excited to be playing on the same courts that played such a vital role in him cracking the Top 40 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings just three years ago.

The 34-year-old isn’t intent on joining the recent list of tennis retirees anytime soon. The Kazakh is keen for his newborn son — a huge bright spot off court — to watch him compete up close in the future.

Saturday’s draw at the loaded Astana Open in Kazakhstan revealed that the Astana resident would face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at the National Tennis Center. Grand Slam winners Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka are among two of his fellow wild cards.

“I had to wait until Friday evening to receive a wildcard because obviously there were so many requests from famous players to receive one,” a relaxed Kukushkin, winless in four matches against the Greek, said prior to the draw. “Lucky in the end I was able to get one. There was a chance I would play qualifying, which was still fine for me, but main draw is better.”

Main-draw victories at the highest level have proven difficult for the power-baseliner this season. The lone one came at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March after he made it through qualifying at the ATP Masters 1000 event. He then took time off when his son, Teikhon, was born in May, and has also dealt with shoulder and hip injuries.

Marc-Andrea Huesler engineered a stunning comeback in a crucial tie-break for the second consecutive day on Saturday at the Sofia Open, where the unseeded Swiss upset fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(5), 7-5 to reach his maiden ATP Tour final at the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event.

The Swiss lefty reeled off six points in a row from 1/5 to claim the first-set tie-break against Musetti and produced plenty of high-powered serving and decisive volleying en route to a 96-minute semi-final victory. The 26-year-old had saved two match points in the second-set tie-break against Kamil Majchrzak in Friday's quarter-finals, and will now meet defending champion Jannik Sinner or fifth seed Holger Rune in Sunday’s championship match.

“For sure,” said Huesler, when asked if it was one of the biggest moments of his career. “I mean I’ve never been in the final before of an ATP event. I’m obviously a bit speechless. I can’t quite believe that I’m able to win today and make it to the finals, but I played a really great match today and I’m just really happy.”

Despite Huesler firing only 24 winners to Musetti’s 29 in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, the Swiss was clinical at key moments to notch his ninth tour-level win of the season.

“In those moments, it is not looking good,” said Huesler of his 1/5 deficit in the first-set tie-break. “You just try to play point-by-point. Everyone knows that in tennis it is never over until the last point is played. Obviously if he keeps his level high there, I’m probably going to lose that set, but then again you just try to stay in. I played a couple of good points at 5/5, went for my shots, and then it can go fast.

In retrospect, it’s ironic, but in a spectacular span of nine days last month Felix Auger-Aliassime – in back-to-back team events – produced the finest-quality results of his individual career.

On 16 September in Valencia, Spain, the 22-year-old Canadian overcame a rabidly partisan crowd and the World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz with a breathtaking comeback 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 in Davis Cup play. Auger-Aliassime, who saved each of the seven break points he faced in a nearly three-hour match, followed up his defeat of the reigning US Open champion with a doubles victory that sent Canada into the November quarter-finals opposite Germany. Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil defeated Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez in three sets.

Then at the Laver Cup in London, with his Team World trailing Team Europe on the final day, Auger-Aliassime teamed with Jack Sock to defeat Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini in doubles. He followed that up, stunning Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (3) in singles to give Team World a lead they never relinquished in winning the Cup for the first time.

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And now, at the Astana Open where main-draw play begins Monday, Auger-Aliassime will attempt to translate that terrific team success into something more personal. He’s the eighth seed and faces Roberto Bautista Agut in a first-round match.

Tennis isn’t the only sporting attraction around Tokyo this weekend. While the 2022 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships are underway with qualifying action, the NBA Japan Games are also taking place nearby in Japan.

The Golden State Warriors — the defending NBA champions — and the Washington Wizards are competing in two preseason games at the Saitama Super Arena, with the first matchup staged on Friday night in front of over 20,000 fans.

Frances Tiafoe, Naomi Osaka and Alex de Minaur were among those in attendance, with Tiafoe getting a chance to meet some of the players before the game.

The American spoke with Stephen Curry and demonstrated the reigning NBA Finals MVP’s trademark ‘Night, Night’ celebration, which he called “one of the coldest cellys I’ve seen” in a Twitter post.

“I got to meet Steph Curry last night, which was great,” Tiafoe said. “He's one of my idols. Him acknowledging what he saw and saying he's proud of me for the US Open was pretty special. You're never going to forget things like that.”

The 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will begin his quest for a sixth tour-level title of season against fellow 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Holger Rune at the Astana Open in Kazakhstan.

The World No. 1, who is competing in his first singles event since winning the US Open, could face former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the second round if the Swiss star can overcome Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

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In a stacked field, Daniil Medvedev is the second seed. The 26-year-old, who captured his only title of the season in Los Cabos, will play Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded to meet Medvedev in the quarter-finals, with the Canadian starting against Roberto Bautista Agut.

Casper Ruud leads the singles field at the 2022 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, with the Norwegian occupying the draw’s top line as the top seed. Ruud will open play against Spain’s Jaume Muna at the ATP 500 event, with sixth seed Alex de Minaur drawing South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon, also in the top quarter.

Also in the top half in Tokyo are fourth seed Frances Tiafoe (vs. Yasutaka Uchiyama) and eighth seed Daniel Evans (vs. Radu Albot) in the second quarter.

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Second seed Cameron Norrie will meet Thanasi Kokkinakis in one of the highlight matches of the opening round, with newly crowned San Diego champion Brandon Nakashima a potential second-round opponent. In the same quarter, seventh seed Denis Shapovalov and American Steve Johnson will play for the right to face a qualifier in the second round.

Fifth seed Nick Kyrgios opens against Chun-Hsin Tseng, with third seed Taylor Fritz and Cincinnati champion Borna Coric potential quarter-final opponents for the Aussie.

Denis Shapovalov is an ATP Tour finalist once again.

The Canadian produced a relentless display on Saturday to overcome American Jenson Brooksby 7-5, 6-4 at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul.

In an aggressive performance, the fourth seed opened his shoulders to hit through Brooksby, firing 24 winners during the one-hour, 35-minute clash to reach his fifth tour-level final and first since Stockholm last November.

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Shapovalov rallied from a break down in the first set against the 21-year-old Brooksby and has yet to drop a set at the ATP 250 hard-court event. The fourth seed will look to continue that record and capture his second tour-level title when he plays Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka or American lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic in the championship match.

Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune have qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held in Milan from 8-12 November. They both will compete at the 21-and-under season finale for the second consecutive year.

Twenty-year-old Musetti and 19-year-old Rune guaranteed their spots Friday by advancing to the semi-finals of the Sofia Open. They will become the fourth and fifth players to play in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in consecutive years, joining Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe.

Musetti claimed his first ATP Tour title this July at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg. The Italian saved two match points against Dusan Lajovic in the first round before stunning then-World No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling three-set final.

Musetti also defeated then-World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in Monte Carlo and 2021 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Hubert Hurkacz in Rotterdam. The 6’1” righty reached a career-high No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on 1 July.

"It was my goal this year to play in front of a home crowd again and to be a better player compared to last year and to try and lift the trophy," Musetti said. "I am happy I qualified for this really important event and I am happy to be there. It is always special to play in your country, so I hope the crowd will give me extra for my winning chances."

American Aleksandar Kovacevic started playing tennis in a unique way.

The 24-year-old, who was born in New York City, grew up learning to play tennis at the iconic Central Park.

“I was born and raised on the Upper West Side in New York and trained at John McEnroe’s Academy for a while,” Kovacevic said. “We lived at 97th and Central Park West, right on the park. My parents would go on the weekend to hit at the courts and I went with them. It was a five minute walk from our apartment. It’s a cool way to start for sure. I never really appreciated that until I got older.”

Thanks to his parents, Milan and Milanka, who were both table tennis professionals, Kovacevic began his journey towards making a career in his own right as a pro athlete.

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Jannik Sinner continued his late-season surge to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday, when he defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals at the Sofia Open.

In a dominant display, the Italian crushed 21 winners, while he demonstrated good touch around the net to seal his 45th tour-level win of the season. The top seed is up one place to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin following his quarter-final win and will rise to No. 10 if he wins his third straight Sofia title.

Sinner competed on home soil in Turin as an alternate last season and is looking to finish the season strongly as he aims to qualify for the prestigious end-of-year event, held from 13-20 November.

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The 21-year-old now holds a standout 11-0 record in Sofia. He captured the crown on debut at the ATP 250 event in 2020, before he successfully retained his title last year. Sinner is just two wins away from triumphing again after he overpowered the Australian Vukic to book his spot in the semi-finals after 81 minutes. The 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion will next face fifth-seeded Dane Holger Rune or Ilya Ivashka.

History has been made this week at the Sofia Open.

For the first time, an all-female chair umpire team was assigned to an ATP Tour event. In addition, the ATP supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires in Sofia are also female. Tournament Director Kay Godkhindi explained why it is an exciting aspect of the event.

“To be honest we didn’t realise as it all happened organically for us. The tournament team was built with people who just love what they do,” Godkhindi said. “I’ve been involved with organising both men’s and women’s events and while they both have their special requirements, at the end of the day it’s the same thing — making sure to keep all the balls in the air, ensuring everyone is happy and that we continue to strive and deliver the best tournament.

“We are a small part of a greater movement that your gender doesn’t define your capabilities, but it’s great to have equal opportunity in both the ATP and the WTA and empowering women whenever possible is always a step in the right direction. It’s fantastic that the ATP are championing this by hiring ATP supervisors and chair umpires.”

Photo Credit: Lap.bg
As many male-dominated sports begin to add female officials to their rosters, tennis already has several prominent female officials — including those overseeing men’s matches — dating back several decades.

Novak Djokovic overcame a tough test from Vasek Pospisil on Friday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open to maintain his perfect record against the Canadian.

In an entertaining quarter-final clash in Israel, the Serbian fended off an attacking bombardment from the lucky loser to advance 7-6(5), 6-3. With his victory, Djokovic has improved to 6-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, having won all 13 sets they have played.

“It was a great, positive win,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “Vasek is one of my best friends on the Tour. We have known each other for many years. It is never easy playing someone you respect so much and like so much, but we are both professionals and wanted to win the match and you can see that.

“I think the level of tennis was really high. Especially towards the end of the first set and the second set. Credit to him for fighting. Great to see him back.”

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Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer are the third doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, joining Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski and Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury. The season finale will be played in Turin from 13-20 November.

Arevalo and Rojer clinched their spot at the Pala Alpitour following Friday’s loss at the ATP 250 in Sofia by Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, who are 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Rankings.

Rojer will make his seventh appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals with his third different partner. In 2015, Rojer and Horia Tecau captured the Nitto ATP Finals crown. The Dutchman most recently competed in the event in 2019 at The O2 in London alongside Tecau. This will be Arevalo’s first appearance in the year-end championships.

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The first-year duo made a quick start to their partnership with hard-court triumphs in Dallas and Delray Beach in February. They won 10 consecutive matches during the month, following their trophy runs by advancing to the final in Acapulco.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the fourth player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, joining Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud. The Greek star will make his fourth consecutive appearance at the season finale, which will be held for the second consecutive year at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

The 24-year-old clinched his spot Friday as a result of other matches. Four spots remain in the singles field of the year-end championships.

Tsitsipas captured the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in 2019, when he triumphed at The O2 in London. In that edition, he defeated Dominic Thiem for the trophy.

The Greek has enjoyed a consistent 2022 season. Tsitsipas made a quick start in Australia, where he advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Athens native then reached the final in Rotterdam just two weeks later.

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Yoshihito Nishioka earned just the second Top 5 win of his career on Friday, when he upset World No. 2 Casper Ruud 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships.

Competing in Seoul, the Japanese star looked in control throughout the one-hour, 57-minute clash as he outmanoeuvred the Norwegian with his variety, striking 32 winners and committing just 14 unforced errors to earn the biggest win of his season.

The 27-year-old, who downed Daniel Evans and Taro Daniel in straight sets earlier this week, will next play Mackenzie McDonald or American lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic as he aims to advance to his second tour-level final of the season. Nishioka enjoyed a run to the championship match in Washington, where he lost to Nick Kyrgios.

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The top seed Ruud defeated Nicolas Jarry in his opening match at the ATP 250 event, with his victory earning him qualification for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. He was unable to match Nishioka’s consistency, though, in their second ATP Head2Head meeting.