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With his back against the wall, Arthur Rinderknech survived on Thursday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 event. The Frenchman saved one match point en route to a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(7) win against third seed Diego Schwartzman in Israel.

In a tight first meeting between the pair, the 27-year-old held his nerve in the third-set tie-break. The World No. 58 saved one match point on Schwartzman's serve at 6/7, before eventually converting his second match point to advance after two hours and 38 minutes.

Rinderknech, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Metz last week, will next play Roman Safiullin.

[ATP APP]

British qualifier Liam Broady continued his strong run, upsetting fifth seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to set a meeting with second seed Marin Cilic. The 28-year-old is up 25 spots to No. 149 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after advancing to his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.

#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune showed his fighting qualities at the Sofia Open Thursday, earning a comeback win against Lorenzo Sonego to reach his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

In a hard-fought clash, the 19-year-old rallied past the Italian 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes at the ATP 250 hard-court event.

“I feel very good,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “Today was a tough match... Lorenzo won a title last week, so he had a lot of confidence. I took my chances, played well and stayed in the moment, so I am proud.”

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The fifth seed struck 38 winners and won 85 per cent (44/52) of his first-serve points against Sonego, who won the his third tour-level title in Metz last week. Rune will continue his quest for a second tour-level title when plays Ilya Ivashka in the last eight.

Casper Ruud on Thursday qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, joining Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the eight-player field. The season finale will be played from 13-20 November in Turin.

“I just got the news that I qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin again this year and I’m so much looking forward to coming back to Italy,” Ruud said. “I had such a great time last year, it’s a great country for tennis.”

Ruud guaranteed his spot in the year-end championships by winning his second-round match in Seoul against Nicolas Jarry. After making his breakthrough in 2021, Ruud has elevated his game to new heights this season.

The 23-year-old has tallied 47 tour-level wins, third on the ATP Tour behind only Alcaraz (52) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (49). He is at a career-high No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the highest standing of any Norwegian in history (since 1973).

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Second seed Cameron Norrie made a winning start at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Thursday, cruising past Japanese wild card Kaichi Uchida 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Seoul.

In a strong serving display, the Briton fired eight aces and did not face a break point en route to his 63-minute victory. Norrie has now advanced to 11 tour-level quarter-finals this season, holding a 46-23 record on the year.

“It feels great. Especially to wake up early this morning as I was a bit let lagged. It was nice to get up early and get it done in straight sets,” Norrie said. “I felt that the conditions suited me well. It was pretty hot, so I like that. It was a tough match but I was able to win some close games and get a couple of breaks each set, so it was a good day for me overall.”

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The 27-year-old is currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The four-time tour-level titlist will be aiming for a deep run at the ATP 250 hard-court event as he looks to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 13-20 November.

Maxime Cressy’s serve-and-volley game got the job done Wednesday on the indoor hard courts of the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, where the American delivered a strong first-round showing to defeat countryman Sebastian Korda at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

The fourth-seeded Cressy won 82 per cent (23/28) of points at the net and saved both break points he faced in his 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Korda. One break of Korda’s serve in each set was enough for Cressy to complete an 85-minute victory in his first tour-level meeting against the World No. 44 and clinch his seventh ATP Tour quarter-final berth of the season.

Cressy has enjoyed a rapid rise in 2022, reaching his career-high of No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August, having started the year outside the Top 100. The 25-year-old, who lifted his maiden tour-level trophy on the grass in Newport in July, will meet Emil Ruusuvuori or Constant Lestienne in the quarter-finals in Israel.

Lestienne had earlier set his clash against Ruusuvuori by upsetting seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-4. The one-hour, 55-minute first-round victory against his No. 51-ranked fellow Frenchman was the biggest of Lestienne’s career.

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Carlos Alcaraz earned a big honour on Wednesday when he was selected as part of the 2022 TIME100 Next, which recognises rising stars throughout various professions around the world.

Alcaraz was one of five athletes on the list, joining NBA player Ja Morant, soccer stars Sam Kerr and Trinity Rodman, and sprinter Erriyon Knighton.

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It has been a dream season for Alcaraz, who became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his maiden Grand Slam triumph at the US Open. The Spaniard has also lifted ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Miami and Madrid.

Alcaraz was the second player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played in Turin from 13-20 November.

Lorenzo Sonego sent an early statement to the rest of the field at the Sofia Open on Wednesday afternoon, racing to his sixth consecutive straight-sets victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the indoor ATP 250 event.

Having charged to his third ATP Tour title last week without dropping a set in Metz, Sonego backed up that run with a stunning first-round serving performance against Zapata Miralles in Bulgaria. The Italian won 86 per cent (32/37) of points behind his first delivery en route to a 79-minute victory that set an intriguing second-round matchup against fifth seed Holger Rune.

“I am really happy because today I was really aggressive on court,” said Sonego, who was making his main-draw debut in Sofia. “I played so well. I did my best thing today, I am really happy for that.”

Sonego making it look easy ?#SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/XirVXJ1cei

The World No. 45 Sonego has so far brought his best level to the indoor hard-court season. Despite the challenge of taking on the ever-resilient Zapata Miralles, the 27-year-old broke the Spaniard once in each set to improve his season record to 24-24.

Denis Shapovalov made a fast start on the fast courts of the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday, when the fourth seed prevailed 7-5, 6-4 against Jaume Munar in his opening match at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to Munar’s 11 in his one-hour, 49-minute second-round victory, breaking the Spaniard twice in each set to reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final of 2022, and his first since May.

“Definitely super happy to get the win today,” said Shapovalov after opening a 1-0 lead in his ATP Head2Head series against Munar. “Obviously I had a very difficult opponent, he was playing some great tennis, so super happy to get the win.”

Say hello to my 'lil friend ?@denis_shapo #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/E8GpqJGYJu

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to the Spaniard’s 11 in a one-hour, 49-minute victory, and Shapovalov believes the outdoor hard courts in Seoul suit his game style as he seeks his first ATP Tour title since his 2019 triumph in Stockholm.

There are three ATP Tour events this week with many of the world’s biggest stars in action. One player in the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships doubles draw sticks out: Hyeon Chung.

The South Korean, who won the 2017 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals and advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals less than three months later, has not competed since September 2020 due to a back injury. Chung is making his return on the doubles court alongside countryman Soonwoo Kwon.

“Due to my injuries, I needed to [stay on the] sideline over the [past] few years and then finally I made it back on court again,” Chung said. “I’m feeling just so happy to play tennis again.”

According to Chung, his lower back injury required constant treatment and rehab, which is why he was unable to compete since Roland Garros qualifying in 2020. He only played six matches at all levels that year.

“I had to treat it and rehab, treat and rehab all the time,” Chung said. “Then [it was] training, training, training and rehab for like [the whole] two years.”

Novak Djokovic competed over the weekend at the Laver Cup, which not only served as a competition between Team Europe and Team World, but a celebration of the now-retired Roger Federer’s career. The Serbian was happy to partake in the special moment.

“I have a massive respect for Roger, and to what he had contributed to our sport. He had an epic career, he can be proud of it. He's one of the most recognised athletes of all time,” Djokovic said. “His retirement is a sad moment for tennis.”

Djokovic is 35, but is not thinking about retirement yet. The 88-time tour-level titlist, who is currently No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is eager to maintain his high level.

“I still want to play tennis even though I achieved pretty much everything that you can achieve in tennis,” Djokovic said. “I still have passion and hunger to play at a highest professional level.” 

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv Watergen Open
That journey has taken him this week to Tel Aviv, where the Serbian will compete in the Tel Aviv Watergen Open. The top seed will play Spaniard Pablo Andujar or Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in his opening match.

Botic van de Zandschulp wasted no time settling in Tuesday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, where the fifth-seeded Dutchman dispatched Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-3 at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

Van de Zandschulp was particularly dominant on serve in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with four-time Tour titlist Sousa. The Dutchman won 83 per cent (29/35) of points behind his first delivery, while also crushing 28 winners to Sousa’s six as he completed a 81-minute first-round victory.

With the win, van de Zandschulp improved his record in first-round matches in 2022 to 18-6, and 10-2 on hard courts. The Dutchman, who played in his maiden ATP Tour final on the clay in Munich in May, will hope to notch his 37th tour-level win of the season in the second round against Liam Broady. The British qualifier earlier downed Serbian wild card Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 6-3.

Van de Zandschulp’s triumph was followed by a first-round upset on the centre court in Tel Aviv, where Tomas Martin Etcheverry rallied after losing a one-sided second-set tie-break to complete a 6-2, 6-7(0), 6-4 win against sixth seed Aslan Karatsev. The win against the World No. 39 was the biggest of Etcheverry’s career, and the Argentine’s reward is a second-round clash against Roman Safiullin.

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There was little to separate Holger Rune and Tim van Rijthoven in a hard-hitting first-round clash at the Sofia Open on Tuesday afternoon.

Yet Rune’s ability to raise his level in a pair of tie-breaks ultimately proved decisive in Bulgaria, where the #NextGenATP Dane prevailed 7-6(2), 7-6(6) to ensure his maiden appearance at the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event was a successful one.

“It feels very good,” said Rune, who reached his career-high of No. 26 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August. “I had just a couple of days of practice here, but I’m really enjoying my time. It’s a tough first round, you never know who can play amazing [and he’s had] some great results, so I’m super happy to get through.”

Despite firing only 18 winners to Van Rijthoven’s 27, Rune showed his mettle under pressure at key moments in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, most significantly when he saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break.

“[I didn’t] want to go to three sets,” said Rune, who will meet Metz champion Lorenzo Sonego or Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the next round. “I had the break and led 5/2 in the [second-set] tie-break. If it [had happened], I was going to fight for sure and try to take it in three, but I’m very happy to finish in two.”

Jenson Brooksby’s resolve was given an early test at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Tuesday, but the eighth seed dug deep before accelerating away from qualifier Wu Tung-Lin to seal a 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-0 first-round victory at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

Wu exerted plenty of pressure on Brooksby’s serve in the two-hour, 20-minute encounter, but the American found a way to save nine of the 11 break points he faced against the World No. 212. Brooksby fended off three set points at 5-6 before going on to take the first-set tie-break, but Wu levelled the match with two second-set breaks of serve as the 24-year-old from Chinese Taipei showed no sign of nerves in his first match against a Top 50 opponent.

Rise-n-Grind ?

Jenson Brooksby pulling out all the stops to finally break Wu in Seoul. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/wzWC38Oiuh

Brooksby, who reached ATP Tour finals this year in Dallas and Atlanta, reacted to that setback in style, delivering a clinical deciding-set showing to book a second-round meeting against Soonwoo Kwon or Yunseong Chung at the outdoor hard-court event.

Also on Tuesday, Yoshihito Nishioka maintained his unbeaten record against Daniel Evans with a 6-2, 7-6(3) triumph against the fifth-seed. The Japanese World No. 56 carved out 14 break point chances against Evans, converting four of them to complete a one-hour, 49-minute victory and extend his ATP Head2Head series lead against the Briton to 6-0. Nishioka will take on countryman Taro Daniel or Emilio Gomez in the second round.

Ilya Ivashka and Mikael Ymer closed Monday's play at the Sofia Open with the match of the day. After three hours and 22 minutes, Ivashka emerged victorious, 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5, at the ATP 250 in Bulgaria.

The two men split 10 breaks of serve across 24 combined break points, Ivashka sealing victory by battling through deuce to break in the final game. Both men struggled on serve, posting matching 57 per cent win rates on their deliveries, while Ivashka saved eight of 13 break points.

The World No. 71, who reached the fourth round at the US Open before losing a five-setter to Jannik Sinner, will face third seed and home favourite Grigor Dimitrov in the Sofia second round.

[ATP APP]

In other Monday main-draw action, Kamil Majchrzak defeated Ricardas Berankis 7-5, 6-2 and Bulgaria's Alexandar Lazarov downed Czech #NextGenATP star Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-3 in front of his home fans.

Dominic Thiem didn’t have things all his own way Monday, but he stepped up when needed to reach the second round at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open.

The Austrian wild card improved on serve and found his range as the match went on to overcome Laslo Djere 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

“I didn’t get off to a great start. I got the break in the second set and then I was a bit lucky I could turn the match around,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “The third set was a real grind… I am very grateful to everyone who came tonight. It is really nice to play in Israel.”

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The former World No. 3 Thiem, who reached the final at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Rennes earlier this month, will next play second seed Marin Cilic as he aims to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Two players claimed their first ATP Challenger Tour title Sunday. American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran was crowned champion in Braga, Portugal while Bosnia’s Nerman Fatic triumphed at the Sibiu Challenger.

Moreno de Alboran won seven matches in eight days as he advanced through qualifying en route to the title at the Braga Open, defeating Brazil’s Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

The 25-year-old’s maiden Challenger title comes five months after he relinquished serving for a straight-sets victory in the Salinas Challenger final, eventually falling to Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez.

“I’m very happy, it’s been a very emotional week,” Moreno de Alboran said. “It’s been a tough year for me with a lot of injuries so coming here, qualifying, and then winning the tournament means a lot. I’ve put in a lot of work to be here.”

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It’s been a dream year for Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

In May, the 21-year-old practised with his longtime idol Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. It must've prepared them both well. Djokovic went on to capture a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome while Arnaldi collected his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title the following week in Francavilla al Mare.

“It was incredible,” Arnaldi said. “I played the week before in Rome, my first Masters 1000 event (l. Cilic). My coach and I didn’t know whether to go to Francavilla or not, I was also in qualies at the Geneva ATP event. We decided to go to the Challenger and I played very well the whole week, I didn’t drop a set until the final.”

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The Sanremo native took down countryman Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4 to triumph on home soil, claiming the title at the C.T. Francavilla Sporting Club. That was just the start of Arnaldi’s breakthrough on the ATP Challenger Tour. Now, after reaching four Challenger semi-finals this season, including San Marino, where he was a finalist (l. Kotov), the World No. 157 is nearing his 2022 goal.

When the time came for his ATP Tour main draw debut, things couldn’t have gone much better for Aleksandar Kovacevic.

The 24-year-old American stunned seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4 at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Monday. Kovacevic had fallen in the final round of qualifying at the ATP 250 hard-court event in Seoul, but he took advantage of a lucky loser spot in style as he broke the World No. 32 three times en route to an impressive 93-minute first-round victory.

“[It is] a little bit surreal,” said Kovacevic, who will meet Christopher O’Connell or Chun-Hsin Tseng in the second round. “I watch these matches on TV every day. I consider a lot of these guys my peers and I feel like I’m playing at a pretty good level, but just being out there in an ATP event in the main draw… I thought that I needed a little more experience to be honest before I did well.

“I played really well out there. There’s something about big matches for me. For Miomir this is obviously not a huge moment because he’s been here for a while, but for me it is a big deal, so it brings out some of my best tennis. [I’m] really glad for this one, but hoping to continue it during the week. Definitely happy to get this first one, but not fully satisfied yet.”

Welcome to the ATP Tour ?

Lucky Loser @kova_aleks storms past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 6-4 on his ATP debut. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/6uhtHNJuix