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Dominic Thiem’s first hard-court match since March 2021 is in a rain delay midway through the third set at the Winston-Salem Open.

The former World No. 3 worked hard to take a 6-7(5), 7-5, 3-2 lead against American J.J. Wolf on Monday evening after two hours and 30 minutes before the weather forced the players off the court. The winner will play 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov, the top seed, in the second round.

Thiem showed some inconsistency early on, making uncharacteristic errors. In the crucial moments, he dialed back his aggression to keep the ball in the court, allowing Wolf to take control of rallies and win the first-set tie-break.

But 2020 US Open champion Thiem has also flashed his trademark brilliance on Stadium Court, blasting one-handed backhands down the line and threading the needle with perfect passing shots on his main draw debut at the ATP 250.

In the same section of the draw, former Top 10 star Fabio Fognini defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 7-5 in a rematch of the 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final. The Italian will next play 13th seed Jack Draper.

Daniil Medvedev enters the US Open as the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but there will be fireworks at Flushing Meadows, where five players have a chance to claim the top spot.

When players next Monday drop their 2021 US Open points, Nadal will be in pole position to recapture World No. 1 for the first time since 2 February 2020. Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud need deep runs to challenge him.

Since Nadal did not compete last year in New York, he is not defending any points. When 2021 champion Medvedev drops the 2,000 points he is defending, Nadal will be No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with 5,630 points. 

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings Points (as of 29 August)

Player	Points
1) Rafael Nadal	5,630
2) Alexander Zverev	5,040*
3) Daniil Medvedev	4,885
4) Stefanos Tsitsipas	4,800
5) Carlos Alcaraz	4,740
6) Casper Ruud	4,650

*Zverev is not competing in the US Open due to an ankle injury
The 36-year-old lefty will have a 590-point lead over Alexander Zverev, who does not have a chance to claim No. 1 because he is not competing at the US Open due to an ankle injury. Medvedev, who has held World No. 1 since the week of 13 June, will be 745 points behind. 

Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Alcaraz and Ruud will all need to at least reach the US Open final to have an opportunity to leave New York as World No. 1.

Frenchman Constant Lestienne and Argentine Pedro Cachin built upon their formidable ATP Challenger Tour season this past weekend by adding to their title haul in 2022. Lestienne, who has reached four Challenger Tour finals post-Wimbledon, claiming three titles, triumphed in Vancouver, Canada. Cachin collected his Challenger Tour-leading fourth title of 2022 on Sunday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Both players have won a Challenger Tour-best 38 matches this year.

Four out of Lestienne’s five matches in Vancouver went three-sets as the Frenchman extended his hot streak to 19-2 from his past 21 matches when he defeated countryman Arthur Rinderknech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 to win the Odlum Brown VanOpen.

“I’ve continued working and fighting, and everything went on my side. I cannot believe that I’ve won so many matches in the last few weeks,” Lestienne said.

The Vancouver title marks the 30-year-old’s sixth Challenger Tour title and third this season (Malaga and Pozoblanco) and lifts him to a career-high No. 75 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“Arthur (Rinderknech) is a great server, so I knew the key was to return his serve and try to engage the rally and I would have more chances to win the point. In the first set, he didn’t serve too well, I won 6-0, then it was really tight.”

ATP Masters 1000, which debuted as a series in 1990, features the best men's tennis players at nine top tournaments on the ATP Tour calendar. Champions at Masters 1000 events earn 1,000 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points. 

Masters 1000 Reigning Champions

Taylor Fritz, Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreno Busta and Borna Coric joined the list of ATP Masters 1000 champions in 2022. Fritz kicked off proceedings by winning his hometown title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells by defeating Rafael Nadal, a winner of 36 Masters 1000 titles.

An 18-year-old Alcaraz clinched his first Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open presented by Itau, while fellow Spaniard Carreno Busta joined the elite club at the age of 31, in August at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. Alcaraz backed up his Miami triumph with an impressive run in May at the Mutua Madrid Open, defeating Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in succession.

Coric continued the parade of first-time Masters 1000 champions, as he became the lowest-ranked titlist in the history of the Western & Southern Open, propelling him 123 spots to No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Tournament	City	2022 Dates	Defending Champion
BNP Paribas Open	Indian Wells	10-20 March	2022: Taylor Fritz (Recap)
Miami Open presented by Itau	Miami	23 March - 3 April	2022: Carlos Alcaraz (Recap)
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters	Monte-Carlo	10-17 April	2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas (Recap)
Mutua Madrid Open	Madrid	1-8 May	2022: Carlos Alcaraz (Recap)
Internazionali BNL d'Italia	Rome	8-15 May	2022: Novak Djokovic (Recap)
National Bank Open presented by Rogers	Montreal	7-14 August	2022: Pablo Carreno Busta (Recap)
Western & Southern Open	Cincinnati	14-21 August	2022: Borna Coric (Recap)
Rolex Shanghai Masters	Shanghai	cancelled	2019: Daniil Medvedev (Recap)
Rolex Paris Masters	Paris	31 Oct - 6 Nov	2021: Novak Djokovic (Recap)

Masters 1000 Title Leaders

There have been 75 different champions crowned since the Masters 1000 series began in 1990. Only six players have won more than 10 Masters 1000 titles. With his victory at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic took sole possession of the ATP Masters 1000 titles record, breaking the record he previously shared with Rafael Nadal. He took his Masters 1000 haul to 38 by winning the 2022 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Player	Titles
Novak Djokovic	38
Rafael Nadal	36
Roger Federer	28
Andre Agassi	17
Andy Murray	14
Pete Sampras	11

Masters 1000 Win Leaders

Rafael Nadal leads Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the battle among Masters 1000 match win leaders, with the Spaniard pulling ahead of the Swiss at the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters. Nadal first broke Federer's long-held record in August 2019, with his 379th Masters 1000 victory at this elite level during the Coupe Rogers. Stan Wawrinka entered the Top 10 leaderboard after reaching the third round at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, overtaking Tommy Haas (144-107 match record).

Player	W-L	Titles
Rafael Nadal	406-87	36
Novak Djokovic	381-83	38
Roger Federer	381-108	28
Andy Murray	223-91	14
Andre Agassi	209-73	17
Tomas Berdych	191-117	1
Pete Sampras	190-70	11
David Ferrer	189-122	1
Andy Roddick	157-70	5
Stan Wawrinka	157-111	1

* numbers following 2022 Western & Southern Open
 

Masters 1000 Greatest Champions

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan dominate the titles leaderboard for the Masters 1000 tournaments.

City	Singles	Doubles
Indian Wells	Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer (5)	Mark Knowles, Daniel Nestor (4)
Miami	Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic (6)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (6)
Monte-Carlo	Rafael Nadal (11)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (6)
Madrid	Rafael Nadal (5)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Daniel Nestor (5)
Rome	Rafael Nadal (10)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (4)
Canada	Rafael Nadal (5)	Mahesh Bhupathi, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (5)
Cincinnati	Roger Federer (7)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Daniel Nestor (5)
Shanghai	Novak Djokovic (4)	Marcelo Melo (3)
Paris	Novak Djokovic (6)	Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (4)

Masters 1000 Sweeps

The "Sunshine Double", winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same season, has been achieved 12 different times since the series began in 1990, most recently by Roger Federer in 2017. The fall Masters 1000 sweep has been completed five times, twice by Novak Djokovic, while four players have won Canada and Cincinnati back-to-back. Rafael Nadal, the most recent player to accomplish the North American summer sweep, is also the only one to have captured all three clay Masters 1000 titles consecutively. 

ATP Masters 1000 Sunshine Double (Indian Wells, Miami)
2017: Roger Federer
2016: Novak Djokovic
2015: Novak Djokovic
2014: Novak Djokovic
2011: Novak Djokovic
2006: Roger Federer
2005: Roger Federer
2001: Andre Agassi
1998: Marcelo Rios
1994: Pete Sampras
1992: Michael Chang
1991: Jim Courier

Alexander Zverev withdrew from the US Open, the tournament announced on Monday.

The German has not competed since suffering an ankle injury during the Roland Garros semi-finals against Rafael Nadal. Zverev underwent surgery shortly thereafter.

“After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn," Zverev wrote on Instagram at the time. "To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice. My rehab starts now and I’ll do everything to come back stronger than ever!”

Zverev reached his lone Grand Slam final at the US Open two years ago and owns an 18-7 record at the hard-court major. He is currently the No. 2 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The US Open qualifying event will begin on Tuesday, with the main draw being held from 29 August through 11 September.

Borna Coric’s dream run to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open propels the Croatian back into the Top 30 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time since May 2021. Despite defeat to Coric in Sunday’s championship match in Cincinnati, Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to the Top 5 off the back of his strong week in Ohio.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week, as of Monday, 22 August.

[ATP APP]

No. 29 Borna Coric, +123
After a long journey back from shoulder surgery in May 2021, Borna Coric announced his return to the big stage in style in Cincinnati by charging to his first Masters 1000 crown. The Croatian upset three Top 10 opponents in Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch the biggest title of his career and his first since 2018. Coric’s stunning week sees him surge 123 places to No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Read Cincinnati Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest Pepperstone ATP Rankings

Laslo Djere made a late start to his North American hard-court swing, but you could not tell by his performance on Sunday evening.

In his first match of the swing, the Serbian battled past former Top 10 star David Goffin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Winston-Salem Open.

“It was difficult. Really humid. We had an interruption at the beginning [due to rain], so it was both physical and mental, I think. I managed to stay calm and I prepared well for this U.S. swing, so my body was feeling right and this definitely helped me to push through in the tough moments,” Djere said. “I just tried to play point by point, give my best and fight for every point.”

[ATP APP]

Djere converted four of his 10 break points to earn a clash against 16th seed Joao Sousa.

Borna Coric put Stefanos Tsitsipas in the backhand cage and threw away the key.

Coric defeated Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday in Cincinnati by dominating baseline exchanges through the Ad court. The engine room of Coric’s game has always been a rock-solid backhand, and he led with his strong suit to win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

Coric was always looking to go backhand-to-backhand with Tsitsipas, where the Croatian proved to be more consistent and more powerful.

Coric Backhand Groundstrokes

86 backhands 4 errors 10 winners

Tsitsipas Backhand Groundstrokes

Stefanos Tsitsipas fell short of lifting the Western & Southern Open trophy against Borna Coric on Sunday, but it was still a productive week of work for the Greek star. The 24-year-old is up to second place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Tsitsipas, who earned 600 points by reaching the Cincinnati final, is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year. In 2019, he claimed the title at the year-end championships.

The Greek (4,620 points) trails first-placed Rafael Nadal (5,630) by 1,010 points. The Spaniard, who has qualified for the season finale on 16 previous occasions, will arrive at the US Open in top spot in the Live Race.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (as of 22 August)

Player	Points
1) Rafael Nadal	5,630
2) Stefanos Tsitsipas	4,620
3) Carlos Alcaraz	4,460
4) Casper Ruud	3,685
5) Daniil Medvedev	3,195
6) Felix Auger-Aliassime	2,815
7) Alexander Zverev	2,700
8) Andrey Rublev	2,695

Another Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, is in third place (4,460), 160 points behind Tsitsipas. Last year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion is trying to make the same leap Tsitsipas did from 2018 to 2019 — winning in Milan one year and triumphing at the Nitto ATP Finals the next.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is sometimes nicknamed the ‘Greek Philosopher’ as he often uses Twitter to post thoughtful and analytical content, but following Sunday’s loss to Borna Coric in the Cincinnati final, the World No. 5 admitted that he was lacking answers to his straight-sets defeat.

“I'm still looking for the answer myself. I don't have a clear answer,” Tsitsipas said of the loss. “He was obviously the opposite of what I was, very much involved. Sometimes it makes you not be that much present in the moment when you're too relaxed.

“I think he was serving well. He was making me move a lot. I could have used my chances in the first set. I don't know why I didn't. I rushed a little bit.”

Despite the loss, Tsitsipas holds a Tour-leading 46 wins in 2022 and his run to the final at the Western & Southern Open lifts him to second in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. His runner-up finish Sunday in Ohio follows two semi-final exits at the event in the previous two years.

Boasting a Tour-leading 19 ATP Masters 1000 wins in 2022, Tsitsipas ousted World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the Cincinnati semi-finals to advance to his fifth final of the season. He also reached the final in Rotterdam and Rome and claimed the trophy in Monte Carlo and Mallorca.

When Borna Coric arrived at the Western & Southern Open, the Croatian had every reason to be pessimistic. In May 2021, he underwent right shoulder surgery, which kept him out longer than expected. This week he was No. 152 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and just 4-8 in tour-level matches on the year. The former World No. 12 had a long way to go before reaching the peak that once saw him earn nine wins against Top 5 opponents.

Everything about Coric’s job is harder now, too. The Croatian has to spend anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes working on his shoulder each day to maintain it.

“If I want to do my job, which is to play tennis, I need to do this, otherwise I cannot play tennis. I don’t think it’s a huge sacrifice to have an extra 30 minutes of work to get to play tennis,” Coric told ATPTour.com earlier in the week. “You get to do what you love, it’s not a huge deal. If I usually come one hour before practice, now I need to come one and a half hours. That’s it. It’s not a big deal.”

When Coric said that Tuesday following his first-round win in Cincinnati against Lorenzo Musetti, he was preparing to face 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion Rafael Nadal. Advancing seemed unlikely, but it was clear his mind was in the right place.

Little did the Croatian know that five days later, he would lift his first Masters 1000 trophy. Coric completed a dream run in Ohio on Sunday when he defeated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 for the biggest title of his career.

Borna Coric captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday at the Western & Southern, where he overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 to end his dream week in style.

The Croatian, who was competing in his first tour-level final since 2020, defeated Rafael Nadal en route to his second Masters 1000 final. With the pressure on, Coric demonstrated courage against the Greek, rallying from 1-4 in the first set, before he blitzed his way past the fourth seed in the second set to triumph after one hour and 57 minutes in Cincinnati.

Coric missed the majority of last season due to a shoulder injury and entered the Cincinnati draw with a protected ranking, sitting at No. 152 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. However, he is up to No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his fairytale run, while he has improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Tsitsipas.

[ATP APP]

Tsitsipas flew out of the blocks in an enthralling first set as he opened his shoulders to race into a 4-1 lead. Coric showed signs of nerves in the opening exchanges, but started to settle as the set went on. The Croatian began to find his spots on serve, while he hit with greater depth and pace off the ground to claw back to 4-4. With a tie-break left to decide the first set, it was Coric who raced into top gear, capitalising on untimely errors from Tsitsipas to lead.

The fourth and final Grand Slam of the season will see reigning champion Daniil Medvedev and four-time winner Rafael Nadal lead the field at the US Open.

Here's what you need to know ahead of the tournament in New York:

When is the US Open?

The 2022 US Open will be held from 29 August – 11 September. The hard-court Grand Slam tournament, established in 1881, will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, United States. The tournament director is Stacey Allaster.

Who is playing at the 2022 Western & Southern Open?

The US Open will feature stars including World No. 1 Medvedev, 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal, two-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist Carlos Alcaraz and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

When is the draw for the US Open?

The US Open draw will be made Thursday, 25 August at a time to be confirmed.

They may have spent some time apart at the start of the North American hard-court swing, but Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have not lost their winning edge.

The top seeds clinched their second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday, when they completed a hard-fought 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory against Tim Puetz and Michael Venus in Cincinnati.

“It gives us huge confidence to get the win this week,” said Salisbury, who only returned to action last week in Montreal after missing a month due to a back issue. “First and foremost, it’s a huge tournament, our third Masters 1000 title together and Raj’s home tournament, so it’s really special to win here.

“We had a while off from playing together after Wimbledon and lost first round last week, so it’s great to get the win this week and feeling good going into the US Open."

The fourth Masters 1000 meeting between the two teams was dominated by serve, with Ram and Salisbury winning 82 per cent (46/56) and Puetz and Venus 85 per cent (39/46) of points behind their first deliveries. It was Ram and Salisbury’s ability to raise their level in both tie-breaks that proved decisive, however, as they wrapped up a one-hour, 38-minute win to seal their third Masters 1000 crown as a team.

#NextGenATP American Ben Shelton made waves at the Western & Southern Open this week, claiming his first Top 5 win against Casper Ruud en route to the third round in Cincinnati.

The 19-year-old has boosted his chances of qualifying for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time following his standout run at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event.

Shelton, who made his tour-level debut in Atlanta last month, has risen eight spots in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan to No. 13 and will have the chance to climb further after receiving a wild card for the upcoming US Open.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan Rankings

[ATP APP]

Borna Coric has had ‘that look’ in his eye all week long at the Western & Southern Open; a kind of single-minded glower that could only belong to someone who’s been denied their livelihood for far too long.

That look was there when the 25-year-old Croatian, limited to just nine matches in 2021 due to right shoulder surgery, stunned Rafael Nadal 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 in the second round, only his fifth tour-level win since returning to competition in March. It was there again in successive straight-sets dismissals of seeds Roberto Bautista Agut (6-2, 6-3), Felix Auger-Aliassime (6-4, 6-4) and Cameron Norrie (6-3, 6-4) en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 final since Shanghai in 2018.

[ATP APP]

All those hours of rehab, all those hours on the practice court? They’re beginning to pay off.

“I was really working very hard in the last six months,” said Coric, who arrived in Cincinnati an unaccustomed No. 152 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and became the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history. “I think once you are in the Top 20 or Top 30, you can get a little bit sloppy and maybe get away with it. But once you fall down to No. 200 — I don’t know where I was, but I knew I needed to work probably three times harder than I used to work, and that’s what I did. For the last six months, I was really focussed. I kept my head down even when I was losing.”

Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were untroubled on serve Saturday as they did not face a break point in a 6-4, 7-5 semi-final victory over Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin at the Western & Southern Open.

After winning 31/35 (89%) of first-serve points, the two-time Grand Slam champions advanced to their second final of the season and now look to repeat their run to the Monte Carlo title in April (d. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah).

Should Ram and Salisbury claim the trophy in Cincinnati, they will rise to No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings and strengthen their claim to a spot in the eight-team Nitto ATP Finals.

In Sunday’s final, the duo will face sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, who received a walkover from Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

 The 10th installment of the Daniil Medvedev vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas rivalry saw the Greek emerge a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3 winner on Saturday night at the Western & Southern Open. The fourth seed used his all-court game to great effect to earn a hugely satisfying result against one of his most challenging rivals, closing the gap to 3-7 in the pair's ATP Head2Head series with the help of 36 net approaches.

“I knew I had to sign up for a difficult task, third set, it wasn’t going to be easy," Tsitsipas said post-match. "He made it very physical and really demanding for me. I just took advantage of some of his missed first serves. I think I had a couple opportunities where it seemed to be going towards to my side."

[ATP APP]

Two sets of high-quality tennis — both won by Tsitsipas — bookended a bizarre middle stanza in which both men lost focus for alternating stretches. The Greek saved a set point in the first-set tie-break as he won its final three points to lead, but quickly fell behind 0-5 in the second thanks to some untimely double faults.

He avoided the bagel and then some, getting to 0/40 as Medvedev served at 5-3, but could not convert and instead took his momentum into the final set.

A host of emerging talents will compete this week at the Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 hard-court event in North Carolina.

#NextGenATP stars Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Jack Draper will be seeking deep runs to further increase their Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals qualification chances in the final tour-level tournament before the US Open.

Grigor Dimitrov will lead the draw as the top seed, with Austrian Dominic Thiem in action.

Before play begins, ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch in Winston-Salem.

View Draws: Singles | Doubles

Borna Coric waited nearly four years to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. It's no surprise he was able to handle a further delay of a few hours on a rainy Saturday at the Western & Southern Open.

But the Croatian didn't take long once he got on court, cruising past Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in just over 90 minutes to advance to his second Masters 1000 final. Back in top form following shoulder surgery, Coric will face World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev or fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas as he bids for his first title at that prestigious level.

"It was a very tough day, a very long day as well," the former World No. 12 said post-match. "I didn't expect to play at 7:30. I came here at 3 o'clock and I thought I was going to play a little bit earlier. Then I thought I was going to play later because of the delay.

"It was a crazy day but in the end it did finish very good. I was obviously very happy with my tennis today, I was playing extremely well."

[ATP APP]