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Nick Kyrgios may have changed his partner, but he tasted the same success to extend his winning run on Monday at the Citi Open.

The Australian captured his second tour-level doubles title of the season with countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis in Atlanta at the weekend, but showed little sign of tiredness in his opening match in Washington, teaming with American Jack Sock to reach the second round.

The unseeded tandem fired nine aces and broke three times to upset third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 6-4 in 68 minutes.

Kyrgios and Sock, who are joining forces for the second time this season, are aiming to clinch their second tour-level title as a team at the ATP 500 event, having won the crown in Lyon in 2018. They will next play Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp also advanced on the opening day in Washington, edging Ilya Ivashka and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7, 10-8. The American-Dutch tandem will next play top seeds Rajeev Ram and Horacio Zeballos or Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe.

#NextGenATP star Chun-hsin Tseng earned his third tour-level win of the season Monday, moving past American qualifier Nick Chappell 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel in Los Cabos.

The 20-year-old produced a strong serving performance as he quickly found his range on debut at the ATP 250 event. Tseng of Chinese Taipei won 84 per cent (27/32) of points behind his first delivery, while he did not face a break point to advance after one hour and 31 minutes.

Tseng, who is up to No. 81 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, will next play third seed Cameron Norrie. The Briton captured the title in Mexico last season.

Earlier this season, Tseng lifted ATP Challenger Tour trophies in Bangalore and Murcia, before he made his debut at Roland Garros after coming through qualifying. The 20-year-old is currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan as he aims to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time.

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#NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper has earned another shot at Top 10 star Andrey Rublev.

Three months ago, Rublev defeated Draper in a thrilling three-setter at the Mutua Madrid Open. They will meet again at the Citi Open after Draper eliminated American wild card Stefan Kozlov 7-5, 6-2 on Monday in Washington.

"I think Stefan plays a very awkward game. He's one of the guys who really disrupts your rhythm. The first four games of the match, I found it really hard to hit the court, actually. The conditions here, it's quite lively and you have to play with a bit more control," Draper said in his on-court interview. "I think I adjusted pretty well and in the end it became more of a physical battle out here in these conditions."

Draper lost the first three games of the match and almost went down a quick double break, but rallied past the home favourite in one hour and 53 minutes. The 20-year-old saved four of the five break points he faced and hit 10 aces in his victory.

The lefty is fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan and trying to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time. Entering the season, he had won two tour-level matches. The Briton has claimed eight this year alone.

There are roller-coaster matches, and then there is the clash between Mikael Ymer and Andy Murray on Monday.

After plenty of twists and turns, the Swede ultimately upset the former World No. 1 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Citi Open. It was Ymer’s first match on a hard court since February.

"I'm excited," Ymer said in his on-court interview. "It was the first day [of the U.S. swing], so obviously a lot left to do, but it's a very good start of the American swing."

Both men showed physical issues at different points, but the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus surged through the third set to triumph after two hours and 50 minutes.

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As he sets his sights on a second career title this week when he makes his tournament debut in Los Cabos, World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime says that he is better prepared this year to contend for trophies.

The Canadian transitions into the summer hard court swing at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel in Mexico, where, as the second seed behind World No.1 Danill Medvedev, the 21-year-old will be satisfied with nothing less than the title.

Auger-Aliassime came into the season with an 0-8 record in Tour-level finals but exorcised his championship-match demons when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2 to win the ABN AMRO Open.

The Canadian credits his breakthrough title to a fresh mindset coming into the season, one that he is confident will continue to bring him success in the years ahead.

“Everytime I lost one of those finals, it was tough mentally but I thought this year I’m going to be a different player…That means I’m going to try to play a better match and when I get into those finals, I’m going to try to play better tennis,” Auger-Aliassime said.

Jannik Sinner’s victory at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Sunday did more than earn him a sixth ATP Tour trophy. The win also helped him surge into contention in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin.

Sinner climbed three places to 13th in the Race, putting him within 705 points of eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Eight men will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at the Pala Alpitour from 13-20 November.

The 20-year-old competed in last year’s season finale as an alternate after fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to injury. Sinner will now have an opportunity to earn even more points in the coming month, with ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati as well as the US Open.

VIEW PEPPERSTONE ATP RACE TO TURIN STANDINGS

There was no movement among the Top 12 players in the Race on Monday. However, several players competing this week will have an opportunity to secure or improve their standing as the qualification battle heats up.

Swiss teenager Dominic Stricker strengthened his claim for a position at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals by winning his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year on Sunday. The 19-year-old rallied from a set down to defeat former World No. 10 Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 at the inaugural Finaport Zug Open.

In collecting his third career ATP Challenger Tour title, Stricker moves up to ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan. For the first time, he will also crack the Top 150 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as he climbs to a career-high 126.

The left-hander becomes the youngest player to win a Challenger title on both clay and hard in 2022 and joins Italy’s Luca Nardi as the only teenagers with multiple Challenger titles this season.

It was a gruelling week for the budding Swiss star, who came back from a set down in the first round against Jozef Kovalik. With rain halting play on Friday, Stricker was forced to play his quarter-final and semi-final on Saturday. On Sunday, in front of a packed crowd in Switzerland, the 2020 Roland Garros boys’ champion captured his first Challenger title on clay after another comeback from a set down.

Gulbis, 33, who reached the Cherbourg Challenger semi-finals in February, was looking for his first Challenger title since Pau in February 2020.

Carlos Alcaraz’s run to the championship match at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag lifts the 19-year-old to a career-high No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Despite falling just short in his title defence with defeat to Jannik Sinner in a heavyweight #NextGenATP final in Croatia, the Spaniard’s upward trajectory shows little sign of slowing.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week, as of Monday, 1 August.

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No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz, +1 (Career High)
Playing as the defending champion at an ATP Tour event for the first time, Alcaraz again impressed at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag in defeating Norbert Gombos, Facundo Bagnis and Giulio Zeppieri to reach a Tour-leading sixth final of 2022. It was Sinner who prevailed in the first Top 10 championship match in tournament history at the clay-court ATP 250 event, but Alcaraz’s efforts see him rise one spot to a career-high No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Read Umag Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest Pepperstone ATP Rankings

Daniil Medvedev returns to action this week at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel in Los Cabos, where the tournament debutant knows he needs to hit the ground running.

Medvedev is the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but he is under pressure for top spot. Entering the week, he leads World No. 2 Alexander Zverev by just 775 points. The 26-year-old will also be defending 1,000 points next week in Canada at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

“For sure I’m watching [the battle for No. 1] a little bit,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com. “Depends also the moment because I know at the end of the year, unless I try to win every tournament that is left, it’s probably going to be Rafa [Nadal] for [year-end No. 1]. But at the same time, I can keep it for quite a long time I feel like if I play good here in the [North American hard-court swing].”

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This will be Medvedev’s 11th week at World No. 1, and he is currently in the midst of his second stint atop men’s tennis’ mountain. But Medvedev is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin, which means five players have earned more points than him this season and could threaten for World No. 1 as the year continues.

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios did double duty in doubles Sunday to win the Atlanta Open.

The Australians, who are known as the “Special Ks”, won their semi-final and final in the span of seven hours to emerge victorious at the ATP 250. After battling past Americans Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock earlier in the day, they defeated fellow Aussies Jason Kubler and John Peers 7-6(4), 7-5 to lift the trophy.

"Obviously Atlanta is a special place. Won the singles title here [in 2016] and now the doubles. Crowd's amazing and it was a new experience playing two matches in one day as well for a title," Kyrgios said. "Me and Kokky were pretty resilient and obviously no singles this week, but confidence is at an all-time high in doubles."

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios, who triumphed at the Australian Open together at the beginning of the season, are now 13-2 as a team in 2022. They combined for 15 aces in the final and saved all four break points they faced against Kubler and Peers to claim the crown.

"Stoked to have won the Atlanta doubles title with Nick. It's always a pleasure playing with him. Second title for the year and I think we're getting better. It's been a great week here, a good way to start off the [American] summer in Atlanta for the US Open and hopefully we can keep it rolling.

It’s a long way from the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon to the qualifying rounds of the ATP Challenger Tour stop in Winnipeg, Canada. But after three knee surgeries and almost two years away from the world of professional tennis, Kyle Edmund is just happy to be back on court, anywhere, anytime.

This week the former World No. 14 Brit will play his first tour-level singles match since October 2020 in Vienna, when he suits up at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

“It’s extremely rewarding to be back,” the 27-year-old said. “There were long periods when I couldn’t see when I would be back. There were times when there was no progression, no improvement. But I was willing to exhaust all avenues to get back. I didn’t pick up a racquet for five or six months. I just wanted to play tennis.”

Edmund eased his way back into tour life by playing mixed doubles at Wimbledon in June. He said that being back around his peers and getting a feel again for the environment of pro tennis was a blessing.

“I needed it, it had been such a long time,” Edmund said of his return at the All England Club. “To get a feel for it again, the match-day preparation and to feel those nerves again.

Alex de Minaur is back in the winners’ circle in Atlanta.

Three years after triumphing at the Atlanta Open for the first time, the Australian defeated American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to lift the trophy at the ATP 250 for the second time. It is the 23-year-old’s first triumph since last June in Eastbourne and his sixth ATP Tour title overall.

It was not an easy week for De Minaur, who rallied from a set down in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals. But the Australian always persevered when under pressure to win a second title at a tournament for the first time.

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The championship match provided a clash between two of the ATP Tour’s best defenders, both of whom are known for their flat groundstrokes and gritty play. However, it was De Minaur’s offence that proved critical as he clawed past the home favourite after one hour and 31 minutes.

It may have been a long time coming, but Jannik Sinner has an ATP Tour title in 2022.

The Italian prevailed in a heavyweight #NextGenATP championship match clash against Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 victory at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Sunday.

Sinner has been one of the most consistent players on Tour this season and had reached six tour-level quarter-finals in 2022 prior to the clay-court ATP 250 event this week in Umag. The second seed had to be at his resilient best against Alcaraz, especially after the Spaniard had clinched a tight opening set in a tie-break. Yet the Italian began to dictate the baseline exchanges and saved nine from nine break points to complete a two-hour, 26-minute victory.

“I am obviously very happy,” said Sinner after the match. “I have [had] a tough year until now, I had some unfortunate moments, but we worked every time to play better, to be a better player, to be a better person. So, I’m very happy to be finally lifting a trophy this year, but I know that I still have a lot of things to improve… It’s all about the process.”

The win was Sinner's second against Alcaraz in four weeks, after the Italian was a four-set winner in the pair's fourth-round clash at Wimbledon.

All of this week's action will be on North American hard courts with an ATP 500 event in Washington and an ATP 250 in Los Cabos.

Andrey Rublev is the top seed at the Citi Open, where other players include 2019 champion Nick Kyrgios and former World No. 1 Andy Murray. Daniil Medvedev, the current No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, returns to action at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel. ATPTour.com looks at what you should watch at each event.

View Draws: Washington | Los Cabos

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN WASHINGTON
1) Rublev Top Seed: The top seed in the United States' capital, Rublev will try to claim his fourth ATP Tour title of the season. The 24-year-old, who has already triumphed in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade this year, is no stranger to Washington. Rublev advanced to the semi-finals at the ATP 500 in 2018 as a 20-year-old. He will try to improve his 32-11 season record when he faces #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or American wild card Stefan Kozlov in the first round.

Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini saved two matchs point on serve at 5-6 in the second set of Saturday's Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag final — but the Italian heroics were just getting started after their 13th break-point save.

The top seeds trailed Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 0/6 in the second-set tie-break, but stormed back with a miraculous eight straight points for force a Match Tie-break. The Italians stretched that run to 12 points to open up a 4/0 lead in the decider en route to a scarcely believable 5-7, 7-6(6), 10-7 victory.

"This is maybe the craziest match ever," Bolelli said after winning his second Umag title with Fognini. "We were down 0/6 in the second tie-break. We were just playing. The guys missed some [shots] but we played good. We tried to stay focussed in the Match Tie-break.

"Tennis is like this; doubles is crazy sometimes. But I am very happy for this victory and my second title here in Umag with Fabio."

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Alex de Minaur battled back from a set down for his second consecutive match on Friday at the Atlanta Open to reach his second final at the ATP 250 event. The third seed dominated the final two sets in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Ilya Ivashka, repeating the formula he used in his quarter-final win against Adrian Mannarino one day prior.

"I just found a way to get through," De Minaur said. "It wasn't an ideal start but these things happen. You adapt, you move on and try to do the best that you can."

The Aussie let an 0-3 lead slip early in the match, with Ivashka surging to the opening set after a lengthy rain delay at 5-5. De Minaur then fought off two break points to open the second set as he began to reassert himself with his steady baseline game. He again erased a pair of break points to start the deciding set before his pressure told.

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De Minaur broke serve on five of seven chances, doing his damage with a 62 per cent win rate on second-serve return points.

Andy Murray’s campaign to help the children of war-ravaged Ukraine was boosted Saturday when Citi Open Chairman Mark Ein pledged to match the Scot’s prize money donation from next week’s ATP 500 tournament in Washington, D.C. A winner of 46 tour-level titles, Murray also took the opportunity to speak about Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

Murray, a father of four and ambassador for Unicef U.K., has been donating 100 per cent of his prize money since the beginning of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. That amounts to more than US$300,000 in donations and he has pledged to keep doing so throughout the end of the season.

“That really inspired us and we’re announcing today that whatever Andy makes here and donates to UNICEF, we're going to match it,” Ein said. “We're also going to create a fan portal called Match Ukraine, where fans can get involved. They can give by the match. They can be part of Andy's journey. In fact, we'll extend it through the year. People can be part of Andy's mission here to make a real difference in something in the world that's horrible and really deserves all of our support.”

Murray could earn another $342,800 should he win next week’s tournament, which would then be matched by the Mark and Sally Ein Foundation and the Citi Open.

Murray, a 14-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, told reporters Saturday that as the war dragged on, it was important to keep driving awareness and fundraising efforts, and thanked Ein and the Citi Open for the matching donation for his efforts next week.

Four weeks after their four-set Wimbledon showdown, #NextGenATP stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will meet again in Sunday's final at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. Sinner set up the showdown with a 6-1, 6-3 win against qualifier Franco Agamenone on Saturday evening, after Alcaraz won a three-setter against Giulio Zeppieri.

The championship match will be the third ATP Head2Head meeting between Umag's top seeds, with the Spaniard winning their first encounter last November at the Rolex Paris Masters. The pair also met on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2019, when Alcaraz claimed a three-set win on the clay of Alicante.

"The final is very tough. Everyone was expecting that [matchup]." Sinner said in his on-court interview. "Today I played quite well. Also Carlos is playing well. I'll try to play some good tennis. I have to raise my level if I want to win, so I will try to prepare in the best possible way."

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In the semi-final, Sinner raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, saving an early break point as he used his baseline superiority to build the advantage against his countryman. He used a four-game run from 1-2 in the second set to move to the brink of victory before Agamenone claimed his first break of the match to extend the contest. Undeterred, Sinner closed out the victory with his fifth break.  

After opening his Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag campaign with a pair of comfortable straight-sets wins, Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence was given a stern test on Saturday evening at the ATP 250 event in Croatia.

The top seed prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in an absorbing #NextGenATP battle against Giulio Zeppieri to reach a Tour-leading sixth final of 2022. Alcaraz overcame a nasty roll of his right ankle in the second set before triumphing in a dramatic decider as Zeppieri struggled with cramp soon after reeling off three games in a row to level at 3-3.

“It’s amazing to be in a final here again,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “I enjoy playing here in Umag and I’m really happy with the win today.”

With the win, Alcaraz rose above Stefanos Tsitsipas to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and improved his record in Umag to 8-0. He will face another Italian, second seed Jannik Sinner or qualifier Franco Agamenone, in Sunday’s championship match. It will also be Alcaraz’s 100th tour-level match, and the 19-year-old was confident his ankle would be in good shape to compete.

“At the moment it is good," said Alcaraz. "I don’t feel too much right now. Let’s see tonight or tomorrow morning, but I am going to say I will be ready for the final.

“It would be amazing in my 100th match to get the win, and of course it is amazing to be No. 4 on Monday. It’s something great for me, but right now I am just focussed on the final.”

Former junior World No. 1 Wu Yibing reached a career-high of No. 174 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this week behind his second straight ATP Challenger Tour title. But the 22-year-old from China has his sights set on the Top 100, with one eye on a particular number.

“The highest-ranked Chinese player ever is No. 136,” he said in an exclusive interview with ATPTour.com, alluding to Zhang Zhizhen. “I think I have a pretty good chance to break it this year. I’m going to trust myself and have a high standard.”

It’s an ambitious goal for the six-footer, who played exclusively on a domestic circuit in China in 2020-21 after recovering from elbow surgery. But Wu is already the Chinese No. 1, having passed Zhang earlier this month. In 2020, Wu had a piece of bone removed from his elbow. (“It sounds terrifying, but I made it,” he says.)

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Wu and the 25-year-old Zhang are both in the Top 200, with the 17-year-old Shang Juncheng and 20-year-old Yunchaokete Bu representing China inside the Top 400.