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Tommy Paul boosted his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes on Wednesday when he earned his 39th win of the season at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, matching his previous-best tally (2022).

The American overcame countryman Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 at the ATP 500 event to reach his ninth quarter-final of the season and sixth on hard courts.

Paul was strong on serve throughout the 86-minute clash, winning 21 of 22 points behind his first delivery. The fifth seed did not face a break point and showed his athleticism by winning a series of lung-busting rallies where both pulled each other from corner to corner.

Paul will continue the quest for his first title of the season when he takes on Ben Shelton or Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old is 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, 515 points behind Rune. If Paul wins his second tour-level trophy, he could rise to ninth if his direct rivals fall early in Tokyo.

One of those rivals, Casper Ruud, lost on Wednesday in Japan. The Norwegian is 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race, 220 points ahead of Paul.

Is this the week Felix Auger-Aliassime finds his form?

The Canadian backed up his first-round win against Aleksandar Vukic with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph against Sebastian Ofner at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Auger-Aliassime arrived in Tokyo having won just twice in his past 11 outings. The last time he won consecutive matches was in Indian Wells in March, when he reached the quarter-finals.

The 23-year-old ensured that run would end in Japan, though, producing a clean-hitting display to down Ofner after one hour and 35 minutes. Auger-Aliassime rallied from a break down in a tight first set before he raced away in the second set, winning the final six games of the match.

Into his fifth tour-level quarter-final of the season, the World No. 17 will next face second seed Casper Ruud or American Marcos Giron.

The Swiss Indoors Basel has seen previous champions including Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, 10-time titlist Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

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

When is the Swiss Indoors Basel?

The ATP 500 event will be held from 23-29 October. The hard-court tournament will take place at the St Jakobshalle Basel. The tournament director is Roger Brennwald.

Who is playing at the Swiss Indoors Basel?

Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud are among those in action.

When is the draw for Swiss Indoors Basel?

The Swiss Indoors Basel singles draw will be made on Friday, 20 October at 9 p.m.

What is the schedule for the Swiss Indoors Basel?

* Qualifying: Saturday, 21 October at 11 a.m. and Sunday, 22 October at 1 p.m.
* Main Draw: Monday, 23 October - Friday, 27 October at 12 p.m. Evening sessions Monday at 8 p.m, Tuesday - Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday, 28 October at 1 p.m.
* Doubles Final: Sunday, 29 October at 1 p.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 29 October at 3:30 p.m.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

What is the prize money and points for the Swiss Indoors Basel?

The prize money for the Swiss Indoors Basel is €2,196,000 and the Total Financial Commitment is €2,345,955.

The Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria has seen previous champions including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Here's what you need to know ahead of the tournament in the Austrian capital:

When is the Erste Bank Open?

The ATP 500 event will be held from 23-29 October. The hard-court tournament will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle. The tournament director is Herwig Straka.

Who is playing at the Erste Bank Open?

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev are among the field.

When is the draw for the Erste Bank Open?

The Erste Bank Open singles draw will be made on Saturday, 21 October.

What is the schedule for the Erste Bank Open?

* Qualifying: Saturday, 21 October at 11 a.m. and Sunday, 22 October at 1 p.m.
* Main Draw: Monday, 23 October at 2 p.m. Tuesday, 24 October - Thursday, 26 October at 1 p.m. Friday, 27 October - Saturday, 28 October at 2 p.m.
* Doubles Final: Sunday, 29 October at 11:45 a.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 29 October at 2 p.m.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

What is the prize money and points for the Erste Bank Open?

The prize money for the Erste Bank Open is €2,409,835 and the Total Financial Commitment is €2,559,790.

Alexander Shevchenko prevailed in a tense clash with Benjamin Bonzi on Tuesday to make a winning start to his maiden European Open campaign in Antwerp.

The World No. 84 claimed a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3 first-round triumph against France’s Bonzi at the indoor ATP 250 in Belgium. Shevchenko’s aggressive approach paid off in the latter stages of the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash as he powered 46 winners to Bonzi’s 31.

It was a 10th tour-level win for Shevchenko, who had not won a match at that level prior to April in Barcelona. The 22-year-old, who reached a career-high No. 83 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August, will take on Juan Pablo Varillas next after the Peruvian beat Fabian Marozsan 7-6(7), 6-4.

Also on Tuesday, #NextGenATP Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard claimed his maiden ATP Tour victory by upsetting sixth seed Roberto Carballes Baena 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). The 20-year-old Mpetshi Perricard, who made his tour-level debut as a wild card at Roland Garros in May, recovered from a nightmare start to set a second-round appointment with home favourite David Goffin.

Serving ? a shock ??@MpetshiG saves match point to take down (6) Carballes Baena for a maiden tour level triumph@EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/xcLPLapEd7

The BNP Paribas Nordic Open is not quite a home tournament for Emil Ruusuvuori, but it is not far off.

The World No. 61 made a lightning-fast start to his campaign Tuesday at the indoor hard-court ATP 250 in Stockholm with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph against qualifier Benjamin Hassan. Ruusuvuori, who hails from neighbouring Finland, was delighted with his 57-minute triumph in his first competitive match since he spearheaded his country’s successful Davis Cup Finals Group Stage campaign more than four weeks ago.

“I’m very happy with the performance,” said Ruusuvuori. “I had a couple of weeks off from the Tour, so it’s good to start this way with such a solid performance. It’s a special place to be… For me it’s one of the best weeks for sure. I really like Stockholm, it’s a place that I could possibly even live in and for my friends and family it is easy to come and see.”

Ruusuvuori will play third seed Tallon Griekspoor in the second round in Stockholm, where he reached the semi-finals in 2022. Griekspoor holds a 2-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead against the Finn, with those victories taking place this season in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and at the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.

There was a pair of upsets earlier in the day in Stockholm. J.J. Wolf defeated fifth seed Sebastian Baez 7-6(5), 6-2 at the indoor ATP 250 to set a meeting with Laslo Djere or home wild card Leo Borg, while qualifier Pavel Kotov kept his cool to oust seventh seed Christopher Eubanks 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5) in two hours, 28 minutes. The World No. 109’s reward is a second-round clash with Lorenzo Sonego.

The ATP has announced that an ATP 250 event in Sofia, Bulgaria, has been added to 2023 ATP Tour calendar. The tournament will take place as a single-year licence, replacing the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, which was cancelled due to the outbreak of war in the region.

The Sofia Open, operated by the Bulgarian Tennis Federation, will take place at the Sofia Arena and will offer Euros 562,815 in prize money.

Stefan Tzvetkov, Bulgarian Tennis Federation President, said: “We’re excited to host ATP Tour tennis back in the historic city of Sofia again. It goes without saying that we wish the circumstances were different, and our thoughts remain with all those affected by the terrible conflict. Our appreciation goes to ATP, the Bulgarian Government, the Municipality, and our team. We look forward to working together with ATP to deliver a successful event for the players and the incredible fans of Bulgaria.”

The Sofia Open was first held in 2016 and counts players including Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov among its past champions.

Ben Shelton backed up his quarter-final run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a first-round win against Japan qualifier Taro Daniel on Tuesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Making his debut at the ATP 500, Shelton battled hard to recover from a slow start, triumphing 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) in two hours and 34 minutes. The American struck the ball cleanly off both wings in the third set, using his thunderous forehand to overpower Daniel to earn his 22nd tour-level victory of the season.

The 21-year-old will next play Australian Jordan Thompson. Shelton has enjoyed a standout breakthrough year on Tour, highlighted by his run to the semi-finals at the US Open.

[ATP APP]

Japanese wild card Shintaro Mochizuki earned his first tour-level win at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he moved past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 7-6(5) to delight the home fans.

Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz boosted their Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances on Tuesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where they both earned first-round wins.

Australian De Minaur came through a hard-fought battle against British lefty Jack Draper, advancing 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(1) in three hours and four minutes.

De Minaur rallied from a break down in the second set and broke qualifier Draper’s serve when the 21-year-old was trying to close out the match at 5-4 in the third set. The World No. 13 locked in from the baseline and started to pull the tiring Draper from corner to corner to improve to 13-4 in opening-round matches this year.

De Minaur, who now leads Draper 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, is 13th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on 2,515 points. He is 595 points behind eighth-placed Holger Rune, who occupies the final qualification spot.

Chasing his second title of the season, De Minaur will need a deep run in Tokyo to further increase his chances of making his debut at the prestigious year-end event. The fourth seed will next face Diego Schwartzman.

Twenty-year-old Mark Lajal will not soon forget what he accomplished on Monday in Antwerp. The #NextGenATP Estonian earned his first ATP Tour win with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Jaume Munar at the European Open.

The wild card had never played in qualifying or the main draw at an ATP Tour event, but he showed few nerves in Antwerp. The Estonian won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and saved the two break points he faced to advance after 69 minutes.

“This is my first time playing in an ATP, any ATP and main draw, so obviously I was really ready for it,” Lajal said in his on-court interview. “I wanted to do well and that for sure gave me the extra motivation.”

[ATP APP]

Lajal became the first Estonian to win an ATP Tour match since Jurgen Zopp reached the Gstaad semi-finals in 2018. The No. 229 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is the only player from his country in the Top 500.

Dino Prizmic might only be 18, but he showed Monday he is ready to compete against some of the best players in the world.

The #NextGenATP star defeated sixth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open. It was the Croatian’s third tour-level victory.

“I’m very happy about my performance today,” Prizmic said in his on-court interview. “I just want to say thanks to everyone who came here and supported this match because it means a lot to players. Thanks to everyone.”

WHAT A WIN ⚡️

Dino Prizmic earns the biggest win of his career after defeating Jiri Lehecka 6-3 7-5 in Stockholm! ?#StockholmOpen

pic.twitter.com/GlLJWcHzCe

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 16, 2023

Prizmic successfully neutralised one of the most powerful baseliners on the ATP Tour, winning 41 per cent of his return points and breaking the Czech’s serve three times. He will next face former Top 10 player Roberto Bautista Agut or home favourite Elias Ymer.

When packing his bags to travel on the ATP Tour, Cameron Norrie includes items for both fashion and function. The Briton recently invited ATP Uncovered into his hotel room, where he shared the ins and outs of his travel habits.

Norrie does not go anywhere without the Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt his coach, Facundo Lugones, gifted him. "I think I've taken it every week with me for the last year and a half," he said.

[ATP APP]

Among the more practical items Norrie travels with are journals and a recovery boot, which help keep his mind and his body right, respectively.

When it comes to chill time, Norrie stays stylish in sunglasses, which he can pair with some personalised flip-flops. A gift from the Rio de Janeiro ATP 500 tournament, where he was champion in February, has become a footwear staple.

Argentine Mariano Navone and American Zachary Svajda continued their standout seasons this past week on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 22-year-old Navone won his fourth Challenger title of the season while Svajda, 20, secured back-to-back titles in California.

Navone won on home soil at the Challenger de Buenos Aires, where he rallied past top seed Federico Coria 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Now at a career-high No. 146 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Navone joins Thiago Seyboth Wild atop the season leaderboard as the only players with four ATP Challenger Tour trophies.

“I feel very good. I’m very happy to win this title here. I won three matches in three sets so I’m very happy and tired,” said Navone. “I’m a guy who needs support and it’s fun to see me shouting, ‘Vamos!’ with the crowd and today was very special to win on Mother’s Day in Argentina. I enjoyed the tournament and the crowd. This is the most special [title].”

[ATP APP]

This year also marks the third straight season with an Argentine winning at least four ATP Challenger Tour titles (Pedro Cachin won four in 2022, Sebastian Baez earned six in 2021.)

Flavio Cobolli was an alternate at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2021 but never took to court at the 21-and-under event. Two years on and the Italian boosted his chances of making his debut in Jeddah following his run to the title at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Lisbon earlier this month.

The 21-year-old is up two spots to ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah after backing up his title triumph in Portugal with a quarter-final appearance at a Challenger event in Malaga last week.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah

Player	Points
1) Carlos Alcaraz	8,445
2) Holger Rune	3,110
3) Ben Shelton	1,635
4) Lorenzo Musetti	1,355
5) Arthur Fils	998
6) Luca Van Assche	641
7) Dominic Stricker	576
8) Hamad Medjedovic	575
9) Flavio Cobolli	544
10) Alex Michelsen	535
11) Arthur Cazaux	483
12) Luca Nardi	428

American Zachary Svajda has also strengthened his hopes after soaring 12 spots to 13th following a standout month. The 20-year-old has won three of the past four Challengers that he has played in, with his latest victory coming in Fairfield, California. Svajda is aiming to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time.

Italian Luca Nardi, who will play at the ATP 250 in Antwerp this week, has jumped two places to 12th. The 20-year-old defeated fellow Next Gen ATP Finals hopeful Dominic Stricker en route to the semi-finals at a Challenger Tour event in Bratislava, Slovakia.

With four weeks until the Nitto ATP Finals, the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin continued to heat up at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Italian Jannik Sinner qualified after winning his second-round match in China, while Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev boosted their chances. ATPTour.com looks at the key movers as of Monday, 16 October.

[ATP APP]

11th (2,775 points) – Hubert Hurkacz
The Pole has jumped six spots to 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin after winning his second ATP Masters 1000 crown and first of the season in Shanghai. The 26-year-old saved one championship point in the final against Rublev before converting on his fourth opportunity to improve to 7-1 in tour-level finals. Hurkacz is 335 points behind Holger Rune, who currently occupies the final qualification spot in eighth. Hurkacz competed at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2021, falling in the round-robin stage.

Fifth (4,275 points) – Andrey Rublev
Rublev has consolidated his fifth-placed position in the Live Race To Turin after collecting 600 points by reaching his sixth final of the season. The 25-year-old is chasing a fourth consecutive appearance at the prestigious year-end event, with his best result a semi-final run in 2022.

Felix Auger-Aliassime earned a confidence-boosting win on debut at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Monday when he downed Australian Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-2.

The Canadian entered the matching having earned just two wins in his past 11 outings, but he stepped up when needed in the deciding set against Vukic to advance to the second round in Shanghai.

“It is a big relief,” Auger-Aliassime said. “There have been tough times lately where I was wondering what to do. I have to keep on training and believing and hope my level will come back. I am happy to get the victory today. It is a positive.”

The World No. 17 won 80 per cent (8/10) of points on Vuckic’s second serve in the third set and converted all three of his break-point opportunities in the decider to set a second-round meeting against Sebastian Ofner after the Austrian defeated Christopher O’Connell 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-5.

[ATP APP]

Holger Rune is currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. But this week with three tournaments — the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, the BNP Paribas Nordic Open and the European Open — being played, the battle for a spot at the season finale could drastically change.

Rune is currently 145 points ahead of ninth-placed Taylor Fritz. The Dane will focus on what he can control in Stockholm, where he is the top seed and defending champions. The 20-year-old would add 250 points to his total with a title.

"Definitely one of the goals is to be able to get into Turin, the Finals, at the end of the year," Rune told the media at the China Open in Beijing. He later added: "I'm going to try to focus on what I do instead of what everybody else is doing."

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Standings

Player	Points
5) Andrey Rublev	4,275

Hubert Hurkacz and Novak Djokovic are the only two players in 2023 to save a match point en route to an ATP Tour title in two separate tournaments.

Hurkacz joined Djokovic on the exclusive list when he saved one championship point in the Shanghai final against Andrey Rublev. It was the second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 event at which the champion saved match point during his title run, after Novak Djokovic did so in Cincinnati against Carlos Alcaraz.

The Polish star also saved a match point in February at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. He saved a match point in the quarter-finals against Mikael Ymer and did not lose a set the rest of the week.

Player	Event-Opponent	Rd	MPs Saved
Novak Djokovic	Adelaide-1 vs Korda	F	1
Wu Yibing	Dallas vs Isner	F	4
Hubert Hurkacz	Marseille vs M. Ymer	QF	1
Holger Rune	Munich vs. van de Zandschulp	F	4
Frances Tiafoe	Stuttgart vs Struff	F	1
Christopher Eubanks	Mallorca vs Harris	SF	5
Novak Djokovic	Cincinnati vs Alcaraz	F	1
Hubert Hurkacz	Shanghai vs Rublev	F	1

Djokovic accomplished the feat in his first tournament of the season, the Adelaide International 1. He was on the brink against Sebastian Korda before rallying for the victory.

The Serbian also saved championship point against Alcaraz in the final of the Western & Southern Open. The three-hour, 49-minute battle was one of the best matches of 2023.

The stars have enjoyed their time off court in Tokyo — Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev made sushi on Saturday. But they will now turn their attention to the ATP 500 action on the court at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Fans in Tokyo will be treated to tantalising encounters from the first round, headlined by a Top 20-showdown between top seed Taylor Fritz and Cameron Norrie.

The headlining battle between two former ATP Masters 1000 champions is for more than just a place in the second round. The result will have major ramifications in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Fritz is in ninth place, 145 points behind Holger Rune, who currently holds the final qualifying spot. Norrie, who is 17th in the Live Race, will try to damage the top seed and defending champion’s Turin pursuit. The pair has split 12 previous Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes, eight of which have gone to a deciding set.

Third seed Zverev, who is seventh in the Live Race, will begin his tournament against Jordan Thompson while eighth seed Auger-Aliassime will face Aleksandar Vukic.

Hubert Hurkacz has his eyes on the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The Pole captured his second ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and has now climbed to 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, 335 points behind Holger Rune, who currently occupies the all-important eighth spot.

“Coming to this couple of weeks starting here in Shanghai I knew I [had] to give myself a chance, I need to be winning tournaments, so that's a pretty good start,” Hurkacz said of his Turin hopes. “I mean, just an amazing week here in Shanghai. I really enjoyed it here with the team, but ultimately, we just want to get better every single day and improve, enjoy those moments, but we're just going to try our best and then just keep fighting and keep competing.”

The 26-year-old, who competed at the prestigious year-end event in 2021, battled hard against Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final, saving one match point en route to his seventh tour-level crown. Hurkacz holds a 7-1 record in tour-level finals.

“Andrey was playing some really good tennis, and I knew I had to produce the shots, so I was just trying to stay out there and compete as hard as I could and to keep positive self-talk and then keep the belief until the end,” Hurkacz said. “At the end of the day, it's a final, and you want to just give it all you got out there.”