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The last nations standing in the 2023 Davis Cup have announced their teams for the Final 8 knock-out stage in Malaga, Spain next month, with some of the game’s biggest stars set to do battle for the right to be named 2023 world champions.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will lead a Serbia team bidding to win a second Davis Cup title, while Jannik Sinner (Italy), Alex de Minaur (Australia) and Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) will also feature in the event at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena.

Defending world champions Canada have restored world No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime to their team alongside Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil, who starred as the Canadians finished top of Group A in Bologna in September. Former Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic has also been named in the Canadian squad and could make his first Davis Cup appearance since 2018, having battled various injuries in recent seasons.

The Canadians will contest the opening tie of the week on Tuesday 21 November against first-time Davis Cup quarter-finalists Finland, who have named the same squad which finished runner-up to Netherlands in Group D in Split last month. World No. 67 Emil Ruusuvuori, who has won five of his six Davis Cup matches this season, will lead the Finnish team in Malaga.

The second quarter-final on Wednesday 22 November will see 2022 runners-up Australia take on the Czech Republic, both of whom have named unchanged teams from September’s Finals Group Stage and are led by De Minaur and Jiri Lehecka, respectively.

Nicolas Jarry is enjoying the best season of his career, breaking into the Top 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. On Sunday, he spent time with his family ahead of the Swiss Indoors Basel to take it all in.

Jarry, his wife Laura, sons Juan and Santiago, and his mother Cecilia toured the city, including a ferry ride across the Rhine River.

“Having my family around is wonderful and means the world to me,” Jarry said. “I’m happy to be here and looking forward to playing the Swiss Indoors.”

His wife Laura added: “I enjoy visiting new places and Basel is very beautiful. This summer we had a great time in Geneva and it is nice to be back in Switzerland.”

There is one food you will never catch Nicolas Jarry eating.

The Chilean recently joined ATP Uncovered’s ‘What I Eat’ series to discuss his approach to nutrition and general eating habits. The 2023 breakthrough star also revealed the fruit he does not go anywhere near.

“I don’t like tomatoes,” Jarry said. “It’s always been something that I don’t eat since I’m a kid. Now it’s just mental. I know I can eat it, but it’s just a part of me.”

The 28-year-old brought fans inside his eating routine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He also revealed his favourite tournaments for certain meals. Hint — one event serves particularly good ice cream.

To discover his selections and much more, watch the full video below.

Alexander Zverev hit 50 tour-level wins for 2023 in style on Monday at the Erste Bank Open, where the fifth-seeded German beat home wild card Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-1 at the ATP 500 in Vienna.

After an even start, Zverev won 10 of the final 12 games to claim a 78-minute triumph for a 3-0 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Ofner. The German did not face a break point and converted four of seven break points he earned to improve to 8-1 in Vienna, where he lifted the trophy in 2021.

“Obviously I’m happy to be back to winning ways after the past two weeks, which were not very positive for me,” Zverev, who arrived in Vienna on a three-match losing streak, told ATPTour.com. “In general I’m happy to be back in Europe, happy to be back in a German-speaking country. I think you always feel comfortable here straight away.”

Flying into the next round like… ?@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/1nvMSGJVGA

Zverev was pleased with the way he had handled taking on a home favourite in his opening match in Austria.

Will this be the week Andy Murray wins his first ATP Tour title since 2019?

The former No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings made a good start on Monday when he defeated German Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Swiss Indoors Basel. The Scot snapped a three-match losing streak and will next face eighth seed Sebastian Korda or Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

"Happy to come through," Murray said in his on-court interview. "He's had a brilliant year and has been playing very well, so it's a good result."

Resilience personified ?

Match point perfectly summing up a gruelling 7-5, 6-4 triumph for @andy_murray #SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/Vif6yxdk9m

As normal for a Murray match, straight sets did not necessarily mean straightforward. The 36-year-old faced eight break points in the match and was broken when he served for the match at 5-3 in the second set.

With just three weeks to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, the countdown to the prestigious year-end event in Turin is on.

American Ben Shelton boosted his outside hopes of making his debut in Turin, while Stefanos Tstisipas strengthened his position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. ATPTour.com looks at the key movers as of Monday, 23 October.

[ATP APP]

14th (2,275 points) – Ben Shelton
The American has given himself an outside chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals after he won his maiden ATP Tour title in Tokyo. The 21-year-old defeated Aslan Karatsev in the title match at the ATP 500 event to become the sixth first-time tour-level winner of the year, jumping four places in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as a result.

Shelton is still 825 points behind eighth-placed Holger Rune, who holds the final qualification spot. The lefty will need deep runs in Vienna and Paris if he is to seal his spot in Turin.

The groups have been announced for the 2024 United Cup in Perth and Sydney.

Grand Slam champions Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek will begin their respective 2024 United Cup campaigns in Perth, following the official draw on Monday.

Defending champions, the United States, will battle Australia and Great Britain in a loaded Group C, also in the West Australian capital, while a blockbuster clash between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime is on the cards when Greece and Canada square off in Sydney.

World No.1 Djokovic will lead Serbia in the nation’s United Cup debut in Group E against the Czech Republic and China. After adding a 10th Australian Open and record 24th major trophy with a fourth US Open this year, the 37-year-old begins the new season alongside Olga Danilovic and will likely face world No.30 Jiri Lehecka and No.57 Zhang Zhizhen in his group stage singles matches.

Wimbledon champion and world No.6 Marketa Vondrousova leads the Czech team alongside Lehecka and will likely face China’s rising world No.18 Zheng for the first time.

Alexander Bublik delivered a serving masterclass on Sunday to power to victory at the European Open.

The third-seeded Kazakhstani beat #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-4 in Antwerp to claim his second tour-level title of the season. Bublik clinched a decisive break of Fils’ serve in each set and saved all three break points he faced to improve to 3-6 in ATP Tour finals.

“I was pretty much serving all match,” said Bublik in his on-court interview. “I told Arthur I was very lucky to beat him in a final before he becomes the next big thing. That was the only option I had, and I executed it well.”

The 26-year-old maintained his rhythm behind his delivery all week en route to the trophy. After dropping just one of 37 points behind first serve to propel himself to a 75-minute victory against Fils, Bublik lifted the trophy at the Belgian ATP 250 having won 136 of 148 points behind first serve across his run.

Bublik takes a bow ?@EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/339T7AeQnk

After lifting his second title of the year in Chengdu in late September, Alexander Zverev made a clear statement to his ATP Tour rivals.

“I’m playing good tennis and I’m winning tournaments again which is the most important thing,” Zverev told ATP Tour Podcast in China. “I’m a contender. That’s something I missed at the beginning of the year, when I didn’t feel like I was. I’m back to the same mentality of winning tournaments and the same mentality of trying to be one of the best.”

The 26-year-old Zverev has the chance to back those words up again this week in Vienna, where he is the fifth seed in a stacked draw at the Erste Bank Open. It could prove another crucial week for the German as he continues his charge towards Nitto ATP Finals qualification. Zverev, who is a two-time champion at the prestigious season finale, is seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

“If I make Turin, if I come back after such an injury and not playing for seven months when I was really uncertain if I was ever going to come back to the level that I was… If I come back and I’m one of the best eight players in the world, it’s a great achievement, there’s no question about it,” Zverev told Chris Bowers of ATP Tennis Radio on Saturday in Vienna. “It’s a comeback year to remember, that’s for sure.”

[ATP APP]

Gael Monfils became the oldest champion in the history of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open on Sunday when he overcame qualifier Pavel Kotov 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 to win his first title of the season in Stockholm.

The 37-year-old demonstrated great athletiscm to hang in points against Kotov, who was the first qualifier to reach a tour-level final since Jiri Vesely in Dubai in 2022. The Frenchman stood deep behind the baseline throughout the two-hour, 35-minute clash to absorb Kotov’s power, while he demonstrated great touch to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

"Credit to Pavel," Monfils said. "He has had an unbelivable week and he was pushing me on the court. I ran a lot today. When I had to save break points in the second set, I tried to push through. I don't know how I pulled up but I kept believing and fighting."

Monfils arrived in Stockholm at No. 140 Pepperstone ATP Rankings after struggling with injuries in the first half of the season. Fully fit again, he dropped just two sets en route to his 12th tour-level trophy, becoming the lowest-ranked tour-level champion since then-World No. 152 Borna Coric won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2022.

The Frenchman, who is up to No. 89 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is just the fourth player above the age of 37 to win an ATP Tour title since 1990, joining Roger Federer, Ivo Karlovic and Feliciano Lopez.

Ben Shelton’s standout season on the ATP Tour went up a gear on Sunday when he clinched his first tour-level title at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

After becoming the sixth first-time winner of the season, the 21-year-old Shelton caught up with ATPTour.com to discuss his triumph at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means a lot. It is not something I thought I would accomplish when I started playing tennis. To be able to be in a position to compete for a title and hold my nerve and win one is really special for me and my team and something I will remember for the rest of my life.

How did you handle the occasion today, playing in your first final?
It was interesting. I expected to be a lot more nervous going into the match, but I felt pretty calm and at peace and clear minded when on court. I am not sure what came over me and gave me the calmness and confidence that I had out there, but it felt like another day at the office.

How much confidence and self-belief did your semi-final run at the US Open last month give you?
I think the semi-final run at the US Open gave me a huge amount of confidence that I could compete against the best in our sport and that I could continue to make deep runs in tournaments, doing it in three out of five sets. I showed myself that I was fit and in shape to go the distance, so it is something that has helped me a lot in the tournaments I have played after the US Open and hopefully I can carry on that momentum in the next year.

Ben Shelton's breakthrough season hit new heights on Sunday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 to win his first ATP Tour title.

The American rallied from a set and 2-5 down to come through his semi-final match against Marcos Giron and he used that momentum in the final in Tokyo, where he consistently took the ball early on return to rush Karatsev, triumphing after 84 minutes.

"That meant a lot to me and my team," Shelton said. "We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour. I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don't just get to finals. They are able to maintain their level throughout the week. I am not saying I am anywhere there yet, but to be able to do it for one week, put together five matches in a row in Tokyo is really special."

[ATP APP]

The American is the sixth first-time tour-level winner of the season and the first player since Lorenzo Musetti in Hamburg in 2022 to win their maiden ATP Tour title at a 500 event. He will rise to a career-high No. 15 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, having started the season at No. 96.

Rinky Hijikata and Max Purcell capped a dream debut week as a team on Sunday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where they defeated Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-1 to win the title.

The Australians upset third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer to reach the championship match and backed up that standout win with a dominant display against Murray and Venus. Hijikata and Purcell saved both break points they faced and were impressive on return, winning 47 per cent (28/59) of points on Murray and Venus’ delivery to seal victory after 73 minutes.

It has been good," Hijikata said. "It was the first time pairing together in doubles and I think we got better as the week went on. We enjoy playing with each other and I feel we played some really good tennis."

With their title run, Hijikata and Purcell became the first Australian team to win the Tokyo doubles title since Jordan Kerr triumphed with Swede Robert Lindstedt in 2007.

[ATP APP]

With just three weeks to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, players continue to jockey for position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. This week will see two ATP 500s provide opportunities for movement, with action at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and the Swiss Indoors Basel.

Daniil Medvedev, who has already qualified for Turin, is set to lead the Vienna field as the top seed and defending champion. He will be joined by fellow Top 10 stars Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. Holger Rune is the best-placed of many Turin hopefuls in Basel, where Top 10 players Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz will also compete.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at both events.

[ATP APP]

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN VIENNA
1) Defending Champ Medvedev: Medvedev won the second of his two 2022 titles in Vienna 12 months ago. He enters the ATP 500 with five tour-level trophies to his name in 2023 — though he has not claimed a crown since his surprise May run on the clay of Rome. He will begin his tournament against in-form #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils.

The Erste Bank Open draw has thrown up plenty of blockbuster first-round match ups as a host of the world's top stars arrive in Vienna for the ATP 500.

Home favourite and 2019 champion Dominic Thiem will be out for revenge when he takes on fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tstisipas edged the Austrian in deciding-set tie-breaks both in Madrid and at Wimbledon earlier this year, but the former World No. 3 Thiem will hope to be inspired by his home fans inside the Wiener Stadthalle as he looks to rediscover his best form.

Daniil Medvedev is in the same half of the draw as Thiem and Tsitsipas, but the top seed and defending champion will not be looking past his first-round challenge in Vienna. He plays #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils, who is enjoying a breakout year on the ATP Tour and beat Tsitsipas in the Antwerp semi-finals on Saturday.

Grigor Dimitrov and Lorenzo Musetti will await Medvedev or Fils in the second round. The pair has not met since 2021, when Musetti prevailed in straight sets on the hard courts of Acapulco.

In the bottom half of the draw, Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton represents another popcorn opener in Austria. The pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting took place in Shanghai under two weeks ago, when Shelton edged the Italian in a third-set tie-break. The 21-year-old Shelton plays his maiden ATP Tour final against Aslan Karatsev in Tokyo on Sunday, before flying to Vienna.

French teen Arthur Fils has become the youngest European Open finalist in history after a clutch 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Antwerp semi-finals Saturday.

The 19-year-old, who made his main-draw tour-level debut less than a year ago at the Rolex Paris Masters, is now one win away from his second title of the season and from breaking into the Top 35 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after beginning the year outside the Top 250.

Fils, who looks certain to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah next month, saved two break points at 5-all in the first set. In the second set he failed to serve out the match at 5-4 but steadied with a love hold and dominant tie-break to close out the match and seal the second Top-10 win of his career.

[ATP APP]

"I was very tight and my first serve just wouldn't go [in]... so I said maybe it would be tough," Fils said of trying to serve out the match. "He had some great points and I made some bad mistakes. "But I was very happy with how I played in the tie-break and now I will try to bring my best in the final."

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus did just that on Saturday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where they edged Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(5), 2-6, 14/12 in a tense semi-final clash.

American duo Lammons and Withow saved four match points from 5/9 in the Match Tie-break and denied their opponents a further three times on match point before the British-Kiwi team finally sealed a one-hour, 45-minute triumph in Tokyo. Murray and Venus will now face Rinky Hijikata and Max Purcell in the championship match on Sunday as they chase their fifth ATP Tour crown of the year.

Victory on Sunday would also be a further boost for Murray and Venus’ Nitto ATP Finals qualification prospects. They leapfrogged Lammons and Withrow into eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings after Saturday's win, and would move within 47 points of seventh-placed Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury with the Tokyo crown.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Six matches down, one to go for Pavel Kotov at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open.

The No. 109-ranked qualifier moved within one win of a dream maiden tour-level title on Saturday, when he defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals at the ATP 250 in Stockholm. Kotov powered 25 winners to his opponent’s 17 to back up his career-best quarter-final win against third seed Tallon Griekspoor in style.

“I’m extremely happy and super tired,” said Kotov, who came through two rounds of qualifying prior to taking his place in the main draw in Sweden. “It was my dream to play a final and now it is 2023 and it’s my first one. It’s a super end to the season for me.”

That 1st final feeling! ?

Qualifier Pavel Kotov gets the job done 6-3, 6-4 facing Kecmanovic @sthlm_open | #bnpparibasnordicopen pic.twitter.com/ncQlusVHwT

Kotov broke Kecmanovic’s serve decisively midway through each set to seal a 91-minute triumph in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. He has now dropped just one set across his six matches in the Swedish capital.

Ben Shelton’s first full season on the ATP Tour hit new highs Saturday in Tokyo, where the #NextGenATP American defeated countryman Marcos Giron to reach the final at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

The 21-year-old Shelton prevailed 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 in a two-hour, 50-minute semi-final clash inside Ariake Coliseum to reach his maiden tour-level championship match. He kept his cool after dropping the first set, converting four of eight break points he earned to set a final meeting on Sunday with Aslan Karatsev.

“It’s a huge achievement for me and my team, especially the way the match panned out today,” said Shelton. “Definitely one of the toughest matches I’ve played in my life. Marcos was waxing me from the baseline in almost every rally and I had to completely change my game to even have a chance against him.

“To be able to get through that match, to not only figure some things out but get a win and be going into my first ATP final, the win couldn’t be sweeter.”

ATP Tour final: Unlocked ?@BenShelton defeats Marcos Giron to reach his first tour-level final of his career in Tokyo.#kinoshitajotennis | @japanopentennis pic.twitter.com/JQFrPq3Ta9

Shintaro Mochizuki has enjoyed the best tournament of his career at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he will play Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals. The 20-year-old is trying to become the first Japanese champion at the tournament since Kei Nishikori in 2014.

His big run has helped the home favourite soar to 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Mochizuki has a chance the rest of the week to entrench himself in competition for a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the rising star.

1) Tokyo Breakthrough
Entering the week, Mochizuki had played in eight tour-level main draws, including an ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in 2021 and Wimbledon this year. However, he had never won a tour-level match.

That all changed this week in Tokyo, where Mochizuki is into his first ATP Tour semi-final. By defeating Alexei Popyrin in the last eight, the home favourite became the first Japanese player to reach the semi-finals of the tournament since Kei Nishikori in 2018, and the lowest-ranked semi-finalist overall since World No. 479 Kelly Jones in 1986. Mochizuki is No. 215 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.