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Since the creation of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August 1973, 28 men's singles players have owned the No. 1 spot. From Ilie Nastase in the very first edition to Carlos Alcaraz today, these unique superstars from across the world are forever linked, part of the elite fraternity to reign over the men's game.

ATPTour.com is celebrating the coming 50th anniversary of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with a five-part series looking at the legendary players, their epic battles, the inspiring comebacks, the jaw-dropping milestones and statistics and other narratives that showcase one of the most talked-about elements of our sport.

Leading tennis author and historian Richard Evans, who knows better than most all of the players to reach World No. 1, kicks us off with his personal reflections on the most notable among this elite group to have reached the pinnacle of tennis.

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Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Since the creation of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August 1973, 28 men's singles players have owned the No. 1 spot. From Ilie Nastase in the very first edition to Carlos Alcaraz today, these unique superstars from across the world are forever linked, part of the elite fraternity to reign over the men's game.

ATPTour.com is celebrating the coming 50th anniversary of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with a five-part series looking at the legendary players, their epic battles, the inspiring comebacks, the jaw-dropping milestones and statistics and other narratives that showcase one of the most talked-about elements of our sport.

Leading tennis author and historian Richard Evans, who knows better than most all of the players to reach World No. 1, kicks us off with his personal reflections on the most notable among this elite group to have reached the pinnacle of tennis.

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Photo by Steve Powell/Getty Images

It was a weekend of comebacks on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Pablo Llamas Ruiz, who earned his maiden Challenger title Sunday at the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, saved three match points in the semi-finals before becoming the youngest Spanish winner at that level since Carlos Alcaraz in 2021. Vit Kopriva fought back from a set and a double break down in the Internazionali di Tennis Verona final to capture his second Challenger crown.

Llamas Ruiz, 20, defeated seventh seed Antoine Escoffier 7-6(9), 7-6(5) in the final to win on home soil and rise to a career-high No. 146 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. In Saturday’s semi-final, the #NextGenATP star fended off three match points at 4-5, 0/40 in the deciding set against Nicolas Moreno De Alboran before tallying five consecutive points and later closing the match in a final-set tie-break.

Following his triumph in Segovia, Llamas Ruiz rose to 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race. The Spaniard is aiming to make a maiden appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

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Watch Yosuke Watanuki play and you will find a man who swings for the fences, crushing forehand winners at the first opportunity. He never holds back. The Japanese star competes with the same type of freedom that he feels when he enjoys a late-night drive back home.

Though he's often travelling on the ATP Tour, when Watanuki is savouring a late-night ride, it's as if tennis is a million miles away. Sometimes there's music, other times there's nothing but the still of the night.

“When I stay in Japan, I love to drive my car after midnight,” Watanuki told ATPTour.com. “Tennis can be so stressful, so much pressure. When I drive in that moment, it's like I feel nothing. It’s relaxing... Just drive, nothing special. A day off or feeling bad, if I'm not feeling well, then I go and drive for like two hours.”

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The 25-year-old, who is a three-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, made those peaceful rides more thrilling by purchasing a sports car after his maiden Grand Slam main-draw victory at this year's Australian Open. His love for cars does not stop there.

Before they try to make history on the court this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Taro Daniel and Hailey Baptiste learned about history at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The players on Monday received an exclusive tour of the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Hall of American Culture, where they saw a wide variety of cultural artifacts. The tennis world was featured, and the pair looked at dresses worn by Althea Gibson at Wimbledon in 1957 and Billie Jean King in the Battle of the Sexes in 1973.

"Super cool visiting the National Museum of American History. I was really excited to see some tennis pieces here. Althea Gibson and Billie Jean King, just over there. Hopefully I'll be able to come back and experience a little bit more."

Daniel particularly enjoyed a Star Wars display featuring popular characters C-3PO and R2-D2.

"Apparently they were the ones that were actually used in the movie. [I am] a huge Star Wars fan, so that definitely set up the tour right for me," Daniel said. "Also it was cool to have some other tennis stuff and sports history over there with Althea Gibson and Billie Jean King and also Sesame Street to put it in the mix, which I have a lot of memories from when I was a kid. Really cool."

#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils, 16-time tour-level titlist Stan Wawrinka and Umag winner Alexei Popyrin were among a number of players who made big jumps in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday after a three-tournament week on the ATP Tour.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as of 31 July 2023.

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No. 47 Arthur Fils, +24 (Career High)
The 19-year-old Fils has made big strides already this season but his quarter-final win against Casper Ruud at the Hamburg European Open was a further statement that he is ready to compete against the ATP Tour’s elite. Fils dispatched the No. 4-ranked Norwegian 6-0, 6-4 for the biggest win of his career to reach his maiden ATP 500 semi-final. He has jumped 24 spots to No. 47 as a result of his run.

No. 16 Alexander Zverev, +3
Fils’ semi-final opponent at the clay-court ATP 500 was Alexander Zverev. The German held off the Frenchman before defeating Laslo Djere in the championship match to win the title at his hometown event. After becoming the first German to win the men’s singles title in Hamburg since 1993, Zverev has risen three spots to No. 16.

There is no disputing that Andy Murray has suffered his fair share of disappointing defeats since undergoing his most recent hip surgery in 2019. Coming close but ultimately falling short of big wins like the former World No. 1 did at Wimbledon against Stefanos Tsitsipas does not make it any easier.

But outside of the results, Murray is proving to himself and the world that win or lose, his level is still close to the very best players in the world. For someone competing at 36 with a metal hip, that is a victory in itself.

“I'm surprised by that sometimes, because I know how difficult it is for me physically now,” Murray, who is competing this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, exclusively told ATPTour.com. “That my game is still able to match up and compete with the best players, yeah, I'm surprised by it.”

Murray is No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and notably won two five-setters at this year’s Australian Open against tough opponents in Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis. But the Scot is still working hard to not just compete against the best, but beat them on the world’s biggest stages.

“It's hard because ultimately, I would say in maybe certain events or certain periods of the year, it's easier to not ignore the results, but not place too much emphasis on them,” Murray said. “But obviously when you play in the major competitions, they are the ones that ultimately you want to perform well in and that you will get judged on and at Wimbledon, it really wasn't like I played a really bad match against Tsitsipas. So when I reflect on that tournament, I'm disappointed with the result.

The 2023 Mubadala Citi DC Open is off to a quick start before a ball has been struck in the main draw.

Players from the ATP and WTA were thrilled Sunday evening to attend the Citi Taste of Tennis DC, the tournament’s official player party. Among the stars in attendance were Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jessica Pegula.

Monfils, the 2016 Washington champion, explained earlier in the day how much he enjoys competing in the United States’ capital.

“I love it all the time when I come here. The city is beautiful,” Monfils told ATP Media. “I really like being around in the city, the energy is great, and definitely the crowd support here is different. I have actually one of the biggest memories in my career, so it's always nice and great to come back.”

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Fans across the globe tuned into Tuesday evening's Inter Miami football match to watch superstar Lionel Messi play his second game in Major League Soccer. After the Argentine was substituted out of the game following a two-goal performance, a television close-up showed he was speaking with a familiar face to the tennis world: Diego Schwartzman.

It is no wonder the former No. 8 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings still had a smile on his face recalling the evening on Sunday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where he is competing this week.

The 30-year-old Argentine, a big football fan, attended the game with his brother, Matias Schwartzman. They were able to mingle with plenty of celebrities besides Messi. The Schwartzman Brothers also took photographs with singer Marc Anthony and football icon David Beckham. 

Diego Schwartzman and Matias Schwartzman take a photo with Marc Anthony.

David Beckham poses for a photo with the Schwartzman Brothers. Photos courtesy of Diego Schwartzman.
Schwartzman on Monday will face American Mackenzie McDonald at the Washington ATP 500. But on Sunday afternoon the Argentine was in a rush. Where? A football match, of course. He made a quick pre-tournament stop to watch Chelsea FC play Fulham FC.

Taylor Fritz capped a perfect return to North American hard courts Sunday by winning the Atlanta Open for his second tour-level title of the season.

In his first tournament on home soil since March, the top seed Fritz downed Australian Aleksandar Vukic 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the final to lift the ATP 250 trophy. Despite letting slip two championship points on return at 6-5 in the second set, Fritz held his nerve to close the two-hour, 16-minute clash in a deciding set.

"I've played this tournament five times before and [made] the semis [in 2021] and final [in 2019]. I feel like I've always been close so it's nice, I don't think I could've handled another loss in the final," Fritz said. "It feels really good to get the job done." 

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World No. 9 Fritz relied on his hefty serve and first-strike to tennis to be crowned champion at the hard-court event, where he was broken just once all tournament. The 25-year-old won 84 per cent of his first-serve points Sunday and struck his groundstrokes with conviction and consistency to seal victory.

Physically struggling in humid conditions late in Sunday’s final at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, Alexei Popyrin let loose to secure victory against Stan Wawrinka at the ATP 250.

Popyrin defeated the 16-time tour-level champion Wawrinka 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to claim his second ATP Tour title after a gritty third-set showing on the Croatian clay. The Australian suffered a bout of cramp in his right leg in the fourth game of the decider that severely hindered his movement. Forced to go for broke at every opportunity to shorten rallies, his change of tactics proved successful as he forged a hard-earned two-hour, 36-minute triumph.

"All tournament I’ve been fighting battles that I don’t know how I won. This one tops it all,” said Popyrin in his on-court interview. “My quad was done at 2-1. I felt it cramp, I felt it strain. I think it’s pulled, but I managed to dig deep. I don’t know how I won it, honestly. I honestly don’t know."

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Wawrinka absorbed severe pressure from the impressive Popyrin in the early stages of the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting but rallied from 3-5 to take the opening set in a tie-break. Despite that setback, Popyrin maintained his relentless powerful hitting to level the match before being forced into his final-set heroics.

After 30 years, it was a hometown hero who ended the wait for a second German men’s singles champion at the Hamburg European Open.

Alexander Zverev delivered a high-class final display Sunday in the city of his birth to defeat Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-3 and lift his first title since the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals. The fourth seed produced some blistering hitting throughout the one-hour, 51-minute encounter to overwhelm Djere and become the fifth player this season to win a tour-level title without dropping a set.

“At the end of the day, this is my home, this is where I grew up, and this where I started playing tennis,” said Zverev, who was competing in his first ATP Tour final since May last year in Madrid. “It was incredible for me, incredibly emotional. I can’t describe it in words, I’m just super happy right now.”

The joy of Zverev’s win was amplified by the backdrop of his journey back from a serious ankle injury sustained during his 2022 Roland Garros semi-final with Rafael Nadal. Sunday’s title triumph was his first since he returned to competition at the start of 2023.

“It’s almost like a first [title] again,” said the 20-time tour-level champion Zverev. “It’s such a long time [since my previous title], 18 months, and I’m just super happy right now.”

A perfect end to a perfect week for Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz at the Hamburg European Open.

The German duo defeated Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-6(4), 6-3 to triumph at the clay-court ATP 500 in their homeland without dropping a set all week. Krawietz and Puetz, who first teamed in 2017 in Hamburg but did not become regular partners until February this year, saved all four break points they faced in an 88-minute encounter of fine margins to lift their first ATP Tour title as a team.

The third-seeded Krawietz and Mies carried their momentum from winning the first-set tie-break into the second set against Gille and Vliegen. They notched the only break of the match in the second game of the second set, which proved decisive as they became the first all-German team to win in Hamburg since Jurgen Fassbender and Hans-Jurgen Pohmann in 1974.

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Now 27-12 as a team in 2023, Krawietz and Puetz’s title run in Hamburg has propelled the duo up four spots to eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, which represents the final qualification spot for the Nitto ATP Finals. Krawietz is aiming to compete for the fourth time at the prestigious season finale, to be held in Turin from 12-19 November, while Puetz is chasing a debut appearance at the event.

Will a star like Felix Auger-Aliassime or Andy Murray emerge from the Mubadala Citi DC Open as champion?

The former Top 10 players, who practised together on Saturday, will try to make a splash at this week’s ATP 500 in the United States’ capital. The pair cannot meet in the draw until the championship match.

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Auger-Aliassime is the third seed and will face an opening test against reigning Dallas Open champion Wu Yibing or Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki. This will be the Canadian’s third appearance in Washington, having lost in the third round in 2019 and 2021.

The 22-year-old, currently No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, was upset in the first round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon and will be keen to find his form this week. 

With one week to go before the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto, three events are on the schedule across North America and Europe. Two North American hard-court events — an ATP 500 in Washington, D.C. and an ATP 250 in Los Cabos — are joined by an ATP 250 on the clay of Kitzbühel.

ATPTour.com breaks down the storylines to watch at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo and the Generali Open.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
1) Top Seed Fritz Returns: Taylor Fritz will compete in D.C. for the third straight year and the fourth time overall, seeking to improve upon his 2-3 record. Following a deep run on the Atlanta hard courts, the American will have his hands full in his nation's capital: After an opening bye, he is seeded to meet Andy Murray in the third round.

2) Hometown Tiafoe Among Five American Seeds: The second-seeded Tiafoe could face 14th seed Ben Shelton in the third round, with Americans Sebastian Korda, Christopher Eubanks and J.J. Wolf also seeded. Tiafoe, who is from nearby Maryland, will be making his seventh appearance in D.C., with his best previous result a quarter-final showing last season.

Stan Wawrinka used a commanding performance at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag to advance to his first ATP Tour final since he reached two in 2019. The Swiss defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-4 behind a single break in each set to advance to the title match, where he will meet Alexei Popyrin.

Through to his 31st tour-level final (16-14), and his 14th on clay (7-6), Wawrinka is seeking his first title since he won Geneva in 2017. Sunday's final will be Wawrinka's first since he underwent two left-foot surgeries in 2021 and fell out of the Top 300 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. 

"I'm happy with the match. I think I played really well, the best match of the week," said Wawrinka, who has moved up 23 places to No. 49 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings behind his four straight-set wins this week. "I'm really happy to be in the final tomorrow."

Wawrinka showed his full range in the victory, pairing powerful baseline blasts with deft touch. He saved the lone break point as he served out the opening set and escaped 0/30 to serve out the match after one hour, 26 minutes.

Sonego was denied his sixth ATP Tour final and what would have been his first since last year in Metz. 

Taylor Fritz already has one title on an American hard-court this season. Now he is one win away from a second at the Atlanta Open. The Delray Beach champion defeated countryman J.J. Wolf 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday at the ATP 250 to advance to his 11th tour-level final. 

"It was really solid. I served well the whole match," said Fritz, who saved both break points against him. "Whenever I was in trouble I played a lot of good points. I just did what I was supposed to do and didn't really give him much."

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Both players thrilled the crowd with power tennis, with both eager to take the initiative in points with first-strike tennis. But on a hot day in Atlanta, it was Fritz's consistency and his performance on the big points that made the difference.

With a win in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Wolf, Fritz improved to 17-9 against Top 50 players this season. He will bid for his sixth ATP Tour title — and his fourth on hard courts — on Sunday against  seventh seed Ugo Humbert or Aleksandar Vukic.

Before their respective battles on the court this week at the Hamburg European Open, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Daniel Altmaier made some time to compete in a different sort of competition in the German city.

In the very first Lexus ATP Head2Head Scavenger Hunt, the ATP Tour players cruised through the streets of Hamburg testing their skills and their wits in a range of fun contests, with the winner ultimately being crowned at the tournament site. From gripping racquets to artistic adventures, the pair were neck-and-neck until the end, when a slew of athletic challenges decided the winner.

Watch the video below to find out who earned the victory and who needs a day off to recover from defeat.

There was more than pride on the line, with the loser suffering a humourous punishment, much to the delight of the other man.

Blaz Rola and Nino Serdarusic capped a dream first tournament as a duo with a hugely dramatic final victory Saturday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

The Slovenian-Croatian wild cards saved three championship points in a thrilling Match Tie-break before prevailing 4-6, 7-6(2), 15-13 against top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. Rola and Serdadusic had led the Match Tie-break 8/4 but then lost five points in a row to stand on the brink of a heartbreaking defeat. They held their nerve at 8/9, 10/11 and 11/12 to thrice deny their Italian opponents victory, however, before sealing a two-hour, seven-minute win.

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It was a third Match Tie-break win of the week for Rola and Serdarusic, who also defeated second seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in straight sets in the semi-finals. Both were competing in their maiden tour-level final, and neither player had competed at a 2023 ATP Tour event prior to this week.

The narrow defeat meant Bolelli missed out on a third Umag title. The 37-year-old, an 11-time tour-level doubles champion, lifted the trophy at the clay-court ATP 250 in both 2011 and 2022 alongside Fabio Fognini.

It has been a long road, but Alexander Zverev has that final feeling once again on the ATP Tour.

The fourth seed powered past Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the championship match at the Hamburg European Open. Taking on a 19-year-old opponent who was full of confidence after taking out top seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals, Zverev offered Fils few chances to settle in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with a hard-hitting, big-serving display on the German clay.

“I knew that me and Casper have very different gamestyles,” said Zverev, when asked how he had approached the match. “Casper plays with a lot more spin and a lot higher, something that Arthur maybe likes. I knew that I had to take the time away, I knew that I had to play a lot quicker and a lot flatter in a way. I did that well today, I feel like.”

Zverev will take on Laslo Djere in Sunday’s final as he looks to claim the title at his hometown ATP 500 event for the first time. It will be a first tour-level championship match since Madrid in May 2022 for the 19-time tour-level titlist, and his first since he suffered a serious ankle injury at 2022 Roland Garros.

“It’s always the nicest at home, but at the end of the day it’s a very difficult match and I’m just looking forward to it,” added Zverev.