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Sinner Holds Off Gasquet For Debut Win In Halle

Jannik Sinner gave another reminder of his development as a grass-court talent Tuesday at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, where the 21-year-old began his maiden campaign at the ATP 500 with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 triumph against Richard Gasquet.

Playing in just his 12th tour-level match on grass, Sinner overcame a tough challenge from Gasquet with consistent, clean baseline hitting, particularly in the first and third sets. Despite a strong fightback from Gasquet, who notched his 600th career win by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Stuttgart last week, the Italian finished with 41 winners to Gasquet’s 25 in his 31st tour-level win of the season.

With his two-hour, 29-minute victory, Sinner improved to 12-0 in opening-round matches for 2023. He now leads Gasquet 2-0 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series after defeating the Frenchman in straight sets in Indian Wells in March.

The 21-year-old Sinner will take on countryman Lorenzo Sonego next after the World No. 39 also came through in three sets against Aslan Karatsev. Sonego triumphed 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in what was also his main-draw debut in Halle.

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Rune Earns First Grass-Court Win At Queen's Club

Holger Rune captured first tour-level win on grass Tuesday when he moved past Maxime Cressy 7-6(4), 7-6(3) at the Cinch Championships in London.

The Dane went 0-3 on the surface in 2022 but did not have to wait for his maiden victory on grass in 2023, clawing past the American in one hour and 58 minutes to improve to 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

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In windy conditions in London, the second seed rallied from 2-5 in the first set. He was forced to remain patient on return in the second set, but hit a range of winning passing shots against the incoming Cressy to set a second-round meeting against British wild card Ryan Peniston.

The 20-year-old Rune now holds a 31-11 record on the season, highlighted by his run to the title in Munich.

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New To Grass, Shelton Aiming 'To Do Damage' On London's Lawns

In a year of firsts, Ben Shelton ticked off another milestone Monday when he made his tour-level grass-court debut at the Cinch Championships.

After hitting on the surface for the first time just last week, the American earned his maiden win on grass when he defeated J.J. Wolf in straight sets in London.

“I only had my first session on a grass court last Tuesday,” Shelton told ATPTour.com. “There are definitely some big differences to clay. I think that the hardest part to figure out on grass is the movement. Once you get that down, it's a lot easier to play on the surface. I think that between the movement and the ball staying a bit lower, those are two things that I just had to adjust to.

“But my first match was a lot of fun. I think the grass really helps my serve. It makes it move more and it makes it faster. I'm also willing and able to come forward and make plays at the net. I think that's another thing that gets rewarded on a grass court. I think this is a surface that I could really do some damage on.”

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ATP & Infosys Accelerate Tennis Sustainability With Player Carbon App

ATP and Infosys have unlocked a new phase in tennis’ sustainability journey with the launch of Carbon Tracker, a first-of-its-kind app enabling players to track and mitigate travel emissions on Tour.

With hundreds of professional players travelling to more than 250 events in 50 countries across the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour each season, travel represents a significant part of players’ overall carbon emissions. Addressing this impact has become the top sustainability priority under ATP Serves, in line with ATP’s commitment to UN Sports for Climate Action.

“This initiative means a lot for tennis because tennis is luckily one of the biggest [and] one of the most popular sports in the world. But in the same way, also probably one of the sports with the most traveling, with the most flown miles,” Dominic Thiem said. “So it's super important for tennis to step up and take the first steps towards a better future.”

Developed in collaboration with Infosys, Digital Innovation partner of the ATP Tour, Carbon Tracker is a first-of-its kind app in professional sports. It enables players to track their travel to tournaments across the season, understand their emissions profile, make more conscious travel decisions, and mitigate their impact by purchasing verified carbon credits through Gold Standard, a leading sustainable development standard and climate action partner of the ATP.

The Carbon Tracker app’s long-term ambition is to inspire greener travel on Tour. It features a dashboard that presents players with a holistic view of their emissions across multiple seasons – enabling deeper understanding and analysis of travel choices. This is supplemented with resources and quizzes to educate players on sustainable practices and environmental advocacy.

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Relive The First 5 Episodes Of Netflix's Break Point

Netflix is set to release Part 2 of Break Point's first season on 21 June.

Before the next five episodes come out, ATPTour.com looks back at the first five episodes of the hit tennis docuseries.

Episode 1: The Maverick
The focus of the show’s first episode was Nick Kyrgios and his journey at the 2022 Australian Open. Break Point peeled back the onion that is Kyrgios, examining everything from his “bad boy” reputation to his soft side off the court.

A turning point in his career was Wimbledon in 2014, when he stunned Rafael Nadal. As the episode detailed, everything changed from that moment on. Swarms of fans awaited his return in Canberra and he has not departed the spotlight since. Kyrgios enjoyed the most memorable moment of his career last year in Melbourne, where he partnered close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis — portrayed as the Robin to his Batman — to the Australian Open doubles title.

Episode 2: Take the Crown
It all started with a messy hotel room. One of the biggest takeaways from this episode was that the stars are just like us — they are very human. Cameras were allowed inside Matteo Berrettini and Ajla Tomljanovic’s Melbourne messy hotel room, where they discussed not tennis, but which television series to watch.

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McEnroe Aces Stanford Commencement Speech: 'Take Your Best Shot'

John McEnroe aced his commencement speech on Sunday at Stanford University, where he spent one year as a student-athlete.

Naturally, “You Cannot Be Serious!” made an appearance. But the legendary lefty, who became the first professional athlete to deliver the commencement speech at the school, also provided the Class of 2023 and all in attendance with plenty of pearls of wisdom.

“Absolutely amazing things are going to happen to you that you can’t possibly fathom right now, because just like I was at your age, you’re probably hyper focused on your career,” McEnroe said. “If someone had told me all those years ago when I was leaving Stanford that I would one day get guitar lessons from the late, great Eddie Van Halen, or that most of you would know me not from tennis, but from a sitcom about an Indian-American girl on Netflix, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy, and what’s Netflix?’”


Photo Credit: John Lozano/ISI Photos
McEnroe touched on several topics, from his memorable 1980 Wimbledon blockbuster against Bjorn Borg to mental health. His biggest takeaways had nothing to do with forehands or backhands.

“Everyone wants a great career, but don’t miss your life on the way to work,” McEnroe said. “Work-life balance may seem impossible, but it’s worth pursuing. It took me a long time to learn that lesson.”

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‘I Was The Same’: Hurkacz Welcomes ‘Hubi Cup’-Winning Kids To Halle

Hubert Hurkacz begins his Terra Wortmann Open title defence Tuesday against Christopher Eubanks in Halle. The World No. 17 will have some extra voices of support from the stands as he seeks a fast start at the grass-court ATP 500.

The Pole invited the seven winners from the inaugural Hubi Cup, an Under 12s tournament that he founded in his homeland, to Germany as his special guests at the OWL ARENA. Hurkacz was looking forward to showing his best form in front of some of the highest-ranked juniors in Poland.

“I think that’s going to be really cool [to have them at my match] and I hope the kids will enjoy it,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “I think they definitely have a bright future ahead of them and I think seeing the players can also help them see things more clearly for themselves and see the path. I hope they will really enjoy this event.”

Hubert Hurkacz greets the talented juniors at the tournament hotel in Halle on Monday afternoon. Photo: Andy West/ATP Tour.

The inaugural Hubi Cup took place from 1-4 June in Wroclaw, Hurkacz’s hometown. Although the 26-year-old’s ATP Tour commitments prevented him from attending the event, he was impressed with some of the video footage he saw.

“They look good and obviously the kids are playing some great tennis and competing well,” said the six-time ATP Tour titlist. “It’s always fun to see because I was the same. I came from Poland, playing the same [sort of] events.

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Medvedev Back On Track In Halle

Daniil Medvedev got back on track Monday in Halle, where he defeated Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Terra Wortmann Open.

The top seed suffered an opening-round exit last week in Stuttgart, but was never in danger in his first match inside Owl Arena. Medvedev saved all three break points he faced to triumph after 71 minutes.

“It was a really tough match. It was definitely not the best match of my life,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I was still lacking the rhythm a little bit. But [regardless of] that, he played very well.”

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The 27-year-old showed no fear of coming forward and won several fun exchanges with the American. He will next play Serbian Laslo Djere, who eliminated home favourite Oscar Otte 7-6(3), 6-3.

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Tsitsipas Holds Nerve To Oust Barrere In Halle

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a ferocious challenge from Gregoire Barrere to kick-start his Terra Wortmann Open campign on Monday. The second seed edged his French opponent 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) in Halle.

Tsitsipas trailed by a set and a break at 6-7(6), 1-3, but wore Barrere down for a two-hour, 22-minute victory. The Greek was the more consistent player in the second half of the match, particularly during the deciding-set tie-break, as he booked a second-round clash against Nicolas Jarry at the grass-court ATP 500.

“I just tried smiling. It kind of worked,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about how he kept his cool when trailing in the second set. “At that point you think, ‘I’ve been giving 100 per cent’. I was trying to think, ‘What can I do better?’

“I wasn’t too consistent with my returns. He had a few second serves where I tried to do much. I just thought I could have done much better in that department and psychologically I think it helped my opponent [settle].”

? A message from the man of the moment!

⭐️ @steftsitsipas ⭐️ @ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/ue56sFnHyG

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Marozsan Wins Challenger Title To Crack Top 100; Murray & Nishikori Also Triumph

One month after earning the biggest win of his career against Carlos Alcaraz as a qualifier at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Fabian Marozsan captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season Sunday to make his Top 100 debut in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings

The Hungarian found more success on the Italian clay, this time at the Internazionali di Tennis Città di Perugia, where he defeated wild card Edoardo Lavagno 6-2, 6-3 in the final. Marozsan did not drop a set en route to his third Challenger crown and upset top seed Pedro Cachin in the semi-finals. 

The 23-year-old Marozsan has continued to build momentum since his strong tour-level main draw debut in Rome. The Budapest native cracked the Top 100 for the first time Monday, when he climbed to a career-high No. 91 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his triumph in Perugia.

“This is a great start for us, we will keep pushing and hopefully make more great results together,” Marozsan said while thanking his team during the trophy ceremony.

In other Challenger Tour action, Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves survived a tough week to be crowned champion at the Open Sopra Steria. The 25-year-old needed a deciding set in all five of his matches, competing for more than 13 hours throughout the week, to lift the trophy in Lyon, France.

Dimitar Kuzmanov (left) and champion Vitaliy Sachko pose at the Bratislava Open trophy presentation.
Andy Murray wins the 2023 Nottingham Challenger.
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Norrie Opens Grass Season With Win At Queen's Club

Cameron Norrie is up and running on grass in 2023.

The Briton began his Cinch Championships campaign with a dominant performance on Monday, moving past Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the second round in London.

Norrie was competing in his first match on the surface last July, when he lost against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals. The fifth seed took little time to adjust, though, causing Kecmanovic problems with his flat groundstrokes.

The 27-year-old moved freely in front of a packed home crowd and sealed his 30th tour-level win of the season on his fifth match point, advancing after 85 minutes. Norrie will next face Australian Jordan Thompson or Canadian Milos Raonic, who returned to the Tour in Stuttgart last week.

Norrie has fond memories of playing at The Queen’s Club, having advanced to the championship match in 2021.

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Cazaux Climbs In Next Gen Race After Nottingham Run

Arthur Cazaux has boosted his chances of competing at the Next Gen ATP Finals after rising five places to seventh (300 points) in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

The 20-year-old Frenchman enjoyed an impressive run at the ATP Challenger 125 event in Nottingham, where he came through qualifying to reach the championship match. Cazaux did not drop a set in the main draw en route to the final, with former World No. 1 Andy Murray eventually stopping him.

Cazaux, who is aiming to make his debut at the 21-and-under event this season, captured a Challenger Tour crown in Thailand earlier this season.

Player  Points
1) Carlos Alcaraz  4,175
2) Holger Rune 2,485
3) Lorenzo Musetti 885
4) Arthur Fils 693
5) Ben Shelton 555
6) Luca Van Assche  435
7) Arthur Cazaux 300
8) Dominic Stricker 281

The 20-year-old Dominic Stricker has also jumped one spot to eighth (281 points) after advancing to the quarter-finals in Nottingham. The Swiss lefty is bidding to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.

Frenchman Arthur Fils remains in strong contention in fourth (693 points). The 19-year-old will compete at the Cinch Championships this week after coming through qualifying at the ATP 500 grass-court event.

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Kyrgios Withdraws From Halle Due To Injury

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle due to an ongoing issue with his left knee.

The 28-year-old Australian made his comeback to the ATP Tour in Stuttgart last week after he had surgery to repair a small tear in his left lateral meniscus in January. He complained of inhibited movement caused by his knee during his first-round defeat to Wu Yibing, however, and the problem has now forced Kyrgios’ withdrawal from the ATP 500 in Halle.

Kyrgios enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, when he racked up a 37-10 record, including a Tour-leading 12 wins on grass. That tally included his run to a maiden major final at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios’ place in the Halle draw has been taken by Aslan Karatsev. The lucky loser, who reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final as a qualifier in May in Madrid, will take on Lorenzo Sonego in the first round in Germany.

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Murray Returns To Top 40, Mover Of Week

Frances Tiafoe, Tallon Griekspoor and Andy Murray all triumphed at grass-court events during an action-packed week on the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

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No. 38 Andy Murray, +6
The Scot has returned to the Top 40 for the first time since 2018 after he captured his second consecutive ATP Challenger Tour title at an ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Nottingham. The 36-year-old, who also lifted the trophy in Surbiton a week ago, has now won 10 consecutive grass-court matches. Murray heads to the Cinch Championships this week aiming for more success as he continues his quest to be seeded at Wimbledon.

No. 10 Frances Tiafoe, +2 (Career High)
The 25-year-old has broken the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after lifting his third tour-level crown and first on grass at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart. Tiafoe is the third African-American man to reach the Top 10, joining Arthur Ashe and James Blake. Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz are the first American pair in the Top 10 since Mardy Fish and John Isner the week of 7 May 2012.

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Tiafoe Makes Top 10 Debut: 'I'm Going To Remember That Forever'

Frances Tiafoe cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday after winning a thrilling final against Jan-Lennard Struff at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart. The American, at a career-high World No. 10, is the first player to break into the elite group this season.

“Super emotional. Super emotional for a guy like me with my story and everything,” Tiafoe said. “[I am] a guy who shouldn't even really be here doing half the things he's doing. And now when you say his name, you can say he's Top 10 in the world. So [that is] something that no one can take from you and I'm going to remember that forever. And hopefully, I can ride that for a long time.”

Tiafoe’s background story, which will be detailed in Netflix’s hit tennis docuseries Break Point, is fit for Hollywood. His parents are both from Sierra Leone. Frances’ mother, Alphina, worked two jobs and his father, Frances Sr., was a maintenance worker at a tennis club in College Park, Maryland.

Tiafoe would often spend time at the facility, where he would hit a ball against the wall whenever possible. Sometimes Frances and twin brother Franklin would sleep in their father’s office. A career in professional tennis seemed far away.

But with a love for the sport and plenty of determination, Tiafoe became one of the world’s most promising juniors, winning the prestigious Orange Bowl aged 15. He eventually climbed to junior World No. 2 and broke into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in October 2016 at the age of 18.

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Nishikori Claims Title In Challenger Tour Comeback

Despite playing his first tournament in 20 months, Kei Nishikori produced a high level this week to lift the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

On Sunday, the former World No. 4 defeated American teenager Michael Zheng 6-2, 7-5 in the Caribbean Open final. Nishikori dropped just one set all week en route to the title.

The 12-time tour-level titlist was in vintage form throughout the hard-court event, displaying all-court coverage and clean ball-striking to capture his first trophy at any level since 2018, when he won the ATP 250 event in Brisbane.

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Despite serving for the Palmas del Mar title at 5-2, Nishikori dropped serve twice before later closing the match after one hour, 41 minutes. After hitting a volley winner to seal his perfect return to competition, the Japanese star lifted his hands in the air in celebration.

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Home Favourite Griekspoor Topples Thompson For ‘s-Hertogenbosch Crown

Tallon Griekspoor fed off strong home support to complete a stirring championship-match comeback Sunday at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The sixth seed clawed past Jordan Thompson 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 for an emotional victory at the grass-court ATP 250 in the Netherlands. Griekspoor held his nerve in the second-set tie-break before claiming the only break of serve in the decider in the sixth game to wrap a two-hour, 35-minute victory and claim his second ATP Tour title.

“[I want to] thank the crowd for getting me through today,” said Griekspoor. “In finals it’s so tough to play your best tennis. I had so many nerves today, I felt so tight today. I wanted it so badly. He was playing great. I had to try and focus on my own game and try and hang in there.

“Somehow I won the second-set tie-break and got it my way in the third, so [I have] no words for this one.”

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Tiafoe Saves Championship Point, Reigns In Stuttgart

Frances Tiafoe overcame Jan-Lennard Struff in a thrilling final at the BOSS OPEN on Sunday to lift his third tour-level title. The American saved one championship point to defeat the 33-year-old German 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(8).

In a heavy-hitting encounter at the ATP 250 event, Tiafoe and Struff exchanged blows for two hours and 12 minutes. Struff struck 56 winners to 36 from Tiafoe and saved all three break points he faced. However he fell agonisingly short of a maiden tour-level crown, with Tiafoe sealing victory in a dramatic third-set tie-break with a stretched volley winner.

The third seed, who saved the championship point at 6/7 in the third-set tie-break, will break into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday following his 27th win of the season.

With countryman Taylor Fritz No. 8, it will be the first time two Americans have been in the Top 10 since May 2012, when Mardy Fish and John Isner were No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

The 25-year-old Tiafoe has now earned three tour-level trophies, having also triumphed in Houston earlier this year. It is the first time he has won a title on grass.

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Alcaraz Ready To Implement Aggressive Game On Grass

Refreshed after his Roland Garros semi-final defeat against Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz is excited to compete on grass this week at the Cinch Championships, where he will make his debut.

The Spaniard arrived in London on Saturday and quickly took to court in an attempt to adjust from the Parisian clay to the lawns of west London.

“I arrived in London Saturday morning and I had my first practice on grass yesterday,” Alcaraz said during his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “I was not able to practise too much at home as we have no grass courts. I need to adapt my movement and shots on the grass, but I am really happy with the practice I have had here.”

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Alcaraz is making just his third tour-level appearance at a grass-court event this week at the ATP 500, having advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. The top seed, who revealed he rested for four days following his defeat in Paris, has lifted 10 tour-level titles in his career, with seven coming on clay and three on hard courts.

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Murray Triumphs In Nottingham For Back-To-Back Challenger Titles

A perfect 10 for Andy Murray on the ATP Challenger Tour to kick-start his 2023 grass-court season.

The former World No. 1 defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to claim the trophy at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham. Murray delivered a dominant serving performance, during which he won 83 per cent (24/29) of points behind his first delivery, to earn a one-hour, 46-minute win at the Challenger 125 event in Great Britain.

It was a second consecutive Challenger title for Murray, who also lifted the trophy at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy a week ago. With his win, the Briton joined Max Purcell and Matteo Arnaldi as the only players with three titles at that level in 2023.

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Murray did not drop a set in Nottingham in another demonstration of his ability on grass. The 36-year-old has lifted eight tour-level titles on the surface, including Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.

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