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Where would Ben Shelton go out to eat to celebrate a big win or a strong run at a tournament?

The 20-year-old did not hesitate when he revealed his go-to restaurant among other fun answers in the latest edition of ATP Uncovered’s ‘What I Eat’ series.

“We’re ordering the whole menu!” Shelton said of his favourite restaurant Nobu. “Everything there is good. It’s one of my favourite restaurants, I’ll pretty much eat anything there.”

On a cheat day, the American will opt in for a certain type of food, but you may be surprised to learn he likes to visit a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ to eat the desired meal.

Find out exactly where he would go on those beloved cheat days and more about how the #NextGenATP star fuels his body in the full video below.

Andy Murray continued his strong form on the ATP Challenger Tour Thursday when he advanced to the quarter-finals at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The Scot, who has won 12 of his past 13 Challenger-level matches, defeated Frenchman Hugo Grenier 6-3, 7-5 to reach the last eight at the grass-court event. Murray won 68 per cent of points behind his second serve, compared to Grenier’s 37 per cent, and will next face #NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker, who ousted home hope Ryan Peniston 6-4, 6-2.

A semi-finalist at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, the 20-year-old Stricker has collected two Challenger Tour trophies this season: Rovereto and Prague. 

Murray, 36, has also triumphed twice on the Challenger Tour in 2023. Last month, the former World No. 1 was crowned champion at the Aix-en-Provence Challenger 175, where he defeated Tommy Paul in the final. This past Sunday, Murray returned to the winners’ circle in Surbiton after dropping just one set all tournament.

Fans can visit Challenger TV to watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand at no cost.

After more than 20 years on the ATP Tour, Richard Gasquet is still racking up the wins. The Frenchman opened his 2023 campaign with a surprise title run in Auckland, and now — three days before his 37th birthday — he is celebrating his 600th career tour-level match victory.

Gasquet hit his latest milestone in supreme style, turning in a vintage performance to defeat World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday at the BOSS OPEN. 

"It means a lot. It's incredible," he said of the achievement, speaking with ATPTour.com. "You don't think it will happen, this number in my career. Of course I played 20 years, but you have to win many matches. I knew I was at 500-something at the start of the year. It's incredible for me to reach 600 matches."

The former World No. 7 was at his creative best against Tsitsipas, thrilling the crowd with his inventiveness and doing damage with his flamboyant groundstrokes. For all of Gasquet's greatness, it's his iconic one-handed backhand that resonates most with fans. The stroke is one of the most beautiful in tennis history, and it is appreciated even more so today for its rarity at the top of the game.

In that respect, it was fitting that win No. 600 came against Tsitsipas — one of just two players in the Top 25 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to play with a one-hander, along with Lorenzo Musetti. To reach the milestone against a player of the Greek's quality further added to Gasquet's satisfaction.

Richard Gasquet put in a vintage performance to secure his 600th career win on Thursday at the BOSS OPEN. The Frenchman defeated top seed and World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(8), 2-6, 7-5 to become the fourth active player to reach the 600-win milestone, joining Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

"It's a big achievement for me. It's incredible to achieve it," Gasquet said in his on-court interview. "I played 20 years on the Tour and to win 600 matches, it's big for me. I'm very happy with this number. Of course I will try to win some more."

The 36-year-old, who will turn 37 on Sunday, needed five match points in the final game to defeat Tsitsipas and ultimately clinched the win with his second break of the match. Gasquet relied on his stylish ground game to edge the Greek, repeatedly wrong-footing his opponent with clever angles and changes of direction. He also dominated on serve, winning 81 per cent of his first-serve points and losing serve just once outside of a one-sided middle set.

"It's an incredible match. I had a lot of pressure to win the match. He served so well, and of course it's a great victory," Gasquet added. "Of course I had five match points. It was important for me to win that game. You never know what can happen in a tie-break. I was very happy."

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Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic reached their third semi-final as a team on Thursday when they moved past Marcelo Demoliner and Andreas Mies 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart.

The Croatians won 84 per cent (37/44) of their first-serve points to set a meeting against Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler. The Austrians beat Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(3), 6-3.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden also advanced at the ATP 250 grass-court event, beating Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 7-5.

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Koolhof/Skupski Reach s’Hertogenbosch SFs
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski moved to within two wins of capturing their first trophy of the season together on Thursday when they defeated Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 10-3 at the Libema Open.

Taylor Fritz is up and running on grass in 2023.

The American opened his campaign on the surface with victory at the BOSS OPEN on Thursday, defeating Aslan Karatsev 7-6(4), 6-3 at the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart.

Fritz lifted the trophy in Eastbourne and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year and quickly found his range on grass again against Karatsev. He fired 14 aces and saved one set point at 4-5 in the first set to move past the World No. 48 in one hour and 25 minutes.

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The second seed, currently ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, will meet Marton Fucsovics in the quarter-final. Earlier this year, Fritz clinched his fifth tour-level title in Delray Beach.

Adrian Mannarino earned his biggest win by Pepperstone ATP Ranking on Thursday when he upset World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Libema Open.

The Frenchman, who won the title at the ATP 250 grass-court event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2019, caused Medvedev problems with his flat groundstrokes throughout the two-hour clash. He timed the ball cleanly off both wings and returned with depth, avenging his semi-final defeat against Medvedev at last year’s event.

Mannarino has now captured nine Top 10 wins, with his victory against Medvedev his second against a Top 10 opponent on grass. The 34-year-old also defeated then-World No. 5 Dominic Thiem in Mallorca in 2021.

Medvedev has won a Tour-leading five titles this season but struggled with his consistency against Mannarino, who pulled the top seed around the court with an array of angles.

Into his third quarter-final of the season, Mannarino will next meet Jordan Thompson or Canadian Milos Raonic, who is making his return to Tour this week after two years out.

Fresh off her fourth major title at Roland Garros, Iga Swiatek was the guest of honour at the graduation ceremony at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca, Spain on Wednesday. The WTA World No. 1 was invited to give a speech to this year's graduating class.

Addressing the Class of 2023, Swiatek paid tribute to her idol, 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal.

"For the last few weeks, I've been looking at one quote at Roland Garros in Paris," Swiatek said. "On Court Philippe-Chatrier it's written, 'The victory belongs to the most tenacious'."

Nadal also spoke and had kind remarks for Swiatek, "Honestly, for us it's a huge privilege to have you here today. I know that everybody here at the Academy, the students especially, appreciate your efforts, that after winning Roland Garros you are here inspiring all the kids."

Rafa Nadal Academy Class of 2023 students celebrate their graduation. Credit: Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar

The All England Club announced Wednesday that the total prize money fund for The Championships 2023 will be a record £44,700,000.

The prize money on offer for tennis events this year (not including per diems) is an 11.2% increase on 2022 and a 17.1% increase on the pre-pandemic Championships in 2019.

The prize money distribution continues to place importance on supporting players in the early rounds of the event. The qualifying competition prize money fund has received a 14.5% increase on last year, while main draw singles players losing in the first round will receive £55,000, a 10% increase on 2022.

[ATP APP]

The prize pool for the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Doubles is a 10.7% increase on last year, while the Wheelchair and Quad Wheelchair Singles and Doubles events all rose by just shy of 20%.

Holger Rune has played his fair share of perfect tennis in rising to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at age 20. But what shots and skills would he choose to make the perfect player?

The Dane sat down with ATP Uncovered to map out his picks, going stroke by stroke and beyond.

Rune has won his past two matches against Novak Djokovic, including in the Rolex Paris Masters final last season, but he still selected the Serbian in four categories: backhand, return, flexibility and backhand drop shot.

"I like [his backhand] because it's so simple," Rune said. "And the way he changes direction, he does it like no other player."

The only player to appear more often in Rune's picks was one he has never faced on the ATP Tour: Roger Federer. The Swiss was named five times, chosen for his slice, volley, touch, forehand drop shot and celebrations. Rounding out the Big 3, Rafael Nadal was Rune's pick for mental toughness and competitiveness.

While Novak Djokovic was enjoying his historic 23rd major title Sunday, one of the Serbian’s career rivals, Andy Murray, was lifting the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton.

Despite the different paths for the 36-year-olds who have met 36 times in their ATP Head2Head series [Djokovic leads 25-11], you won’t catch Murray comparing himself to other Grand Slam champions. The World No. 44 is enjoying his own unique journey and working hard in his 18th year on tour.

A few hours after the Scot won his second Challenger title of the season (Aix-en-Provence) Sunday, he was off to another Challenger event, this week’s Rothesay Open in Nottingham. While making the trip, Murray got a meaningful message from his wife, Kim.

“I got a message from my wife on Sunday evening when I was driving here [to Nottingham] and she said, ‘I just was watching Novak on the news and that he won in Paris. I’m so proud that you’re still grinding out in Challengers and still working as hard as you’ve ever [done],’” Murray said Tuesday at a press conference in Nottingham. “That means a lot to me.”

Murray has claimed three major titles of his own and been as high as World No. 1. At age 36, he is still enjoying being on court, whether it’s on a big stage or an intimate setting on the Challenger Tour.

France Tiafoe made a fast start to his grass-court season on Wednesday with a strong serving performance in his BOSS OPEN debut. The third-seeded American earned a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against Jiri Lehecka to advance to the quarter-finals at the Stuttgart ATP 250 event, where he will meet Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.

It is Tiafoe's 29th tour-level quarter-final and his third on grass after he reached that stage at The Queen's Club in 2018 and 2021. The American improved to 24-9 on the season with his latest victory, his best result of 2023 coming on home soil with his Houston title run in April.

The 25-year-old saved all three break points against him in his Stuttgart opener with the help of nine aces and an 84 per cent win rate (37/44) on first serve. After running away with the first-set tie-break, Tiafoe converted his lone break chance of the match to edge in front at 5-4 in the second set. In serving out the match, he erased two break points before clinching victory on his second match point.

Tiafoe was back on the court for the first time after his four-set defeat to eventual semi-finalist Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros third round. The American defeated Filip Krajinovic and Aslan Karatsev in Paris before being turned back in an entertaining evening matchup against Zverev in which he lost two tie-breaks.

With his victory in Stuttgart, Tiafoe has already bettered his grass-court ATP Tour results from last season, when he exited in the opening round at The Queen's Club and Eastbourne. But his game clicked in time for Wimbledon last year, where he enjoyed a career-best run to the fourth round before a five-set defeat to David Goffin.

Lorenzo Musetti and Hubert Hurkacz each sealed quarter-final spots Wednesday at the BOSS OPEN, but the pair took starkly contrasting paths to the last eight.

The sixth-seeded Musetti delivered a classy display at the grass-court ATP 250 in Stuttgart to see off Gregoire Barrere 6-3, 6-3. The Italian saved all seven break points he faced in a 96-minute encounter during which he also produced some trademark moments of magic off his backhand wing.

“Today I think I played really great tennis,” said Musetti, whose opponent in his first tour-level quarter-final on grass will be third seed Frances Tiafoe or Jiri Lehecka. “I showed that I can play really, really well even on grass. I surprised [myself] a little bit, because I was serving really big, especially in the important moments.

“I’m really happy because Gregoire is a really good player and I was thinking he could be a tough opponent, but today I think I showed a really great level.”

Hurkacz had to battle back from the brink for his first win in three appearances in Stuttgart. The fourth seed was two points from defeat against Yosuke Watanuki when the pair was locked at 5/5 in the second-set tie-break, but Hurkacz held firm for a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) second-round triumph.

Jannik Sinner was presented with a tough test to start his 2023 grass season, but the Italian passed with flying colours on Wednesday at the Libema Open.

The second-seeded Sinner nullified the big-serving threat of Alexander Bublik for a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Sinner converted three of his 12 break points to earn an 84-minute win in his second-round clash with Bublik, who is a two-time ATP Tour finalist on grass.

“Against him it is never easy to play,” said Sinner of Bublik. “He serves very good, he can play every kind of shot, so I had to be very careful. From my side, I think I served well in important moments. For me this is a special tournament, because in 2019 I won my first match on grass here, and obviously the support [here] is always very nice… It means a lot.”

Sinner is now 11-0 in opening matches at tour-level events for the season. The 21-year-old is relatively inexperienced on grass, on which he holds a 5-5 record, but the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist again demonstrated how effective his ferocious groundstrokes can be on the surface with a classy performance against Bublik.

“I’ve grown up, but I’m still young," said Sinner, when asked about how he had changed since his previous appearance in 's-Hertogenbosch in 2019. "I learned many things. My position is very different, much better [now], but I know that I can still improve a lot. Every match I try to play my level, try to improve and obviously I am trying to go as far as possible.”

Kei Nishikori returned to the court in winning fashion Tuesday at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The former World No. 4, who had not competed in 20 months due to injuries, displayed vintage all-court coverage to cruise past American Christian Langmo 6-2, 6-4 at the Caribbean Open. Nishikori dropped just one point behind his first serve in the opening set and often worked his way forward to close the match in one hour, 43 minutes.

The Japanese star underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year and had not played a match since the BNP Paribas Open in October 2021. The 33-year-old will next meet seventh seed Mitchell Krueger in the second round at the hard-court event.

Fans can visit Challenger TV to watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand at no cost.

Luca Van Assche boosted his bid for a debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals after clinching his maiden match win at a major at his home Grand Slam of Roland Garros.

The 19-year-old Frenchman defeated Marco Cecchinato in the first round on his main draw debut in Paris. Van Assche’s straight-sets triumph against Italy’s Cecchinato has solidified his standing in sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

Van Assche has also lifted two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year and is now at a career-high No. 69 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He now has 435 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, 120 shy of fifth-placed Ben Shelton.

[ATP APP]

Van Assche’s fellow Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Arthur Cazaux also competed at Roland Garros. Despite both falling to first-round defeats, the duo remains in strong contention to qualify for the 21-and-under event. The 19-year-old Fils is in fourth place on 673 points, having leapfrogged Shelton after winning his maiden ATP Tour title in Lyon in May, while Cazaux is in 12th.

Stanford University’s Arthur Fery is riding his momentum on the ATP Challenger Tour following a strong season at the collegiate level.

The 20-year-old, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, earned his maiden Challenger Tour main-draw victory Tuesday when he rallied to beat former World No. 21 and legendary USC alum Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

Fery, who grew up attending the Grand Slam event in his backyard, recently finished his junior year as No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings. To understand how Fery got to this point takes visiting his childhood, where he attended Wimbledon at a young age and holds many fond memories, including earning a doubles win last year at the All England Club alongside countryman Felix Gill.

“Growing up around Wimbledon was awesome. It was obviously a great foundation for my tennis and I got to learn a lot about tennis really quickly,” Fery told ATPTour.com recently at the NCAA championships in Lake Nona, Florida. “I have memories of being in primary school aged 7, 8, 9, 10 and going after school. My mum picking me up from school and just going to watch. It was great.”

Arthur Fery in first-round action at the Rothesay Open. Credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA

Tallon Griekspoor gave an expert demonstration of handling home pressure Tuesday at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where the sixth seed held firm in the face of a Mikael Ymer comeback to seal a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 first-round victory.

Playing to keep Dutch representation alive in the singles draw at the grass-court ATP 250, Griekspoor converted three of his 10 break points to seal his 17th tour-level win of 2023 and equal his personal-best number of wins in a single season.

“Happy with the performance, happy with the win,” said Griekspoor after his triumph. “Especially at home. I really enjoy playing at home. [Big] crowds, a lot of support, a lot of friends and family in the stands, so I really enjoyed that win.

“[It was] a tough match. The first match on grass is never easy, so I’m really happy to get through and to get another chance on Thursday.”

The 26-year-old Griekspoor, who also reached the second round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022, will take on Alexei Popyrin next after the Australian overcame Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(6) .

Before Tuesday afternoon in Stuttgart, Wu Yibing had not played a match on grass since he was a junior.

That relative inexperience on the surface did not stop the Chinese from notching an impressive opening win at the BOSS OPEN, where he defeated a physically struggling Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3 in the first-round at the ATP 250 event in Germany.

“The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years,” said Wu after his victory. “I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well… He aced me [so many] times. The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient in the game and find a way. I’m happy [with that result].”

[ATP APP]

Kyrgios, who had surgery to repair a small tear in his left lateral meniscus in January, appeared to be struggling physically from early in the match, at one point telling his team he was unable to ‘walk without pain’.

Kei Nishikori will play his first match in 20 months Tuesday at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The Japanese star, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, will face American Christian Langmo in the opening round of the Caribbean Open. The match will follow a doubles contest that is scheduled not before Tuesday 6pm ET/Wednesday 7am Tokyo. Former World No. 4 Nishikori and Langmo will close the order of play Tuesday at the hard-court event.

Fans can visit Challenger TV to watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand at no cost.