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Felix Auger-Aliassime made a perfect start to his title defence at the ABN AMRO Open on Tuesday.

The Canadian fired past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round in Rotterdam. The third seed saved the two break points he faced to advance to a second-round clash with Frenchman Gregoire Barrere after one hour and 22 minutes.

When Auger-Aliassime arrived in Rotterdam last year, he had not yet claimed an ATP Tour title and lost his first set of the tournament against Egor Gerasimov. He had no such difficulty against Sonego, whose spinny groundstrokes allowed the four-time tour-level champion to crush ball after ball from the baseline.

The defending champion also showed good feel around the net throughout the match to take a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead against the Italian.

[ATP APP]

The ATP, WTA, ITF and the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – have united to launch Tennis Plays for Love, a fundraising campaign to support those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

More than 17 million people in the affected region are now living in freezing winter conditions and urgently need blankets, emergency shelter, food and clean water.

The campaign, which kicks off with a joint donation by the tennis governing bodies, will benefit Global Giving’s Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund, helping provide emergency relief and fuel long-term recovery efforts. All fans can lend their support by donating via the fund’s official page.

In addition, a one-of-a-kind NFT from the ‘LOVE’ tennis art project is being auctioned in support of the campaign. Head over to OpenSea to place your bid before the auction’s close on Friday 17 February.

Tennis Plays for Love follows on from last year’s Tennis Plays for Peace campaign, which has so far raised more than US$3.5 million for those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

When the best stories of the tennis season are collated at the end of 2023, Matija Pecotic’s journey at the Delray Beach Open will certainly be among them.

The 33-year-old has a full-time job as the Director of Capital Markets for a real estate investment company and is No. 784 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. So how did he end up in the main draw of an ATP Tour event for the first time? 

Pecotic never broke into the Top 1,000 in the ITF Junior Rankings, but he became a star at Princeton University, where he competed from 2009-13. The lefty was a three-time Ivy League Player of the Year and climbed as high as No. 2 in the college tennis rankings.

In 2014, the Croatian fully pursued professional tennis and the following year he ascended to a career-high World No. 206. But that was when he hit a roadblock. Just before the 2016 Australian Open he had a small surgery on his stomach.

“[I] ended up getting a serious staph infection and I was basically bed-ridden for eight months,” Pecotic said. “That changed the trajectory of my tennis timeline and my tennis career.”

Laslo Djere improved to 4-0 in opening rounds this season with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Fabio Fognini at the Argentina Open on Monday.

In a battling performance, the Serbian saved the first six break points he faced before Fognini denied his first attempt to serve out the match at 5-2. The Italian took a medical timeout after turning his ankle and held serve to put the pressure on his opponent, but Djere held to love to close out the one-hour, 37-minute match.

Djere, who was an efficient three-for-four on break points, will meet Buenos Aires debutant and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. It will be the pair's first ATP Head2Head matchup.

Fognini fell to 0-3 on the year with defeat in what was the first clay-court match of 2023 for both players.

Argentina's Pedro Cachin also advanced with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against Thiago Monteiro to set up a second-round meeting with third seed Lorenzo Musetti, while Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles scored a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win against countryman Pedro Martinez to book a matchup against fourth seed and home favourite Diego Schwartzman.

American Denis Kudla completed a comeback against Jordan Thompson on Monday at the Delray Beach Open with a dominant performance in a third-set tie-break. The 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) victory avenged a straight-sets loss for Kudla against the Aussie last week in Dallas.

"I thought we both served well, we were both playing pretty physical," Kudla said post-match. "But whoever really got in front of the point stayed in front. Obviously it came down to a few points at the end and I was happy to execute."

[ATP APP]

The 30-year-old was trailing by a set and an early break at the ATP 250, but immediately levelled the second set after losing his opening service game. He saved two break points midway through set two before forcing a final set with his second break of the match.

After a final set without a single break point, the Kiev-born Kudla took control of the tie-break by winning four straight points from 1/1. He survived 19 aces from Thompson in the two-hour, 36-minute match, hitting 22 winners in the victory. 

Fourth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara made a fast start at the ABN AMRO Open with a straight-sets win against wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday. The British-Finnish pairing converted on three of four break points in the 6-3, 6-4 victory, winning 86 per cent of their first-serve points in a comfortable outing.

Through to the quarter-finals, Glasspool/Heliovaara are seeking their fourth title as a team and their second of 2023 after a triumph at the Adelaide International 1 last month. The duo is 8-1 on the young season.

Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen were also victorious on Day 1 in Rotterdam, earning a 6-3, 5-7, 10-3 win against Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp.

[ATP APP]

Defending Champs Arevalo/Rojer Advance In Delray Beach
Top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo defeated Americans Brandon Holt and Jackson Withrow 6-3, 7-5 on Monday in the opening round of the Delray Beach Open. The Salvadoran-Dutch duo won four titles in 2022, including at Roland Garros and Delray Beach. They have already claimed another this season at the Adelaide International 2.

The second ATP 500 event of the 2023 season will see defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti lead the field at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

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

When is the Rio Open presented by Claro?

The 2023 Rio Open presented by Claro will be held from 20-26 February. The clay-court ATP 500 tournament, established in 2014, will take place at the Jockey Club Brasileiro. The tournament director is Luiz Procopio Carvalho.

Who is playing at the 2023 Rio Open presented by Claro?

The Rio Open presented by Claro will feature stars including World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, four-time tour-level titlist Cameron Norrie and World No. 18 Lorenzo Musetti.

When is the draw for the Rio Open presented by Claro.?

The Rio Open presented by Claro draw will be made Saturday, 18 February at 6 p.m.

Wu Yibing has become the highest-ranked Chinese player in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history thanks to his title run at the Dallas Open, while Jannik Sinner and Sebastian Baez also made jumps after their triumphs at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier and Cordoba Open, respectively.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after a trio of action-packed ATP 250 events.

View Pepperstone ATP Rankings

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No. 58 Wu Yibing, +39 (Career High)
Wu knocked off a series of milestones during his title run at the Dallas Open. He became the first Chinese player in history to defeat a Top 10 opponent with his semi-final win against Taylor Fritz, and then held off John Isner in a nerve-wracking final to become the first to win an ATP Tour title.

Grigor Dimitrov wasted little time kick-starting his 2023 ABN AMRO Open campaign on Monday, when the World No. 28 eased past Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 6-3 in just 59 minutes in Rotterdam.

The Bulgarian is a former finalist at the ATP 500 tournament, and he delivered a confident performance on the indoor hard courts of the Rotterdam Ahoy. Dimitrov did not face a break point against Karatsev and converted four from five of his own to improve his record in opening rounds at the event to 8-1.

It was a second victory of 2023 for Dimitrov against the three-time tour-level titlist Karatsev. The pair also met in the first round at January’s Australian Open, where the Bulgarian also prevailed as a straight-sets winner. The 31-year-old Dimitrov went on to reach the third round in Melbourne, where he was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

The eight-time ATP Tour champion’s reward for Monday’s victory is a second-round clash against fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz or Roberto Bautista Agut.

[ATP APP]

Matteo Gigante was down and out in the second round of qualifying at the Tenerife Challenger-3. Following a straight-sets defeat against Giovanni Fonio, it seemed the Italian was off to his next tournament. But little did he know what the rest of the week held for him.

After receiving a lucky loser spot in the Tenerife main draw, Gigante went on a run to collect his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title. In the final, he defeated countryman Stefano Travaglia 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour, 10 minutes.

“I’m so proud, I played amazing tennis this week,” Gigante said. “[The final] was against a good friend, when we are in Rome we practise every day. It’s difficult mentally but I’m so happy.”

The 21-year-old is the first lucky loser champion on the Challenger Tour since 2018, when Tommy Paul won in Charlottesville and just the 16th lucky loser champion in Challenger history.

Wu Yibing made history on Sunday when he triumphed in a three tie-break Dallas Open final against John Isner to become the first Chinese ATP Tour titlist.

After Wu earned the biggest victory of his career, the 23-year-old spoke to ATPTour.com about the importance of his win back home, overcoming injuries, why he loves Kevin Durant, cooking and more.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
I feel happy. It’s not only about winning the title. It’s more about me personally making history, also for the country. It’s huge for the next generation. For me, I need to keep going, keep my body healthy and I’m sure there’s more to come.

It has been a long wait to see this success from Chinese men’s tennis, which could create a lot of pressure, but you seemed so relaxed this week. How have you managed to not allow the pressure to bother you?
I’ve been through a lot of things. I’ve been through injuries, I’ve been through many difficult situations when I was growing up. I think the reason why I’m relaxed now on the tennis court is because I trust myself. If you want to beat me, you have to work hard.

When you were away from professional tennis for about three years because of injuries and the pandemic, did you ever doubt you would reach a moment like this? How does it feel to persevere?
Of course there were a lot of doubts because I did surgery and the rehab wasn’t going well. It took longer than it should [have], but it turned out I’m here. I’d be [lying] if I said 100 per cent I’m going to be here today. But the process is always the most important thing.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus began their partnership this year. On Sunday, they stepped into the winners' circle together for the first time.

The top seeds rallied past second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 1-6, 7-6(4), 10-7 to win the Dallas Open for their first title as a team.

“Obviously it’s great, we just started the year and as a new partnership you want to spend as much time on the court together [as possible],” Venus said. “So, to be able to do it in matches, I think that’s great, because that’s where you learn the most about each other.

“We had some tough matches here, and just really happy to get the title.” 

[ATP APP]

There is nothing quite like victory at home, as Sebastian Baez found out Sunday at the Cordoba Open.

The World No. 47 prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in an all-Argentine championship match against Federico Coria on Sunday at the ATP 250 event. Although it was Baez’s fourth ATP Tour championship match, it was his first on home soil, and his one-hour, 50-minute win was followed by an emotional courtside huddle with his team.

In a hard-fought final, the 30-year-old Coria dug deep in pursuit of his first ATP Tour title, but Baez’s powerful forehand frequently proved decisive in the baseline exchanges. Despite an early exchange of breaks in the deciding set, it was Baez who held firm to add the Cordoba crown to his 2022 victory in Estoril.

[ATP APP]

After competing at the 2021 NextGen ATP Finals, Baez enjoyed a breakout season on the ATP Tour last year, and notably on clay. He defeated Frances Tiafoe for his Estoril title while also reaching finals in Santiago and Bastad and pushing Alexander Zverev to five sets in a Roland Garros thriller.

Wu Yibing came back from the brink to make history Sunday at the Dallas Open, where the fast-rising 23-year-old saved four championship points before downing John Isner 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(12) to become the first Chinese player to lift an ATP Tour trophy.

After a bright start in his maiden tour-level final, Wu appeared to have faded in the face of a trademark serving barrage from Isner at the indoor ATP 250 event in Texas. The American held championship point on his opponent’s serve at 6-5, 30/40 in the second set, but Wu kept his cool to recover before sealing a historic victory in a nerve-wracking deciding-set tie-break.

Wu forced Isner to push a forehand long to clinch a third-set tie-break in which the first 22 points went with serve. He sealed a remarkable two-hour, 59-minute victory despite Isner firing 44 aces in the match.

Wu, who did not compete on the ATP Tour from March 2019 to January 2022 due to a series of injuries, had notched just six tour-level wins prior to this week. Yet he showed no sign of nerves throughout his run, during which he defeated Michael Mmoh, third seed Denis Shapovalov, Adrian Mannarino, top seed Taylor Fritz and Isner.

On Monday, Wu became just the second Chinese player to crack the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now he will rise to a career-high World No. 58 just one week later.

Second seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni lost a set in their opening match of the Cordoba Open. But the Argentines did not lose another from there, surging through the rest of the tournament to capture the ATP 250 trophy.

Gonzalez and Molteni defeated Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the crown. They converted three of their four break points to triumph after one hour and 24 minutes.

[ATP APP]

Molteni has dominated in Cordoba in recent years, earning the title in 2019 with Roman Jebavy and 2022 with Santiago Gonzalez before his latest win alongside Maximo Gonzalez.

The victory marked the second title as a team for Gonzalez and Molteni. They also emerged with the trophy last year in Gijon. Gonzalez has won 13 tour-level doubles titles and Molteni has claimed 12 crowns.

Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop captured their first title of the season on Sunday when they lifted the trophy at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.

The Dutchmen defeated wild cards Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-6 in the final of the ATP 250 for their fifth tour-level crown as a team. The fourth seeds lost a set in three of their four matches, but emerged victorious in France.

Haase and Middelkoop withstood 13 aces from their opponents in the championship clash. In the Match Tie-break they rode their own serves to victory, claiming seven of their eight service points — including all five behind their first serves — to close out the week in style.

[ATP APP]

Haase and Middelkoop also advanced to the third round of this year’s Australian Open, giving them a 7-3 tour-level record on the season. Next week they will try to defend a title on home soil at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.

When Felix Auger-Aliassime steps onto court at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam this week, he will be returning to the scene of his first ATP Tour title triumph.

The Canadian arrived at the ATP 500 event in 2022 in confident mood after reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. Determined to have a positive week, Auger-Aliassime quickly found his range in the Netherlands.

“Every week is an opportunity in tennis. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. Starting with the first round, I lost the first set [against Egor Gerasimov] but felt I was playing good tennis. Then I actually won 6-2, 6-2 after, if I recall,” said Auger-Aliassime, a star in the first season of Netflix’s Break Point.

“As the week went on, I felt that I was playing better and better. Playing Andy [Murray], one of the best players in the history of our sport, is always special. I had an amazing start and played some of my best tennis of the year. I went up 4-0 and then, as he always does, he broke me back and came back. I was able to close out the first set. And then again the second set started my way and I was able to dictate the match and be really dominant. It was a great win.”

After defeating Murray, Auger-Aliassime moved past Cameron Norrie to set a semi-final clash against Andrey Rublev. The 22-year-old clawed past Rublev 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 in what he recalls as the most challenging match of the event.

Jannik Sinner captured his seventh tour-level title and his first of the season on Sunday when he moved past American Maxime Cressy 7-6(3), 6-3 to triumph at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.

Sinner had never won a match in two previous appearances at the ATP 250 event, but was impressive all week to change that record. After receiving a walkover from Marton Fucsovics, he defeated Lorenzo Sonego, Arthur Fils and Cressy to become the first Italian champion in the tournament’s history.

“To be honest, the first key was to hold the serve. In the tie-break I knew he may miss something. I tried to keep my serve, which I have done, so I am very happy about the first set,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “The second set was a little bit different. I had a couple of good chances but he then served very well. I am very happy I broke him here and then I served very well at the end of match.”

In a tight final, the Italian soaked up Cressy’s thunderous serving and big hitting, turning the tables during baseline exchanges with clean striking. The second seed won 86 per cent (32/37) of his first-serve points and was strong on return, finding the feet of the onrushing American to seal his victory after one hour and 35 minutes.

Sinner earned the decisive mini-break at the start of the first-set tie-break when Cressy double faulted. After moving ahead, he remained patient in the second set, breaking in the eighth game, when Cressy pushed a volley wide, before he held serve to clinch the crown.

The fast-rising Wu Yibing scored the biggest win of his blossoming career on Saturday at the Dallas Open. In addition to the personal milestone of his first Top 10 victory against Taylor Fritz, the 23-year-old became the first Chinese man to reach an ATP Tour final in the Open Era.

In a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 triumph, Wu used his well-rounded game to upset the top seed in a match of the highest quality from both sides of the net. Despite facing an American, Wu's irresistible skills in both attack and defense earned him his fair share of support in Dallas. He finished with 34 winners, including two in a row to close out the match in style.

"When I'm playing tonight, I wasn't thinking about the score or winning or losing. I'm just trying to perform my best," he said in his on-court interview, before addressing the fans. "You guys are amazing, cheering for us every point. Thanks, guys!"

[ATP APP]

Enterting the week at a career high of World No. 97, Wu has soared 21 spots to No. 76 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings behind his final run. He is now set to become the highest-ranked Chinese player in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, passing Zhang Zhizhen, who currently sits at a career high No. 91.

After his three-set singles semi-final win against Holger Rune, Maxime Cressy earned a second Saturday victory at the Open Sud de France — Montpellier to book his place in the doubles final.

The Paris-born American teamed with Frenchman Albano Olivetti to defeat Sander Arends and David Pel 6-1, 6-4, setting up a title showdown against another Dutch duo: fourth seeds Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop.

Cressy/Olivetti saved the only break point they faced in the semi-final contest and converted on three of their five break opportunities. Their dominant day on serve included seven aces and an 89 per cent win rate on first serve.

[ATP APP]

The American-French pair has dropped just eight games in its past two matches, beginning with a 6-1, 6-2 upset of second seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Thursday. The duo won a Match Tie-break in their opening match on Monday.