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John Isner advanced to his 31st ATP Tour final on Saturday at the Dallas Open, but this one is extra special. With family and friends in the stands, the 37-year-old moved within one victory of the title at the ATP 250 event in his home city.

The fifth seed won an all-American matchup against J.J. Wolf 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), overcoming a slow start with a dominant serving performance that improved throughout the two-and-a-half-hour contest.

"I saved a lot of break points with unreturnable serves. Without that I would have been dusted off the court 6-3, 6-4," Isner said in his on-court interview. "So I'm of course very fortunate to have that weapon in my pocket, and I needed every bit of it today.

"It was an absolute battle, so I'm pretty tired. But I'm absolutely ecstatic to be in the final tomorrow here in Dallas."

After facing eight break points in his first eight service games, Isner found form on his delivery to put pressure on his 24-year-old opponent. The 16-time tour-level titlist claimed his lone break point of the match to snatch the second set, then raced out to a 4/0 lead in the final-set tie-break before closing out victory with a delicate drop-volley winner.

Seeded for the first time at an ATP Tour event, #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton will not be guaranteed all the home support when he steps out for his first-round clash at next week’s Delray Beach Open.

The 20-year-old Shelton has been drawn against countryman Marcos Giron at the hard-court ATP 250 event in Florida, where he is the eighth seed. If the Australian Open quarter-finalist Shelton wins, he could face another more-experienced American in the second round in 2017 champion Jack Sock, while fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic is a potential quarter-final opponent.

View Draws: Singles | Doubles

Joining Shelton in the bottom half of the draw in southern Florida are Tommy Paul and John Isner. The pair are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals, but Australian Open semi-finalist and second seed Paul will first focus on a second-round clash against Jordan Thompson or Denis Kudla. The seventh-seeded Isner will take on a qualifier to start his campaign.

In-form Americans also feature in the top half of the draw, where top seed Taylor Fritz could meet J.J. Wolf in the quarter-finals. Both are playing in the Dallas semi-finals this weekend — if either player reaches the same stage in Delray Beach next week, potential opponents there include third seed Denis Shapovalov and fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka.

The time has come. Carlos Alcaraz now has a place and date for his 2023 season debut. He will play his first match of the year next week at the Argentina Open, facing the winner of the first-round encounter between Fabio Fognini and Laslo Djere in Buenos Aires.

Before taking to the South American clay, the No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings spoke to the press on Saturday about how he is approaching his first clash of the year.

“It’ll be my first tournament since I picked up the injury in Paris,” said the Spaniard, who suffered an oblique tear last November the Rolex Paris Masters. “It’s been four months since then. But I always arrive thinking about winning and wanting to win, even though it won’t be easy after such a long time without competing.”

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The 19-year-old Murcia native touched upon the difficulty of the fact that most of his opponents will have six weeks of competition under their belts this season: “That’s why I’ve come a few days early, to train with really good players, gradually improve and to be able to start the tournament as well as possible," he explained.

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas could face Jannik Sinner in a second-round showdown at the ABN AMRO Open, where the Greek is looking to clinch his maiden title at the indoor ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.

View Draws: Singles | Doubles

Tsitsipas, who reached the final in Rotterdam last year before falling to Felix Auger-Aliassime, takes on World No. 53 Emil Ruusuvuori in his first ATP Tour outing since reaching the Australian Open championship match last month. Should he defeat the Finn in his opener, the Greek could meet Sinner in a rematch of the pair’s five-set fourth-round Australian Open clash.

The World No. 17 Sinner opens his campaign against Benjamin Bonzi, while 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka, seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Auckland champion Richard Gasquet are potential quarter-final opponents for both him and Tsitsipas.

A stacked draw brimming with quality also features fourth seed Holger Rune and eighth seed Alexander Zverev in its top half. Rune plays a qualifier on his event debut, while his potential quarter-final opponent Zverev meets Adelaide International 2 champion Soonwoo Kwon first up in the Netherlands.

Argentine Federico Coria advanced to his second tour-level final on Saturday when he battled past Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-6(2) at the Cordoba Open.

Competing on home soil, the sixth seed continued his impressive week as he outlasted defending champion Ramos-Vinolas in a series of brutal baseline exchanges to advance after two hours and 32 minutes.

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The 30-year-old Coria, who has dropped just one set en route to the final, rallied from a break down in the second set, hitting with consistency in the second-set tie-break to earn victory in his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Ramos-Vinolas.

Coria lost in the championship match in Bastad in 2021, but he will try to go one step further to his maiden ATP Tour crown when he plays Hugo Dellien or Sebastian Baez on Sunday. Coria is up to No. 49 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

A three-tournament week on the ATP Tour sees a host of Top 10 stars in action across three continents.

Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime returns to the ABN AMRO Open, an ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, while Taylor Fritz is the top seed at the Delray Beach Open, an ATP 250 hard-court tournament. Carlos Alcaraz competes for the first time this year and headlines the field at the Argentina Open, a clay-court ATP 250.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

[ATP APP]

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ROTTERDAM
1) Tsitsipas Top Seed: World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas will aim to continue his strong start to the season when he headlines the field in Rotterdam. The Greek, who reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open last month, has performed well at the ATP 500 event, reaching the semi-finals in 2021 before he advanced to the championship match last year. Tsitsipas opens against Emil Ruusuvuori and could play Jannik Sinner in the second round.

Jannik Sinner reached his eighth tour-level final and the first of the season on Saturday when he defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 7-5, 6-2 at the Open Sud de France - Montpellier.

In a hard-fought clash, the second seed saved two set points on serve at 4-5 in the first set before he upped his intensity and aggression from the baseline in the second set to advance after one hour and 34 minutes.

“I am very happy to be in my first final of the season,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “We practised very hard to play some big matches. It doesn’t matter what kind of tournament, every tournament when you go far is very good. I am very happy to be in the final here.”

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The 18-year-old Fils has enjoyed a dream run in Montpellier at his second tour-level event, defeating Richard Gasquet, Roberto Bautista Agut and Quentin Halys in straight sets. However, after starting well, he never recovered from squandering set points in the opener, misfiring more as the match went on.

Top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez were one of two teams to win Match Tie-breaks in Friday's quarter-finals at the Cordoba Open.

The Brazilian-Spanish team defeated Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar 6-4, 3-6, 13-11, saving a match point at in the Match Tie-break 9/10 before clinching victory on their third match point. They will meet third-seeded Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the semis after the home hopes saved a match point of their own in a Thursday quarter-final win.

The second Cordoba doubles semi-final will see second-seeded Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni take on Kazakhs Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Gonzalez/Molteni defeated Bolivians Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos 6-2, 6-4 on Friday, while Golubev and Nedovyesov beat Argentines Guido Andreozzi and Guillermo Duran 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Haase/Middelkoop Upset Top Seeds In Montpellier
The Dutch duo of Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop knocked off top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 on Friday at the Open Sud de France — Montpellier. It was the second consecutive Math Tie-break win for the fourth seeds, who also came from behind in their quarter-final victory. 

Playing in his own backyard at the Dallas Open, John Isner made ATP Tour history by becoming the first man to win 500 tour-level tie-breaks. 

The milestone moment came in Friday's quarter-finals, during a 7-6(8), 7-5 win for the American against Emilio Gomez. He had to work hard for No. 500, saving a set point at 6/7 with a second-serve ace down the T before converting on his third set point of the tie-break.

"I've won a lot of tie-breaks in my career, and in the first set I won a big number of them: 500 of them," he said in his on-court interview in Dallas, drawing cheers from his home crowd. "I'm very glad I didn't have to win 501."

Isner's 500 tie-break wins put him 34 ahead of Roger Federer on the Open Era list, with Pete Sampras (328), Andy Roddick (303), Novak Djokovic (299) and Rafael Nadal (263) also in the Top 10.

Asked to explain his success in tie-breaks, Isner put it down to experience. No one has played more tie-breaks than him, with 819 contested in his career.

Novak Djokovic proved once again that he is the master of Melbourne when he won his ninth Australian Open title last month. While the Serbian said he was far from confident in his title chances at times due to his hamstring tear, several of his ATP Tour colleagues had no problem correctly picking him to reclaim the crown at the year's first Grand Slam.

Denis Shapovalov, Jack Draper, John Isner and Thanasi Kokkinakis were among those to correctly predict Djokovic's triumph when we sat down with some of the game's biggest stars to get their thoughts on how the 2023 season will unfold. The expert panel also included Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov.

Djokovic was also the popular pick for the player to win the most ATP Masters 1000 titles. The Serbian is a natural choice with his record 38 trophies at that prestigious level, including two Career Golden Masters.

"Just because he's so strong," said Medvedev, who joined Isner, Kokkinakis and Draper in selecting the Serbian. "When he plays, he wins a lot of tournaments."

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J.J. Wolf entered the Dallas Open at a career high of World No. 43. Now into his second-career ATP Tour semi-final, the American is up even higher at No. 37 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The 24-year-old upset second seed Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Friday's quarter-finals, earning the best win of his career by measure of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

After dropping serve twice on nine break chances for Tiafoe in the opening set, the sixth-seeded Wolf did not face another break point until he served out the match. Down 15/40, he used an ace and a line-clipping inside-out forehand to force deuce, then finished the job with his 11th ace on his second match point.

"I usually don't think about the outcome, so I was just feeding off the energy of the fans and playing every point as hard as I could," Wolf said of his methodical comeback, donning a Southern Methodist University cap for his post-match interview in honour of the tournament's host site.

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The Cordoba Open continues to be a happy hunting ground for Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who advanced to his third straight semi-final at the ATP 250 on Friday. The third-seeded Spaniard — champion in 2022 and finalist in 2021 — defeated Joao Sousa 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the quarters, his second three-set win of the week in Argentina.

Ramos-Vinolas also won the first and third sets against Dusan Lajovic on Thursday before repeating the feat against Sousa.

"I think I just played a little bit better in the third set," he said after improving to 6-2 in his ATP Head2Head against the Portuguese. "I missed a little bit less and I was a little bit more controlling the ball, and because I controlled more the ball I was able to be a little bit more offensive with my forehand."

[ATP APP]

In a match full of break chances, Ramos-Vinolas was an efficient five-of-nine on his opportunities, while Sousa could only convert on four of 10 break points. Ramos-Vinolas faced just one break point in the deciding set, which he saved at 4-1.

#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils is making waves on the ATP Tour this week. The 18-year-old moved past Quentin Halys to reach the semi-finals at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.

Ahead of his clash against Jannik Sinner on Saturday, ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about Fils.

We said it ? Remember his name: @ArthurFils1 ??

Get to know the 18-year-old who is making moves at the @OpenSuddeFrance ⬇️#ATPChallenger | @atptour pic.twitter.com/JwNai7g00v

His Idol Is Roger Federer
Fils’ tennis idol when growing up was Swiss legend Roger Federer. The 18-year-old is a fan of the former World No. 1’s style, saying: “He was looking really easy on the court and it was nice to watch him play.”

The Frenchman Has Enjoyed ATP Challenger Tour Success
The Frenchman has enjoyed an impressive start to the season, highlighted by capturing his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Portugal earlier this year. The 18-year-old also reached the final at a Challenger event in France in January.

Gabriel Diallo is a natural athlete and a lover of all things sports. If he was not a tennis player, chances are that he would be competing professionally in another sport.

But the 21-year-old has already found early success on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Standing tall at 6’7” and boasting a large wingspan, the Canadian is constantly looking to use his heavy delivery and firepower from the baseline to impose his will on opponents. If a ball is left in the middle of the court, look for Diallo to crush a forehand winner.

Diallo said he gets his athletic abilities from his mother, who played on the Ukrainian national handball team and mentioned that his dad, who hails from Guinea, is “more into academics” and works in computer programming. Off the court, Diallo enjoys watching college football, basketball, and baseball. He grew up a multi-sport athlete, but there was one that he enjoyed more than others.

Jannik Sinner moved to within two wins of capturing his sixth tour-level title on Friday when he moved past Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-2 at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.

The 21-year-old Italian, who had never been beyond the first round in his two previous appearances at the ATP 250, overpowered his countryman throughout their one-hour, 34-minute encounter. Sinner stepped inside the baseline to push Sonego back, hitting an array of winners off both wings to improve his tour-level record against Italians to 6-0.

"I know him very well," Sinner said about Sonego. "Playing Davis Cup together. He is a very nice person, very humble. We practised together at the beginning of the tournament, so it was bad luck to play already in the quarter-finals but I am very happy to be here."

The second seed is now 7-2 on the season, having reached the quarter-finals in Adelaide and the fourth round at the Australian Open. Sinner will face #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils in the semi-finals on Saturday.

"I have seen him [Fils] play here at this tournament," Sinner said. "He is very strong physically already. He understands the game very well. He started off the year very well, so it is going to be an interesting match for sure."

American tennis has been surging this season, with a title run at the inaugural United Cup followed by a strong showing at the Australian Open from the nation's men. Taylor Fritz was part of that victorious United Cup team, but he was up against a countryman in Jack Sock to begin his Dallas Open campaign on Thursday evening.

The top seed lived up to his status as the ATP Tour's No. 1 American with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory, winning a rematch of his most recent meeting with Sock one year ago at the same event. With that result, Fritz moved up one place to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a new career high on Monday.

"I thought I played pretty well," Fritz said of his first match since a second-round Australian Open exit. "He served well and when I got chances on his serve he played the points well, so it was pretty tight. I wasn't really able to find that break, but I played well, I protected my serve well, and I'm pretty happy with the match."

[BREAK POINT]

The World No. 8 converted only one of his seven break chances, but he did not face a break point on his own delivery behind 10 aces and a 91 per cent win rate on first serve.

Only three doubles matches were played on Thursday at the Cordoba Open, but there was no shortage of drama, with two thrillers decided in Match Tie-breaks.

Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar earned a 6-7(5), 6-4, 11-9 win against Hugo Dellien and Guido Pella, clawing back from 2/7 in the deciding tie-break and saving a match point at 8/9. The Colombian-Uruguayan pair won the final three points to advance to the quarter-finals, where they will meet top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez.

Barrientos/Behar dropped serve just once in the one-hour, 47-minute contest, when they failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4. They saved five of six break points, including two in the second set.

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In quarter-final action, third seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul also staved off a match point in a 6-2, 4-6, 12-10 victory against Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Pedro Martinez. After leading 9/6 in the Match Tie-break, the Frenchmen faced that match point at 9/10 before claiming the win on their fourth opportunity.

Rafael Nadal welcomed a special guest to his academy this week. Felix Auger-Aliassime is preparing for his upcoming events on the hard courts of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca under the supervision of Frederic Fontang and Toni Nadal.

Before setting off for Rotterdam, where he will form part of the field for the first ATP 500 of the season at the ABN AMRO Open, the Canadian was keen to get a look at the museum where the 22-time Grand Slam champion keeps his trophies.

During his visit to the Rafa Nadal Museum, they had time to enjoy the interactive experiences and take in all the trophies and objects donated by great athletes on the lower floor. In addition, they commemorated their visit with two photos in front of the Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 trophy cabinets.

As on his previous visits, Auger-Aliassime stayed in the residence for adults at the academy and had the chance to train for the first time both on the indoor courts and in the new players’ gym. In addition, he sampled the Roland Garros restaurant, where he ate every day.

Auger-Aliassime enjoyed the best season of his career 2022, picking up his first four ATP Tour titles in Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp and Basel, helping him reach his career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 6. The icing on the cake was his Davis Cup victory with Canada in the finals played in Malaga.

Andrey Rublev is one of the most powerful players on the ATP Tour, always locked in and focussed on the court. It's a combination that has led the 25-year-old to 12 tour-level titles and a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 5.

But off the court, Rublev's endearing nature and light-hearted disposition make for plenty of funny moments in front of our cameras.

"They call me Picasso!" he joked while presenting his holiday wrapping job on his tennis racquet, complete with bows and all.

Whether its wrapping gifts or completing tennis-themed challenges, Rublev is all smiles in this compilation of off-court moments captured by the ATP Tour. His charming personality has earned him many fans around the globe... even if he's too humble to accept their praise.

"I am shy," he said after reading some flattering YouTube comments. "I start to feel red!"

It took Francisco Cerundolo some time to find his clay-court bearings after a long stretch away from the surface, but he did so in the nick of time on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals at the Cordoba Open.

In a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory against fellow Argentine Federico Delbonis, the second seed trailed 2-5 in the third set and saved a match point on return at 3-5 before claiming victory on his sixth match point. Cerundolo won the final five games of the two-and-a-half-hour contest.

"I think after 2-5 in the third I played my best tennis of the match," the 24-year-old said in his on-court interview. "I was more solid, more patient. I was used to playing on hard [courts], faster points, two or three balls. I had to grind here, play more balls. I figured it out at the end of the match and I think that was a key."

Cerundolo's most recent clay match was last July, when he reached the Hamburg semi-finals. With Thursday's win, he advanced to his second tour-level quarter-final since that event.

The World No. 31 created 18 break chances against Delbonis, converting six of those opportunities. Cerundolo claimed the decisive break, to lead 6-5 in the third, with a majestic forehand winner that was perfectly placed, hit inside-out with authority. After he served out the match in a four-deuce game, the countrymen shared a warm embrace at the net.