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Dominic Thiem moved to within two wins of capturing his first tour-level title since 2020 on Friday when he moved past fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3 at the Gijon Open.

The Austrian played with confidence throughout the one-hour, 34-minute clash in Spain, riffling his groundstrokes with heavy topspin and pace to advance to his second tour-level semi-final of the season. Thiem reached the last four on clay in Gstaad in July.

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Thiem, who moved past Joao Sousa and Marcos Giron in his opening two matches at the ATP 250 event, is up to No. 132 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his 14th tour-level win of the year. He will climb back into the Top 100 if he wins the title in Gijon.

The 29-year-old will be aiming to reach his first tour-level final since the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020 when he next plays Andrey Rublev or fifth seed Tommy Paul on Saturday. Thiem’s last tour-level title came at the US Open in September 2020.

Andres Molteni has won four ATP Tour titles alongside Santiago Gonzalez. This week, the Argentine is pursuing glory with another Gonzalez.

Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez defeated Portugal’s Francisco Cabral and former doubles World No. 1 Jamie Murray 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Gijon Open. They will next play Serbian Nikola Cacic and Monagesque Hugo Nys, who upset second seeds Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2.

In other Gijon action, Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow eliminated third seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 6-7(8), 6-4, 10-6.

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Italians Thrill Home Fans In Florence
Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori earned the doubles upset of the day Thursday when they ousted second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-1, 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the UniCredit Firenze Open.

Lorenzo Musetti put on a show for his home fans Thursday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, where the #NextGenATP Italian dispatched Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-0 with a scintillating opening display in Florence.

Musetti displayed confidence in all facets of his game in the second-round clash at the indoor ATP 250 event. The third seed delighted a vocal home crowd with an array of classy winners to close out victory against Zapata Miralles in just 69 minutes.

Musetti hit 21 winners to the Spaniard’s eight in the pair’s first tour-level meeting. With the win, the Italian is into his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season and his third on indoor hard courts (after Rotterdam and Sofia). The 20-year-old, whose excellent season has also included his maiden ATP Tour title in Hamburg, has already qualified to compete at November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan for the second consecutive year.

Musetti will meet Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-finals in Florence after the American downed another #NextGenATP Italian, Francesco Passaro, 6-4, 7-5. The No. 79-ranked McDonald broke Passaro’s serve twice in each set to clinch a 95-minute win and reach his third tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Brandon Nakashima joined his countrymen McDonald and J.J. Wolf in the last eight with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Altug Celikbilek. The San Diego champion Nakashima will take on top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Oscar Otte next as he looks to join Musetti in reaching the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. The 21-year-old is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan.

With his back against the wall Thursday, Andy Murray showcased his trademark fighting spirit to reach the quarter-finals at the Gijon Open.

After losing a 56-minute first set, the former World No. 1 rallied to edge Argentine Pedro Cachin 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

In their first ATP Head2Head meeting, the Scot raised his intensity and refused to go away, twice rallying from a break down in the third set to eventually seal his 25th tour-level win of the season after two hours and 49 minutes.

"I think I served well in the second and third sets. I fought very hard," Murray said in his on-court interview. "In the first set I wasn't playing my best and Pedro was serving very well for the first set and a half. I was really struggling to break serve. I changed the way I was returning to give myself more opportunities to break. I fought very hard to come back from a break down twice in the third set."

Murray struck his flat groundstrokes consistently, hitting 31 winners and committing just 19 unforced errors, while he held his nerve in the third-set tie-break to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic started their title quest at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence with victory on Wednesday when they moved past Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler 6-4, 6-2.

In a strong serving display, the second seeds saved the one break point they faced and won 97 per cent (30/31) of points behind their first deliveries to advance after 63 minutes. The Croatians have now won their past five matches after they clinched their fifth tour-level title of the season last week in Astana. Mektic and Pavic will play Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori in the quarter-finals.

Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul also advanced at the ATP 250 event in Italy, edging fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and John Peers 6-3, 2-6, 10-8.

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Gille/Martin Upset Top Seeds Granollers/Zeballos In Gijon
Sander Gille and Fabrice Martin upset top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at Gijon Open.

Roberto Carballes Baena defied the powerful game of Matteo Berrettini to earn a shock first-round win Wednesday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, where the Spaniard rallied to a 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory.

The World No. 80 showcased incredible defence to frustrate the second seed throughout the pair’s three-hour, 19-minute clash, holding firm even when trailing by a break of serve in both the second and third sets. Carballes Baena converted all five break points he earned and reeled off five games in a row from 2-5 in the third set to silence a vocal home crowd in Florence.

“I’m very happy, it’s a very good win for me, the best of my career,” said Carballes Baena after clinching his third Top 20 triumph. “I just tried to win every point, to be focused every point, and tried to return the serve, because he served very well. I’m very happy because I am in the next round.”

A magic pass ?@Robertocarba93 #FirenzeOpen pic.twitter.com/8eyJ1paUfN

Berrettini had led 7-5, 2-0 before Carballes Baena rallied in impressive fashion to force a second-set tie-break and level the match. The Italian appeared to have finally cracked the Carballes Baena code after breaking in the sixth game of the decider, but the Spaniard’s late charge proved decisive.

Dominic Thiem was made to work hard on Wednesday at the Gijon Open, but he found a way to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

In a hard-fought clash, the Austrian battled past American Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season after two hours and 27 minutes.

“It was a very intense match,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “Long, long rallies and lots of running. It was so close throughout the whole match until the third set. At the end of the second set, anything could have happened. I had to save a break point at 4-4 in the second set, if he makes it he is probably going to be the winner.

“It was so close the match, but luckily I was able to win that second set and then running away at the beginning of the third. I am really happy. It was so close, so intense. A great night.”

After a slow start, Thiem opened his shoulders to overpower Giron. He recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set, eventually forcing a decider when Giron struck a double fault on set point. The 29-year-old then raced through the third set to improve to 13-13 in tour-level matches in 2022.

After Sam Querrey brought his 16-year career on the ATP Tour to a close at the US Open in August, the American had quite the list of achievements to look back on.

A 10-time tour-level titlist, Querrey was renowned as one of the biggest and most destructive servers on Tour. The Californian backed up his prime weapon with clinical volleying and a high-powered ground game that carried him to a career-high No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2018.

Now an ambassador for Top Court, Querrey reveals the secrets behind his dominant one-two punch on serve, emphasising how big serving is made more effective by staying alert to handle your opponent’s return. He also discusses how his approach to tennis and training developed from his time as a junior and reveals some light-hearted off-court stories involving former World No. 1 Andy Roddick.

Technique: Querrey’s dominant serving was all about routine, and the American delves into the technical aspects he focused on during his service motion. The first delivery can’t always work out, of course, so Querrey also walks you through the skills needed to add a kick to your second serve, forcing your opponent into an immediate readjustment on return.

Drills: A big server needs the skills to back up their delivery, and Querrey showcases two drills to help fans develop this crucial aspect of their game. His ‘Short High Forehand Finish’ and ‘20/20 Volley’ drills help develop consistency when dealing with returns, enabling you to move forward with confidence behind your serve.

Under pressure early from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday at the Gijon Open, Andy Murray found a moment of magic to trigger a stunning turnaround at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

Murray pulled off a difficult forehand volley on the stretch at 2-4, 30/40 to avoid going a double break down in the first set of his first-round clash against the Spanish sixth seed. It proved a pivotal moment in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, as the Briton held serve for 3-4 before raising his level to claim 10 of the next 13 games and storm to a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

"In the first set he was playing much better than me,” said Murray after his one-hour, 44-minute win. “He had a lot of chances to get the second break of serve and I managed to stay tough in those moments. At the 4-3 game he played a bad game to give me the break back and after that I started to play a little bit better.

“I think he was a bit frustrated, and then in the second set his level dropped a little bit, but the end of the first set was very important because he was playing very well and it was a difficult first set.”

The win improved Murray’s record for the 2022 season to 24-16. The 35-year-old, who has reached finals in Sydney and Stuttgart this year, is chasing his first tour-level title since he triumphed in Antwerp in 2019. Murray remains as eager as ever as he looks to add to his 46 tour-level titles.

Alexander Bublik added another win to his impressive indoor record in 2022 on Tuesday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, but this one carried a little extra meaning for the Kazakh.

The seventh seed's 7-5, 6-2 victory against Cristian Garin at the ATP 250 event in Florence was his 100th tour-level victory. Bublik fired 37 winners and broke the Chilean’s serve three times to notch a Tour-leading 14th indoor win of the season.

“I played a good match, I stayed solid, I served well,” said Bublik after his 87-minute triumph. “The conditions fit me well, the court is quite fast, so I’m pleased with my game and let’s see what goes on after.”

As he celebrates reaching the 100-win milestone at the age of 25, Bublik emphasised his determination to continue working hard as he bids to improve on his career-high of No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The Kazakh achieved that position after lifting his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Montpellier in February.

“I do believe you must improve every day, and improve everything, so I wouldn’t find a specific thing that I need to improve,” said Bublik. “But I think the overall game, if I can stay solid, stay disciplined, I think we can talk about something bigger.”

If you are a Dominic Thiem fan, Vienna just became even more interesting.

Last week, Thiem visited Madame Tussauds Vienna — a popular tourist attraction where people pose for pictures with life-size wax figures of their favourite celebrities — to reveal a wax figure of himself. 

"What's better than one Dominic Thiem? Two Dominic Thiems ???,” Thiem wrote on Instagram. “Madame Tussauds is world-famous for its wax figures, and so it is an honour to now be part of this great collection myself. After all the hard work from the whole team at Madame Tussauds, I was very excited to see the final result, and I can say my twin turned out very well. ?"

Photo Credit: Madame Tussauds Vienna/Christoph Kleinsasser
Thiem in January 2021 participated in Vienna in a three-hour sitting, during which 250 measurements of his head and body were recorded. There were also 180 photos taken from different angles to ensure that the wax figure would look as much like him as possible. He had to hold his position on a turntable with minimum movement throughout the process.

The figure is dressed in an actual kit the Austrian wore during the 2020 US Open, including a racquet he used en route to his first Grand Slam title. Lukas Rauscher, Marketing Manager of Madame Tussauds Vienna, was thrilled when the figure was unveiled.

A pair of #NextGenATP youngsters were among six ATP Challenger Tour champions last week. American Zachary Svajda rallied from a set down in the Tiburon Challenger final to collect his maiden Challenger title while Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov triumphed at the Parma Challenger presented by Iren.

Svajda spoiled countryman Ben Shelton’s 20th birthday Sunday, defeating the lefty 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to win in Tiburon, California.

“In the first set, Ben played lights out,” Svajda said. “I was nervous, I was getting tight, double faulting quite a bit. I knew in the second set I was going to have to change something up, try spinning my serve in so I don’t have to hit second serves and also try to put more pace on the ball. That was the momentum switch.”

The 19-year-old, who climbs to a career-high No. 255 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is the 11th teenage Challenger champion of this season. The two-time USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships titlist joins fellow San Diego native Brandon Nakashima (Quimper-2, February 2021) as the only American teenage Challenger champion in the past five years.

’Domi’ was dominant on Monday in Gijon.

Dominic Thiem defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-0 to reach the second round of the Gijon Open. The two games he lost is tied for the fewest he has dropped in a completed tour-level match, with the other instance coming in 2013 in Vienna against Jaroslav Pospisil, whom he eliminated 6-1, 6-1 in the second round.

"It was a great match for the first time since ages I had the feeling that the ratio between unforced errors and making the right pace, playing really aggressive, was right. Especially with the forehand, it was really good for basically the first time [since my injury], so I'm very happy about it," Thiem said. "The way is right, the direction is right, also the way of focus and how I maintain it from the first to the last point was good and I'll try to keep going that way."

The Austrian did not face a break point against Sousa, while he converted five of the seven break points he earned. The 29-year-old won 61 per cent of his return points to triumph after 62 minutes. 

Sousa won his fourth ATP Tour title earlier this year in Pune, but was unable to push Thiem, who now owns a 7-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series. The former World No. 3 has earned six of his seven victories against Sousa in straight sets.

There was little time for J.J. Wolf to find his feet Monday in Florence thanks to a lightning-fast start by Francesco Maestrelli, but the American clicked into gear to rally to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 first-round victory at the UniCredit Firenze Open.

#NextGenATP Italian Maestrelli enjoyed the perfect opening to his tour-level main-draw debut as he broke Wolf’s serve in the first game of the match. The 19-year-old home wild card backed that early success up with strong serving to seal the first set, but Wolf’s greater consistency then proved decisive as the World No. 72 clinched a one-hour, 56-minute comeback win.

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“He’s a super good young player, a lot of credit to him,” said Wolf after the match. “I didn’t even think I came out that badly. He really made me play in that first game and he was serving huge. If you’re making mistakes, you’re going to lose that match, so I really had to lock it down.”

The 23-year-old Wolf fired 16 winners to Maestrelli’s 20 but was particularly aggressive on return, converting four from eight break point chances to set a second-round meeting against fellow American Maxime Cressy.

It is a critical week in the Pepperstone ATP Live ATP Race To Turin, with only three spots remaining in the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played from 13-20 November. Both eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 15th-placed Matteo Berrettini will try to improve their standing at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence.

But first, the top two seeds in the ATP 250 visited the Piazzale Michelangelo, which looks over the city.

“It’s my first time in Florence and the view from up here is amazing," Auger-Aliassime said. "It’s a beautiful city and I’m very happy that the tournament decided to take us to this beautiful spot.”

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It was a special moment for the Italian Berrettini, who has a family connection to the city.

In a week when Novak Djokovic secured qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz also boosted his hopes of reaching the season finale with his title run in Tokyo.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Race following a two-tournament week on Tour.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Rankings

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Seventh Taylor Fritz, +3
Fritz has soared three spots to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin after he won his maiden ATP 500 title at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. The 24-year-old edged past countryman Frances Tiafoe in the championship match to clinch the crown in Tokyo. The American is now on 2885 points, five points ahead of eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Fritz is aiming to make his debut at the prestigious end-of-year event, to be held from 13-20 November in Turin.

It was a good week for Andrey Rublev at the Astana Open, but there is no let up for the 24-year-old as he seeks to boost his qualification hopes for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Rublev powered to the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in the Kazakh capital before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets. Despite that disappointment, the 11-time tour-level titlist collected 180 valuable points to consolidate his place in sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

This week, he has the chance to press his claims further when he takes to court at the Gijon Open. Rublev (who has 3,235 points in the Live Race) is the top seed at the ATP 250 event, and a title run in Spain would move him within 70 points of fifth-placed Daniil Medvedev (3,555).

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Standings

Should he qualify, it would be a third consecutive appearance for Rublev at the end-of-year event, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

#NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi has moved to within five points of the final qualification place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan after he came through qualifying to reach the second round at the Astana Open.

The 19-year-old earned wins over Hamad Medjedovic, David Goffin and Alexander Shevchenko before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in two tie-break sets. Nardi, who is aiming to make his debut at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, is up to 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, trailing 10th-placed Dominic Stricker (390 points) by five points.

The 10th spot is the cut off for qualification after first-placed Carlos Alcaraz and second-placed Jannik Sinner both withdrew from the event.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan Standings

Timofey Skatov also boosted his hopes by winning his first ATP Challenger Tour title of the season in Parma. The 21-year-old has climbed 10 places to 13th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan on 343 points, just 47 points off Stricker.

Taylor Fritz revealed in March after winning the BNP Paribas Open that his goal was to crack the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The American can now say, “Mission accomplished”.

The 24-year-old today became the first player from his country to break into the Top 10 since Jack Sock on 6 November 2017. Fritz climbed three spots to World No. 8 after winning the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

“I think every kid growing up and every player when you first start playing, [reaching the] Top 10 is a massive milestone and it’s a dream that you want to tick off [that] box,” Fritz told ATPTour.com. “Obviously everyone wants to be No. 1 in the world, Top 5, there is more that I want to achieve. But I’ll always be a Top 10 player. That can never be taken away from me.

“It’s one of those things that you strive for and you want for a really long time, so it’s nice to finally get there.”

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#NextGenATP star Francesco Passaro is the latest Italian to have made his mark on Tour this season, with the 21-year-old capturing his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in July before climbing to a career-high No. 122 last month.

Passaro’s strong form has seen him rise into qualification contention for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, with the Italian currently ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan.

However, life could have been very different for the talented righty had he decided to pursue football over tennis when he was a teenager.

“When I first started playing tennis [aged six], my family was basically living at the club,” Passaro told ATPTour.com. “My house was just two minutes from the club and for me it was easy to go there. Then when I started to go, I had a lot of friends and it was like my second family. I think I spent more time there than at my home.

“When I was young I also played football. Then when I was 12 years old, I started to only play football, for one year. I stopped practicing tennis and was just playing a few tournaments because it was too much. I was a goalkeeper in football and it was very nice. However, [it made me realise] I just wanted to play tennis.”