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Lorenzo Sonego sent an early statement to the rest of the field at the Sofia Open on Wednesday afternoon, racing to his sixth consecutive straight-sets victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the indoor ATP 250 event.

Having charged to his third ATP Tour title last week without dropping a set in Metz, Sonego backed up that run with a stunning first-round serving performance against Zapata Miralles in Bulgaria. The Italian won 86 per cent (32/37) of points behind his first delivery en route to a 79-minute victory that set an intriguing second-round matchup against fifth seed Holger Rune.

“I am really happy because today I was really aggressive on court,” said Sonego, who was making his main-draw debut in Sofia. “I played so well. I did my best thing today, I am really happy for that.”

Sonego making it look easy ?#SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/XirVXJ1cei

The World No. 45 Sonego has so far brought his best level to the indoor hard-court season. Despite the challenge of taking on the ever-resilient Zapata Miralles, the 27-year-old broke the Spaniard once in each set to improve his season record to 24-24.

Denis Shapovalov made a fast start on the fast courts of the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday, when the fourth seed prevailed 7-5, 6-4 against Jaume Munar in his opening match at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to Munar’s 11 in his one-hour, 49-minute second-round victory, breaking the Spaniard twice in each set to reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final of 2022, and his first since May.

“Definitely super happy to get the win today,” said Shapovalov after opening a 1-0 lead in his ATP Head2Head series against Munar. “Obviously I had a very difficult opponent, he was playing some great tennis, so super happy to get the win.”

Say hello to my 'lil friend ?@denis_shapo #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/E8GpqJGYJu

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to the Spaniard’s 11 in a one-hour, 49-minute victory, and Shapovalov believes the outdoor hard courts in Seoul suit his game style as he seeks his first ATP Tour title since his 2019 triumph in Stockholm.

There are three ATP Tour events this week with many of the world’s biggest stars in action. One player in the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships doubles draw sticks out: Hyeon Chung.

The South Korean, who won the 2017 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals and advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals less than three months later, has not competed since September 2020 due to a back injury. Chung is making his return on the doubles court alongside countryman Soonwoo Kwon.

“Due to my injuries, I needed to [stay on the] sideline over the [past] few years and then finally I made it back on court again,” Chung said. “I’m feeling just so happy to play tennis again.”

According to Chung, his lower back injury required constant treatment and rehab, which is why he was unable to compete since Roland Garros qualifying in 2020. He only played six matches at all levels that year.

“I had to treat it and rehab, treat and rehab all the time,” Chung said. “Then [it was] training, training, training and rehab for like [the whole] two years.”

Novak Djokovic competed over the weekend at the Laver Cup, which not only served as a competition between Team Europe and Team World, but a celebration of the now-retired Roger Federer’s career. The Serbian was happy to partake in the special moment.

“I have a massive respect for Roger, and to what he had contributed to our sport. He had an epic career, he can be proud of it. He's one of the most recognised athletes of all time,” Djokovic said. “His retirement is a sad moment for tennis.”

Djokovic is 35, but is not thinking about retirement yet. The 88-time tour-level titlist, who is currently No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is eager to maintain his high level.

“I still want to play tennis even though I achieved pretty much everything that you can achieve in tennis,” Djokovic said. “I still have passion and hunger to play at a highest professional level.” 

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv Watergen Open
That journey has taken him this week to Tel Aviv, where the Serbian will compete in the Tel Aviv Watergen Open. The top seed will play Spaniard Pablo Andujar or Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in his opening match.

Botic van de Zandschulp wasted no time settling in Tuesday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, where the fifth-seeded Dutchman dispatched Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-3 at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

Van de Zandschulp was particularly dominant on serve in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with four-time Tour titlist Sousa. The Dutchman won 83 per cent (29/35) of points behind his first delivery, while also crushing 28 winners to Sousa’s six as he completed a 81-minute first-round victory.

With the win, van de Zandschulp improved his record in first-round matches in 2022 to 18-6, and 10-2 on hard courts. The Dutchman, who played in his maiden ATP Tour final on the clay in Munich in May, will hope to notch his 37th tour-level win of the season in the second round against Liam Broady. The British qualifier earlier downed Serbian wild card Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 6-3.

Van de Zandschulp’s triumph was followed by a first-round upset on the centre court in Tel Aviv, where Tomas Martin Etcheverry rallied after losing a one-sided second-set tie-break to complete a 6-2, 6-7(0), 6-4 win against sixth seed Aslan Karatsev. The win against the World No. 39 was the biggest of Etcheverry’s career, and the Argentine’s reward is a second-round clash against Roman Safiullin.

[ATP APP]

There was little to separate Holger Rune and Tim van Rijthoven in a hard-hitting first-round clash at the Sofia Open on Tuesday afternoon.

Yet Rune’s ability to raise his level in a pair of tie-breaks ultimately proved decisive in Bulgaria, where the #NextGenATP Dane prevailed 7-6(2), 7-6(6) to ensure his maiden appearance at the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event was a successful one.

“It feels very good,” said Rune, who reached his career-high of No. 26 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August. “I had just a couple of days of practice here, but I’m really enjoying my time. It’s a tough first round, you never know who can play amazing [and he’s had] some great results, so I’m super happy to get through.”

Despite firing only 18 winners to Van Rijthoven’s 27, Rune showed his mettle under pressure at key moments in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, most significantly when he saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break.

“[I didn’t] want to go to three sets,” said Rune, who will meet Metz champion Lorenzo Sonego or Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the next round. “I had the break and led 5/2 in the [second-set] tie-break. If it [had happened], I was going to fight for sure and try to take it in three, but I’m very happy to finish in two.”

Jenson Brooksby’s resolve was given an early test at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Tuesday, but the eighth seed dug deep before accelerating away from qualifier Wu Tung-Lin to seal a 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-0 first-round victory at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

Wu exerted plenty of pressure on Brooksby’s serve in the two-hour, 20-minute encounter, but the American found a way to save nine of the 11 break points he faced against the World No. 212. Brooksby fended off three set points at 5-6 before going on to take the first-set tie-break, but Wu levelled the match with two second-set breaks of serve as the 24-year-old from Chinese Taipei showed no sign of nerves in his first match against a Top 50 opponent.

Rise-n-Grind ?

Jenson Brooksby pulling out all the stops to finally break Wu in Seoul. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/wzWC38Oiuh

Brooksby, who reached ATP Tour finals this year in Dallas and Atlanta, reacted to that setback in style, delivering a clinical deciding-set showing to book a second-round meeting against Soonwoo Kwon or Yunseong Chung at the outdoor hard-court event.

Also on Tuesday, Yoshihito Nishioka maintained his unbeaten record against Daniel Evans with a 6-2, 7-6(3) triumph against the fifth-seed. The Japanese World No. 56 carved out 14 break point chances against Evans, converting four of them to complete a one-hour, 49-minute victory and extend his ATP Head2Head series lead against the Briton to 6-0. Nishioka will take on countryman Taro Daniel or Emilio Gomez in the second round.

Ilya Ivashka and Mikael Ymer closed Monday's play at the Sofia Open with the match of the day. After three hours and 22 minutes, Ivashka emerged victorious, 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5, at the ATP 250 in Bulgaria.

The two men split 10 breaks of serve across 24 combined break points, Ivashka sealing victory by battling through deuce to break in the final game. Both men struggled on serve, posting matching 57 per cent win rates on their deliveries, while Ivashka saved eight of 13 break points.

The World No. 71, who reached the fourth round at the US Open before losing a five-setter to Jannik Sinner, will face third seed and home favourite Grigor Dimitrov in the Sofia second round.

[ATP APP]

In other Monday main-draw action, Kamil Majchrzak defeated Ricardas Berankis 7-5, 6-2 and Bulgaria's Alexandar Lazarov downed Czech #NextGenATP star Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-3 in front of his home fans.

Dominic Thiem didn’t have things all his own way Monday, but he stepped up when needed to reach the second round at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open.

The Austrian wild card improved on serve and found his range as the match went on to overcome Laslo Djere 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

“I didn’t get off to a great start. I got the break in the second set and then I was a bit lucky I could turn the match around,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “The third set was a real grind… I am very grateful to everyone who came tonight. It is really nice to play in Israel.”

[ATP APP]

The former World No. 3 Thiem, who reached the final at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Rennes earlier this month, will next play second seed Marin Cilic as he aims to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Two players claimed their first ATP Challenger Tour title Sunday. American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran was crowned champion in Braga, Portugal while Bosnia’s Nerman Fatic triumphed at the Sibiu Challenger.

Moreno de Alboran won seven matches in eight days as he advanced through qualifying en route to the title at the Braga Open, defeating Brazil’s Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

The 25-year-old’s maiden Challenger title comes five months after he relinquished serving for a straight-sets victory in the Salinas Challenger final, eventually falling to Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez.

“I’m very happy, it’s been a very emotional week,” Moreno de Alboran said. “It’s been a tough year for me with a lot of injuries so coming here, qualifying, and then winning the tournament means a lot. I’ve put in a lot of work to be here.”

[ATP APP]

It’s been a dream year for Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

In May, the 21-year-old practised with his longtime idol Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. It must've prepared them both well. Djokovic went on to capture a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome while Arnaldi collected his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title the following week in Francavilla al Mare.

“It was incredible,” Arnaldi said. “I played the week before in Rome, my first Masters 1000 event (l. Cilic). My coach and I didn’t know whether to go to Francavilla or not, I was also in qualies at the Geneva ATP event. We decided to go to the Challenger and I played very well the whole week, I didn’t drop a set until the final.”

[ATP APP]

The Sanremo native took down countryman Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4 to triumph on home soil, claiming the title at the C.T. Francavilla Sporting Club. That was just the start of Arnaldi’s breakthrough on the ATP Challenger Tour. Now, after reaching four Challenger semi-finals this season, including San Marino, where he was a finalist (l. Kotov), the World No. 157 is nearing his 2022 goal.

When the time came for his ATP Tour main draw debut, things couldn’t have gone much better for Aleksandar Kovacevic.

The 24-year-old American stunned seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4 at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Monday. Kovacevic had fallen in the final round of qualifying at the ATP 250 hard-court event in Seoul, but he took advantage of a lucky loser spot in style as he broke the World No. 32 three times en route to an impressive 93-minute first-round victory.

“[It is] a little bit surreal,” said Kovacevic, who will meet Christopher O’Connell or Chun-Hsin Tseng in the second round. “I watch these matches on TV every day. I consider a lot of these guys my peers and I feel like I’m playing at a pretty good level, but just being out there in an ATP event in the main draw… I thought that I needed a little more experience to be honest before I did well.

“I played really well out there. There’s something about big matches for me. For Miomir this is obviously not a huge moment because he’s been here for a while, but for me it is a big deal, so it brings out some of my best tennis. [I’m] really glad for this one, but hoping to continue it during the week. Definitely happy to get this first one, but not fully satisfied yet.”

Welcome to the ATP Tour ?

Lucky Loser @kova_aleks storms past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 6-4 on his ATP debut. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/6uhtHNJuix

With just seven weeks to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin is heating up.

Following their standout seasons, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have already booked their spots at the end-of-year finale, leaving six remaining places. ATPTour.com looks at those in contention to join the Spaniards as we enter the last week of September.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Rankings

No. 7 Felix Auger Aliassime
The Canadian is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and will be aiming to build on his strong recent form over the next month as he looks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. Auger-Aliassime defeated World No. 1 Alcaraz at the Davis Cup Finals earlier in September, before he downed Novak Djokovic to help guide Team World to Laver Cup glory at the O2 in London.

No. 3 Casper Ruud
The 23-year-old can strengthen his position in the Race To Turin with a deep run this week at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, where he is the top seed. The Norwegian, who reached his second Grand Slam final at the US Open in September, advanced to the semi-finals on debut at the Nitto ATP Finals last year and is on the brink of qualifying again this season.

Brandon Nakashima dropped just one set last week at the San Diego Open, where he claimed his first ATP Tour title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against fellow American Marcos Giron in Sunday's final. The trophy, which came following his third tour-level final, was made even sweeter by the setting in Nakashima's home city.

After notching five wins on the week, the 21-year-old returned to the Top 50 and reached a new career-high of No. 48 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.

ATPTour.com caught up with the American as he reflected on the milestone win.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It’s a super special feeling for me. Playing in two finals last year and losing at both of them, I never thought this moment was going to happen again, to be in a final... let alone in my hometown of San Diego. To be able to win my first title is super special. This whole week I played at a high level. I’m super proud of myself for all the hard work. 

How does it feel to win it in San Diego?
It feels amazing. It’s an unbelievable feeling just to come out here and have an ATP tournament here where I grew up, where I learned the game of tennis.

Third time's the charm for Brandon Nakashima. The 21-year-old completed a dream week in his home city by winning his first ATP Tour title on Sunday at the San Diego Open.

Playing in his third ATP Tour final, and his first of 2022, the San Diego native defeated third seed Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-4 in an all-American final. It was a fitting finale at the ATP 250 event, with Giron also hailing from Southern California and living in San Diego in recent years.

"It feels like a dream out here," Nakashima said post-match after hugging family and friends courtside. "My first ATP title in my hometown. To be able to capture my first title here, it's unbelievable. Amazing atmosphere out here tonight, and I just really want to say thank you for coming out and showing your support."

[ATP APP]

Nakashima has moved up 21 places this week to No. 48 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a new career-high. The American also solidifed his poisition in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, moving up one place to sixth as he seeks to return to the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Nakashima reached the semi-finals at the year-end showcase last season.

Second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow made the most of their home advantage this week at the San Diego Open to claim their first ATP Tour title as a team.

The Americans — Lammons from Texas and Withrow from Nebraska — earned a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory against Australians Jason Kubler and Luke Saville in Sunday's final at the ATP 250. The pair made a slow start in its first title match as a team, dropping serve in the opening game. But the champions did not face another break point as they improved throughout the contest.

"Nate and I have teamed up a little bit last year and rolled into this year," Withrow said post-match.

"[We're] looking for this to kind of be a steady partnership that we can continue to grow and continue to get better. We feel like, after we've had some hard talks over the summer, we're on the right path and ready to continue the rest of the year and hopefully end on a high note."

[ATP APP]

Team World arrived in London this week having lost the previous four editions of the Laver Cup. However, John McEnroe's side showed quality and grit to turn the tables and triumph 13-8 against Team Europe on Sunday in a victory that left the American captain delighted.

“The difference [this year] was that we kept battling,” McEnroe said in Sunday’s press conference. “The format is a format that things can change in a hurry. Jack [Sock] has been awesome for us. You could see how close it was, the doubles.

“Felix, I've got to say, stepped up big time. Thank you so much for that. That was awesome. But there was a great team spirit. So we were battling from the beginning. I think we felt that it is the ‘Big Four’, but obviously the circumstances are a little different than they could have been 10 years ago, five years ago. So we knew we had a shot at it, but it was an uphill battle. Thank god World won.”

[ATP APP]

Team World entered the final day of the three-day event trailing 4-8. However, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime did double duty to move his side ahead, before Frances Tiafoe defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to seal victory.

Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg revealed that he was proud of his squad’s efforts this week at the Laver Cup despite losing against Team World in London. John McEnroe's side battled back on Sunday to defeat Team Europe 13-8 in Roger Federer’s final tour-level event at The O2.

“For me, it was very special to have this team, this great team,” Borg said during Sunday’s press conference. “Of course right now we are a little disappointed because we lost, but the tennis has been great, good matches, close matches. But to have the ‘Big Four’, and they are different from the younger generation, the players here, it's been fantastic. Roger here, one of the greats, retiring from tennis, stepped away, and we are all a little bit sad about that.

“But we had a good time. Of course we wanted to win. I mean, that's why we are here. It's a great event. Players like it. We were here to try to defend our title but we didn't. They had a good three days. This time they were better than us. But we will definitely be back.”

[ATP APP]

The curtain came down on Federer’s career on Friday night, when he teamed with Rafael Nadal to play his last tour-level match on a historic occasion. Despite the send-off, the Swiss star, who won 103 tour-level titles, was disappointed Team Europe was unable to capture its fifth Laver Cup title.

A host of top names head to Seoul, Sofia and Tel Aviv this week on the ATP Tour as a trio of ATP 250 hard-court events host the action from 26 September to 2 October.

World No. 2 Casper Ruud competes at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, where he is looking to back up his run to the US Open final with a strong showing on the outdoor courts in the South Korean capital.

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic head indoors as the top seeds at the Sofia Open and Tel Aviv Watergen Open, respectively. Grigor Dimitrov will also seek to impress his home fans in Sofia, while Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem join Djokovic in the Tel Aviv draw.

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

[ATP APP]