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Former Top 5 stars Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori have accepted wild cards into the Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event to be played from 21-27 August.

Thiem will compete in the main draw of the hard-court tournament for the first time. In 2012, the Austrian attempted to qualify in North Carolina, but was unsuccessful.

Now 28, Thiem will try to add to his hard-court resumé, which includes titles at the US Open and the BNP Paribas Open as well as two runner-up finishes at the Nitto ATP Finals. The former World No. 3 is continuing his comeback from a wrist injury, which he began in March.

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Nishikori has not been in action since last October's BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The former World No. 4 underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery in January.

After clinching his maiden ATP Tour title at the Hamburg European Open, #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti has broken into the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. Musetti's championship match opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, has become the second-youngest player in the 21st century to crack the Top 5 with his run to the final in Germany.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week, as of Monday, 25 July.

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No. 31 Lorenzo Musetti, +31 (Career High)
Musetti’s run to the title in Hamburg propels him into the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, cutting in half his ranking to No. 31. The 20-year-old overcame Alcaraz in a thrilling #NextGenATP clash on the clay at the ATP 500 event in Germany, where Musetti’s run also included wins against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Francisco Cerundolo. Read Hamburg Final Report & Watch Highlights.

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China’s highest-ranked men’s player Wu Yibing continued his sizzling run on the ATP Challenger Tour Sunday when he saved six championship points to claim the Rajeev Ram Foundation Indy Challenger. Wu erased the match points in the second set en route to a 6-7(10), 7-6(13), 6-3 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in 2 hours and 54 minutes. The win lifts Wu to a career-high 174 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“Today means a lot. I was crying like a baby after the match,” said the former junior No. 1.

In a big week for Chinese players, Zhang Zhizhen also reached the final at the Citta di Trieste Challenger in Italy.

Wu is the first Asian-born men’s player to win three titles in the same season since Alexander Bublik in 2019. Boasting an 18-2 record on the Challenger Tour this season, he is attempting to become the first Chinese man to reach the Top 100.

The on-court battle proved to be both physically and mentally exhausting. Wu’s remarkable effort to save six match points is the most in a Challenger final since Marcos Giron saved six against Ivo Karlovic in Houston in 2019. “Both tie-breaks were more mental than (about) tennis,” Wu said.

Nineteen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz made history on Monday when he climbed to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, becoming the second-youngest player in the 21st century to crack the top five.

The only player who has achieved the feat at a younger age since 2000 is Rafael Nadal, who did it in May 2005 as an 18-year-old. Alcaraz had an opportunity to reach World No. 4, but settled for No. 5 after falling short in the Hamburg European Open final against Lorenzo Musetti.

“It means a lot. The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [No.] 1, and little by little I’m reaching my dream,” Alcaraz said. “Top five for me is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be [No.] 1.”

Five Youngest Players To Crack Top Five (since 2000)

Alcaraz began his season at World No. 32, but has quickly surged towards the top of the sport. Alcaraz, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the only three players this millennium who have broken into the top five as teens.

Lorenzo Musetti became the 10th first-time ATP Tour titlist of the season on Sunday when he won a thrilling Hamburg European Open final against Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4.

The Italian let slip five championship points in the second set, but managed to weather the Alcaraz storm in the third set to lift the ATP 500 trophy.

ATPTour.com spoke to the 20-year-old after the match about his breakthrough, his relationship with his coach, Simone Tartarini, why he idolised his grandfather and his pre-match playlist.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
For me it’s a dream. Obviously I always dreamed about winning a title and I didn’t have any chances before. I think my best result was a semi-final, so I never had the opportunity to play a final. I’m really happy with this week. I think we did an amazing job and now we will celebrate and enjoy it for the next days, but we have to focus on Umag and the rest of the year.

What was going through your mind after the second set and how were you able to battle back?
It was a really tough loss in the second set. I think I deserved to close the match in two sets, but then some unlucky things [happened] and Carlos was very good saving so many match points. I was upset with myself with everything, but I tried to find the solution and the solution was to again find the rhythm and the energy. That’s what I did. I’m really happy that I never gave up and it worked at the end.

Nobody will soon forget how Lorenzo Musetti won his first ATP Tour title.

The 20-year-old let slip five championship points in the second set of the Hamburg European Open final on Sunday before stunning top seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in an all-#NextGenATP battle to lift the trophy.

"I have no words because it was a roller-coaster until the end. I had so many match points. Carlos was so good on the match points, [I had] so many chances," Musetti said in his on-court interview. "But I think the key of the match was to keep calm and [have] all the patience [with] myself because it was really not easy. Carlos was putting so much effort in the match points when he was down, so it was not easy to find the energy to come back.

"But I cannot describe what I am feeling right now. I think I am still dreaming."

Entering the week, the Italian had not advanced to a tour-level final. But Musetti showed his mental fortitude against Alcaraz, who will climb to a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, to triumph after two hours and 47 minutes.

Despite a straight-sets defeat in their first ATP Tour match together in Stuttgart in June, Tomislav Brkic and Francisco Cabral opted to give their partnership a second chance.

That decision paid off on Sunday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, where the unseeded pairing capped an impressive week at the ATP 250 event in the Swiss Alps with a 6-4, 6-4 championship match victory against Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald.

“It’s just our second tournament together,” said Cabral at the trophy ceremony. “The first one was on grass. It was my first ever grass event and he [Cabral] doesn’t feel that comfortable on grass, so we just decided we needed to give it one more try and we have got better.”

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Brkic and Cabral upset top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez with a Match Tie-break win in the first round in Gstaad and did not drop another set all week. The duo produced a powerful serving performance against Haase and Oswald on Sunday to surge to the title in Switzerland, winning 87 per cent (26/30) of points behind their first delivery in a 71-minute victory.

The action takes place on both clay and hard courts this week on the ATP Tour, as a host of Top 20 stars compete at three ATP 250 events across two continents.

Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz headlines the field at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, while Casper Ruud is the top seed at the at the week's other European clay-court event, the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. In the United States, John Isner will aim to win his seventh title on the hard courts at the Atlanta Open.

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

View Draws: Atlanta | Kitzbühel | Umag

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The fourth final was the charm this season for Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

After falling short in their first three tour-level finals of the year, the British-Finnish duo lifted their first ATP Tour trophy of the season on Sunday when they defeated fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop 6-2, 6-4 to win the Hamburg European Open. The unseeded duo did not lose a set at the ATP 500.

“We really clicked this week. Of course we’ve had some good results, especially this year and on clay I think at the beginning of this year we didn’t feel that comfortable,” Heliovaara said. “Now it almost feels like the best surface for us because we’re serving well, but we also give very big pressure to the opponents with our aggressive return game.

“We feel very good together on the court, great chemistry and just enjoy playing. That’s an important thing.”

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The Swiss air brings out the best in Casper Ruud.

The top seed engineered a mid-match turnaround at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad on Sunday to complete a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory in a heavy-hitting championship match against Matteo Berrettini.

Second seed Berrettini appeared in control in the final at the clay-court ATP 250 event after clinching the opening set and carving out the only three break points of the second. Yet Ruud dug deep to clinch the second-set tie-break and his high-powered forehand dominated the final set as he secured his ninth ATP Tour title, and his eighth on clay, with a two-hour, 34-minute win.

Ruud’s successful title defence at the ATP 250 event in Switzerland improved his record at tour-level in Switzerland to 16-0. As well as his two titles in Gstaad, the 23-year-old has also lifted the trophy at the past two editions of the Gonet Geneva Open.

More to follow…

Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald dropped their first set this week at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Saturday's semi-finals, but quickly recovered to claim a 7-5, 3-6, 10-3 win against Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori.

The Dutch-Austrian duo claimed its only break point of the match to secure the opening set and saved six of the seven break point against them in the contest. The victory puts them through to their second tour-level final as a team; they won their only previous title match in 2019 in Umag.

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Tomislav Brkic and Francisco Cabral will provide the opposition in Sunday's final after the Bosnian-Portuguese duo eased past Fabrice Martin and Franko Skugor 6-3 6-3 without facing a break point. The pair is seeking it first title as a team, though Martin is a seven-time tour-level doubles champion and Skugor has six titles to his name.

Glasspool/Heliovaara Pull Upset In Hamburg
Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara defeated third seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 6-4 6-4 in the Hamburg European Open semi-finals on Saturday, extending their perfect record this week to six sets won from six played.

Carlos Alcaraz fought off a stern test from Alex Molcan on Saturday at the Hamburg European Open to set up a marquee final against fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP 500 event.

The 7-6(2), 6-1 victory moves the Spaniard up to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, with the No. 4 spot on offer should he claim the Hamburg title. Regardless of the final result, Alcaraz is set to break into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

"It was tough," Alcaraz said post-match. "Obviously he played really well. The first set was really close. I'm really happy to be able to end the first set playing well.

"In the second set, I think he was down a little bit. He didn't play well in the second set. I finished the match with a lot of confidence and played very well."

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Lorenzo Musetti has broken through to his first ATP Tour final at the Hamburg European Open behind a Saturday semi-final victory against the red-hot Francisco Cerundolo. The #NextGenATP Italian dominated the first half of the contest but navigated a nervy finish to secure a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory.

"It means a lot for me," Musetti said of reaching his first tour-level title match. "It's a surprise for me because I was not playing my best tennis last week [in Bastad], so I didn't expect to be in the final here."

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On his first match point at 5-4, A/40 in the second set, Musetti's underarm serve backfired as Cerundolo reacted quickly to force a difficult, low volley. But after falling behind 1/3 in the tie-break, the 20-year-old closed the match how he started it, dominating proceedings to win the final six points.

"It was not easy because he was playing really good. I was playing under pressure," the Italian said. "I saw him so far from the baseline on the ad side. I don't know why I did the underarm serve, but it didn't work. At the end I didn't take the option of the underarm serve. I went for the kick and serve-and-volley and it worked. So I'm really happy."

Top seed Casper Ruud produced a clinical performance to see off the challenge of Albert Ramos-Vinolas with a comfortable 6-2, 6-0 semi-final victory at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad on Saturday afternoon.

In a battle between the past two champions at the clay-court ATP 250 event in Switzerland, Ruud was dominant throughout. The Norwegian broke 2019 champion Ramos-Vinolas’ serve five times and did not face a single break point on his own delivery as he charged to a 62-minute victory.

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Ruud will take on second seed Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s championship match as both players seek their third title of 2022 and their second crown in Gstaad. Both finalists are unbeaten in the Swiss mountains, with Berrettini having triumphed on tournament debut in 2018 and Ruud defeating Hugo Gaston to lift the trophy on his first appearance at the event a year ago.

“It will be a tough one for sure,” said Ruud after the match. “I know Matteo well. We didn’t grow up together but the past years we have played each other a couple of times. He’s a super nice guy and he’s also on a good run on the Tour at the moment and also in Switzerland. We’ll both seek our second win here in Gstaad, and it will be an interesting match.”

Matteo Berrettini’s magical European summer rumbled on at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad on Saturday, when the World No. 15 eased to a straight-sets semi-final victory against 2015 champion Dominic Thiem.

The Italian dominated the pair’s sixth ATP Head2Head meeting at the clay-court ATP 250 event in Switzerland, where he struck the ball with power and accuracy throughout to charge to a 6-1, 6-4 victory. Berrettini raced to a 5-0 lead early in the first set and gave Thiem few opportunities to establish a foothold in the match thereafter, going on to seal victory in 78 minutes.

“I’m really happy with my performance,” said Berrettini, the 2018 champion in Gstaad, after the match. “I knew that I had to play my best tennis to beat him. I think my game in general was working pretty well. I was serving well, returning well. I was being aggressive. I don’t think I gave him the time to play his game and that was the key today.”

Having won his previous two tournaments in Stuttgart and at The Queen’s Club, the win extends Berrettini’s winning streak since returning to Tour in June after a hand injury to 12 matches.

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Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop dominated the second half of their Hamburg European Open semi-final to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 10-3 against top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Friday.

In the lone doubles match of the day in Hamburg, the Indian-Dutch duo did not drop serve in the second set to force a Match Tie-break. In the decider, they won all seven points on serve to reach their second tour-level final as a team. The pair also reached the Antwerp final in 2020.

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While Bopanna is a 21-time tour-level titlist and Middelkoop a 12-time champion, the veterans are seeking their first trophy together. Bopanna has two titles this season (in Pune and Adelaide with countryman Ramkumar Ramanathan), while Middelkoop has one (with countryman Robin Haase in Rotterdam).

The fourth seeds await the winner of Saturday's semi-final, which pits third seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

Carlos Alcaraz has improved with every match this week at the Hamburg European Open. If that trend continues, he's in prime position to claim his fifth ATP Tour title of 2022, an achievement which would break a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most on the season.

The 19-year old Spaniard was at his untouchable best on Friday in a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Karen Khachanov. He fired 21 winners to seven errors as he raced into the semi-finals in just over an hour, winning a battle between the only two seeded Hamburg quarter-finalists.

"I played unbelievable today, probably one of my best matches this year," Alcaraz said, repeating his sentiments from after his second-round victory against Filip Krajinovic. "I'm pretty happy with the performance that I'm playing in this tournament. Yesterday was amazing as well.

"I'm training every day to be solid and at the same time to be aggressive," he added. "That is my game."

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Lorenzo Musetti is poised to crack the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time behind his semi-final run at the Hamburg European Open. The 20-year-old defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 6-3 on Friday at the ATP 500 event to secure his best result of the 2022 season.

"I think I played one of the best matches of the year," he said after the victory against his close friend. "Really intense from the beginning and really focussed on each point. I think that was the key to get through with the win."

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Musetti has moved up 13 places to No. 49 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week; he could reach as high as No. 31 with the title. The Italian's career-high in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is No. 51.

Entering Hamburg on a six-match tour-level losing streak, the #NextGenATP star has broken out of that slump in style. After dropping his opening set of the tournament against Dusan Lajovic, Musetti has now won six straight sets in Hamburg to book his semi-final place opposite Francisco Cerundolo.

Matteo Berrettini survived a major scare on Friday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, rallying past fifth seed Pedro Martinez 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 to reach the semi-finals and extend his winning streak to 11 matches.

The Italian was on the brink of defeat in the second-set tie-break, trailing 1/5. However, the second seed found his best level just in time, reeling off six consecutive points to clinch the set, before he raced away in the third set to advance after two hours and 16 minutes.

“Sometimes it is just tennis. It is a crazy sport. At 1/5 I thought I was done. Then I played two good points and it was 3/5 and I thought ‘let’s try’,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview. “I don’t think I played my best match here. But sometimes it is important to win when you are not playing well. I managed to find some energy inside me and I am really happy to be through.”

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The 26-year-old will next play Austrian Dominic Thiem after the former World No. 3 continued to gather momentum with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas. Berrettini leads Thiem 3-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.