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Jannik Sinner was handed a double reward when he advanced to the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers quarter-finals on Friday. By doing so, the Italian became the first player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Ranking, Sinner will make his second consecutive appearance and third overall at the prestigious season finale in Turin, which this year will take place from 10-17 November. After making his event debut as an alternate in 2021, Sinner last year charged to the final in front of his home fans at Inalpi Arena, where he ultimately fell to Novak Djokovic.

FORZA JANNIK ?

Sinner is the first to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, and is ready to battle it out on home soil ???@nittoatpfinals | #NittoATPFinals | @janniksin pic.twitter.com/0ANj8hI3aS

The 22-year-old Italian began his year by lifting his maiden major trophy at the Australian Open. He then won an indoor hard-court ATP 500 in Rotterdam, became an ATP Masters 1000 champion for the second time in Miami, and clinched his first tour-level grass title in Halle.

Alongside winning a Tour-leading four titles this season, Sinner made history on 10 June after Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals. He rose above Djokovic to become the first Italian No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history.

Jannik Sinner continued his quest towards a fifth title of the season on Saturday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he dispatched Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Montreal.

After a slow start, the World No. 1 began to motor from the mid-way point in the first set. The Italian won 92 per cent (11/12) of his first-serve points in the opener and then won eight consecutive points in the early stages of the second set to break Tabilo’s serve and take full control.

"Tricky opponent, tricky conditions," Sinner said. "It is difficult playing against this type of player. Huge lefty, big potential. I had to be very careful, looking a lot to make the game. It felt like a good match. I know in my mind I have to play one more time [today], so there is not much time to be happy and recover. I am happy to play again later."

With his 79-minute win, Sinner set a quarter-final meeting with Andrey Rublev. The top seed is undertaking double duty on Saturday after rain cancelled Friday's play and will return to Court Central at 7 p.m. local time to face Rublev.

"When you are a set and a break up you want to close it in two," Sinner said. "If I want to play the second match today, I had to win the first one. So if it took three or four hours, it takes that long. It will be a tough match against Andrey. He played great today."

Sebastian Korda extended his winning run to seven matches on Saturday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he overcame countryman Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the third round in Montreal.

Korda is playing at a career-high No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings, having won his first ATP 500 crown in Washington last week. The 24-year-old saved three set points in the second set on serve at 4-5 against Fritz before he eventually prevailed in the tie-break to advance after one hour and 39 minutes.

Korda, who improved to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz, then received a walkover from sixth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud to reach the quarter-finals. The American will next play Alexander Zverev or Holger Rune.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev set a potential quarter-final meeting with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner when he dispatched American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-2.

Rublev struck 22 winners and committed just five unforced errors in a high-quality performance to reach the last eight at the hard-court event. With his 64-minute win, Rublev completed the set of quarter-finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

Top seed Jannik Sinner headlines a hectic Saturday schedule at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where the Italian will need to pull double duty to reach the semi-finals and continue his title defence.

The 22-year-old, among several players who could play two matches in one day due to rain cancelling the entirety of Friday’s Montreal action, will play 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo not before 12:30 p.m. local time on Court Central. The winner will return to the same court not before 7 p.m. to face fifth seed Andrey Rublev or qualifier Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals.

Following Sinner and Tabilo on Court Central will be the third-round blockbuster between second seed Alexander Zverev and 13th seed Holger Rune. Zverev and Rune are level at 1-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with the German winning their most recent match in five sets at this year's Roland Garros.

Kei Nishikori looks to build upon his run at the ATP Masters 1000 event, beginning the day with a third-round match against Portugal’s Nuno Borges. The winner will close the Court Central evening session with a quarter-final meeting against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Matteo Arnaldi.

There are still three second-round matches to be completed, two of which have not commenced: fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz versus Thanasi Kokkinakis and the all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. The winner of Fritz and Korda will play sixth seed Casper Ruud after suitable rest.

Friday’s play at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal has been cancelled for the day due to rain.

Tournament officials moved early in the day to abandon the full schedule as heavy and persistent rain associated with the remnants of post-cyclone Debby made the possibility of play at any stage of the day highly unlikely.

Today's cancellation means that several top stars, headlined to Jannik Sinner, will need to play twice Saturday if they are to continue through the draw. Top seed Sinner will play 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo not before 12:30 p.m. on Court Central and if he wins, will return to the same court not before 7 p.m. to face the winner between fifth seed Andrey Rublev and qualifier Brandon Nakashima. 

There are still three second-round matches to be completed, two of which had not commenced: fourth-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (who were rained out after their warm-up Thursday night) and ninth seed Taylor Fritz and Washington champion Sebastian Korda in an all-American clash.

The other second-round match sees Arthur Rinderknech leading Italian Flavio Cobolli 3-0.

One-handed backhand players are trading in their picturesque motions and precise ball striking for, well, something peculiar. And the ATP Tour stars are letting this drastic change — using two hands — seep into their daily lives.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is changing his morning grooming routine. Denis Shapovalov is finding it difficult to complete simple tasks. Dominic Thiem is hilariously frustrated. Why?

“The single-handed backhand is dead,” Grigor Dimitrov joked in the latest ATP Tour feature.”We’ve been trying to use two hands everywhere we can!”

How are the players reacting to this not-so-easy transition away from ‘poetry in motion’? Watch the full video below to find out.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas announced on Friday that his father Apostolos would no longer serve as his coach.

"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my collaboration with my father as a coach has come to an end. I prefer to keep my father in his role as a father, and only as a father," Tsitsipas wrote in Greek on social media.

"Philosophy teaches us that wisdom comes through understanding our limits and acknowledging our mistakes,” he continued. “In my case, I realised that I was wrong to talk to my father the way I did. Tennis is not just a match, a hit or a performance of a few seconds. It is a long journey full of emotions, pressure and expectations.

"In that moment of frustration, there were many mistakes and errors on the part of my coach and father. As an introvert, I tend to hold in my emotions and build them up until I reach a bursting point. I consider myself patient, so the fact that I reacted this way left me shocked."

Σας ενημερώνω με βαριά καρδιά ότι η συνεργασία μου με τον πατέρα μου ως προπονητής έχει φτάσει στο τέλος της. Προτιμώ να κρατήσω τον πατέρα μου στον ρόλο του ως πατέρας, και μόνο ως πατέρας.

Η φιλοσοφία μας διδάσκει ότι η σοφία έρχεται μέσα από την κατανόηση των ορίων μας και…

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earned his biggest win of the season Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he upset third seed Daniil Medvedev.

“It’s not been an easy year for me,” the Spaniard said in his on-court interview. “A lot of changes in my life.”

One of those changes was to his team. Davidovich Fokina had worked with coach Jorge Aguirre from age 11, but at Roland Garros former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fernando Verdasco became his coach.

“It’s a lot of years that I was with him and at the end, I think I was struggling about not going forward from the ranking [where] I was,” Davidovich Fokina, who reached a career-high World No. 21 last year, told ATPTour.com. “I think we had our limits. I decided to change [to] Fer because I think I have to have a top player that can tell me things that maybe my coach could not say. Because at the end, the feelings and the emotions and everything that Fernando has on court all his career, he will know how to manage those times.

“We started in Roland Garros, and we didn't have a lot of time together. But we are working every day, and we are enjoying each other, because we know [each other] very well, and I know his family, and he knows me. He knows my people around me, then we are enjoying it.”

Thursday evening action at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal has been cancelled due to rain.

A trio of second-round matches will be moved to Friday, including fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz’s meeting with Thanasi Kokkinakis and the all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech led Flavio Cobolli 3-0, 15/15 with the Italian serving when play was suspended.

Hurkacz and Kokkinakis warmed up for their fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, but rain fell just as they were about to begin the match at 6 p.m. local time. Players briefly waited courtside before heading to the locker room. Thursday’s evening session was called off just after 10 p.m.

Hurkacz, who is set to compete for the first time since knee surgery post-Wimbledon, gave a ballkid an unforgettable memory when he invited him to share an umbrella. The World No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings asked the ballkid questions such as, 'Do you play tennis? Do you play any tournaments?'

This year's tournament started one day later than normal on Tuesday due to the Olympics. The final is scheduled for Monday.

Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski reached the quarter-finals of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers on Thursday, when they downed second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Seeded 14th, the Monegasque-Polish team held its nerves in the closing stages, converting their fourth match point to set a quarter-final clash against singles stars Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner.

Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin also rallied from a set down, overcoming sixth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-1, 10-7. Into the last eight, Medvedev and Safiullin will meet third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. The 2021 champions defeated 15th seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Nikola Mektic 6-4, 7-6(4).

Fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, who won Roland Garros this year, advanced with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against ninth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus.

Fifth-seeded Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori ousted 12th seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6(4). Bolelli and Vavassori are third in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin.

Top seed Jannik Sinner began his title defence in dominant fashion Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. Competing in his first singles match 30 days on from his Wimbledon quarter-final run, the Italian raced past Croatian Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in Montreal.

Sinner produced high-quality ballstriking and showed no signs of rust once he found his rhythm in the early stages. The 22-year-old, who missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, dropped just four points behind his first serve in what was his first hard-court match since winning the Miami title in March.

“I’ve been here for a little bit so I’m maybe a bit more used to the conditions, but still, I’m very happy about the performance,” Sinner said. “It was a very tough match. Even if you watched the score, it felt closer for sure. I had to save a break point in the second set and if he makes that one it could potentially change the match. It was a very good mindset today and I’ll try to keep going.”

The 14-time tour-level titlist honed in on deep returning to pressure Coric early in rallies. Sinner created 11 break chances, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"Today I felt like I was hitting the ball quite cleanly," said Sinner, who is in the doubles quarter-finals alongside Jack Draper. "It’s very tough to play here, it’s a bit breezy and windy and the ball flies a bit, so we try to get better day by day. Today was for sure a very positive day, so let’s see what’s coming."

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament announced on Thursday.

The Serbian owns a 45-12 record at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event, triumphing in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Twelve months ago, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in an epic deciding-set tie-break in the title match.

The 37-year-old holds a 29-7 record on the season, having captured his first Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles at the Paris Olympics last week, when he defeated Alcaraz in two tie-breaks less than two months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee to take a 4-3 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Djokovic is currently sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion is trying to qualify for the season finale for the 17th time. Since 2007, the only year in which he missed out was 2017. The 2024 year-end championships will be held in Turin from 10-17 November.

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Of all people, a Brazilian yoga teacher can proudly claim that he was one of the first to recognise Joao Fonseca's natural athletic ability.

The room inside the Fonseca’s house which is now an office was once an exercise space, where the #NextGenATP star’s father, Christiano, practised jiu-jitsu and had in-home yoga lessons. Meanwhile, a two-year-old Joao would be playing with a ball, as any toddler enjoys. But this was different. The coordination came easy. The reaction time was impressively quick. It was in that same exercise room where Joao and his father began playing mini-tennis matches.

“We made a little net in the middle and I played with my father a lot,” Fonseca told ATPTour.com. “My dad would play a match to 10 and it would be 9/3 and he would make it 9/9, and then sometimes he made me win and other times he would make it 11/9, a win for him. And I cried, I remember.”

Now 17 and one of the fastest-rising names in tennis, Fonseca, who last week won his first ATP Challenger Tour title, grew up a multi-sport athlete, playing soccer and tennis while also participating in jiu-jitsu and judo. It did not take long for the Fonsecas to realise that their son had potential.

“When he was two, we were like, 'This boy is different,’” Christiano said. “I remember that my yoga teacher came here and he started playing with the ball with Joao and he said to me, 'This boy is different. He has much more reflexes and coordination than the average.' Very young, we knew he was different.”

Alexander Zverev wasted little time in earning a Tour-leading 48th win of the season on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal, where he cruised past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round.

The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was competing on hard courts for the first time since his semi-final run in March in Maimi but adjusted quickly to advance after 63 minutes.

Zverev dominated on serve, winning 95 per cent (18/19) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, while he tallied a 20-8 winners-to-unforced errors ratio to avenge his semi-final defeat to Thompson in Los Cabos earlier this year and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.

The second-seeded German has fond memories in Montreal, having defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to win the title in 2017 when he was aged 20.

Zverev will continue his quest this week at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event against 13th seed Holger Rune, who ousted Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-3.

Kei Nishikori earned his first Top 20 win since 2021 on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal, where he upset World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round at ATP Masters 1000 level for the first time in three years.

The Japanese lefty, currently No. 576 in the PIF ATP Rankings, rolled back the years with an impressive display against Tsitsipas to become the third lowest-ranked player to reach the last 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990.

“It means a lot,” Nishikori said after reaching the third round. “I am playing well and feels I am back on track again, so I am really happy with the way I played today.”

Nishikori won 92 per cent (11/12) of net points and 60 per cent (9/15) of points on Tsitsipas’ second-serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance after just 79 minutes at the hard-court event.

“Beating Stef is not easy and for me it is a great win,” Nishikori added. “I stayed aggressive and was not missing too many balls today. It was much better than the first round.”

The biggest story of tennis at the Paris Olympics was Novak Djokovic securing the gold medal, the most important title he was missing. The Serbian emerging victorious was not a surprise.

What is a surprise is that nearly a week later, there is a tennis-related story making international headlines with people from outside of the sport declaring it worthy of a movie, even earning a segment on the TODAY Show, one of the biggest morning shows in the United States.

That story is the gold-medal mixed doubles run of Czech mixed doubles pair Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova. Two days before the start of the competition, news circulated in the Czech media that the longtime partners had separated three weeks prior.

“I think everybody was curious from the beginning, because we said that we are not together before the tournament,” Machac told ATPTour.com. “The media tried to push it before the Olympics. I don't know why, but it was one or two days before the game, so it wasn't easy for us. But we have a good relationship between us together.”

The Czechs won their first three matches in straight sets, including a first-round victory against top-seeded Germans Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, who clinched the United Cup for their country earlier this year. The deeper Machac and Siniakova advanced, the closer fans paid attention to the nature of their relationship. They had separated, but were getting along perfectly well on court.

Jannik Sinner has taken the tennis world by storm in 2024. Few players knew that storm was coming before Borna Coric.

The two men, who will meet Thursday in the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, have known each other since they were teens training at renowned coach Riccardo Piatti’s academy. Now they will face off on one of the world’s biggest stages, at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000 event.

“That's why you play tennis, and that's why I train. I think it's the same for everybody. So for sure, it's a great excitement, and it's going to be a very good test to see where I'm at,” Coric said. “Now, obviously he's the big favourite. He's playing unbelievable tennis this year. But I always like a good challenge and it's going to be very fun, for sure.”

Coric and Sinner have enjoyed opposite levels of success in 2024. The Croatian admitted it has been a struggle for him, especially during the clay-court season, when he tallied a 2-5 record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

The former No. 12 player in the PIF ATP Rankings felt his level was there early in the year on hard courts, but the results did not come. Then on clay, when he typically feels well, Coric did not.

The smile on Kei Nishikori’s face said it all Tuesday afternoon in Montreal. The former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings had just crushed a forehand winner past #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen to seal his place in the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

More importantly, it was a flash of the Japanese star’s best tennis. The 34-year-old enjoyed finding that form to battle on at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“In the end, yes, but first and second sets, no, because I still struggled with how I played,” Nishikori told ATPTour.com, cracking a laugh. “I think that's because I haven't played many matches and I don't have confidence, and especially [since] I lost easily last week. I didn't play good last week. That's why I was also worried coming into today.

“But in the end, I was playing much better, like I wanted to play, so I have to be happy with how I played today.”

Nishikori has hit the highest of highs in the sport, earning 435 tour-level wins, 12 ATP Tour titles, competing in four Nitto ATP Finals and reaching a major final at the 2014 US Open. Competing in just his ninth tournament since October 2021, he is beginning his journey back towards the top of the tennis world.

Jordan Thompson made history Monday when he cracked the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time aged 30. Only three players in the 21st century have accomplished the feat for the first time at an older age: Gilles Muller (33), Jan-Lennard Struff (30) and Michael Llodra (30).

“It's pretty special. Thirty on 30,” Thompson told ATPTour.com after advancing to the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. “I've been working my whole life to keep pushing forward. So hopefully I can keep going. Top 30 is a good milestone for me, but hopefully I can keep pushing on.”

It has been a long time coming for the Sydneysider. His father, Stephen, is a tennis coach and has mentored ‘Thommo’ since the age of four.

“I remember my dad putting in a lot of hours on the court that I probably never thanked him for, and my mom a lot of time driving in the car with me,” Thompson recalled. “I remember I spent so many hours just driving all around — well, my mom spent all those hours driving around Sydney — and I probably never thanked her either. So it's a lot of sacrifice that goes into any professional athlete. I have a lot to thank them for.”

The Australian has fond memories of those early days. He worked hard to steadily improve, reaching a career-high No. 18 in the juniors and cracking the Top 100 in 2016 aged 22. He credits it all to his family and the coaches who helped him along the way.

Former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini, Reilly Opelka, Marcos Giron and Max Purcell have been awarded wild cards for the Cincinnati Open, the tournament announced Wednesday.

The Italian Berrettini will bring his 10-match winning streak to the ATP Masters 1000 event, having won back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbühel. It will mark the 28-year-old's sixth Cincinnati appearance.

Opelka’s next stop in his comeback trail is a familiar one. The 6’11” American first played in Cincinnati as an 18-year-old wild card in 2016 and reached the quarter-finals four years later. Opelka has competed in three tournaments in the past month following a 23-month injury layoff.

Giron looks to continue his standout season. The 31-year-old won his maiden tour-level title in Newport and is currently at a career-high No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Purcell aims to defend quarter-final points from last year’s run as a qualifier.

Qualifying wild cards were awarded to Cincinnati-native J.J. Wolf, Mackenzie McDonald, Zachary Svajda and Brandon Holt. The Cincinnati Open runs from 12-19 August.