Roger Federer stepped out onto the red carpet at the 88th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Sunday.

The Swiss later spent time at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, which was attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, winner of the best actor Oscar, for his performance in The Revenant, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Eddie Redmayne, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and former World No. 1 John McEnroe.

On Saturday night, Federer had attended Harvey Weinstein’s star-studded pre-Oscars party at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Federer returned to the practice court last week, having undergone arthroscopic surgery on his knee on 3 February in Switzerland. He has entered the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, starting on 10 April.

A LOOK BACK
Challenger La Manche (Cherbourg, France): Sixth seed Jordan Thompson rallied from an early deficit to claim his first ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday. The 21 year old needed one hour and 42 minutes to complete the 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback over Adam Pavlasek, firing nine aces. It was the first final in Cherbourg to not feature a Frenchman since 2003, when Argentina’s Sergio Roitman defeated Rafael Nadal.

The second Australian to lift a Challenger trophy in 2016, joining 19-year-old Blake Mott, Thompson broke through after three previous defeats in finals. The Sydney native will rise to a career-high World No. 123 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships (Kyoto, Japan): For the sixth time in the 20-year history of the Kyoto Challenger, a home grown champion emerged. Top seed Yuichi Sugita rallied from a set down to deny China’s Zhang Ze 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday’s final, notching a second Kyoto title and sixth overall on the ATP Challenger Tour. Also the champion in 2010 (d. Ebden), Sugita will crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time, rising to a career-high World No. 99.

What The Players Said
Thompson: “It feels great to have won my first Challenger title. I’m really pumped. The Top 100 is my goal for sure!”

WHAT’S AHEAD
The lone event on this week’s schedule is the sixth edition of the prestigious event in Quimper, France. A Frenchman has taken home the trophy the past two years, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert winning in 2014 and Benoit Paire prevailing in 2015. This week, Herbert is seeded fifth with Paul-Henri Mathieu leading the pack. A potential blockbuster all-Russian teen clash between Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev looms in the second round.

Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos made the most of their first ATP World Tour final appearance as a team by winning the Brasil Open 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 over Pablo Carreno Busta and David Marrero on Sunday. The established partnership already had four ATP Challenger titles to its name, but was only taking part in its second tour-level event (2016 Quito), improving to 5-1. Peralta was contesting his first tour-level final, while Zeballos had two doubles titles, having won in Buenos Aires in 2010 and in Munich a year later.

“In the first set, I did not play that well, to be honest,” Peralta said. “But in second, I did, making some good returns and putting pressure on them. That was the key today.

“I want to thank my partner Horacio for a great week. We hope to come back next year.” 

“We were a little bit nervous in the first set, but we just focused on our game in the second set and we ended up playing very good tennis,” Zeballos said. “We like the conditions. It’s also nice to play close to home. The people treat us very well here in Sao Paulo. It’s always nice to play in South America.”

The Spaniards Carreno Busta and Marrero were playing in their second final in two weeks, having upset top seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares en route to the Rio Open final (l. to Cabal/Farah). Carreno Busta was still warm from playing in the Sao Paulo singles final (l. to Cuevas) earlier in the day. 

Carreno Busta/Marrero saved all seven break points faced in the first set and earned an early lead by going one-for-nine on break point opportunities. Peralta/Zeballos fired back by breaking their opponents twice in the second set, then winning all four second-serve points in the Match Tie-break to secure the title. They received 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and $23,600, while the finalists shared 150 points and $12,400.

Pablo Cuevas successfully defended his Brasil Open title with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta in the final on Sunday. The 30 year old earned his fifth tour-level title and second in as many weeks after winning the Rio Open seven days ago. He is now 5-1 in ATP World Tour final appearances, all on clay courts.

The Uruguayan only dropped serve once and converted three break point chances (3/5) during the 85-minute encounter. His second Sao Paulo title match was a breeze compared to last year’s final, when he broke back down 4-5 in the final set and saw off Luca Vanni 7-6 in the deciding tie-break.

Cuevas is on a nine-match winning streak and improved to 11-1 on clay in 2016. He received 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $77,600. Carreno Busta, a first-time finalist at tour-level, earned 150 points and $40,870.