No. 5 seed Joao Sousa debuted at the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur with a comeback win on Monday against #NextGen player Quentin Halys of France. The Portuguese, playing at a career-high No. 28 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes against the 19 year old.

Halys, who received a wild card into the main draw, broke Sousa to win the first set, but the Frenchman was broken twice in the second set as Sousa evened their first-round contest. In the third, Sousa broke to go up 2-1 and later served out the set on his first try.

With the successful debut, the 27 year old also celebrated his 100^th tour-level win. Sousa is trying to build on his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final earlier this month at the Mutua Madrid Open. He next will play Victor Estrella Burgos, who won a clay-court title earlier this year at the Ecuador Open Quito.

American qualifier Donald Young earned his second win in as many tries against World No. 34 Fabio Fognini, beating the Italian 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Young, No. 82 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, had won their earlier meeting on hard courts in Vienna in 2012. The 26 year old will face Argentine Guido Pella for the first time in the second round. Pella erased 16 of 18 break points and outlasted Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-7(4), 7-6(5).

Diego Schwartzman claimed the battle of 2016 titlists. The TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open champion closed out a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory against Fernando Verdasco, who won the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy last month in Bucharest. The Argentine moves on to face No. 3 seed Kevin Anderson. The World No. 20 is coming back from injuries and has played just seven matches this season. Anderson prevailed in four sets in their earlier meeting at the 2015 Australian Open.

#NextGen player Taylor Fritz won the first main draw clay-court match of his career. Fritz, No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, dismissed Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 7-6(4), 6-4. The 18 year old, who is the youngest player in the Top 100, hit eight aces and won nearly 80 per cent of his first-serve points to beat the 28-year-old Marchenko. The American faces No. 2 seed Gilles Simon in the second round for the first time.

Often we’ve found that mothers have been the first coach of the ATP World Tour players, whether it is on court or in life. We asked our stars to share some of their favourite memories of their moms, their best advice and much more.

To see what the players have to say, visit the ATP Moms capsule in MyATP. Not a member? Sign-up at MyATP.com or download the app to your iPhone or Android device.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Bob Bryan: “We’ve got a great mom… We were always bickering, yelling and throwing our racquets. We were always fighting with each other. She put up with us and gave us good strokes!” Read More & View Photo

Mike Bryan: “She taught us a good lesson to be good sportsmen on the court, be better people.” Read More & View Photo

Kevin Anderson: “My Mum has been my number one fan since day one, always there and helping me chase my dreams!” Read More & View Photo

Alexander Zverev: “She basically taught me from a little age how to play this sport; what to do on the court, all the technique, and I want to say I have a pretty clean technique. That’s all her.” Read More & View Photo

Joao Sousa: “Her only advice was ‘Believe in yourself and you will achieve whatever you set your mind on’.” Read More & View Photo

John Peers: “My mum has been an amazing influence on me!” Read More & View Photo

Vasek Pospisil: “She’s my number one fan, she’s always sending me text messages before a match.” Watch

Aljaz Bedene: “I remember when I broke my leg as a young kid and was thinking to quit playing, she was the one who encouraged me to continue and I am grateful for that.” Read More & View Photo

Bruno Soares:  I always had a feeling that everything I decided to do she would be there for me, doing everything she could do to help me achieve what I was trying to do.” Read More & View Photo

Donald Young: “My mom means so much to me. She does so much for me – from bringing me into this world to teaching me about life, raising me and making me a better person.” Read More & View Photo

Matthew Ebden: “I couldn’t possibly ask for a better mother. I always know she loves and supports me no matter what.” Read More & View Photo

Denis Kudla: “The support from my mom growing up and now is incredibly important because without her help taking me to practice everyday, I would of never have had the opportunity to follow my dream.” Read More & View Photo

View the entire ATP Moms capsule on MyATP.

Tomas Berdych is no longer working with coach Daniel Vallverdu. Berdych and Vallverdu both posted the news on social media on Monday. “My results lately have not been what I expected. As I am not a tennis player at the beginning of his career I have to act quickly when I feel that I need a change,” Berdych wrote.

The two had been working together since December 2014. Since then, the 30-year-old Berdych has posted a 76-32 record and has won two ATP World Tour titles, the Shenzhen Open and the If Stockholm Open. He also reached a career-high of No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Tomas and the challenge to help him achieve his professional goals,” Vallverdu wrote on Twitter. “However we have decided not to continue with our working relationship. I wish Tomas all the best moving forward.”

Berdych, No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is preparing for Roland Garros and said he has not decided who will be his new coach.

The ATP today announced enhancements to the 2017 grass-court swing in the lead-up to The Championships at Wimbledon, with the inclusion of a new ATP World Tour 250 event in Antalya, Turkey.

The Kaya Group and GD Tennis Academy will organise the tournament with the support of the Turkish Tennis Federation from 25 June to 1 July 2017.

The tournament will feature a 28-draw singles event and a 16-draw doubles event, with total prize money of €481,615. Seven grass courts will be constructed under the expert guidance of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. It will be the second ATP World Tour tournament to be held in Turkey, following the successful staging of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open for the past two years.

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “The addition of Antalya in the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017 represents the latest enhancement to the grass court swing following the introduction of the three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year. We look forward to expanding our presence in an important market such as Turkey where the demand for world class tennis continues to grow, while at the same time giving our players additional grass-court playing opportunities ahead of Wimbledon.”

The tournament will be hosted at the Kaya Palazzo Belek, a luxury hotel resort that includes an 18-hole golf course and multiple football fields where top Turkish and international teams train. The 7 grass courts will be added to facilities that already feature 10 clay courts, 8 hard courts, and 4 indoor courts, with the official hotel in close proximity. Established in 2004, the GD Tennis Academy has significant experience in hosting international tennis events.

Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Turkish Sports Minister, said: “Turkey continues to lead the way in investing in new facilities and infrastructures, hosting numerous international sporting events thanks to its world-class facilities. Our country is playing an important part in the continued growth of international tennis, as well as a number of other sports. The TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open is just one example of our recent investment into facilities and infrastructure. We are delighted that the Antalya Open will now join the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017, and I would like to thank all the organizations that have contributed to make this a reality.”

Cengiz Durmuş, President of the Turkish Tennis Federation, said, “The Turkish Tennis Federation is very proud to host one of seven ATP grass-court tournaments with the inaugural Antalya Open in Turkey. We hope to continue to grow our presence in tennis through our international events and the success of our players. We are pleased to be increasing our cooperation with the ATP.”

In 2017, the Aegon Open Nottingham, an ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament, will also return to Eastbourne, taking place in the same week as Antalya. It was previously held as a combined event at Devonshire Park from 2009 to 2014.

There will be seven ATP World Tour grass-court tournaments in 2017, including two ATP World Tour 500 tournaments, the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and the Aegon Championships in London. There will also be five ATP World Tour 250 events, the MerdedesCup in Stuttgart, the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Eastbourne and Antalya.

Andy Murray: Clay-court specialist?

On his 29th birthday, Murray finally bucked the trend, stopping Novak Djokovic in his bid for a three-peat at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and ending the Serb’s run of dominance in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. He triumphed 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes, securing his 36th tour-level crown.

But of even greater significance is Murray’s increasing level of comfort on clay. The Scot clinched his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown on what was long believed to be his weakest surface. With a maturing shotmaking arsenal on the dirt, he improved to an impressive 29-3 record in the past 13 months.

“I never expected to be having the results I have been having on clay,” Murray admitted following the match. “But if you actually look at the past results, I have had opportunities to get to the final of Monte-Carlo and get to the final of the event here. I served for the match against Novak a few years ago and had a chance against Rafa a few years ago, too.

“Maybe I didn’t believe enough in myself. I always thought clay was my worst and hardest surface for me, but then last year, getting some wins against the best players made me realize a little bit. I had always been told that clay should really be my best surface, but it took me a long time to gain a little bit of confidence. But also I did make huge improvements in my movement on the surface, as well.

“That has changed my mentality when I go on the court a lot. I don’t feel like I’m off-balance anymore and I feel like I can chase most balls down. It’s an easy surface for me to move on now.”

Murray says he credits his coaches for implementing a new training program that has allowed him to feel more comfortable. The 29 year old firmly believes he is now a threat on all surfaces.

Back to World No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Murray is turning his attention to the second Grand Slam of the year as he looks to continue his strong run of form.

“The last couple of years, clay has probably been my most successful surface, which I never expected to be the case, but I’m not complaining about it. I’m going to Roland Garros with a lot of confidence and really good preparation. I feel like I’m on the right track. So hopefully I can have a good run there.”