Thomaz Bellucci and Thiago Monteiro helped to launch the 2017 Rio Open presented by Claro, the only combined ATP World Tour 500 tournament in South America, on Thursday.

Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem and 2015 champion David Ferrer will compete at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, alongside Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, who finished 2016 at year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

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“For the fourth consecutive year, we will have two Top 10 players at the Rio Open, which is very positive,” said Tournament Director Luiz Carvalho. “Nishikori, Thiem and Ferrer are three of the most competitive athletes on the ATP World Tour. In 2017, the Brazilian public will be able to see all the skills and reflexes of Bruno and Jamie who shined around the world in 2016.”

Ferrer will compete for the fourth consecutive year, while 26-year-old Nishikori will be making his debut. Thiem advanced to the 2016 semi-finals (l. to Pella).

Brazilian Soares admitted, “It will be really cool to be able to play with Jamie, my partner, in Rio. This year was very special with two Grand Slam titles and we still ended up as the number one team in the world. I’m sure that Jamie will like it very much in Rio, he likes to play with the fans and will feel at home at the Jockey Club.”

Murray added, “I’m very excited to play Rio Open in February, Bruno has been telling me a lot about the tournament and about Rio, we have very high expectations, we are very competitive and we will do everything we can to win the tournament, We’re going to do our best and I hope we can count on the noisy fans.”

Monteiro recalled during the official launch his emotions in beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in this year’s edition. “It was an unbelievable feeling to play my first ATP World Tour event at home. It was such a long and tough match, but it was all worth it when it finished. I fell on the ground, felt all the energy from the crowd and it pushed me to have the most amazing year of my still young career,” The 22-year-old Monteiro began 2016 at No. 463 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and finished the year at No. 82.

It’s one thing to position yourself to win a tennis match. It’s quite another to actually do it.

Gael Monfils enjoyed his best season on tour in 2016, ending the year at No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after reaching a career-high of No. 6 last month. In 2015, he finished the season at No. 24, and on the surface, not a lot of his metrics changed during the 12-month period. The difference was Monfils was far more efficient at finishing the job he started when returning.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Monfils’ 44-17 season this year showed that when returning and getting to within one point of breaking at 0/40, 15/40 and 30/40, his conversion rate sky-rocketed compared to last year and at any other time during his 14-year career.

The following comparison to the 2015 season identifies that the number of return games Monfils played was almost identical, but the break points created and converted increased dramatically.

Return Games Played
2015 = 654
2016 = 660

Break Points Converted (2005-2015 Average = 40.8%)
2015 = 40.6% (145/359)
2016 = 45.4% (189/416)

It’s a significant success to move the needle one or two percentage points with break-point conversion, but the flamboyant Frenchman improved almost five percentage points, converting 44 more break points (189 to 145) in 2016 than in 2015.

The following table shows the improvement Monfils made in breaking serve from a specific point score. When the door opened this year, he walked through it.

Monfils’ Percentage Chance of Breaking Serve by Point Score

Monfils converted 16 more break points against first serves in 2016 than in 2015, and similarly converted 28 more break points against second serves, fueling his best season on tour.

Break Points Converted When Receiving First Serves
2015 = 71
2016 = 87

Break Points Converted Receiving Second Serves
2015 = 74
2016 = 102

Monfils finished the 2016 season impressively ranked third on tour in break points converted, but he was the runaway leader on clay courts. He converted a mind-blowing 53.8 per cent of his break points on clay. As a comparison, Rafael Nadal is the career leader at converting break points on clay, at 48.8 per cent.

With the finish line of breaking serve just one point away this season, Monfils crossed it better than he ever has.

Garanti Koza Sofia Open announced on Thursday the participation of Belgian David Goffin, No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, in the second edition of the tournament.

Goffin has won two ATP World Tour titles. In 2016 he marched to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and played a match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. In 2016 the Belgian also reached the final in Tokyo and played back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finals at Indian Wells and Miami.

“I am looking forward to playing in Sofia,” Goffin said. “I had my best year in 2016, and I would like to start the next season at the same level. I am also looking forward to seeing the city of Sofia.”

He joins the star ensemble of the Garanti Koza Sofia Open 2017 and will play alongside Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov, Viktor Troicki and defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut in February at the “Arena Armeec”.

Tournament Director Paul McNamee said: “David is a rising star and a great addition to the field. We now have confirmations from three Top 15 players and four of the Top 20. I’m glad the Bulgarian audience will be able enjoy tennis at such a high level.”

Garanti Koza Sofia Open 2017 will be played at “Arena Armeec” from 5-12 February, 2017. The “hot ticket” for the biggest sporting event in Sofia is on sale at Eventim, with prices starting from 10 leva. Children and pensioners can access a 50 per cent discount during the first five days and a 25 per cent discount for the rest of the tournament as well as for weekly tickets. Spectators can also save up to 160 leva by buying a weekly ticket.