First tournament of 2018? First final. Navigating his way through a tricky draw at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, American Ryan Harrison has impressed at the start of the season with his athletic brand of tennis and the results are showing. He’ll face Nick Kyrgios in the championship match and will look to claim his second ATP World Tour crown following his victory in Memphis (d. Basilashvili) last year.

So it’s safe to say that Harrison has started off 2018 with a bang, but where did he truly start off? Let ATPWorldTour.com provide some insights – or rather, let’s let him:

First moment I realised I loved tennis

I was three years old. I remember going to work with my dad every day, he was a tennis pro, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. If I didn’t have time to hit with him, I’d be hitting on the wall or out there hitting with anyone I could. I knew I loved it. 

First coach and most important lesson he/she taught me

My dad was my first coach and has always been a part of my team since I was a kid. The most important lesson he taught me was work ethic. He was always a big believer that if you put in the time and effort that you were going to get where you wanted to be and that you would get success some way or another.

First pinch-me moment on the ATP World Tour

I was 14 years old and a Junior in the US Open and I lost in the qualifying but Andy Roddick needed a warm-up. I was really excited about it and I remember I walked out and I had to warm him up for his night match. 

First time I was recognised

Probably after Houston, where I won my first ATP match. I remember I went to get dinner in the mall there and people started picking up some traction because I won that match. People came over to the dinner table and I remember it being a new experience.

First celebrity crush

Britney Spears, I was like 10 years old.

First pet

A dog named nugget.

First time I met my significant other

I met my wife through the junior tennis scene at junior Wimbledon – she was actually a player.

The 2018 ATP World Tour season continues with a pair of 250-level tournaments in Auckland and Sydney. Defending champion Jack Sock returns as the top seed at the ASB Classic and Albert Ramos-Vinolas leads the pack at the Apia International, where Gilles Muller is the reigning champ.

View Draws: Auckland | Sydney

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN AUCKLAND
(1) Sock Leads Strong Field: No. 1 American Jack Sock is the top seed and one of five players in Auckland who are in the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings. The other seeds receiving byes are No. 2 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 3 Sam Querrey and No. 4 John Isner. There are six former champions in the field from the last nine years (10 overall): Sock, Roberto Bautista Agut (2016), Jiri Vesely (2015), Isner (2010, 2014), David Ferrer (2007, 2011-13) and del Potro (2009).

(2) Top Seed/Reigning Champion: This is the third time in his career Sock is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. Last year in Houston (SF) and Atlanta (QF) were the other times he was top seed. He is 10-2 lifetime in Auckland, reaching the final in 2016 and QFs in 2014. Last season he finished a year-end best No. 8 with three titles while reaching the SFs at the Nitto ATP Finals.

(3) Del Potro Returns: No. 2 seed Del Potro is making his first appearance in Auckland since winning the title nine years ago (d. Querrey). The 29-year-old Argentine finished No. 11 last season with his 20th career title in Stockholm, runner-up in Basel and three SFs, including the US Open.

(4) Querrey Strong in 2017: No. 3 seed and 2009 finalist Querrey finished last season at a year-end best No. 13. He won two ATP titles and reached the SFs at Wimbledon and QFs at the US Open.

(5) Newlywed John: No. 4 seed Isner is playing his first tournament since getting married on Dec. 2 to Madison McKinley. The two-time champion has a 14-4 record in Auckland. He won two ATP titles and finished No. 17 last season, his eighth straight Top 20 year-end ATP Ranking.

(6) Former Champion Plays Venus: No. 5 seed Bautista Agut, who won the title two years ago, is taking on local wild card Michael Venus in the 1R. Bautista Agut finished in the Top 25 for the fourth straight year at No. 20 while Venus ended last season a year-end best No. 15 in doubles, capped off by winning his first Grand Slam doubles crown at Roland Garros (w/Harrison).

(7) Ferrer Back Again: Four-time ASB Classic champion Ferrer is making his 12th appearance in the past 13 years (withdrew in 2015). The 35-year-old Spaniard owns the most Auckland titles in the Open Era along with a 28-8 record. Last year he won his 27th career title in Bastad.

(8) #NextGenATP Watch: There are three #NextGenATP stars in the draw, led by No. 8 seed and Doha finalist Andrey Rublev (20), Canadian Denis Shapovalov (18) and Greek WC Stefanos Tsitsipas (19). Chinese wild card Wu Yibing, who won the US Open junior title, is also in the field.

(9) Next Gen ATP Champ: Hyeon Chung of South Korea is making his Auckland debut and last year he won the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (d. Rublev).

(10) Doubles Draw: The top seeds are Doha champions Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic and No. 2 seeds are Raven Klaasen and Venus, who are playing together for the first time since two Futures events in 2011. Defending champions Marcin Matkowski and Aisam-Ul-Haq are also in the field.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN SYDNEY
(1) Ramos-Vinolas Leads Field: Albert Ramos-Vinolas is the top seed and one of seven players who are seeded in the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings. The other seeds receiving byes are No. 2/defending champion Gilles Muller, No. 3 Diego Schwartzman and No. 4 Fabio Fognini.

(2) Albert Top Seed: This is the second time in his career Ramos-Vinolas is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. Last year in Hamburg he lost to eventual champion L. Mayer in the 1R. The Barcelona native finished a year-end best No. 23 last season with runner-up results in Sao Paulo and ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo. This is the Spaniard’s first Sydney visit since 2014 (2R).

(3) Reigning Champion: One year ago Muller at age 33, captured his first ATP World Tour title (d. Evans). He is 11-3 lifetime in Sydney and he also reached the SFs in 2015-16. He finished a year-end best No. 25 last season, adding another title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and final in Estoril.

(4) Simon Makes Return: Former World No. 6 Gilles Simon is making his first appearance in Sydney since winning the title in 2011. The 33-year-old Frenchman on Saturday won his 13th ATP World Tour title in Pune, defeating the top two seeds Cilic and Anderson in the final two rounds. Simon, who is 6-2 in Sydney, is a special exempt into the tournament.

(5) Two-Time Champion: Unseeded Viktor Troicki has a 15-4 record in Sydney, winning back-to-back titles in 2015-16, reaching the final in 2011 and the SFs last year. 

(6) De Minaur Breakthrough: Special exempt entry Alex De Minaur advanced to his first ATP World Tour SF in Brisbane, posting wins over Johnson, former World No. 3 Raonic and Mmoh before losing to Harrison in three sets. The 18-year-old #NextGenATP Aussie is expected to jump from No. 208 to around No. 166 after Brisbane. Last year he came into Sydney No. 333 and lost in 2R.

(7) Aussie Wild Cards: The Aussie trio of Alex Bolt, John Millman and Jordan Thompson are the wild cards. Bolt is making his main draw debut while Millman reached the 2R in 2013 and Thompson the 2R the past two years. There are four Aussies in the main draw (not including Qs).

(8) Schwartzman Makes Debut: No. 3 seed Diego Schwartzman is making his Sydney debut. The No. 2 Argentine finished last season a year-end best No. 26 with 39 tour-level victories, highlighted by his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open.

(9) One to Watch: No. 7 seed Damir Dzumhur is making his Sydney debut. The No. 1 Bosnian broke through last season to win Russian ATP World Tour titles in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He finished a year-end best No. 30 in the ATP Rankings with a career-best 36 match wins.

(10) Doubles Draw: Last year’s World No. 1 duo of Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo are the top seeds and World No. 4 Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau are the No. 2 seeds. 

With the Sydney International set to get underway this week in the coastal capital of New South Wales, some of the world’s top players took the time to witness some of the city’s famous sights.

World No. 26 Diego Schwartzman, who is making his first appearance in Sydney this week, joined 2017 Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open finalist Mischa Zverev on a boat in the prolific Sydney Harbour. The ATP World Tour stars enjoyed some fine dining and a game of mini-tennis next to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a brilliant sunny day in southern Australia. 

“It’s amazing for me. It’s my first time here in Sydney – I am enjoying it a lot,” said Schwartzman, the tournament’s third seed. “I came here the other night with my coach and my friends and it’s amazing to be here in the day. The weather is good today and I think I’m enjoying [it] a lot.” 

The eighth seed, Zverev, who plays Leonardo Mayer in the first round of the tournament, noticed quite the difference between tennis on land and sea.

“It’s very different, very unusual. There no way we are [playing like] on the mainland – we are on a boat – and we don’t have this view, so this is very unique,” said the 30-year-old German. “Sydney is a great city but I never got to see it from this point of view and I’m really enjoying myself.” 

Elsewhere in the city, Fabio Fognini, joined by 2017 US Open women’s singles champion Sloane Stephens, took a tour of the Sydney’s Cockatoo Island, having a quick hit on the unique grass courts of the island, which is a popular site for many cultural and heritage events in the region. 

“The island, it’s quite different – I’ve never been here so it’s something special also for us,” said Fognini. “…On tour we have no time to do these kind of thing because we are always in hotels and tennis courts, tennis courts and hotels, so I really enjoyed it.” 

The 28-player draw gets underway Sunday with defending champion Gilles Muller and six other Top 30 players headlining the action. In addition, 18-year-old Alex de Minaur returns to his hometown of Sydney following a breakthrough run to the semifinals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, and is joined by compatriots Jordan Thompson, Alex Bolt and John Millman.

.@albertramos88 chats to the media ahead of #SydneyTennis: “It’s a great city.” pic.twitter.com/apmqXkP0OR

— Sydney International (@SydneyTennis) January 5, 2018

Earlier, top-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas participated in the draw ceremony for the tournament, which is currently in its 125^th edition. Ramos-Vinolas was the runner-up at last year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and will face either Thompson or Paolo Lorenzi in his opening match.

Gilles Simon entered the Tata Open Maharashtra doubles final looking to complete the tournament sweep after winning his first ATP World Tour singles title since 2015 earlier Saturday. A victory with Pierre-Hugues Herbert would have made Simon the first player to win both events at India’s ATP World Tour 250 tournament since Xavier Malisse in 2007.

But Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop spoiled the French party, winning their first title as a team in a back-and-forth thriller, 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

“To play the final there with three unbelievable athletes, it’s an honour to play there,” Middelkoop said. “I will never forget this for the rest of my life. This is my fifth title and I will come back here next year because you have to experience this. They’re celebrating tennis and this is what I like. Great crowd.”

It was Middelkoop’s fifth doubles title with three different partners, and Haase’s third doubles title, also with three different partners. Haase, who is the top Dutch singles player in the ATP Rankings at No. 42, had not won a doubles title since 2014 Gstaad (w/ Andre Begemann).

“The score was actually how the match was. Sometimes you can have a close match, but you feel you are better,” Haase said. “Today we didn’t feel so much better, that’s for sure.”

In fact, the Frenchmen were up a break in both sets, and served for the second set immediately after breaking for a 5-3 lead. However, after fending off one break point at 30/40— earning a set point, but also facing a second break point — they were unable to hold their lead.

And after the Dutchmen — who will be playing together full-time in 2018 after partnering for the first time at the tour level in Flushing Meadows, where they advanced to the quarter-finals — gained a 5/1 lead in the ensuing tie-break, they closed the match out on their second match point.

“Just to play those points, and we even talked to the other guys already a little bit,” Haase said. “We all enjoyed the match. Every point was great, almost.”

Haase and Middelkoop earned 250 ATP Rankings points and a share of $27,170, while Herbert and Simon captured 150 points each as well as a split of $14,280.

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Despite losing in the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp to a red-hot Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov can hold his head high knowing he’s started 2018 with the same momentum that he finished a career year in 2017. 

Last season’s Nitto ATP Finals titlist and defending Brisbane champion gritted through two tough three-set matches before falling to Nick Kyrgios in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision. Saving match points in his season-opening clash with John Millman, Dimitrov navigated Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals in yet another two-and-a-half hour thriller. Against Kyrgios, however, the Bulgarian was unable to come up with the answer to his opponent’s cannonball serve and unpredictable patterns of play. 

“I’m glad at least I could play some matches and get to those clutch moments,” said Dimitrov. “Obviously, it was great to go through those three-setters, saving a match point in the first round.

“I’m building off those kind of matches. Obviously, today has been — it was again a tough match. I think I played well the first set… after that, there was not much else I could have done, I thought,” the 26-year-old added. “He was just serving unbelievable, just hitting his spots. Like, I even thought at some point was a little bit, like, carelessly hitting the ball, and they were getting in. 

“It was just good shots from him.”

Although Dimitrov was able to secure an early break thanks to a combination of his opponent’s wavering focus and his own tenacious defense, Kyrgios amped up the pressure on his serve and on return, hitting 19 aces in the one hour, 33-minute encounter. The prolific shotmaker is into his first ATP World Tour final on home soil.

For the first time in their now 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series, Dimitrov was flummoxed by the Australian’s capricious style. 

“I mean, there were a lot of balls that were pretty casual, but what can I do? There’s no point for me to get frustrated or pissed whatsoever. You just have to accept it,” said Dimitrov.

“And we know how he is. He can switch from playing unbelievable to just missing, you know, the easiest shots and all that … sometimes when there’s no way out, you try to change up the game and break the rhythm of a player. And today just everything, whatever I thought he tried, it was just great.”

Dimitrov heads to Melbourne next, where he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open last year, following his Brisbane triumph. It was his second Grand Slam semi-final – before falling to Rafael Nadal in one of the best Grand Slam matches of 2017.

“I’m a little bit tired, but it’s good,” said Dimitrov on how he feels following Brisbane, leading into Melbourne. “It’s great to get, as I said, those matches early on. Try to play a few three-setters to see how the body feels after two-and-a-half hours. 

“[But] the body feels great. As I said, a little bit tired, but I think after couple of days off and getting bit of treatment, things will get back on track.”

Nick Kyrgios thundered 19 aces past Grigor Dimitrov Saturday night to charge into the final of the Brisbane International. The 22-year-old Australian rallied from a set down for the third consecutive match to beat the World No. 3 and top seed 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to set a showdown with American Ryan Harrison.

Earlier in the day Harrison was within two points of defeat in the second-set tie-break against 18-year-old Australian Alex De Minaur before holding his nerve to win 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Kyrgios leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Harrison 2-0.

Maybe slow starts are a positive omen for Aussie Nick Kyrgios. For the third consecutive match, the third seed fell behind a set on Saturday evening at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

But for the third consecutive match, Kyrgios found a way to come back, this time against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov to pick up his first win against the Bulgarian and advance to Sunday’s final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The final will be Kyrgios’ first on home soil and his seventh overall (3-3). Kyrgios is also the first Aussie to reach the Brisbane final since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2014 (d. Federer).

Kyrgios will face American Ryan Harrison, who beat Kyrgios’ countryman Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach his third ATP World Tour title match (2017 Memphis, 2017 Atlanta).

Kyrgios leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0, and Harrison has yet to take a set off the Aussie. “I know that he’s a dangerous opponent. He can serve very, very well and he’s obviously won a lot of matches here,” Kyrgios said on court.

The 22-year-old Canberra native trailed Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-2, including a loss in last year’s Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati, and the Bulgarian was riding a seven-match win streak heading into the Brisbane semi-final. Dimitrov started on a roll as well, breaking Kyrgios once and not facing a break point in the first set to gain the lead.

But Kyrgios swung more freely in the second set and mixed up his play against Dimitrov. The third-seeded Kyrgios exchanged rapid-fire points with Dimitrov and came out the victor more often than not. He also gave Dimitrov different return looks, and the strategy seemed to throw the World No. 3 off as Kyrgios broke twice in the second set to even the match in 29 minutes.

“I knew that I had to do something a little bit differently today. I couldn’t give him too much rhythm,” Kyrgios said.

The third set followed a similar strategy. Kyrgios dominated on serve – he finished with 19 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points – and broke in the seventh game before serving out the match.