Nineteen-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime, the youngest player in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, has gotten a lot of the attention in recent months as he has ascended into the world’s Top 30. But the second-youngest player in the Top 100 got the better of him at the Western & Southern Open on Monday.

Fellow #NextGenATP star Miomir Kecmanovic ousted the Canadian 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round in Cincinnati. One year ago this week, the Serbian qualifier was World No. 200. Now, the teenager is on the verge of cracking the Top 50 for the first time.

“It definitely means a lot. It’s a big win for me. I needed this mentally just to know that I can be here and play with these guys, so I think it’s going to help for the upcoming matches,” Kecmanovic said. “I felt pretty good on the court and played solid, so hopefully I can keep it up.”

The World No. 58 rode service dominance to victory, as the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya finalist did not face a break point in his one-hour, four-minute triumph. The two-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist lost only three first-serve points (26/29), and he broke on three of his four opportunities.

Entering the season, Kecmanovic had never won a main draw match at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, but this was his fifth victory at this level in 2019. All 17 of his tour-level wins have come this season.

Kecmanovic will next challenge reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev. The Serbian, who made the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open in March at Indian Wells, is pursuing his first win against a Top 10 opponent.

The first American man in action in Cincinnati fell short, as Frenchman Lucas Pouille beat qualifier Denis Kudla 6-3, 7-6(6) in one hour and 39 minutes. Pouille withstood 10 aces and broke serve four times to set second-round clash with No. 10 seed Fabio Fognini or #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Did You Know?
This was the first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between Kecmanovic and Auger-Aliassime. However, they played at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Lyon, France last year, with Felix winning in straight sets. At the time, both #NextGenATP stars were ranked outside the Top 150.

There’s very little that’s conventional about the doubles partnership between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios. When Kyrgios first asked the #NextGenATP Greek to team up, he even tried to sweeten the pot by offering to defect from Australia.

“He asked by saying he wanted to play the ATP Cup for Greece,” laughed Tsitsipas. “He said he has a [Greek] passport, but I knew he was being sarcastic because he’s sarcastic 95 per cent of the time. He wanted to play doubles with me at Queen’s Club and I couldn’t, but we played at the Citi Open and now here in Cincinnati, so he’s become our official agent.”

Although they lost their debut outing in Washington in a Match Tie-break to Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, the early signs were encouraging enough to team up this week at the Western & Southern Open. Fittingly, they will play Cabal/Farah once again in the first round.

Both players admit to being polar opposites. Kyrgios is gregarious and outgoing, while Tsitsipas is a self-described introvert. But like many partnerships, opposites attract.

“It’s the joy of being with a person who thinks different and reacts differently,” said Tsitsipas. “I would charactertise him as someone who likes to amuse. I’m very serious and concentrated when I play, but he just has the style of speaking all the time. It’s good sometimes to have a change.”

Their bromance extended well beyond their initial foray on the doubles court. Both players heaped praise on each other in press conferences and on social media. When Tsitsipas needed to change shoes during their semi-final singles match in Washington, Kyrgios provided one of the funniest moments of the week by personally delivering them.

Special Delivery! ?

?: @TennisTV | @NickKyrgios | #CO19 pic.twitter.com/JAoURCS25D

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 4, 2019

They’ve also been able to learn from each other. While the normally serious Tsitsipas was able to laugh during his “shoegate” moment with Kyrgios, the Aussie experienced during their warm-up why Tsitsipas has climbed to a career-high No. 5 in the ATP Rankings.

“I thought we were just going to have a 25-minute hit-out, roll the arm over, banter a little bit. Before I know it, we’re an hour in, playing singles games. I’m dripping,” said Kyrgios in Washington. “That shows how hard he works. He’s out there every day, super professional, putting in the hours. It’s obvious why he’s good. You can see how polished his game is when he’s playing.”

Tsitsipas acknowledged that Kyrgios’ boisterous on-court behavior can be polarizing to some fans, but made it clear he’s now firmly in the Aussie’s corner. If their growing friendship is any indication, Cincinnati won’t be be the last time they team up.

“He’s entertaining people,” said Tsitsipas. “Some people love him, some people hate him. I believe we need people like him in the game, otherwise everything becomes too serious. He’s fun.”

Taylor Fritz has powered his way to a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 25 by winning just 27 more points than he has lost this season. Tiny margins are producing career-defining results for the 21-year-old American.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Fritz’s impressive run up the ATP Rankings the past four months, from No. 65 on 15 April to No. 25, shows that the young American is benefitting from a busy tournament schedule.

He has played 32 tournaments in the past 52 weeks and forged an impressive 26-20 record in 2019. He won his first ATP Tour title in Eastbourne in June and also enjoyed runner-up honours in Atlanta and Los Cabos.

Fritz has won 36 matches in the past 52 weeks, which is good for 12th best on Tour. Since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April, Fritz has lost in the opening round just three times and racked up four wins against Top 25 opponents.

In 2019, including last week’s first-round loss at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, Fritz has won amazingly just 27 points more points than he has lost.

Taylor Fritz: Points Won In 2019 Season
Points Won = 3423
Points Lost = 3396
Total Points Played = 6819
Win Percentage = 50.2%

It’s the serving side of the equation that has been driving the ambitious American up the rankings the most.

Taylor Fritz: 2019 Tour Ranking / Serve Metrics
No. 8 = Aces (422)
No. 10 = First-Serve Points Won (76.78%)
No. 12 = Service Games Won (84.96%)
No. 36 = Second-Serve Points Won (51.64%)
No. 38 = Break Points Saved (61.90%)

He has been particularly efficient serving in the important moments in a match, holding serve 18 out of 19 times (95%) when serving for the set this season. There are six point scores in his service games in 2019 that, when he reaches them, he goes onto hold more than 90 per cent of the time.

Taylor Fritz: 2019 Season Holding Serve From:
40/0 = 99.4% (155/156)
40/15 = 98.1% (211/215)
30/0 = 97.4% (228/234)
30/15 = 92.3% (228/247)
15/0 = 92.0% (322/350)
40/30 = 92.0% (174/189)

Fritz’s climb up the rankings also shows no sign of slowing down the remainder of this season, as he has only 22 per cent (340/1580) of his points to defend until the end of the year.

Taylor Fritz : Points To Defend in 2019
US Open = 90
Shanghai = 70
Basel = 90
Chengdu = 90
TOTAL = 340

Fritz is one of nine Americans in the Top 100, and one of three 21-year-olds from the U.S., along with Frances Tiafoe (No. 42) and Reilly Opelka (No. 43), inside the Top 50. The current North American hard-court swing provides all of them a chance to shine right in their own backyard.

No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, +1
The 23-year-old rises to a new career-high of No. 8 the ATP Rankings after reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Coupes Rogers (l. to Nadal) and becomes the new Russian No. 1 – moving past Karen Khachanov, who has dropped one spot to No. 9. Now 5-5 against Top 10 opponents in 2019, the Russian beat Dominic Thiem and Khachanov in Montreal. Over the past two weeks, Medvedev has won eight of 10 matches, including a runner-up finish on 4 August at the Citi Open (l. to Kyrgios). He first broke into the Top 10 on 15 July. Read More & Watch Montreal Final Highlights

No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut, +2
The Spaniard, who reached his first Grand Slam championship semi-final at The Championships, Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic) last month, is also up to a career-high No. 11 after he advanced to the fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final (l. to Monfils) of his career. Bautista Agut was at No. 25 on 18 March this year.

No. 15 Gael Monfils, +5
Former World No. 6 Gael Monfils reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final for four years (2016 Toronto) to return to No. 15 in the ATP Rankings for the first time since 1 July. The Frenchman, who lifted his eighth ATP Tour title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam (d. Wawrinka) in February, has featured in the Top 20 since 4 March.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 5 Kei Nishikori, +1
No. 6 Alexander Zverev, +1
No. 10 Fabio Fognini, +1
No. 32 Cristian Garin, +4
No. 40 Hubert Hurkacz, +8
No. 44 Daniel Evans, +9
No. 56 Richard Gasquet, +10
No. 59 Adrian Mannarino, +10
No. 79 Steve Johnson, +14
No. 88 Bernard Tomic, +7

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer headline the Western & Southern Open, featuring nine of the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings. Here’s 10 things to watch in Cincinnati.

1. Reunited: Three of the Big Four: Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray will compete together in the singles draw at the Western & Southern Open, which was held in 1899. Murray, the 2008 and 2011 winner, received a wild card to join defending champion Djokovic and seven-time former titlist Federer at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.

2. Roger That: Federer is 45-5 since starting his career 1-4 in Cincinnati. The Swiss star’s seven Cincinnati titles are a tournament record. Federer is looking for his first ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati title since 2015, when he beat Djokovic in the final; Djokovic reversed that result in last year’s championship match.

3. Complete Set: Djokovic’s win over Federer in last year’s final allowed the Serb to collect the one ATP Masters 1000 title he had been missing, and become the first singles player to win all nine of the events in the series. Djokovic had been 0-5 in Cincinnati finals before his victory last season. 

4. More Murray: Following a first-round singles loss at the Australian Open, Murray underwent his second hip surgery on 28 January. The Brit missed five months of play but returned to doubles action at London/Queen’s Club, where he promptly won the title partnering Feliciano Lopez. After four more doubles events, two-time Cincinnati champion Murray is back in singles action.

5. Former Champs: Two other previous winners of the Western & Southern Open are in the field: Marin Cilic, who defeated Murray in the 2016 final, and Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Nick Kyrgios in the 2017 final. These are the only ATP Masters 1000 titles to date for both former World No. 3s.

6. Americans in Cincy: Andy Roddick was the last homegrown champion in Cincinnati, triumphing over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2006 final. Since then, James Blake (2007), Mardy Fish (2010) and John Isner (2013) have all finished runner-up at the Masters 1000 tournament. Isner, who finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal, has a 15-11 record at the event, including a 2017 semi-final run (l. to Dimitrov).

7. Move Towards Milan: The #NextGenATP is in full force at Cincinnati, headed by 20-year-old No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who turned 19 on Thursday. The Cincinnati main draw includes other top contenders in the Race to the Next Gen ATP Finals at Milan, such as 20-year-olds Alex de Minaur and Denis Shapovalov and 21-year-old Frances Tiafoe.

8. Winning Thiem: No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem added his name to the list of ATP Masters 1000 titlists when he captured the Indian Wells trophy in March. No. 10 seed Fabio Fognini also became a first-time ATP Masters 1000 champion this season after triumphing at Monte-Carlo in April.

9. Wild Ones: Two of 2019’s 13 first-time ATP Tour singles champions received wild cards alongside Murray this week: Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero, who claimed his first title on home soil at Cordoba, and Reilly Opelka, who triumphed in his home country at the New York Open. Sam Querrey received a wild card as well; Querrey reached his third Wimbledon quarter-final in July.

10. Double Up: Cincinnati features another stellar 2019 doubles draw, headlined by No. 1 seeds and Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah taking on Kyrgios and Tsitsipas in the first round – a rematch of their first-round clash at Washington, won by the Colombians. Murray and Lopez are also together in the field, as are five-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

A LOOK BACK
Schwaben Open (Augsburg, Germany): It’s safe to say that Yannick Hanfmann loves to play at home in Germany. The 27-year-old powered to his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title and fourth on home soil on Sunday, triumphing in Augsburg. Hanfmann prevailed in dramatic fashion, saving three championship points to overcome Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

It was another memorable week for the former University of Southern California standout. Hanfmann improved to 4-0 in finals in Germany, adding to victories in Ismaning in 2017, Braunschweig last year and Ludwigshafen last month. Most importantly, he rises nearly 50 spots in the ATP Rankings to No. 187. One year after cracking the Top 100, he is on the rise once again following an elbow injury.

“It was really close today,” Hanfmann told Tennis TourTalk. “Emil is a great player with a bright future ahead. I am looking forward to many more matches to come. Maybe I stayed more calm, but the match could have gone either way. I am really happy. I really enjoy playing in front of my home crowd. It can give you some extra boost in the decisive moments.”

For Ruusuvuori, it was another impressive week on the Challenger circuit. The 20-year-old is making a splash in his first full season on tour, reaching his second Challenger final. Two months ago, he lifted his first trophy in Fergana, Uzbekistan.

Match Points Saved In 2019 Finals

Yokkaichi Challenger (Yokkaichi, Japan): Hanfmann wasn’t the only one to benefit from the home crowd support this week. Yuichi Sugita has been a man on a mission this summer and he would once again lift a Challenger trophy. The Japanese celebrated his second title in three weeks, prevailing at the inaugural tournament in Yokkaichi.

Packed crowds proved to be the norm throughout the week in the Japanese city, as the public flocked to the Yokkaichi Tennis Center in droves. They were treated with a trio of home hopes in the semis, with Sugita defeating Aussie James Duckworth in a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) final.

It’s amazing what a little momentum can do for a player’s confidence and Sugita has experienced that first-hand in recent weeks. After slipping outside the Top 270 just last month, the former World No. 36 has rediscovered his mojo in a hurry. The champion in Binghamton and runner-up in Chengdu, Sugita would rise to No. 133 in the ATP Rankings with his victory in Yokkaichi. Three finals and two titles in less than a month has the Japanese star soaring once again.

What a finish!

Yuichi Sugita survives James Duckworth in a deciding tie-break to take the crown in Yokkaichi, his second ? in three weeks.#ATPChallenger title No. 11 for the ?? pic.twitter.com/UUJDgu7e7B

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 11, 2019

Nordic Naturals Challenger (Aptos, California, USA): Since reaching his sixth ATP Tour final a year ago in Winston-Salem, Steve Johnson has endured a rough run of form. The American suffered a nine-match losing streak and fell from inside the Top 30 to No. 93 in the ATP Rankings. In search of rhythm and confidence, Johnson returned to the ATP Challenger Tour this week in sunny Aptos. It did not take long for him to find his form.

The California native prevailed in his backyard, streaking to the title without dropping a set all week. He ousted Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 39 minutes on Sunday for his first trophy of the year. It is not uncommon for top players to take a similar path as they look to rediscover their rhythm at the Challenger level. This year alone has seen Johnson, Kyle Edmund and Lucas Pouille all win titles on the circuit. The American will rise to No. 79 in the ATP Rankings and hopes to continue making progress next week in Vancouver.

Internazionali di Tennis Manerbio (Manerbio, Italy): Four tournaments this week, four home-grown champions. Italy’s Federico Gaio prevailed in Manerbio on Sunday, clinching the title 6-3, 6-1 over top seed Paolo Lorenzi. Gaio rallied from a set down on three occasions during the week, before lifting his third Challenger crown in efficient fashion. It was his first title since 2016.

A LOOK AHEAD
The 2018 Tournament of the Year in Vancouver, Canada, is back. The Odlum Brown VanOpen returns for a 14th edition, with Ricardas Berankis as its top seed and Steve Johnson, Brayden Schnur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Vasek Pospisil and Hyeon Chung also in action. Last year, it joined the NECKARCUP in Heilbronn, Germany and the Puerto Vallarta Open in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico as the three top tournaments on the Challenger circuit, as voted by the players.

Meanwhile, in Cordenons, Italy, reigning champion Paolo Lorenzi is the top seed, with Andrej Martin seeded second. In Meerbusch, Germany, Pedro Sousa and Jay Clarke lead the charge, while home hope Aljaz Bedene is the top dog in Portoroz, Slovenia. Sergiy Stakhovsky (2017 champ) is seeded fourth in the Slovenian coastal city, while defending champ Constant Lestienne is sixth.

Rafael Nadal’s chase for a 36th ATP Masters 1000 title will have to wait. The Spaniard pulled out of the Western & Southern Open on Sunday, citing fatigue after winning his record-extending 35th Masters 1000 title earlier at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal.

Nadal beat Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 to record more history at the Canadian Masters 1000. It was the fifth time (2005, 2008, 2013, 2018) the World No. 2 has hoisted the trophy in Canada.

More #ATP News
Nadal Rolls To 35th ATP Masters 1000 Title In Montreal
Nadal Passes Djokovic For Top Spot In ATP Race To London
Look Back At 2019 #CoupeRogers
Who Can Stop The Big Three? Djokovic Looks At Prime Candidates

The 33-year-old leads the ATP Tour in wins this season with 41 (41-6) and is in first place in the ATP Race To London, an indicator who will finish year-end No. 1. Nadal has three tour-level titles this year (Rome, Roland Garros). He is next scheduled to compete at the season’s fourth and final Grand Slam, the US Open, which begins 26 August.

World No.2 Rafael Nadal, our 2013 champion, has withdrawn from #CincyTennis citing fatigue.

Bianca Andreescu has also withdrawn due to a change in schedule. We wish you both the best and hope to see you next year. pic.twitter.com/lVQmgVmeqb

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 12, 2019

Nick Kyrgios will be pulling double duty at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, which, if you’re looking for a positive superstition, is a good thing for his singles chances.

Kyrgios also played singles and doubles at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., and although he and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, his Cincy partner as well, fell in their opener, Kyrgios went onto win his second ATP 500 title of the season (Acapulco) in the U.S. capital.

The Aussie remains in friendly U.S. territory this week as it was only two years ago when Kyrgios made the ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati (l. to Dimitrov). He’ll try to start another memorable run against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

The 24-year-old Italian, however, is having his best season. He cracked the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings earlier this month and won his first ATP Tour title in June at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya (d. Kecmanovic). This will be Sonego’s first hard-court match since March in Miami.

More From #CincyTennis
* Who Can Stop The Big Three? Djokovic Looks At Prime Candidates
* Cincinnati Draw Preview
* All You Need To Know
* Can You Pass Our #CincyTennis Quiz?

#NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime will miss the home support he received at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal last week, but the 19-year-old likely will be pleased to have the spotlight on someone else in Ohio. Auger-Aliassime made the third round of his home Masters 1000 event (l. to Khachanov).

He’ll look to begin a new winning streak against #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in what could be a preview of what fans could see at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 5-9 November in Milan.

Auger-Aliassime (second) and Kecmanovic (seventh) are both inside the top eight of the ATP Race To Milan, which will determine seven of the eight players who compete at the 21-and-under event. The eighth position is reserved for an Italian wild card.

Other notable matches include Andy Murray beginning his singles comeback after four weeks of doubles success. The Brit meets Richard Gasquet for the 12^th time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (Murray leads 8-3).

Twelfth seed Borna Coric faces big-serving American Reilly Opelka in the final match on Centre Court, and 14^th seed Marin Cilic, the 2016 champion (d. Murray), will look to kickstart another successful week in Cincinnati against Moldovan Radu Albot.

Schedule – 12 August 2019 Monday
CENTRE COURT start 11:00 am
WTA Match
WTA Match
[WC] Andy Murray (GBR) vs [PR] Richard Gasquet (FRA)

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA Match

Not Before 8:30 pm
[WC] Reilly Opelka (USA) vs [12] Borna Coric (CRO)

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[14] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Radu Albot (MDA)
[Q] Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) vs Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)

Not Before 8:30 pm
WTA Match

View the remainder of Monday’s schedule here.

John Isner broke at exactly the right time on Sunday to start his Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. The 13^th seed broke Dusan Lajovic for the first time as the Serbian served to stay in the match at 5-6 in the third set and advanced 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-5 at the season’s seventh ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Lajovic had saved all four break points prior to that. Isner, the 2013 finalist and 2017 semi-finalist, hit 27 aces and won 80 per cent (59/74) of his first-serve points.

More From #CincyTennis
* Roger Erases SW19 Flashbacks With… Caravaning?
* Who Can Stop The Big Three? Djokovic Looks At Prime Candidates
* Cincinnati Draw Preview
* All You Need To Know
* Can You Pass Our #CincyTennis Quiz?

The top-ranked American will next meet the winner between Spanish qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta and Frenchman Gilles Simon.

#NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur improved to 3-1 against Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2 win. The BB&T Atlanta Open champion will next meet the winner between American Reilly Opelka and 12^th seed Borna Coric of Croatia.

“These wins are often the ones that count the most,” De Minaur said. “To be able to come back from not playing my best tennis and turn it around… I’m really happy to get the win.”

In doubles, seventh seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers escaped past Felix Auger-Aliassime/Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5), 2-6, 10-4, and fifth-seeded Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut advanced past Croatians Nikola Mektic/Franko Skugor 6-3, 6-7(6), 12-10.