For the second straight week on South American red clay, Federico Coria has knocked out the fifth seed at an ATP Tour event. One week after dismissing Dusan Lajovic in Buenos Aires, he upset Cristian Garin on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.

While the Argentine needed three sets to dismiss Lajovic, he took the express route at the Rio Open presented by Claro, leaving no doubt in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Garin. Coria now owns a 2-1 ATP Head2Head record against the Chilean (all on clay), including wins in their past two meetings.

Garin has now lost in the opening round of consecutive tournaments (Cordoba). He won the first three points and the first game of Tuesday’s contest, but found little joy beyond that as errors crept into his game. 

Despite winning just 33 total points, Garin did win the point of the match — and an early contender for point of the tournament — by chasing down a drop shot, retrieving an overhead and ultimately hitting a drop-shot winner of his own.

Think this one’s called a “PUNTAZO” 😲@Garin_Cris #RioOpen pic.twitter.com/HcEuftdD0P

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 15, 2022

That exchange came with Coria serving at 3-2. After those heroics at 15/15, Garin created his only two break points of the match. When he could not convert, it started a run of nine straight games for Coria.

The Argentine only got better as the match wore on, and finished in a flash by winning 14 of the last 15 points, and each of the last 10 in the one-hour, 16-minute match.

Coria will next face Fernando Verdasco, who was also an early winner in Rio with a 7-6(4), 6-3 decision over Lajovic. The 38-year-old Spaniard entered the event with a protected ranking and is seeking to build on a quarter-final run last week in Buenos Aires.

Federico Delbonis, who may go into the history books as the last man to face Juan Martin del Potro in his storied career, was a semi-finalist at the Argentina Open. One week after beating his countryman del Potro in the Buenos Aires opening round, he notched a Rio first-round win against Daniel Elahi Galan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, to set up a second-round showdown against seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Denys Molchanov and Andrey Rublev upset fourth seeds Jonny O’Mara and David Vega Hernandez 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-6 in the first round of the Open 13 Provence in Marseille on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian-Russian pairing saved four break points in a tight second set to force a Match Tie-break, winning it 10-6 to set a quarter-final clash with French pairing Benjamin Bonzi and Albano Olivetti.

Another pair of ATP Tour singles stars enjoyed a successful day on the doubles court at the Rio Open presented by Claro, as Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno Busta came out on top in a tense encounter with Argentine pairing Maximo Gonzalez and Diego Schwartzman.

The Spaniards were outplayed in the first set but after levelling they took the Match Tie-break 10-7 to set a potential quarter-final meeting with top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Top-ranked Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic enjoyed a winning start to their Qatar ExxonMobil Open campaign as they saw off Jonathan Erlich and Lloyd Harris 6-3, 7-5.

The Croatian pair was searching for only its second ATP Tour win of 2022, but stepped up at key moments against Erlich and Harris, saving four out of five break points to set a quarter-final clash with Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp.

At the only match of the day at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, fourth seeds Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith enjoyed a comfortable victory over Peter Gojowczyk and Oscar Otte, the Australians running out 6-3, 6-0 winners.

Andy Murray did not hide his disappointment after his second-round Australian Open defeat to Taro Daniel in January, but the former World No. 1 didn’t have to wait long to banish those demons.

Playing at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as a wild card, the 34-year-old produced a strong first-round performance to brush past Daniel 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday.

The Scot was pleased with how he dealt with the threat of Daniel this time around. “He played very well in Australia, he had a very good run there and was too good for me there. I tried to be the one dictating from the first point, and I thought I did that well. It was one of the better matches I’ve played in recent months.”

Murray is a two-time champion and four-time finalist in Doha, and he looked happy to be back as he hit 11 winners and broke Daniel twice to ease to the first set.

World No. 110 Daniel broke in the first game of the second set to momentarily halt the Murray charge, but a trademark backhand winner that sealed an immediate break back was typical of how the Scot struck the ball throughout and he went on to seal victory in one hour, 20 minutes.

Murray now faces second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round. The Brit will seek to increase his 3-1 ATP Head2Head series lead over the World No. 16 Spaniard, but is not taking anything for granted despite his excellent record in Doha.

“Obviously the results from 12 years ago aren’t going to affect the results this week,” said Murray when asked about his previous titles in Doha. “But what it tells me is that the conditions here are good for my game, so if I can play to a good level the courts are going to suit me here and I’ll make it difficult for everyone I play against.”

Montepellier champion and seventh seed Alexander Bublik beat Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-2, 6-4 with a powerful performance earlier on Tuesday.

The World No. 31 Kazakh hit 25 winners including seven aces, breaking his opponent four times to reach the second round in Doha for the third consecutive year. He now faces Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated Jiri Vesely 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Holger Rune survived a big scare to notch his first victory of the season with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Zizou Bergs at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

“At first it was tough,” said the #NextGenATP Dane after the match. “I was struggling a lot, making a lot of errors. He came out and played very well in the beginning, so I was a bit stressed.

“I tried to think like a professional, I tried to find a way. I’ve played too many matches in my career where I’ve lost the first set, so I just told myself, ‘Let’s stick in there, play every ball in the court, and let’s see what happens’.”

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

• TV Schedule
• Watch Live On Tennis TV
• Follow Live Scores On ATP Tour App

World No. 90 Rune, who competed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, came into the match with an 0-4 tour-level record in 2022 and looked to be in trouble again after Bergs won the first five games of the match and eased to the first set.

Rune belatedly found his game in the second set, however, and his confidence looked to have been fully restored as he surged to a double-break lead in the deciding set.

The 18-year-old, playing on the indoor hard courts of Marseille after an unsuccessful two-week stint on the South American clay, held his nerve to claim victory and let out a roar of relief when Bergs sent a forehand long on match point.

Rune will look to back up his win in a second-round clash with fourth seed Aslan Karatsev.

Three-time Marseille champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated compatriot Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-4 to book a second-round meeting with third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Tsonga increased his ATP Head2Head series lead to 10-4 with a convincing performance against Simon, who himself won the title in Marseille in 2007 and 2015. Former World No. 5 Tsonga served 11 aces as his opponent failed to register a break of serve in the match.

Hugo Gaston came out on top in another all-French clash, defeating Corentin Moutet 6-4, 6-4 to set a second-round meeting with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Gaston was a constant threat on serve in the pair’s first tour-level meeting, breaking World No. 107 Moutet to secure his first tour-level win of the year.

Roman Safiullin notched his first tour-level victory since starring for Team Russia at the ATP Cup in January, upsetting seventh-seeded Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3).

No. 20 Reilly Opelka, +3
The 24-year-old has jumped three spots back into the Top 20 in the ATP Rankings after he clinched his third tour-level title at the Dallas Open. The American did not drop a set en route to the trophy, overcoming Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Adrian Mannarino and countrymen John Isner and Jenson Brooksby. Read Dallas Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest ATP Rankings

No. 14 Diego Schwartzman, +1
The Argentine has risen one place following his run to the final at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The 29-year-old, who lifted the title on home soil last season, fell to Norway’s Casper Ruud in the championship match. Read Buenos Aires Final Report & Watch Highlights.

No. 95 Jiri Lehecka, +42 (Career High)
The 20-year-old has soared into the Top 100 after he broke new ground on his tour-level debut at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. The Czech qualifier advanced to the semi-finals in Rotterdam, upsetting World No. 12 Denis Shapovalov, Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti en route. He was eventually stopped by World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the Greek then losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. Read Rotterdam Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 17 Taylor Fritz, +2 (Career High)
No. 23 John Isner, +3
No. 45 Jenson Brooksby, +9 (Career High)
No. 87 Andy Murray, +8
No. 100 Francisco Cerundolo, +7 (Career High)

You can call Brandon Nakashima’s performance on Monday evening a ‘Nakashima Knockout’.

The 20-year-old ousted fellow American Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes to reach the second round of the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

The ATP 250 holds fond memories for Nakashima, who reached the quarter-finals in Florida two years ago as an 18-year-old. He will try to advance that far again when he plays seventh seed Adrian Mannarino or British qualifier Liam Broady next.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

• TV Schedule
• Watch Live On Tennis TV
• Follow Live Scores On ATP Tour App

Nakashima gave his opponent few opportunities to work his way into points, winning all but one of his second-serve points. The former University of Virginia student-athlete did not face a break point and converted five of the eight opportunities he earned.

In a match that took more than three times longer, Australian John Millman eliminated eighth seed Maxime Cressy of the United States 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) after two hours and 54 minutes.

The serve-and-volleying Cressy put pressure on Millman with his attacking style in the windy conditions throughout the match. But the 32-year-old remained calm under pressure to battle on.

“He’s relentless, massive serve, first and second. [He is] always looking to come forward, whether it’s on his service games or return games. There is an incredible amount of mental application required to get through your service games and then hopefully take those one or two in his,” Millman said. “It was a really challenging match. It was really unfortunate someone had to lose that one.”

Steve Johnson clawed past local resident Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 after two hours and one minute. The American saved the only break point he faced against the former World No. 5, a two-time major finalist.

In other action, German Oscar Otte reached the second round with a 7-6(8), 6-3 victory against Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka and Italian Andreas Seppi defeated German Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 6-4.

Carlos Alcaraz is mature beyond his 18 years, which he showed in a comeback win Monday evening at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Down a lopsided set against a familiar foe in fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, Alcaraz remained calm. The seventh seed cleaned up his game and showed no fear of taking the initiative in points to rally past Munar 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 for a place in the second round.

Last year in Marbella, where the pair also met on clay, Munar defeated Alcaraz in straight sets. But this time, the younger Spaniard was unrelenting.

After an opening set in which he struggled to find rhythm, Alcaraz broke early in the second set and never looked back. From a stunning lob to a sliding one-handed backhand shovel winner, everything went right for the teen from then on, including fearless forays into the forecourt.

The World No. 29, who is as physically fit as many ATP Tour veterans, lost just three games in the final two sets. He saved 10 of the 13 break points he faced to triumph after two hours and 15 minutes. Fittingly, Alcaraz finished the clash with a perfect backhand drop volley winner.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

• TV Schedule
• Watch Live On Tennis TV
• Follow Live Scores On ATP Tour App

Rio de Janeiro will always be a special city for Alcaraz, who upset Albert Ramos-Vinolas there two years ago as a 16-year-old. That victory made him the youngest tour-level match winner since 16-year-old Cristian Garin at Vina del Mar in 2013.

The seventh seed will next play Argentine Federico Delbonis or Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan.

In other Monday action, Spaniard Pedro Martinez eliminated 17-year-old Juncheng Shang 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes. Martinez saved all three break points he faced against the former junior World No. 1 and will next play third seed Diego Schwartzman.

Another Spaniard, Pablo Andujar, also advanced. In a battle of 36-year-olds, Andujar ousted Pablo Cuevas 7-6(2), 7-5 after two hours and 12 minutes.