Stan Wawrinka faced down an inspired comeback from Brandon Nakashima on Thursday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where the home favourite held firm to seal a thrilling 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 second-round win.

Wawrinka appeared set for a straightforward victory in his first tour-level meeting with Nakashima when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. #NextGenATP American Nakashima had other ideas, raising his level with some high-octane baseline hitting to force a decider, but Wawrinka kept his cool to convert the only break point of the third set and clinch an engrossing two-hour, 12-minute win.

“He battled, of course,” said Wawrinka after the match. “He was playing well, it was a really intense match. He’s a great player and it was tough, the first time playing against each other… I had the chance to close the match at 6-4, 5-4, I couldn’t really find my first serve and he played really well.

“He was aggressive. So it was not easy to come back in the third, but really I am happy with the way I fought again, the way I came back.”

Thursday’s win backed up Wawrinka’s opening-round triumph against second seed Casper Ruud. The former World No. 3 was delighted to seal another victory in front of his home fans and reach the quarter-finals in Basel for the sixth time in 15 appearances.

“I am playing much better than in the past few months and at home the feeling is always special,” said Wawrinka. “It has been many years that I have been [coming back] to Basel. It was not always easy to play here, I’ve not always played my best tennis and not always found it easy to deliver for the fans.

“Tonight and two nights ago, I think I [played] great and I had amazing support, so it’s really great to be here.”

Wawrinka’s quarter-final opponent will be Roberto Bautista Agut, who prevailed 6-3, 6-2 against former World No. 1 Andy Murray. Wawrinka and Bautista Agut share a 1-1 ATP Head2Head series record, with Friday’s clash in Basel set to be their first meeting since 2019.

In the final match of the day in Basel, #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune continued his hot streak of form with a 6-4, 6-2 second-round triumph against Ugo Humbert. The 19-year-old converted three from five break points to register his seventh consecutive tour-level win. The Munich and Stockholm champion will meet Arthur Rinderknech in the quarter-finals as he continues his bid for his third ATP Tour title of the season.

Borna Coric earned his third straight victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas with a Thursday comeback at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. Down a set and a break, Coric recovered to claim a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) win and advance to the quarter-finals.

The Croatian famously saved six match points to stun the Greek at the 2020 US Open, and while he was never that close to defeat at the ATP 500, he did have his back to the wall when Tsitsipas led by a set and 2-0. After breaking straight back, Coric fought off a break point at 2-3, which sparked a run of 15 straight points on serve that carried into the final set.

Both players fought through deuce to hold early in the decider, with another trade of breaks exchanged midway through the set. From 3-3, there would be no further break points, Coric ultimately taking the tie-break behind a single mini-break.

Coric improved to 3-1 in his ATP Head2Head against Tsitsipas, with the Greek’s only win coming via an early retirement in Rome 2018. The resurgent Croatian is now 13-3 since the start of Cincinnati, where he beat Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 in the final. Through to his fourth quarter-final of the season and his second of the month (Tokyo), he will meet fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz on Friday.

Jannik Sinner also advanced to the Vienna quarter-finals on Thursday night with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Francisco Cerundolo. The Italian has not dropped a set this week and lost just five games against Cristian Garin on Wednesday in the first round.

The sixth seed will now seek his first win against Daniil Medvedev in the pair’s fourth meeting, their first since a thriller in the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals which was decided by a 10-8 third-set tie-break.

The world’s best players will unite to compete side by side at the United Cup, a stunning new team event set to launch the global tennis season in 2023.

The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, will showcase equality at the highest level of the sport, with mixed teams from 18 countries competing across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney over 11 days, from Thursday 29 December to Sunday 8 January 2023.

The power and passion of team competition will come to life as the players unite to represent their countries with national pride and USD $15 million in prize money on the line. In a world first for a mixed team event, 500 Pepperstone ATP Rankings and WTA rankings points are also up for grabs.

The first 12 countries will qualify via the six highest-ranked No. 1 players that enter, on both the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour. The remaining six countries will qualify according to the best combined ranking of their respective No. 1 men’s and women’s players. Teams will feature three to four players from each Tour.

Each city will host two groups of three countries, competing in a round-robin format, with ties comprising two ATP and two WTA singles matches, and one mixed doubles match. Each City Final winner will advance to the United Cup Final Four in Sydney (6-8 January), with the next best performing team from the group stages completing the quartet.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray said that the new event would leverage tennis’ inherent advantage over other sports. “I love to see the men and women competing together. It’s something I’m very excited about,” he said. “We’re the only global sport where men and women compete at the same venues, which is something very special about our sport and something to be celebrated. Big events like this will help.

“I’m sure all the players will be very passionate about competing for their countries and the men and women will work together to support each other.”

Former Australian tennis player and current commentator Casey Dellacqua said, “It’s an exciting opportunity for our sport. It’s the first time we’ll bring the men’s and women’s tours together for a global team event offering huge prize money and big rankings points. It’s wonderful innovation for the game of tennis and it will be a blockbuster start to the summer of tennis.”

The draw will take place Thursday 10 November. Tickets for the United Cup go on sale on Friday 11 November. Brisbane (Pat Rafter Arena), Perth (RAC Arena) and Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) will host the group stage from Thursday 29 December to Wednesday 4 January 2023.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman: “The United Cup marks a major step forward for the game of tennis. Most importantly, it will create incredible new experiences for our fans. We’re excited to see the best men’s and women’s players competing together, with ranking points on the line, to launch the season like never before.”

Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO: “The United Cup is an important and strategic collaboration between the WTA, the ATP and Tennis Australia that reflects a continued commitment in elevating our sport. This exciting singles and mixed doubles team event will bring together emerging stars and established athletes from both Tours to compete on the same stage, giving players and fans a unique experience in which the final outcome may be determined with women and men competing together.”

Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia CEO: “The United Cup presents a unique opportunity to unite both the men’s and women’s tour in a brand-new way that has never been seen before. We have the opportunity here in Australia to leverage tennis’ unique position to allow the world’s top men and women to compete side by side and represent their country at the highest level. We couldn’t be more delighted to see how this event unfolds in January.”

2023 ATP Tour Calendar Updates
In parallel, the ATP has today announced the relocation of the Sofia ATP 250 tournament license. From 2023, the event will be staged in Australia in Week 1 of the season alongside United Cup, providing additional playing opportunities in the swing ahead of the Australian Open. In addition, the Belgrade ATP 250 tournament scheduled for April 2023 will relocate to Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina). View the 2023 calendar

For more information on United Cup, please visit www.UnitedCup.com and follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media.

The field for the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals is now set. Dominic Stricker will join Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka, Chun-Hsin Tseng and Francesco Passaro in Milan from 8-12 November.

The 20-year-old lefty is the first Swiss player to qualify for the 21-and-under season finale in event history (since 2017).

Stricker has excelled against top competition this season, earning a 7-5 record against players inside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He has won two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, triumphing on hard courts in Columbus, Ohio in January before lifting the trophy in July on clay in Zug, Switzerland.

Three of the players in the field — Musetti, Rune and Nakashima — will be competing in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second time. The trio played at the Allianz Cloud last year, with Nakashima advancing to the semi-finals.

With Musetti and Passaro in the field, two Italians will compete in the same edition of the event for the first time. The home favourites will try to join Jannik Sinner as Italian champions at the 21-and-under season finale.

Felix Auger-Aliassime has been in blistering form this month, but he hit new heights on Thursday at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Seeking his third ATP Tour title in as many weeks, the Canadian advanced to the quarter-finals with a stunning performance against Miomir Kecmanovic, wrapping up a 6-1, 6-0 victory in 49 minutes.

“It’s tough to play better than that, from my part,” Auger-Alassime said in his on-court interview. “For sure the best match I’ve played in my whole life — not my career, since I’m a little kid! It’s a nice feeling. It was a treat to play this level, to play this way in front of you,” he told the Swiss crowd.

In a flawless second set, he dropped just seven points and was a perfect 11-for-11 behind his first serve. Showcasing his athleticism and first-strike tennis, the third seed finished with 21 winners and 10 aces on the match.

Auger-Aliassime currently sits seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he clings onto what is currently the final qualifying position. He is 315 points clear of Taylor Fritz in eighth place as he seeks his Nitto ATP Finals debut at age 22, but cannot add points this week unless he reaches the semi-finals or better.

Now on a 10-match winning streak that began with title runs in Florence and Antwerp, Auger-Aliassime became the third player to earn 50 wins this season (Tsitsipas 57, Alcaraz 54) with his latest victory. His 2022 record stands at 50-24 with three titles, the first ATP Tour trophies of his career.

The Canadian will next meet Alexander Bublik, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Albert Ramos-Vinolas earlier on Thursday. Should he advance to the semis, he will face a Spaniard: either World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

Daniil Medvedev had to bide his time against Dominic Thiem on Thursday at the Erste Bank Open, but the top seed’s persistence paid off as he registered a 6-3, 6-3 second-round win in Vienna.

Both players came out firing in a hard-fought opening set at the indoor ATP 500 event. Thiem delighted the vocal home crowd with some clean hitting off both wings from the baseline, while Medvedev countered with some trademark defiant defence. After clinching the first break of the match for 4-3, however, the top seed’s combination of consistent, powerful hitting came to the fore as he accelerated away to a 98-minute victory.

“It was a tough match,” said Medvedev after his win. “[Around] one hour, 40 [minutes], and you know when it’s one hour, 40 minutes, even if you win 6-3, 6-3, that it was a tough match. It could have gone either way. At one moment in the match I started to put a lot of pressure on his serve. I was serving good myself, so didn’t [give] him to many opportunities on my serve, and that was the key today I think.”

Medvedev acknowledged the seventh game of the match had been crucial as he moved level with Thiem at 3-3 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series.

“That was the first game in the match where I actually won the first point on his serve,” said the top seed. “Otherwise, it was 40/0 for him all the time, so a little bit tougher to break. This game I managed to put pressure on him. He had two or three game points where I managed to bring it back to deuce which is really important. When I won this game, I got a little bit of momentum during the match.“

With the win, Medvedev equalled his quarter-final run on his only previous Vienna appearance in 2020. The 26-year-old will next play sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3, as he chases his second ATP Tour title of the season.

Medvedev is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, and a deep run in Vienna would bring him closer to claiming one of the three remaining qualification spots for November’s Nitto ATP Finals.

Another Turin hopeful, Hubert Hurkacz, also advanced to the quarter-finals by holding his nerve to clinch a deciding-set win against Emil Ruusuvuori. The fifth seed responded well to dropping the second set against the Finn, racing to an unassailable 4-1 lead before sealing a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory in which he struck 41 winners.

Hurkacz sits in ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he seeks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time. The 25-year-old Pole could rise as high as seventh with a title run in Vienna, where his quarter-final opponent will be second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Borna Coric.

Also on Thursday, a confident showing from Grigor Dimitrov pegged back Andrey Rublev’s bid for his third consecutive Nitto ATP Finals appearance. The Bulgarian prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes to level his ATP Head2Head series with Rublev at 3-3. Rublev is sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, but he could be overtaken by Felix Auger-Aliassime this week.

Dimitrov’s quarter-final opponent will be Marcos Giron, who sprung an upset in impressive style with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Cameron Norrie. Giron had gone 1-2 since reaching his maiden ATP Tour final in San Diego in September, but the American converted three from three break points to see off the seventh seed and reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final of the year.

Can Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek’s impressive late-season form carry them all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin?

The Croatian-American pair showed no sign of slowing down in its pursuit of a spot at the season finale on Thursday, when it registered a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victory against top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

It was a sixth consecutive tour-level win for Dodig and Krajicek, who lifted their second ATP Tour title of the season on Sunday in Naples. They remain in ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, but Thursday’s 73-minute triumph moved Dodig and Krajicek within 180 points of eighth-placed Tim Puetz and Michael Venus.

With a seventh-place finish required to guarantee qualification for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, Dodig and Krajicek will seek to boost their chances further when they meet Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the semi-finals in Basel. The Kazakh duo advanced to the last four with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez.

Francesco Passaro will look to thrill his home fans in Milan next month after qualifying for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

The Italian is the seventh player to earn his spot in the eight-player field at the 21-and-under season finale, which will be played at the Allianz Cloud from 8-12 November. Only one place remains at the event, which will also feature Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka and Chun-Hsin Tseng.

This will be the first time two Italians — Musetti and Passaro — compete in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in the same edition. Italian Jannik Sinner won the tournament in 2019.

Passaro began the season outside the Top 600 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but has soared as high as World No. 122. He reached the final at ATP Challenger Tour events in Sanremo and Forli as a qualifier, then advanced to another championship match at that level in Milan before claiming his first Challenger trophy in Trieste.

The 21-year-old earned his first tour-level match win earlier this month in Florence, where he defeated Zhang Zhizhen. Passaro then qualified for another ATP Tour event the following week in Naples.