Yannick Hanfmann maintained his strong clay-court form Tuesday when he overcame Mattia Bellucci in the first round of Roland Garros qualifying.

Hanfmann, who is at a career-high No. 64 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, ousted the Italian 7-6(3), 6-4 to kick off his quest to play in the Roland Garros main draw for the first time since 2019. That year, the German advanced through qualifying before losing to Rafael Nadal in the opening round.

The 31-year-old has enjoyed success throughout the clay-court season, reaching the semi-finals at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open and quarter-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where he fell to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

In other qualifying action, top seed Aslan Karatsev advanced past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(2), 7-6(1). The 29-year-old Karatsev was playing his first match since his semi-final run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

Liam Broady and Federico Delbonis each rallied from a set down to escape the first round of qualifying. The Briton Broady defeated French teenager Arthur Gea 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 while the Argentine Delbonis survived Nicolas Mejia 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(0).

Aleksandar Vukic, who cracked the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday, overcame Belgian Raphael Collignon 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

German Dominik Koepfer looks to carry momentum into the French capital after capturing this past week’s ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Turin. On Tuesday, the lefty began his qualifying campaign by defeating Hungarian Zsombor Piros 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

Roger Federer sent tennis fans around the world into a frenzy on Tuesday when he answered questions on Twitter.

Naturally, some fans asked about Federer’s rivalry with Rafael Nadal. Does the Swiss miss playing the Spaniard?

yes and no 😉

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

Federer and Nadal played many memorable matches that will be spoken about for years to come. Which was the 20-time major winner’s favourite?

RG 2008. Those 4 games were awesome. 😉

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

That was a joke from Federer. The 2008 Roland Garros final was one of the most lopsided matches in their legendary ATP Head2Head rivalry. Nadal won 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

Perhaps the bigger surprise was the answer Federer gave when asked about any funny stories he has of being mistaken for someone else.

happened the other day at the Formula 1. A guy asked “Can i have a picture with you Mr Nadal?”. I told him I wasn’t Mr Nadal. He apologized and left without taking a picture. 😂

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

Federer won 1,251 tour-level matches and 103 titles, so it was no shock fans picked the Swiss’ tennis brain for advice.

in tennis, there is so much you always want to improve. there are so many incredible details. you have to be selective and methodical in how you go about it. a great coach helps you prioritize what to work on in what order, and what the end goal should be over the next 1/3/5…

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

overcoming adversity. not dwelling on the past. staying creative and thinking out of the box. all of these were important skills as a tennis player but feel just as relevant today.

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

You have to surround yourself with the right people and listen and learn quick.

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

just gotta keep moving on. can’t dwell on it. learn and take the positives.. there’s always something there.

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

Although Federer is enjoying his routines at home and time with family, he explained why he misses tennis.

in a crazy way, i miss everything about it. for years of my life i didn’t even remember what day of the week it was (other than Monday was the start of a tournament and Sunday was the end).

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

people still send them to me (mostly my dad) so yes sometimes

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

There was a lot of little stuff that i didn’t know was creating so much stress that just dropped away, which is really cool. Like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

feeling great nowadays, thanks! what i miss most: having a spontaneous dinner out on tour with friends after a match or practice. and of course the big stadiums, fans and the thrill of it all.

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

Even in retirement, his sense of humour is as good as ever. He listed the best servers and included 5’7″ Diego Schwartzman.

Roddick/Isner/Pistol/Schwartzman/Karlovic/Ivanisevic/Raonic/Vavrinec. And some bald guy from Croatia @theljubicic

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

One of Federer’s coaches, Ivan Ljubicic got in on the Q&A action and received a joke in return.

Give me a few hours to go through the history books and i’ll get back to you

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

One fan asked Federer when he is coming back.

i never really left

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic is the talk of the sporting world. The Serbian superstar led the Denver Nuggets in a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

When asked after Monday’s game about his countryman, Novak Djokovic, he was quick to praise the tennis great.

“He is a guy who represents Serbia in a much bigger scene,” Jokic said during his press conference. “He’s a Serbian ambassador, and he’s really [an] idol to the kids in Serbia and not just on the court, [but with] the things that his foundation is doing. He is the guy who can you can look up [to]. ‘I want to be like him’.

“He is doing something great for kids, for Serbia, for everything. So we cannot be compared.”

Djokovic has often complimented Jokic, too. The 93-time tour-level champion shared an Instagram Story on Tuesday celebrating Jokic’s success.

When Jokic earned his first MVP award two years ago, Djokovic wore his Nuggets jersey at practice ahead of Roland Garros.

“MVP! MVP! This is for my friend Nikola Jokic, The Joker,” Djokovic said in a video he recorded at the time. “Congratulations for your MVP, well deserved. Sending you big regards from Paris, Roland Garros. I’m carrying you today with me in practice and hopefully bringing you luck in the playoffs. All the best, my friend!”

Jokic could face Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Earlier this year, Butler watched Carlos Alcaraz play in Buenos Aires and Miami. 

“He’s always poised. He’s never rattled and more than anything, it looks like he’s having so much fun out there,” Butler told ATPTour.com. “I think whenever you have fun and you have that mentality that you know you’re the best, you go out there and you play as though you’re the best, results happen and he’s not No. 1 for no reason.”

Mark Philippoussis announced on Instagram Tuesday that he is no longer working with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“@stefanostsitsipas98 thank for the opportunity of being a part of your team,” Philippoussis wrote. “It was a great ride and experience, I’m proud of what we achieved together in the short amount of time we had. I wish you health, happiness and success for your future, on and off the court! 🙏🏼💙”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mark Philippoussis (@mphilippoussis)

One of the brightest moments of the Philippoussis-Tsitsipas partnership came at this year’s Australian Open, where the Greek advanced to his second major final.

Ahead of this year’s BNP Paribas Open, Tsitsipas said of Philippoussis “Mark is a very wise man, he has a lot of knowledge.

“I think the fact that he’s lived these things himself on the tour and he’s able to provide some [advice] to me now is essential. He provides a lot of feedback. He can relate to a lot of things that have happened to me and sees a little bit of himself in me in some circumstances and situations.”

Tsitsipas is still coached by his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas. The Greek will enter Roland Garros as the fifth seed.

Former Gonet Geneva Open champion Alexander Zverev continued his love affair with the ATP 250 event on Tuesday when he moved past American Christopher Eubanks 6-2, 6-3.

The German, who is competing in Geneva for the first time since he won the title in 2019, overpowered Eubanks in their first ATP Head2Head meeting. He hammered the ball off both wings and broke Eubanks’ serve four times to advance after 69 minutes.

“My first reaction is that I am very happy,” Zverev said. “I am very happy to be in the quarter-finals here. It is nice to be back here. The weather is beautiful and the city is beautiful. The crowd was amazing and I really enjoyed myself out there today.”

Zverev arrived in Geneva off the back of runs to the fourth round at ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. The 26-year-old will face Wu Yibing or Marco Cecchinato in his second tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Zverev is this week chasing his first tour-level title since winning the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals. The German has clinched six of his 19 tour-level trophies on clay.

Earlier, sixth seed Tallon Griekspoor reached the second round when he defeated Italian qualifier Stefano Travaglia 7-5, 7-6(3). The Dutchman Griekspoor snapped a four-match losing streak with his 15th victory of the season.

American J.J. Wolf defeated Hugo Dellien 6-4, 6-2 to set a meeting against top seed Casper Ruud, while Ilya Ivashka beat Guido Pella 6-4, 7-5. Australian Christopher O’Connell also advanced, defeating Croatian qualifier Nino Serdarusic 7-6(5), 6-7(1), 6-1.

A lot has gone into Aleksandar Vukic’s pursuit of becoming the best tennis player he can be. That paid off Monday, when the 27-year-old broke into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

The Australian, who is now World No. 95, accomplished the feat by reaching Saturday’s final at the Oeiras Challenger. One of the big reasons he has reached this point is his ability to compartmentalise the pressure of chasing the milestone.

“I don’t analyse it a crazy amount, but I’m aware of what’s going on, it’s in the back of my head,” Vukic said in a press conference in Oeiras. “But when I’m on court, I try not to think about it. There’s sometimes when you do and sometimes it helps, it can be motivating in a way. Sometimes it can add maybe too much pressure. I try to stay in the moment as much as I can.”

To understand how the Australian reached this point takes revisiting his past. Vukic’s parents, Rad and Lilijana, made a critical decision to flee the Yugoslav War in the 1990s before ‘Aleks’ was born.

“All the males over 18 had to be enrolled in the army, but my dad didn’t want to go and get killed. They were living in Sarajevo [Bosnia] at the time and this was the heart of the war. My brother [Vladimir] and my mom were able to leave,” Vukic told ATPTour.com in 2020. “They would hear bullets outside their home, so it was too dangerous and they were sending all the women and children away. Then my father tried to escape too and made it to the airport.

“There was a plane leaving and he blended in with another family and managed to get out of there. Eventually they got their visas and made it to Australia. They literally came with nothing, like a thousand dollars. It was so tough at first. They struggled to find jobs. Now, they are computer engineers and worked their way up from nothing.”

To this day, Vukic considers his father as the biggest influence in his life, stating, “He would push me the most,” the Australian said. “He was definitely instrumental in my development and is still my biggest supporter.”

Fast forward to this season, when the Aussie has enjoyed a standout run on the Challenger Tour. He’s won 14 of his past 17 Challenger-level matches and has reached at least the final in three of his past four tournaments, including his triumph at this month’s Busan Challenger.

Vukic then made a quick transition from the South Korean hard courts to the Portuguese clay. Despite the surface change, he continued his hot streak en route to a finalist finish at the Oeiras Open 4. Just two days separated Vukic’s triumph in Busan and his first-round match in Oeiras.

A former University of Illinois standout, Vukic will aim to carry his momentum to Roland Garros, where he will attempt to qualify for his second main-draw appearance on the Parisian clay. Vukic defeated Raphael Collignon 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of qualifying and will next face Nicolas Moreno De Alboran.

Jack Draper continued his winning return on the ATP Tour Tuesday when he moved past fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.

The 21-year-old competed in Monte-Carlo in April but missed ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome due to an abdominal injury. He has come out firing on his return in Lyon, though. The British lefty defeated Alexandre Muller in the first round and backed that up with a hard-fought display against Kecmanovic.

Draper rallied from a break down in the first set and won 82 per cent (27/33) of his first-serve points in the match to earn his 10th win of the season after one hour and 33 minutes.

“I am really happy. I have played two really high-level players and I feel that my game is in a good place, especially after having a few weeks off with injury,” Draper said. “Hopefully I can continue.”

Watch Tuesday Lyon Highlights:

Draper, currently No. 53 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, will face Francisco Cerundolo in his second quarter-final of the season after the fourth-seeded Argentine advanced past Juan Pablo Varillas, who was forced to retire after losing the first set 2-6.

Brandon Nakashima moved past Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-5 to reach his first quarter-final of the season. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion will next play third seed Tommy Paul or Gregoire Barrere. The American and Frenchman’s match was suspended at 7-6(6), 4-6, 2-2 due to bad light.

Paul is aiming to win his first title of the season this week in Geneva. Earlier this year he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the championship match in Acapulco.

In other action, Argentine Pedro Cachin earned a comeback win against Frenchman Gael Monfils, advancing 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. It is the first time Cachin has won a match this season after losing the first set on Tour. The 28-year-old will meet countryman Sebastian Baez in the second round after the 22-year-old defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 7-6(5).

Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz also advanced on his tour-level debut, defeating Australian Max Purcell 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1. Llamas Ruiz will play top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

Arthur Fils has consolidated his fifth-placed position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race after recent clay-court success.

The 18-year-old, who is aiming to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, defeated Top 100 Frenchmen Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys en route to the quarter-finals at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence. He then advanced through qualifying and reached the second round at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in Rome.

Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race

Frenchman Fils, currently on 431 points, is competing this week on home soil at the ATP 250 in Lyon, where he is in the second round.

Ben Shelton remains fourth in the Live Next Gen Race on 545 points. The American’s best result on clay this season came at a ATP Challenger Tour event in Cagliari, where he advanced to the semi-finals.

The 20-year-old, who also earned tour-level wins on the surface in Estoril and Barcelona, is aiming to make his debut at the 21-and-under event.

Luca Van Assche, Flavio Cobolli and Dominic Stricker currently sit sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Frenchman Van Assche (390 points) has won two Challenger Tour titles this season, while Italian Cobolli (243) reached the quarter-finals at the Challenger Tour 175 event in Turin this month.

The 20-year-old Stricker (230 points) is aiming to make his second appearance at the 21-and-under event this year, having advanced to the semi-finals in Milan last year. The Swiss star captured his second Challenger Tour trophy of the season in Prague in May.