Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic are doing double duty at the Western & Southern Open. It is working for them both thus far.

After the Canadians won their first-round singles matches on Saturday, they partnered one another to beat Nicolas Mahut and Jan-Lennard Struff in their opening doubles match on Sunday 6-3, 1-6, 10-0.

Auger-Aliassime and Raonic combined to win just 39 per cent of their service points in the second set. But they quickly turned that around in the Match Tie-break, blitzing the French-German team with power. On match point, Raonic crushed an inside-out forehand return, which Struff could not handle.

Auger-Aliassime and Raonic, who are competing together for the first time, will next play reigning Australian Open champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who advanced on Saturday. Struff remains in the singles draw after defeating Alex de Minaur in the first round.

Another pair of single stars caused an upset. Pablo Carreno Busta and De Minaur eliminated defending champions Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek 3-6, 7-6(3), 10-5. The unseeded team did well to work points so that they could use their groundstrokes to their advantage rather than getting involved in volley-to-volley exchanges with the fourth seeds.

Carreno Busta and De Minaur won 79 per cent of their first-serve points against the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers. They will next play Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner.

Fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos ousted Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-6(1). They’ll play Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, who won an all-American battle against Sam Querrey and Jack Sock 6-3, 6-7(3), 10-5.

Other teams that advanced to the second round were Nikola Cacic/Dusan Lajovic and Steve Johnson/Austin Krajicek.

Few tennis players know adversity as well as Marcos Giron. The American underwent right hip surgery in December 2015 and left hip surgery in February 2016. More than four years later, he is competing on one of the world’s biggest stages at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, set to play defending champion Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.

“Medvedev has shown he’s one of the best in the world and I know I’m going to have to be out there and play my best to have a chance,” said Giron, who beat good friend Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(2), 7-5 on Sunday in the first round. “I’m excited for it, that’s why we play. We play to compete against the very best in the world.”

Giron’s best win came at last year’s BNP Paribas Open, where he rallied to upset then-World No. 24 Alex de Minaur, reaching the third round of the main draw as a qualifier. The highest-ranked player he has faced was then-World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro at 2018 Los Cabos.

The qualifier said he will do some research on Medvedev, noting there is an abundance of footage to watch on the World No. 5, whom the American called “an absolute beast”.

“He doesn’t miss. He makes every ball and he chases everything down. He’s got a good serve, he’s got weapons and he doesn’t have any holes. He hits flatter than a lot of opponents, he makes people hit up and he’s good at taking advantage of that and he’s physical,” Giron said. “He’s mentally very tough. I’m going to have to find ways to create offence for myself because he’s super good at neutralising. It’ll be interesting trying to find those match-ups [during points].”

The former UCLA Bruin, who won the 2014 NCAA Singles Championship, is No. 102 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. With his opening-round win, he is on the verge of cracking the Top 100 for the first time, pending results the rest of the week.

“It’s definitely been a journey. Looking back to when I left school in 2014, I always knew I had the game, but I didn’t think it would take this long. Of course there have been some speed bumps with hip surgery,” Giron said. “Especially last year at Indian Wells, making the run there, it really gave me the confidence [I needed].”

Many of the players competing in New York are trying to find their rhythm after more than five months off. But Giron is used to that after missing 10 months due to his hip surgeries. He felt prepared for this time off, except this time he didn’t need to worry about his body.

“I knew what to expect. For me it wasn’t as hard because back then it was like, well, ‘I haven’t put in six months of training or I haven’t put in three months of training. I’ve put in two good months of training on hips that aren’t exactly fresh,’” Giron said. “I wasn’t sure how they were going to handle it. Back then when I was coming back I was kind of like, ‘Let me see how my body is going to handle it.’

“This [time] it almost felt like a boxing match where it was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got two, three months to prepare, let me do everything that I can and just be ready for it.’ It gave me a lot of time to reflect the past five months and I knew I just wanted to be in a good headspace.”

It’s not often that two players who have met in the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event clash in the second round at the same level two years later. But this time, there was far less drama.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.

“I think the fact that I kept my serve very aggressive and I remained aggressive with my groundstrokes helped a lot and I’m very pleased that I was able to maintain my game throughout the entire match, same intensity,” Tsitsipas told ESPN after his victory. “It was an excellent first set… it was great.”

It was not an easy draw for the Greek star, who saved a match point against Anderson, then-World No. 6, to reach the final of the 2018 Rogers Cup. Anderson is currently World No. 123 after an injury-laden 2019. The South African also underwent right knee surgery this February.

Tsitsipas looked sharp from the early stages of the 69-minute match, putting pressure on Anderson by attacking his second serve. The Greek was aggressive when provided an opportunity, also taking advantage of unforced errors from his 34-year-old opponent. The fourth seed broke serve four times, saving all three break points he faced.

The key moment came at 2-2 in the second set, when Tsitsipas faced 0/40 on his serve. Anderson crushed a forehand return up the line in the ad court, putting Tsitsipas on the back foot. But the Greek recovered with a crafty passing shot to his 6’8″ opponent’s feet, eventually winning the point. Anderson then made errors on the next two points, allowing Tsitsipas to escape that game.

“I couldn’t remember. I kind of erased it from my mind,” Tsitsipas said of the service game. “That was a crucial game, being able to come back there and maintain the focus that I needed to be back in the match and not be a break down, that was a very good effort from me. It was my fighting spirit that turned on and my service points there were incredible.”

The five-time ATP Tour champion will next face 16th seed John Isner or Aussie John Millman.

John Isner and Hubert Hurkacz cruised past reigning Australian Open finalists Max Purcell and Luke Saville in their doubles opener Saturday at the Western & Southern Open. But when they faced one another on the singles court Sunday, only one was able to advance to the second round at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Isner got his return to action off to a good start, using a typically strong serving performance to eliminate Hurkacz 7-5, 6-4 after one hour and 39 minutes. The World No. 21 finished the match in style with a leaping backhand overhead, reminiscent of one of Roger Federer’s signature shots.

“I just went after it and hit a great backhand overhead,” Isner told ESPN after the match. “I really don’t have that shot, so I got a little lucky and I’m happy to be off the court in two sets.”

The action on Grandstand at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center featured few lengthy rallies, with both players looking to get the first big strike in during the point, sometimes following those shots into the net. The match came down to who withstood pressure better, with Isner saving the two break points he faced while breaking his 23-year-old opponent twice.

Isner finally broke through at the end of the first set on his fifth set point. Hurkacz was forced to curl a low forehand approach shot up and down, missing long to give the No. 16 seed the opener.

Hurkacz took a medical timeout at 1-2, 15/15 in the second set to have his right index finger wrapped. However, he was able to stick close with Isner until the end of the set. The home favourite did not need as many opportunities this time, converting his first match point to set up a clash against Adrian Mannarino or John Millman. Isner signed the on-court camera, “Hi HG and Hobbs” with a smiley face, giving a shoutout to his children, Hunter Grace and John Hobbs.

Hurkacz’s coach, Craig Boynton, coached Isner from 2009-12. Isner and Hurkacz will compete on the same side of the net once again on Monday when they face Pablo Carreno Busta and Alex de Minaur in the second round of the doubles draw.

Did You Know?
Isner became the oldest first-time Masters 1000 champion in series history at the 2018 Miami Open presented by Itau, lifting that trophy at 32.

On Saturday, former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka lifted his first trophy of the 2020 season. The Swiss kicked off the ATP Challenger Tour restart by claiming his first piece of silverware in three years at the I.CLTK Prague Open by Moneta.

Wawrinka was battle-tested all week, earning three straight wins from a set down before defeating Aslan Karatsev in the championship. With the goal of building confidence and match rhythm on the court, following the five-month COVID-19 hiatus, the 35-year-old is not wasting any time. He is back in action this week in the Czech capital, competing at the second clay-court Challenger 125 event there.

Held at the TK Spoje Praha, the RPM Prague Open features Wawrinka as its leading man, accompanied by second seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert and the restart debut of 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung. This is Chung’s second tournament of the year after suffering a hand injury in January.

View Prague Draw

Wawrinka will open his campaign against qualifier Goncalo Oliveira on Tuesday. He could face either 15th seed Botic van de Zandschulp or Czech qualifier Marek Gengel in the Round of 16, with a potential quarter-final clash against former World No. 10 Ernests Gulbis looming large.

Also in the top half of the draw is fourth seed Yannick Maden and 2020 wins leader Arthur Rinderknech. Rinderknech lifted the doubles trophy on Saturday with Herbert. The Frenchman could face 22-year-old Brit Jay Clarke in what would be a blockbuster Round of 16 encounter.

In the bottom half, Herbert opens against either countryman Elliot Benchetrit or fellow veteran Ruben Bemelmans. Chung will kick off his restart against Zdenek Kolar. Other Top 10 seeds in their half of the draw include No. 5 Kimmer Coppejans, No. 6 Martin Klizan and No. 9 Sebastian Ofner.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of young Czech talent on display. Last week, 20-year-old Michael Vrbensky reached his first Challenger semi-final, before falling to Wawrinka. He faces another tall task this week, opening against Maden. Tomas Machac, aged 19, won his maiden title in Koblenz, Germany, earlier this year. He will battle former World No. 33 Robin Haase on Tuesday. And fellow 19-year-old Jonas Forejtek will kick off his bid against Ofner.

Karen Khachanov blasted his way past Alexander Bublik on Sunday to get off to a winning start at the Western & Southern Open.

In his first match for 177 days, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, 11th seed Khachanov completed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 84 minutes for a place in the second round at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

The Russian, whose last tour-level match came on 28 February when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarter-finals, will next challenge Pablo Carreno Busta.

Khachanov broke serve in the first game and clinched the 41-minute opener when Bublik hit a forehand into the net. At 4-4 in the second set, Khachanov hit a slower-paced return to the net-rushing Bublik and then followed it in to place a backhand winner. Khachanov hit seven aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points.

Diego Schwartzman, who was sidelined with a left leg injury for much of February prior to the ATP Tour suspension, came through a highly competitive opener against Casper Ruud 7-6(2), 6-2 in one hour and 56 minutes.

The ninth-seeded Argentine broke clear at 2/2 in the first set tie-break, winning five straight points and finishing with a crosscourt forehand return winner. Schwartzman then won the first three games of the second set and went on to extend his perfect ATP Head2Head record to 5-0 against Ruud. He now faces Reilly Opelka.

Milos Raonic has long been known for paying a lot of attention to his hair, keeping it immaculate. But the COVID-19 pandemic has changed all of that.

There were no fans on Court 17 to watch the former World No. 3’s first-round match at the Western & Southern Open on Saturday. But people watching from home could tell that the Canadian has been growing out his locks.

When was the last time Raonic cut his hair? “Before Australia,” he said during his post-match virtual press conference. That’s seven months ago!

But the Canadian has been cautious throughout the pandemic, worrying about his parents. He saw his mother for a day and a half after the Australian Open, and he has not seen his father in 2020.

“I didn’t get a haircut. I was really cautious. We had about six people in our group — I would have gotten a haircut [if I could],” Raonic said, later adding, “My motivation was plain and simple. It’s my parents.”

Raonic is staying in private housing rather than one of the two player hotels. He also has not been spending much time with other players, staying in the private suite he received as a seeded player and only going into the locker room for a 10-minute shower after practice.

“It’s something that I’m going to continue to do. Not just here because it’s a part of the program, but [at the] French Open, Rome, whichever tournaments are coming up in the future,” Raonic said. “Whatever the conditions may be, it’s something that I have committed to and I’m prepared to follow through with.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is Raonic’s massive serve. The Canadian hit 19 aces in a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Sam Querrey, winning 87 per cent of his first-serve points. One of every two first serves he landed (38) resulted in an ace.

“I have been playing really well the last few weeks, and today I’m happy with how I dealt with a lot of things,” Raonic said. “There are a lot of things out of my control that you can’t mimic in a practice.”

Denis Shapovalov’s last win before the ATP Tour was suspended due to COVID-19 was against Marin Cilic at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. It was only fitting that he returned to the court after more than five months with a triumph against Cilic, too.

The 12th-seeded Canadian was sharp in a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the 2016 champion to reach the second round of the Western & Southern Open.

“I don’t think I could have played much better. It was a really tough draw to play Marin [in the] first round. He’s such an amazing player, and he’s proven that time and time again,” Shapovalov said. “It was definitely not easy for both of us out there, so I’m really happy to get a win against him and start back really strong.”

Shapovalov was dominant on serve, saving the only break point he faced in the 79-minute match. The lefty struck nine aces and won 60 per cent of his second-serve points compared to 29 per cent for Cilic.

World No. 37 Cilic has enjoyed success at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the ATP Masters 1000 is being held because of the pandemic. In 2014, the Croatian won the US Open at Flushing Meadows. But Cilic struggled to gain an attacking rhythm from the baseline, with the shotmaking Shapovalov keeping the 31-year-old off balance with his overall aggression and crisp passing shots.

The 21-year-old is known to use the “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd to push him forward. But with no fans in attendance, Shapovalov still managed to keep his energy high throughout to take a 3-1 ATP Head2Head series lead against Cilic.

“I love the fans and I love the roar of the
crowd when you hit an amazing shot. But when I was
dialed in, focussed, I wasn’t paying too much attention to it,” Shapovalov said. “At the end of the day, it just came down to playing tennis. Definitely, it’s different, but we have gone through it.”

Shapovalov will next play another big-hitter in German Jan-Lennard Struff, who earned his first victory in his third ATP Head2Head meeting against Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in 81 minutes.

Struff has won three of his four clashes against Shapovalov. However, the Canadian was victorious in their only hard-court battle at the 2018 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, triumphing 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 after saving a match point in the second-set tie-break.

Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the way in New York on Sunday, as four Top 10 seeds begin their title bids at the Western & Southern Open.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion will make his return to the ATP Tour against Kevin Anderson, who battled past Kyle Edmund in three sets on Saturday. This will be Tsitsipas and Anderson’s fourth ATP Head2Head meeting (Tsitsipas leads 2-1), with each of their three previous encounters taking place in 2018.

”It’s a great opportunity to be able to perform and play at such a high level again,” said Tsitsipas. “Personally speaking, I’m very happy I get to be back on the court… I’m just happy competing again, just happy to be able to be back to my normal happiness.”

Tsitsipas will aim to return to the level he was playing at prior to the ATP Tour suspension in March. In his two most recent ATP Tour events, the Greek captured the Open 13 Provence in Marseille for the second straight year and finished as runner-up at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“I was on a good run back in Marseille and Dubai which was quite disappointing when [COVID-19 struck],” said Tsitsipas. “It kept me a little bit off balance and I wasn’t expecting it. But I kept practising, I kept perfecting things. I’m back now, which gives me the perfect opportunity to prove myself once again.”

Last year’s finalist David Goffin will make his return to action against Croatian No. 1 Borna Coric. The 29-year-old owns an 8-2 record at the ATP Masters 1000 event since 2018, when he defeated three Top 15 players in straight sets en route to the semi-finals. Goffin is unbeaten in four ATP Head2Head clashes against Coric.

Ninth seed Diego Schwartzman and Andrey Rublev will compete in the opening two matches on Court 17. Schwartzman will face Buenos Aires champion Casper Ruud, before Doha and Adelaide titlist Rublev takes on Daniel Evans.

Former champion Grigor Dimitrov will look to add to his 15-7 record at the Masters 1000 tournament when he meets Auckland champion Ugo Humbert on Court 10. John Isner, the 2013 runner-up, will face Hubert Hurkacz in the first ATP Tour match of the day on Grandstand.

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2020
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA Match
WTA Match

Not Before 3:00 pm
[16] John Isner vs Hubert Hurkacz

Not Before 5:00 pm
[PR] Kevin Anderson vs [4] Stefanos Tsitsipas

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA Match

COURT 17 start 11:00 am
Casper Ruud vs [9] Diego Schwartzman
Daniel Evans vs [10] Andrey Rublev

Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA Match
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
Borna Coric vs [7] David Goffin

COURT 10 start 11:00 am
WTA Match
[Q] Mackenzie McDonald vs [Q] Marcos Giron
[14] Grigor Dimitrov vs Ugo Humbert
[Q] J.J. Wolf vs Richard Gasquet

Click here to view the full Day 2 schedule.