Roger Federer announced today that he will return to competitive tennis during the grass-court swing, after undergoing right knee surgery in Switzerland on Wednesday.

“My right knee has been bothering me for a little while,” Federer announced on Twitter. “I hoped it would go away, but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday. After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery.

“As a result, I will unfortunately have to miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open. I am grateful for everyone’s support. I can’t wait to be back playing again soon, see you on the grass!”

The 38-year-old, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Djokovic) last month, also underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery on 3 February 2016, limiting him to seven tournaments that season.

pic.twitter.com/VVGI1o8XYZ

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 20, 2020

It was in January 1983 that Bjorn Borg announced his retirement from professional tennis, leaving behind a Hall of Fame legacy that redefined the game. Now, 37 years later, another Borg has arrived on the scene.

On Tuesday, Bjorn’s son Leo Borg made his pro debut at the Trofeo Perrel Faip in Bergamo, Italy. The ATP Challenger Tour event, which is celebrating its 15th edition, welcomed the 16-year-old with a main draw wild card. Despite falling to fellow teen Chun-hsin Tseng 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, Borg admits he learned a lot from the experience.

“My level is not so far from this,” said the Swede. “It was a very positive experience. I had fun and I enjoyed it. I feel it was a good performance for me.”

Borg’s arrival on the Challenger circuit has been one of the more talked about storylines this week. The teen, who has been developing his game in juniors in recent years, decided to step up to the next level and test his talents. The local media took notice, with two of the most important Italian TV stations – Sky Sports and Mediaset – traveling to Bergamo to cover the Swede’s debut. Tournament organisers hurried to put together a press conference, with more journalists arriving as the day progressed.

Despite the fanfare surrounding the occasion, Borg is blocking out all the noise. Comparisons with his father are only natural, but he admits he is doing better at focusing on his own game and what he can control.

Not wanting to be a distraction, the elder Borg remained in Stockholm, while his son traveled to Bergamo with coach Marios Dimakos. But that did not stop him from preparing young Leo for the moment, providing words of encouragement before the 16-year-old stepped on the court for what would be an anxious debut.

“At first it was a bit difficult to manage the comparisons with my father, but now it’s alright. Of course we spoke before this match and he told me to enjoy the moment, to have fun and not to think about victory or defeat.”

Having grown up a fan of Rafael Nadal, Borg hopes to take one critical trait from the Spaniard: his fighting spirit and “ability to fight for every ball”. The teenager will continue to plot his ascent on the junior circuit for the foreseeable future, while seizing any professional opportunities that come his way.

“I believe that in 2020 I will combine events at many levels. I will come back to play juniors, but I hope to make some ATP points too, playing in ATP Challenger and ITF tournaments.”

Next week, Borg will travel to Pau, France, where he will make his second Challenger appearance at the Terega Open Pau-Pyrenees.

Prior to this week, Pat Cash had only observed Brandon Nakashima’s game through videos. The former Wimbledon champion is now getting an up-close look at the #NextGenATP American in their first week working together at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Nakashima admitted that he hadn’t watched footage of Cash’s Wimbledon triumph, but knew of his on-court accomplishments and what he could offer as a coach. The pair have quickly hit it off as the 18-year-old has powered into the quarter-finals in his ATP Tour debut.

“It’s nice to work with a kid who’s very keen, focussed and has a lot of talent,” Cash said. “I’m just getting to know him, but I’ve been very impressed with his mentality. He’s very good under pressure, wins a lot of tie-breakers. He was just looking forward to the match [on Monday] and knew there was a possibility he could get the win.”

Cash and Nakashima were originally scheduled to spend this week training in California before heading to an ATP Challenger Tour event next week in Calgary. But after the San Diego native received a wild card into Delray Beach, Cash adjusted his travel arrangements.

The Aussie nearly didn’t make it after discovering en route to the airport in Brisbane that he had lost his passport. He managed to get a new passport photo at the last moment and arrived in Florida at 5:30am on Monday, less than eight hours before Nakashima took the court for his first-round match.

Although some players prefer not to tinker with their game during a tournament, Cash is trying to implement parts of their planned training week in Delray Beach. The former No. 4 in the FedEx ATP Rankings believes that developing one’s game shouldn’t be limited to practice sessions at home and is essential for Nakashima to continue progressing this week.

“My job is to come here with a game plan and to improve his game,” Cash said. “We thought we were going to be training this week and play a tournament next week, but now we’re cramming in two tournaments. You’ve got to learn how to improve stuff when you’re on the road. He’s a good professional already. I’m very impressed.”

Nakashima has been travelling this season with coach Beau Treyz. Although Cash hasn’t finalised his plans with the rising American beyond the next two weeks, he’s open to travelling more with him throughout the year. Although he’s impressed with what Nakashima currently brings to the table, he’s even more excited about unlocking his full potential.

“He’s got a lot of developing to do. He’s got good technique and is very solid on the baseline. Now he needs to develop a big shot, a bit more power, and keep getting fitting and stronger,” Cash said. “There are a lot of good players out there who play like him, so now he needs finds to something a bit special. That’s what we’ll be working on.”

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima continued to turn heads with his all-court game on Wednesday at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. The 18-year-old wild card, competing in his debut ATP Tour event, raced past British qualifier Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.

”I always knew that I had the game to compete with these high-level pros. I just had to have the right opportunities,” Nakashima said. “I was just hoping to play a good first-round match here, but after winning these two matches, I have a lot of confidence in my game now… Hopefully I can keep it going.”

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, Nakashima’s newly appointed coach, watched in the stands as the teenager used powerful groundstrokes to stay on top of Norrie in their rallies. With Norrie serving at 5-6 in the opening set, the wild card cracked a 95mph forehand winner to earn two set points and then laced a backhand passing shot to grab the early advantage.

The angle on this… ??

Watch the @DelrayBeachOpen live on @TennisTV ? pic.twitter.com/2LQkYOeMgi

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2020

The San Diego native continued to raise his level as Norrie became visibly frustrated. He dropped just six points on serve in the second set and converted both break points to prevail in one hour and 22 minutes. He is the youngest quarter-finalist at this event since an 18-year-old Kei Nishikori took the title in 2008 and the fourth-youngest in tournament history.

WHAT a debut ?

18-year-old Nakashima is into the @DelrayBeachOpen QF, overcoming Norrie 7-5 6-2 ?

?: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/NECMK6BsbV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2020

Awaiting him in the next round is Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, who eased past American qualifier Noah Rubin 6-1, 6-2. Nishioka only lost seven points on serve (32/39) and didn’t offer Rubin a break point.

”He’s obviously had a really good career so far and has had a lot of great wins,” Nakashima said. “I’m just excited to play and am looking forward to a good match tomorrow.”

Fourth seed Reilly Opelka put in a flawless serving display to dismiss Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old has yet to drop serve this week and has fired 37 aces across his first two rounds.

“I’m trying to get better in every department. The serve doesn’t do it. You’ve got to have more than that,” Opelka said. “I like playing here. I live not far at all from here, so being able to sleep in my own bed and feel like I’m at home for once is nice.”

Next up for Opelka is South Korean Soonwoo Kwon, who outlasted American wild card Ryan Harrison in a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(0) battle. Kwon let slip two match points with Harrison serving at 4-5 in the final set, but recovered to prevail in two hours and 39 minutes. The 22-year-old is through to his third quarter-final this month, having also reached the last eight in Pune and New York.

Third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos made a statement in their first-round match on Wednesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, breaking Juan Ignacio Londero and Albert Ramos-Vinolas five times for a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory. Last year’s US Open finalists will take on Maximo Gonzalez and Fabrice Martin in the next round.

Roman Jebavy and Igor Zelenay rallied to defeat Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop 5-7, 6-3, 10-8. They’ll now turn to their attention to a quarter-final clash with second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

At the Open 13 Provence, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic needed 73 minutes to move past Pune finalists Jonathon Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski 6-3, 7-5. The second seeds will face Frederik Nielsen and Tim Puetz for a place in the championship match.

Nielsen and Puetz converted four of eight break points to beat Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-7(3), 10-8. After failing to convert match point at 5-4 in the second set, Nielsen and Puetz rallied from 4/7 down in the Match Tie-break to reach the semi-finals.

Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also advanced, beating Hubert Hurkacz and Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 6-4. The fourth seeds will meet Nicolas Mahut and Vasek Pospisil in the quarter-finals. Mahut and Pospisil saved six of seven break points to defeat French wild cards Arthur Cazaux and Harold Mayot 7-5, 6-1.

At the Delray Beach Open, Marcelo Arevalo and Jonny O’Mara defeated third seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald for the second straight week. Adding to their success at last week’s New York Open, Arevalo and O’Mara broke serve on four occasions to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory after 67 minutes.

Arevalo and O’Mara will meet face wild cards Christian Harrison and Dennis Novikov in the quarter-finals. The American pairing won 82 per cent of first-serve points (31/38) to defeat Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt 6-4, 6-4.

Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak booked a quarter-final clash against top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Sharan and Sitak recovered from a set down to beat Andre Goransson and Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 10-7. Five-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan advanced to the quarter-finals via walkover.

With exciting tournament innovations and passionate fans, qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals is a major goal for all 21-and-under players.

But the appeal of competing in Milan is not only defined by experiences at the five-day event itself, with the number of success stories from previous tournament qualifiers continuing to grow. Two months after winning the event, both 2017 champion Hyeon Chung and 2018 titlist Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

This year, the class of 2019 has already found success at ATP Tour events. Ugo Humbert and Casper Ruud, who competed in separate groups in Milan last year, are the only men to have lifted maiden ATP Tour singles trophies in 2020. For the third straight year, finishing a season in Milan has proven to be an accurate indicator of future success.

“[Playing in Milan gave me] big confidence. It was a goal for me to be in Milan last year,” said Humbert in Auckland. “The year before, I missed it by only one spot. I played against Frances Tiafoe, Mikael Ymer and Jannik Sinner. It was a great experience to play against them.”

Quickly building on his experience in Milan, Humbert captured his first title in his next tour-level event. The 21-year-old defeated three consecutive Top 25 players — #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, John Isner and Benoit Paire — to lift the ASB Classic trophy in his first tour-level championship match.

“I worked hard for [this title] every day and I really wanted it,” said Humbert. “I did five good matches here against really good players, so that was great.”

Last week, Ruud joined Humbert in the 2020 first-time winners’ club with his title run at the Argentina Open. The Norwegian, who earned two Top 20 victories to open the year at the ATP Cup, dropped just one set en route to his maiden ATP Tour crown in Buenos Aires.

“It is what all players look for and dream [about]. I am very happy with my career, although I know that I am still young,” said Ruud in Buenos Aires. “Buenos Aires will always be a special place for me. This is my first title.”

With the trophy, World No. 34 Ruud also became the highest-ranked Norwegian in FedEx ATP Rankings history by five positions. The previous record holder? Casper’s father and coach, Christian Ruud, who reached the No. 39 spot in 1995.

“I’ve beaten his [FedEx ATP] Ranking and won an ATP Tour title, something he wasn’t able to do… I beat him in two different ways now,” said Ruud. “I think now I don’t need to hear the question anymore, will I beat my father? Now I’ve done it, so I have to try to think even better and that I can reach even further.”

Cristian Garin is on track to finish this month as the king of the Latin Swing. The third-seeded Chilean maintained his winning streak on Wednesday by defeating Federico Delbonis 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Garin fired 22 winners en route to advancing in one hour and 37 minutes. The 23-year-old took the title two weeks ago in Cordoba (d. Schwartzman) and has prevailed in his past six matches.

Next up for the third seed is Argentine qualifier Federico Coria, who defeated wild card Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to end the 16-year-old Spaniard’s inspired ATP Tour debut. Alcaraz produced plenty of flashy winners throughout the match, but ultimately succumbed to 35 unforced errors throughout the night, compared to just nine for Coria.

The 27-year-old Coria, No. 116 in in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has advanced to his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final. His dream run this week included saving two match points in his first-round victory over Frenchman Corentin Moutet. Coria has primarily competed on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning his first Challenger title last year in Savannah. He is also the younger brother of former World No. 3 Guillermo Coria.

Hungarian lucky loser Attila Balazs continued to make the most of his good fortune by rallying to defeat Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. The 31-year-old is through to his first quarter-final at an ATP 500 event and will make his debut inside the Top 100 on Monday.

Balazs will look to continue his run when he meets qualifier Pedro Martinez, who reached his first tour-level quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Martinez had never won an ATP Tour match when the year began, but is now 5-3 this season. The 22-year-old is projected to crack the Top 100 if he prevails against Balazs on Friday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas extended his Open 13 Provence winning streak on Wednesday, beating Mikael Ymer 6-1, 6-3 in Marseille.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion claimed his fifth straight win at the ATP 250 event after 71 minutes, winning 88 per cent of first-serve points (21/24) en route to victory. Tsitsipas is aiming to win back-to-back titles at a tour-level event for the first time. Last year, the World No. 6 won each of the eight sets he contested in Marseille to capture his second ATP Tour crown.

Tsitsipas is through to his first quarter-final of the year. After representing Team Greece at the inaugural ATP Cup, the 21-year-old reached the Australian Open third round and advanced to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament second round.

Tsitsipas will face in-form Canadian Vasek Pospisil for a semi-final spot in Marseille. The Open Sud de France runner-up defeated eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4 in 88 minutes.

Alexander Bublik rallied from a set down to defeat home favourite Benoit Paire 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Kazakh dropped just three points behind his first serve across the final two sets (34/37) to eliminate the 2016 semi-finalist after one hour and 37 minutes.

Bublik will face the winner of Thursday’s second-round meeting between fourth seed Denis Shapovalov and former World No. 3 Marin Cilic. Shapovalov and Cilic are tied at 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.