Felix Auger-Aliassime saved two match points and did things the hard way on Wednesday at the Open 13 Provence. The seventh-seeded Canadian squandered a 5-2 lead in the first set and recovered from 4/6 down in the second-set tie-break en route to beating Stefano Travaglia 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 6-3 for a place in the second round.

Auger-Aliassime, who reached last week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final (l. to Monfils), saved match points after Italian Travaglia hit a backhand into the net and a forehand wide on successive points. He broke in the fourth game and completed victory in two hours and 31 minutes with his 13th ace.

He will next play Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who struck 19 aces and lost five first-service points (43/48) in a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over 2019 Marseille finalist Mikhail Kukushkin in one hour and 49 minutes.

Another Canadian, Vasek Pospisil, who returned to the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings (at No. 98) this week, booked his place in the quarter-finals earlier in the afternoon. Pospisil recorded his seventh victory in his past nine matches with a 6-3, 6-4 win over eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz in 88 minutes. The former World No. 25, who has experienced back problems over the past five years, saved four break points and lost eight of his first-service points (33/41).

The recent Open Sud de France runner-up will next face second seed and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas or Mikael Ymer, who square off for the first time during the night session. 

Elsewhere, Egor Gerasimov hit 11 aces to beat fellow qualifier Dennis Novak 7-6(3), 6-3 in 83 minutes for a second-round meeting against third seed David Goffin.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have left an indelible mark on the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, winning the doubles title five times and playing to packed crowds every year. They were thanked for the impact they’ve had on the tournament by receiving a key to the city in a special ceremony on Tuesday night.

”Thanks for this prestigious key. If there’s something missing from your house tonight, it’s probably [because of] this,” joked Bob. “This is a very special place to us. It’s our hometown tournament, a lot of special memories.”

The Bryans are making their 13th appearance in Delray Beach. They played in the first year that the city hosted this event in 1999 and completed their most recent run to the title last year, marking their first ATP Tour team trophy since Bob underwent hip surgery in August 2018.

The top-seeded Americans will start their campaign on Wednesday night.

Top seed Dominic Thiem held off an inspired effort from Brazilian wild card Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves at the Rio Open presented by Claro, finishing strongly in his 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win to reach the second round on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Rodrigues Alves, No. 341 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, had never faced a Top 80 player before. He was unintimidated at facing one of the world’s best in his ATP Tour debut, hanging with Thiem in their baseline rallies and using the crowd to his home advantage.

But once the Austrian found his footing, he coasted through the opening set. With Rodrigues Alves serving at 2-3, Thiem prevailed in a grueling 27-ball rally before breaking the Brazilian to love. The top seed took 16 of the last 22 points and grabbed the early advantage with a crafty lob on set point.

The Dominic Thiem Backhand™️

Don’t miss the @RioOpenOficial live on @TennisTV ✨ pic.twitter.com/QOmfJDSp35

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2020

With Thiem in full control, he suddenly began to experience left knee pain in the opening game of the second set. He received medical treatment at the changeover and continued to play, but his forehand and serve became far less reliable.

Sensing his opportunity, Rodrigues Alves forced the Austrian to play more shots and ultimately leak unforced errors. A wild forehand miss from Thiem at 3-3 in the second set gave Rodrigues Alves the lone break of the set and he brought the crowd to its feet by eventually sending the match to a decider. Thiem hit 18 unforced errors throughout the second set, compared to eight in the first set.

?? Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves isn’t going down without a fight ?

Watch live on @TennisTV #RioOpenpic.twitter.com/jVyvUjMn8n

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2020

With an incredible upset suddenly becoming a possibility, Thiem quickly regrouped and didn’t allow the Quadra Guga Kuerten crowd to get behind the home favourite. The top seed charged to a 5-0 lead in the final set after just 20 minutes and knocked off a backhand volley winner on his third match point to wrap up play.

Awaiting Thiem in the next round is Spaniard Jaume Munar, who moved past Italian Salvatore Caruso 7-5, 6-4. Thiem leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0, with both wins coming in straight sets on the clay of Barcelona.

Staying alive ?

The top seed & former champ is moving on in Rio! ?

?: @TennisTV | @RioOpenOficial pic.twitter.com/vlvMjq7S0M

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2020

Second seed Dusan Lajovic overcame a tricky test against Italian Marco Cecchinato to prevail 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1. The Serbian improved to 8-4 this season and tied his ATP Head2Head series with Cecchinato at 1-1. Lajovic will face Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the quarter-finals after the Italian outlasted Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 after two hours and 52 minutes.

Fifth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric held off a late surge from Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero to advance 7-6(5), 7-5. Coric let slip a 5-1 lead in the second set, including two match points at 5-3, before regrouping to advance in one hour and 58 minutes. Awaiting him in the second round is #NextGenATP Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who won his opening match on Monday.

Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager produced a 7-6(4), 7-5 upset over eighth seed and last week’s Buenos Aires champion Casper Ruud of Norway. The World No. 128 converted his fifth match point to prevail in one hour and 52 minutes.

Mager will next face Portuguese qualifier Joao Domingues, who saved two set points in the first-set tie-break en route to defeating Italian lucky loser Federico Gaio 7-6(8), 6-4.

Milos Raonic extended his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Denis Istomin on Tuesday, defeating the 33-year-old 6-2, 6-2 at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

The second seed dropped just one point behind his first serve (21/22) and broke serve on four occasions to advance in 65 minutes. Australian Open quarter-finalist Raonic has won each of his five encounters against Istomin in straight sets.

With his fifth win of the 2020 ATP Tour season, Raonic improves to 6-1 at this event. In 2017, the Canadian beat Kyle Edmund and Juan Martin del Potro in back-to-back matches to advance to the championship match on his tournament debut.

Raonic will face Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the second round. Stebe saved five of six break points to defeat lucky loser Bernard Tomic 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.

Cameron Norrie withstood 13 aces to beat third seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4. The British qualifier, making his second appearance at the ATP 250 event, will meet American wildcard Brandon Nakashima for a quarter-final spot. Nakashima claimed his maiden ATP Tour victory on Monday, beating recent Pune champion Jiri Vesely 7-6(4), 6-1.

Auckland champion Ugo Humbert also advanced to the second round, rallying from a set down to beat lucky loser Stefan Kozlov 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1. Humbert served 12 aces and converted seven of 11 break points throughout the two-hour, 26-minute encounter.

Petros Tsitsipas/Stefanos Tsitsipas were mere points from a stunning first-round upset on Tuesday against reigning Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies, but the top seeds regrouped for a 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-6 win at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Krawietz/Mies snapped a four-match losing streak by advancing in one hour and 29 minutes. They’ll turn their attention to a quarter-final battle with Benoit Paire/David Vega Hernandez, who beat Alexander Bublk/Alexei Popyrin 4-6, 6-2, 10-5.

Frederik Nielsen/Tim Puetz scored the upset of the day by taking out third seeds Jamie Murray/Neal Skupski 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. Next up for them are Rohan Bopanna/Denis Shapovalov, who rallied to overcome Simone Bolelli/Jannik Sinner 6-7(6), 6-3, 10-6. Jonathan Erlich/Andrei Vasilevski rounded out play in Marseille by taking out Cheng-Peng Hsieh/Denys Molchanov 7-6(3), 6-3.

At the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, Nicholas Monroe/Jackson Withrow eased past Adrian Mannarino/Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(3), 6-3. Awaiting them in the quarter-finals are fourth seeds Luke Bambridge/Ben McLachlan, who advanced via walkover against John Millman/Matt Reid.

Second seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo headline doubles action at the Rio Open presented by Claro as they take on Pablo Cuevas/Fernando Verdasco.

Jannik Sinner made a winning start to his debut Open 13 Provence campaign on Tuesday, beating Norbert Gombos 6-4, 7-6(5) in Marseille.

The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion, who trailed the second-set tie-break 1/4, saved all six break points he faced throughout the two-hour, three-minute encounter. Sinner is competing at a career-high No. 68 in the FedEx ATP Rankings this week. At last week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, the Italian recorded his maiden Top 10 victory against David Goffin to reach his first ATP 500 quarter-final.

That is RIDICULOUS @janniksin ?

Just how have you done that?!

?: @TennisTV | @Open13 pic.twitter.com/gpNkQmvd0d

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2020

Sinner will face top seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Medvedev is making his second appearance in the main draw this year. The World No. 5 advanced to the quarter-finals on his tournament debut in 2017.

In the first match on Court Central, Hubert Hurkacz needed just 64 minutes to move past French wild card Antoine Hoang 6-4, 6-1. The eighth seed dropped just two points behind his first serve (22/24) to book a second-round clash against Vasek Pospisil. The Montpellier runner-up saved five of six break points to beat Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 7-6(6), 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz cites Rafael Nadal as his tennis idol and his heavy topspin groundstrokes could be viewed as a tribute. But the 16-year-old Spaniard sees his game more closely resembling another ATP Tour legend.

”I like to play very aggressively, with a lot of winners. My style is more or less like Roger Federer’s, aggressively coming to the net and playing a lot of drop shots,” Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz has already accomplished something that Federer could not: winning his ATP Tour debut. The 16-year-old defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Monday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, outlasting the veteran Spaniard in a third-set tie-break that finished at 3:00am after three hours and 36 minutes.

He made fans sit up and take notice with his outstanding play, pushing Ramos-Vinolas around the baseline for much of their clash. Alcaraz tirelessly chased down balls in the early morning hours and held his nerve to close out the biggest moment of his fledgling career.

The 16-year-old has largely eschewed junior tournaments for pro events and has already made noise on the ATP Challenger Tour. Last year, the then-15-year-old defeated reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner at a Challenger in Alicante, becoming the first player born in the year 2003 to win a match at that level. The following week in Murcia, he became just the fifth player aged 15-and-under in the past 20 years to defeat a Top 200 player.

Alcaraz’s talent was quickly noticed by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who now coaches the young Spaniard. Ferrero is confident that his pupil could soon find himself in the mix as a contender for the biggest titles on the ATP Tour.

“He’s only 16 and he’s just starting to travel the world. He has the level, the speed, he’s getting better physically every day, so I think he can be one of the best,” Ferrero said. “I don’t know how high, but I think he can be up there in two or three years. I have a lot of experience with what he is going to deal with, [so] I’m giving him the best advice that I can.”

Alcaraz has been soaking in the week in Rio, making the most of his training sessions with top players and viewing his match with Ramos-Vinolas as an invaluable learning experience. The modest teenager is content to listen for now, preferring to let his racquet do the talking when he steps on court.

”When I spend time with tennis greats like Rafa or Ferrero or any other player, I don’t say anything. I listen to everything they say because it is very valuable to me,” Alcaraz said. “In each tournament I go to, I try to do my best. If that happens, then I will gradually go up.”

Orlando Luz/Rafael Matos kicked off doubles action at the Rio Open presented by Claro with a huge upset on Monday night, delighting the home crowd with a 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 victory over top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah.

Neither Luz or Matos had won a tour-level match before, but they held their nerves and took the last three points of the Match Tie-break to prevail in one hour and 28 minutes. Luz/Matos have won two doubles titles together on the ATP Challenger Tour.

At the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, second seeds Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic saved a match point to defeat Tomislav Brkic/Marin Cilic 7-5, 1-6, 12-10. Koolhof/Mektic fought back from 9/10 in the Match Tie-break before converting their third match point to reach the quarter-finals.

The Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com saw Nikola Cacic/Hugo Nys score a 6-4, 2-6, 10-4 first-round upset against Santiago Gonzalez/Ken Skupski. Cacic/Nys raced through the Match Tie-break to advance in one hour and 30 minutes.

Third-seeded Chilean Cristian Garin was pushed to the brink on Monday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, but converted his eighth match point to outlast Slovakian Andrej Martin in a wild 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) first-round battle.

Garin fought back from 2-4 in the final set, but let slip four match points with Martin serving at 5-6. The Chilean built a 6/2 lead in the tie-break and made good on his last chance to prevail after three hours and 10 minutes.

He is now on a five-match winning streak after taking the title two weeks ago in Cordoba (d. Schwartzman). Next up for Garin is Argentine Federico Delbonis, who scored a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.

Pablo Andujar scored the upset of the day by defeating ninth seed Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Spanish battle. Andujar broke Verdasco five times en route to tying their ATP Head2Head series at 3-3.

Awaiting him in the second round is another Spaniard in qualifier Pedro Martinez, who rallied to defeat Bolivian Hugo Dellien 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. The 22-year-old is still flawless (4-0) in first-round matches this season.