World No. 4 Dominic Thiem returns to action for the first time since his run to the Australian Open final (l. to Djokovic) at the Rio Open presented by Claro. In 2017, Thiem did not drop a set en route to the title at this ATP 500 clay-court tournament (d. Carreno Busta). Last year, he fell to eventual champion Laslo Djere in the first round. 

Djere completed his dream week in Rio with victory over 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. The Serbian, who soared 53 spots to No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings with his triumph, dedicated the title to his late parents. “I don’t know many tennis players who went through these things. I want to be that guy who inspires others and shows that you can still be successful,” Djere said.

“I lost my mom seven years ago and I want to dedicate this one to her. And also to my dad, I lost him two months ago.”

❤️??#RioOpen pic.twitter.com/yP2qcVNJyd

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2019

In addition to Thiem and Djere, the 2020 Rio field includes two other former champions: Diego Schwartzman (2018) and Pablo Cuevas (2016). Croatian Borna Coric, Argentine Guido Pella and recent Cordoba Open champion Cristian Garin of Chile also feature.

Here’s all you need to know about Rio de Janeiro tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more. 

Established: 2014

Tournament Dates: 17-23 February 2020

Tournament Director: Luiz Procopio Carvalho

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 15 February

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday and Sunday at 4:00pm
* Main draw: Monday – Thursday at 4:30pm and 7:00pm, Friday at 3:00pm
* Doubles final: Saturday, 22 February, third match from 5:00pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 23 February at 5:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Jockey Club Brasileiro
Main Court Seating: 6,200

Prize Money: US $1,759,905 (Total Financial Commitment: US $1,915,485) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

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View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: 6 players with 1 (Schwartzman, Thiem, Cuevas, Ferrer, Nadal, Djere)
Most Titles, Doubles: Juan Sebastian Cabal, Robert Farah (2)
Oldest Champion: David Ferrer, 32, in 2015
Youngest Champion: Dominic Thiem, 23, in 2017
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 2014
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 90 Laslo Djere in 2019
Most Match Wins: Pablo Cuevas (13) 

2019 Finals
Singles: Laslo Djere (SRB) d [WC] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 63 75   Read & Watch
Doubles: Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Nicolas Jarry (CHI) d [WC] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) / Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA) 67(3) 63 10-7  Read More 

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Did You Know…. A trial of Electronic Review will take place at a select number of clay court events on the ATP Tour for the first time, beginning with the Rio Open presented by Claro. The use of Electronic Review on clay is designed to elevate the accuracy of officiating. During the trial, there will be no limit to the number of challenges players are able to make during matches, ensuring consistency within the tournament for players competing on show courts with the review technology as well as on outside courts where standard ball mark inspection protocols will apply.

Sixth seed and #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic continued to impress with his all-court play on Friday at the New York Open, rallying to defeat fourth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the semi-finals.

Kecmanovic regrouped strongly after dropping the first set, upping his first-serve percentage from 58 per cent to 72 per cent and reducing his unforced error count. He broke Humbert three times in the last two sets to prevail after one hour and 49 minutes. The 20-year-old moves to 6-2 this season and is through to his second semi-final of the year, having also accomplished the feat last month in Doha.

Standing between him and Sunday’s final is eighth-seeded Brit Kyle Edmund, who won a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) thriller against South Korean Soonwoo Kwon. Little separated both players throughout the match, but with the chance at a maiden ATP Tour semi-final on the line, Kwon conceded defeat with a nervy double fault after two hours and seven minutes. Edmund seeks his first tour-level final since taking the title at 2018 Antwerp (d. Monfils).

Qualifier Jason Jung continued his dream week with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 upset over third-seeded American and defending champion Reilly Opelka for his first ATP Tour semi-final. The 30-year-old from Chinese Taipei, who defeated 2018 champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the first round, continues to thrive in New York. Five of his seven ATP Tour main draw wins have come at this event.

”I’ve been on Tour for awhile and this is my biggest accomplishment,” Jung said. “I’m just really happy to have that hard work pay off.”

Jung, No. 131 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, turned pro at age 22 after completing his college tennis career at the University of Michigan. He’s competed primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour since then and picked up four singles titles in the past four years.

The qualifier will now face Andreas Seppi after the Italian fought back to defeat Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-1. Seppi is seeking his first ATP Tour final since 2019 Sydney (l. to De Minaur).

It’s break time for The Big Three.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic converting break points against first and second serves when winning and losing matches uncovers some revealing statistics into their stranglehold at the top of the tennis tree. The data set covers five seasons from 2015-2019.

Break Points Won vs. 1st Serves
The interesting first take here is how close the three players are for all the matches they played. Rafael Nadal slightly edged the other two, winning 38.02 per cent (576/1515) of break points against first serves, with both Djokovic and Federer close behind within one percentage point.

Surprisingly, it was Federer who led the trio with the highest percentage of break points won against first serves with all matches that he won, at 39.27 per cent (377/960). The commonly held view point is that both Nadal and Djokovic should eclipse the Swiss in all return categories, but it’s simply not so.

Nadal was the best performing player winning break points against first serves in the matches he lost, at 29.44 per cent (53/180). Overall, Nadal also had the least drop off between matches he won and matches he lost, at 9.74 percentage points (39.18% to 29.44%).

Break Points Won vs. 1st Serve (bold = leader)

Break Points Won vs. 2nd Serves
Nadal was also the best performer of the Big Three winning break points against second serves, at 58.35 per cent (573/982). Nadal also collected the honours with Matches Won, at 60.55 per cent (528/972), while Djokovic had the highest metrics when losing the match, at 47.37 per cent (36/76).

Djokovic also had the least drop off between the win percentages against first and second serves at break point, falling just 11.42 percentage points (58.79% to 47.37%).

Break Points Won vs. 2nd Serve (bold = leader)

There are many ways to compare the performance of the Big Three to find out where they craft their small advantages as they constantly chase the biggest prizes in our sport. Performance around break points is as important as any stat they produce to determine if they are continuing to hold the silverware on any given Sunday.

Gael Monfils extended his winning streak to seven matches on Friday night at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament with a place in the semi-finals. The third seed and defending champion had to work hard to beat Briton Daniel Evans 7-6(5), 6-2 in one hour and 52 minutes at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

Evans gained the first break with a forehand drive volley winner for a 5-4 lead, but then struggled to make a first serve. Monfils immediately bounced back and led 4/1 in the tie-break, before Evans won four straight points. The match swung in Monfils’ favour at 5/5, when a net-rushing Evans left a backhand return that dropped in.

Monfils, No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, who came within one point of a 5-0 lead in the second set, closed out play with his eighth ace. It was his 11th victory in 13 matches this year, with the Frenchman winning his third Open Sud de France trophy last week (d. Pospisil).

Don’t try this at home!

Vintage, @Gael_Monfils ?

?: @TennisTV | @abnamrowtt pic.twitter.com/CVXPoiJenJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

He will next play Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who upset seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev 7-6(2), 6-4. Krajinovic hasn’t dropped a set this week and continues to excel indoors, having won 14 of his past 18 indoor matches dating back to last October. Monfils leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and defeated the Serbian last week in the Montpellier semi-finals.

Krajinovic and Rublev traded service holds throughout the first set to force a tie-break, which saw the Serbian raise his level and win six consecutive points to take the early lead. He then broke Rublev in the opening game of the second set, but the Russian eventually evened the score to 4-4 by breaking his opponent with an aggressive forehand winner.

Krajinovic remained calm and broke right back in the next game with a forehand passing shot on the stretch. He served out the match on his first try to advance in one hour and 31 minutes, finishing the day with 27 winner to 25 unforced errors.

That reaction ?

?? @filipkrajinovic is into the @abnamrowtt semi-finals, upsetting Rublev 7-6 6-4 in Rotterdam!

?: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/eVN18VXa5W

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

Rublev dropped to 13-2 in 2020. The 22-year-old opened his season with back-to-back titles last month in Doha (d. Moutet) and Adelaide (d. Harris).

Felix Auger-Aliassime didn’t produce his best tennis on Friday, but found a way to win and reach the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament semi-finals.

The 19-year-old Canadian saved one set point in the second set tie-break en route to beating Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 7-6(6) over one hour and 51 minutes. He will next play Pablo Carreno Busta, who saved two match points in a thrilling victory over Jannik Sinner.

“He didn’t give me a lot, but I was clutch in the first set to break him at 5-4,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Outside of that he didn’t give me much. We know he can beat some good players, including this week and throughout his career. You know you’ve got to earn it, but you’ll get your chances – and I did.

“In the second set, I was a little bit frustrated with myself how he came back and I gave away too many free points. I felt like he was playing better and better, and I had to accept the challenge. The tie-break could have gone so many ways, but I am happy with the way I fought.”

Auger-Aliassime, who hit 22 winners, led by a set and 3-0 before Bedene recovered and held a set point at 6/5 in the tie-break. Auger-Aliassime, who saved the set point with a forehand approach off a big serve down the middle, becomes the first Canadian into the Rotterdam semi-finals since Milos Raonic in 2015 (l. to Wawrinka).

World No. 21 Auger-Aliassime struck two forehands winners to break Bedene and clinch the 47-minute opener. He won five straight games from 4-4 in the first set to 3-0 in the second set, including 21 of 30 points.

Later today, third seed and defending champion Gael Monfils takes on Daniel Evans, while seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who has a 13-1 record in 2020, meets Filip Krajinovic.

Pablo Carreno Busta saved two match points on Friday to become the first Spaniard to reach the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for 11 years.

Carreno Busta fought hard in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory over Italian wild card Jannik Sinner in two hours and 45 minutes to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Rafael Nadal, who reached the 2009 final (l. to Murray) at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

Having had three match points at 5-4 in the deciding set, the World No. 30 found himself down 4/6 in the tie-break, but held his nerve to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final since October 2019 at the Stockholm Open (l. to Krajinovic). He will now challenge Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime or Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia on Saturday.

“It was very tough mentally to continue fighting on every point,” said Carreno Busta. “I know that I lost a lot of opportunities to close out the match, serving for it at 5-3 and then with three match points at 0/40 at 5-4. I didn’t play good points, I was playing too slowly and not aggressively. But after that, I continued fighting very well and saved two match points playing aggressively in the tie-break. It was a very important match to win.”

When asked about Sinner, Carreno Busta said: “I didn’t play at this level when I was 18. He is playing really well and for sure in this next year we’ll see him playing in the last round of a lot of tournaments.”

The first set looked destined for the tie-break, but Sinner came undone at 5-5 when he mis-timed a backhand long and forehand into the net to hand Carreno Busta the first break. The Spaniard then recovered from 0/30, when serving for the 49-minute opener, which finished with Sinner lunging for a backhand.

Sinner applied the pressure in the second set, with Carreno Busta saving four break points before overhitting a forehand long at 3-4. Sinner closed out the 48-minute set to love with Carreno Busta striking another forehand long.

Carreno Busta regrouped, but needed to save four break points in the opening game of the third set en route to a 3-0 advantage. Sinner’s heavy ball-striking had seen him drag a forehand wide to hand Carreno Busta the second game. Carreno Busta served for the match at 5-3, but deep returning from Sinner reaped a break. Sinner then dropped to 0/40 at 4-5, but worked his way back – courtesy of two groundstroke errors from Carreno Busta, and a massive forehand winner at 30/40.

Sinner struck a forehand into the net on his first match point at 6/4 in the tie-break and Carreno Busta hit a serve-volley winner at 5/6 to keep his hopes alive. The match ended with Sinner striking a backhand wide, his 21st of 48 total errors.

Jan-Lennard Struff and Henri Kontinen, who qualified for the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament main draw, booked their places in the semi-finals on Friday with a 5-7, 6-1, 10-6 victory over Britons Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski in 83 minutes. They will next play Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov. Kontinen partnered Jeremy Chardy to the 2019 Rotterdam title (d. Rojer/Tecau).

Second-seeded Frenchman and 2018 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut take on Raven Klaasen and Oliver Marach in the other semi-final at the ATP 500-level tournament.

The lone doubles match of the day at the New York Open saw Dominic Inglot/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi reach the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 comeback win against Roman Jebavy/Frederik Nielsen. Next up for them are Nicholas Monroe/Jack Sock.

Guido Pella didn’t have the luxury of easing his way into the Argentina Open. The second seed endured a marathon second-round battle with fellow Argentine Facundo Bagnis that exceeded three hours before advancing 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-4 on Thursday.

Both players traded comfortable service holds in the opening set to force a tie-break, where Pella won six consecutive points to grab the early advantage. Pella scored the first break of the night at 4-4 in the second set, but let slip his chance to serve out the match in the next game. Bagnis raised his level in the second-set tie-break and hit a forehand volley winner to send their clash into a decider.

Things are heating up in South America ?️

?: @TennisTV | @ArgentinaOpen pic.twitter.com/VJodYPzVqN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

It appeared an upset might be in the cards, but Pella regrouped by breaking serve with a forehand winner in the opening game of the final set. The brutal baseline rallies took their toll on Bagnis, who received a medical time out at 1-2 in the decider and made a tired forehand error two games later to give the second seed an insurance break.

Bagnis, No. 134 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a valiant effort to close the gap. He recovered one of the breaks at 1-4 and bravely saved two match points on his serve at 3-5, but Pella ended the match with an ace after three hours and 12 minutes.

Pella will have another all-Argentine battle in the quarter-finals when he faces Juan Ignacio Londero. The 26-year-old delighted the home crowd by rallying for a 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-1 upset against sixth-seeded Serbian Laslo Djere. Londero thrives on home soil, having defeated Pella last year to capture his maiden ATP Tour crown in Cordoba.

Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas continued his dominance over Albert Ramos-Vinolas by defeating the seventh-seeded Spaniard 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Cuevas improved to 8-1 in their ATP Head2Head series and has won their past seven matches. He awaits the winner of the all-Argentine battle between top seed Diego Schwartzman and Federico Delbonis.