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Rodesch wins Oeiras Challenger as college tennis pipeline delivers again

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Luxembourg’s Chris Rodesch captured his second ATP Challenger trophy on Sunday when he triumphed at the Indoor Oeiras Open 1 in Portugal.

The 24-year-old, a former standout at the University of Virginia, adds to the list of collegiate alums to succeed at the next level. Last year, 23 different players with college tennis experience earned at least one ATP Challenger title, including Rodesch, who won his maiden crown in Tallahassee in April.

Now back in the winner’s circle, the 6’6” (198cm) Rodesch defeated Hungary’s Zsombor Piros 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the Oeiras final.

“I’m really happy, it was a really tough week,” said Rodesch, up 55 places to No. 154 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “I felt like my first two tournaments in Australia, I had a really good level, but I didn’t get rewarded the way I wanted to.

“So to get rewarded now, in the third tournament of 2026, with the level I’m playing, is really nice. It’s a really, really special feeling to win my second Challenger.”

Rodesch graduated from the University of Virginia in 2024, earning ITA All-American honours three times during his college career. Rodesch and former World No. 21 Gilles Muller are the only players from Luxembourg to win on the ATP Challenger circuit.

Paraguay’s Vallejo wins fourth Challenger trophy
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo captured his fourth Challenger title at the Itajai Open in Brazil, where he overcame home hope Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in a three-hour, 13-minute final.

Vallejo, 21, captured two Challenger titles in 2025, including in the final week at the Guayaquil Challenger. After reaching the final round of qualifying at the Australian Open, Vallejo travelled to Brazil and easily made the transition to clay. Vallejo is No. 125 in the PIF Live ATP Rankings, setting him up for a new career high.

<img alt=”Adolfo Daniel Vallejo wins the Itajai Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/26/15/04/vallejo-itajaich-2026.jpg” />
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo wins his fourth Challenger title, three of which have come in Brazil. Credit: João Pires

Harris, former No. 31, returns to titletown
Former World No. 31 Lloyd Harris won his first title at any level since June 2024 with his victory at the Soma Bay Open in Egypt. The fifth-seeded Harris, who was a quarter-finalist at the 2021 US Open, led Jack Pinnington Jones 6-1, 5-2 in the final when the Briton retired with a right foot injury.

Kwon, two-time tour-level titlist, advances through qualifying en route to trophy
South Korean Soonwoo Kwon also returned to the winner’s circle with his triumph at NovaWorld Phan Thiet Challenger 1 in Vietnam. His first title at Challenger level or above since winning the ATP 250 in Adelaide in 2023, Kwon advanced through qualifying en route to lifting the trophy. The 28-year-old, who won seven matches in eight days, defeated Ilia Simakin 6-2, 7-6(5) in the championship match.

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Sinner snuffs out late Darderi push to reach Australian Open QFs

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Jannik Sinner negotiated a brief moment of late uncertainty on Monday at the Australian Open, but ultimately asserted his authority to defeat fellow Italian Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(2) and move into the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings struck with authority, pairing relentless precision with a clinical edge that largely kept doubt and drama at bay. Having struggled with cramping against Eliot Spizzirri in the previous round — a match in which he later admitted he “got lucky” with a timely roof closure — Sinner escaped a nervy finish against Darderi, as both his momentum and physical condition briefly threatened to fade.

“It was very difficult. We are good friends off the court, that’s also a small difficulty to put away,” Sinner said of Darderi. “In the third set I had a couple of break chances, [but] I couldn’t use them… Then I got very tight, so I’m very happy that I closed it in three sets.”

In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Darderi, Sinner dictated from the baseline with clean timing and sharp serving. Darderi briefly threatened late in the third set when he produced a surge of aggressive baseline play to earn four break points at 4-4 and led 2/0 in the tie-break. It loomed as a potential turning point, but Sinner shut the door emphatically, winning seven straight points to close out the victory.

Next up, Sinner will face Ben Shelton or Casper Ruud as he continues his bid to join Novak Djokovic as the only men to lift three consecutive Australian Open titles. The pair now sit just one win apiece away from a potential blockbuster semi-final clash.

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With his two-hour, nine-minute victory over Darderi, Sinner advanced to his fourth Australian Open quarter-final, drawing level with Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas for the fourth-most appearances at that stage among active players.

Sinner’s blend of power and efficiency proved decisive in his straight-sets victory, allowing him to close out the match without inviting further questions around his fitness. He finished with 46 winners, including 19 aces, and remained perfect against his countrymen, extending to an 18-0 tour-level record against fellow Italians.

“We put a lot of work in, especially with the serve,” Sinner added. “We changed the motion a bit and I feel for sure a little bit more confident. There is still room to improve, which is normal, but I’m very happy with how I have come back in the new season. At the end of last season, I served really well, [and] it’s much more stable.”

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Fritz gives injury update after Australian Open exit

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Taylor Fritz was in a philosophical mood after falling to an uncharacteristically lacklustre Grand Slam exit against Lorenzo Musetti on Monday afternoon at the Australian Open.

The American struggled to lay a glove on his Top 10 rival during the pair’s fourth-round meeting inside Rod Laver Arena. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Fritz praised the commanding performance of Musetti but also opened up further on how the tendonitis in his knee, as well as a more recent oblique injury, hampered his title bid at Melbourne Park.

“I’ve been pretty, I guess, transparent about the knee stuff the entire week,” said Fritz. “I was so happy with how I was feeling throughout the first two rounds, and then I came in after the match with Stan [Wawrinka] and it wasn’t feeling great, especially towards the end of the match.

“Today I was feeling it from the get-go. I felt good in my warmup this morning. Then when I went to do my pre-match stuff, like moving around and stuff before the match, I just I told my physio. I was like, ‘My knee just doesn’t feel great’. I was hoping it would loosen up. I don’t really think it got worse, but it kind of just stayed the same the entire match. It was just pretty much everything was bothering it.”

With his victory, the No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings Musetti improved to 4-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz, who played Monday’s clash with tape on both his right and left oblique muscles,

“I just felt like I was striking the ball well. I think a lot of my mistakes just came from me pulling up, not feeling like I’m loading my knee hard enough,” said World No. 9 Fritz. “I really don’t also want to take any credit away. He was playing really well, serving really well, neutralising when I was attacking extremely well. He played great.”

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Fritz expressed confidence that the oblique injury would heal quickly with some time off, while he also reiterated the need to be patient in the recovery from his knee tendonitis.

“My knee still is improving. Like I said in press after my first and second round, it’s going to be a process,” said the 28-year-old. “It was feeling better. I’m still not 100 per cent sure why I kind of went backwards the last three or four days after two weeks of it, three weeks of it just consistently getting better.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people that have had this, and they say I’ll make a full recovery at some point. Then I’ve recovered from the oblique thing before. It’s not too serious. My main focus is to just get 100 per cent healthy, which I’m hoping it’s not too far away, and just to be on top of everything so I can train and really just practise and train like I am used to.”

Currently 4-4 for the 2026 season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Fritz is next scheduled to compete at the Nexo Dallas Open, which this year runs from 9-15 February.

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Musetti completes major QF set, earns Djokovic clash at Australian Open

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Lorenzo Musetti downed fellow Top 10 star Taylor Fritz on Monday at the Australian Open, where the Italian is into his fourth major quarter-final and first in Melbourne.

Combining elite court coverage with his blistering shotmaking, Musetti scored a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory inside Rod Laver Arena to seal a set of quarter-final appearances at the four Slams.

Musetti’s Career-Best Result At Each Major

Major Tournament Best Result
Australian Open QFs (2026)*
Roland Garros SFs (2025)
Wimbledon SFs (2024)
US Open QFs (2025)

*Active

“I think today [my serve] was really working well,” said Musetti, who struck 13 aces and won 84 per cent of his first-serve points. “I think I made one of my best performances in aces in my career so far, so I’m really, really happy.

“When I finished last season pretty late, the goals were to start well this year, because I’d never surpassed the first week here. Making the final in Hong Kong, winning doubles in Hong Kong [with Lorenzo Sonego] and now being in the quarter-finals, for me, it’s really a dream.”

The fifth seed has earned a clash against record 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who reached the last eight after Czech Jakub Mensik withdrew due to an abdominal muscle injury. Djokovic leads Musetti 9-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, and will enter Wednesday’s meeting on a six-match winning streak against the Italian.

Two days removed from playing a four-hour, 27-minute five-set battle against Tomas Machac, Musetti showed no obvious signs of fatigue under the afternoon sun. Musetti opened his shoulders and dictated play from the baseline, crushing 33 winners and using his heavy top-spin forehand to draw errors from Fritz.

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The American struggled early to land his usually reliable serve, finishing the first set with a 42 per cent first-serve percentage, according to Infosys Stats. Though Fritz found more rhythm behind his delivery as the match wore on, he was unable to make inroads on return (0/2 on break points).

Sporting k-tape on both his left and right oblique areas, Fritz called for the physio at 3-2 in the second set. Musetti, a two-time tour-level titlist, broke Fritz to love at 5-5 later that set, allowing him to serve for a two-sets-to-love advantage. Musetti again broke Fritz in the opening game of the third set and rarely looked back, clinching victory after two hours and three minutes. Musetti kept his cool when serving for the match, landing three deft drop shots en route to holding to love.

“I definitely improved my serve a lot and especially trying to be more aggressive with the forehand and trying to use my variation to lead the game,” Musetti said when asked about adjustments he’s made to improve on hard courts. “Like today, with the forehand trying to open the court and make the opponent move. I think before, I was starting to play too far and I was a little too passive on the rally.

“My coach always keeps telling me to be a little more aggressive and try to go for it, take the lead of the rally. That’s what I did today.”

Musetti is competing at a career-high No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings this fortnight. Last year, he posted a career-best 45 tour-level match wins and competed at the year-end Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. With his latest win, Musetti improved to 4-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Fritz, who beat the Italian in Turin in November. The Italian’s victory marked his first hard-court win against Fritz.

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Why short and long points all add up to Sinner's success

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2026

During the Australian Open, ATPTour.com will bring fans insight into the leaders of key statistical categories, showing how performances throughout 2025 all added up to successful seasons and the promise of more good times ahead in 2026.

Jannik Sinner could do it all in 2025 and the data backs it up. Whether points were decided in a flash or forged through punishing baseline exchanges, the Italian consistently came out on top, showcasing a completeness that defined his season.

Sinner led the Tour by winning 56.9 per cent of rallies lasting 0–4 shots, underlining his ability to strike early and dictate with authority from the first ball. At the other end of the spectrum, he was just as effective when patience was required, topping the Tour by winning 58 per cent of rallies of nine shots or more.

2025 Rallies Won of 0-4 Shots

Player Win %
Jannik Sinner 56.9
Jack Draper 54.1
Novak Djokovic 53.4

2025 Rallies Won of 9+ Shots

Player Win %
Jannik Sinner 58
Filip Misolic 57.9
Arthur Fils 56.9

The numbers illustrate a player comfortable winning points on his own terms. Armed with heavy, precise groundstrokes, Sinner was relentless in extended exchanges, absorbing pressure before turning defence into attack. Yet when opportunities arose to shorten points, he wasted little time, stepping inside the baseline to finish with conviction.

That versatility proved pivotal across a trophy-laden campaign. From first-strike tennis on faster courts to grinding out victories in physical battles, Sinner’s adaptability helped separate him from the field and reinforced his status as one of the Tour’s most complete operators.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings won majors at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, defended his title at the Nitto ATP Finals, lifted an ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Paris and clinched ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Vienna.

See all stories in this series

Visit our Infosys ATP Stats section for more insights.

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