The youngest player in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings just keeps getting better. On Wednesday at Pat Rafter Arena, 22-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem rolled into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International with a speedy 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla.

Thiem made his Brisbane debut a day earlier, defeating James Duckworth 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The first service break came 19 minutes into the match, Thiem surging ahead 4-2 as the 23-year-old Kudla failed to close out a 40-0 game. He would win 20 of 26 service points in taking the opening set.

Thiem again found an opening with the 69^th-ranked American serving at 2-all, 30-40 in the second set, and didn’t waste the opportunity. He added another break with Kudla serving at 2-4, and subsequently served out the match in an efficient 56 minutes.

It was a banner service day for Thiem, who never faced a break point. In addition, he totaled seven aces, and won 28 of 33 (84%) of his first-serve points.

It was their first career FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Last year, Thiem became the first Austrian to finish in the Top 20 (No. 20) since Jurgen Melzer in 2010, capturing the first three ATP World Tour titles of career— all on clay (Nice, Umag and Gstaad).

On the doubles court, the wild card pairing of Aussies Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith defeated Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 7-6(1), 6-4.

Leander Paes, a returning finalist at the Aircel Chennai Open (with Raven Klaasen), teamed up with Marcel Granollers to defeat Taro Daniel and John Millman 6-2, 6-3 in first-round action Tuesday.

Paes, 42, is a six-time Chennai champion and made his tournament debut in 1996 alongside Mahesh Bhupathi. He previously played with Granollers last June at Nottingham, where they reached the quarter-finals. Granollers was Paes’s 100th different partner on the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour.

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, made a winning return to the court at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The top seeds defeated Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming 7-6(4), 6-3.

Rojer and Tecau, who finished the 2015 season by claiming the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals crown, could earn their 100th match win as a team by clinching the Doha title this week.   

The other seeded duos at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament also won their first-round matches Tuesday.

Second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, a new partnership for 2016, defeated Radu Albot and Martin Klizan 6-3, 6-3. Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, the No. 3 seeds, joined forces for a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middlekoop.

Meanwhile, fourth seeds Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya dismissed Qatari wild cards Mousa Shana Zayed and Mubarak Shanna Zayid 6-1, 6-1. 

One year after reaching the Chennai Aircel Open final as a qualifier, Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene began his 2016 campaign on Tuesday by knocking out No. 7 seed Vasek Pospisil. He edged the Canadian 7-5, 7-6(6) in one hour and 46 minutes.

Bedene, currently No. 45 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will next face Italian Luca Vanni for a place in the quarter-finals at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament. The 30-year-old Vanni beat German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-6(5).

Fifth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez made his way safely into the second round as he came back to defeat Japan’s Taro Daniel 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes. Garcia-Lopez will go for his 250th tour-level win when he next plays Croatian qualifier Ante Pavic.

Sixth seed Gilles Muller fired 19 aces past 19-year-old wild card Karen Khachanov 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes.

Another wild card, 18-year-old Andrey Rublev, overcame qualifier and 2009 runner-up Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Devvarman, 30, has qualified for the Chennai main draw for seven of the past eight years. Rublev goes on to face top seed and three-time champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round.

Earlier in the day, Austin Krajicek saved all three break points he faced to defeat fellow American Rajeev Ram 6-7(0), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes.

Rafael Nadal fought back for a victory in his first singles match of the 2016 ATP World Tour season.

Avoiding the fate of 2015 champion, David Ferrer, who bowed out earlier Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Nadal prevailed against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in two hours. The second seed capitalised on five of his nine break point chances for his 20th match win at this ATP World Tour 250 event.

“I had chances in the beginning of the match [and] I couldn’t convert,” said Nadal. “I think I changed a little bit at the beginning of the second [set]… I’m very happy [with] the way that I managed to change the dynamic of the match, and I think I finished the match playing well.”

The World No. 5 is looking to claim his first hard-court title since his triumph two years ago in Doha (d. Monfils). He next faces Dutchman Robin Haase.

Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis also came from behind in his first-round match to oust sixth seed Andreas Seppi 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours and eight minutes. He created 19 break point chances and converted seven times.

Borna Coric has been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 sports list for 2016. The fifth annual list also includes golfer Jordan Spieth.

The 19-year-old Croatian was the youngest player in the 2015 year-end Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Achieving a career-high of No. 33 in July 2015, Coric reached two ATP World Tour semi-finals last year at Dubai and Nice, plus three quarter-final runs. He was named ATP Star of Tomorrow Presented by Emirates in November 2014.

Forbes Magazine also looked back on its All-Star Alumni, listing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic – who was recognised in 2012 – for his achievements last year. The Serbian has finished year-end No. 1 in four of the past five years. In 2015, he won a career-high 11 titles, including three Grand Slams and a fifth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals crown.

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Tomas Berdych, hoping to go one better than last year’s runner-up finish, opened his 2016 ATP World Tour season with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky in 78 minutes on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He will next play Damir Dzumhur in the second round.

“It’s always tricky to play him,” said Berdych. “He’s one of the few that likes to come to the net a lot, playing a lot of slice and a lot of variation in the game. I just took my chances in the first set and… in the second. It was quite solid game today… It would be great to leave with the trophy in the end.”

Elsewhere, Pablo Andujar came through a two-hour test against Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 and Teymuraz Gabashvili saved five of seven break points in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Simone Bolelli.

The Milos Raonic Foundation, and Unicef, supported by Andy Murray, have been selected among nine recipients in the ATP ACES For Charity grant programme for 2016. Grants of $/€15,000 will be awarded to a total of nine charitable causes, nominated by ATP World Tour players, tournaments and alumni.

In addition to Murray and Raonic’s causes, respectively supporting children affected by the conflict in Syria and teens with cerebral palsy, a total of seven grants will benefit youth through programmes worldwide: Santi Giraldo’s Foundation in Colombia, ACEing Autism in the United States, the TJOMMIE Foundation in South Africa, the Ronald McDonald House in Australia, and the Japan Wheelchair Tennis Association.

ATP ACES For Charity grants have also been awarded to the Paul and Carolyn Flory Fund, created in memory of the long-time Cincinnati Tournament Director, in the fight against cancer, and to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to assist those affected by the recent flooding in Chennai.

Entering its sixth year in 2016, the ATP ACES For Charity program is a global initiative aimed at giving back to communities where ATP World Tour events are played, as well as recognising and supporting tournament, player and alumni charitable initiatives. Since 2011, the grant programme has awarded 67 grants totalling more than $800,000 in donations.

The recipients of the 2016 ATP ACES For Charity grants are:

Santiago Giraldo: Santi Giraldo’s Foundation supports children from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds, with a goal of inspiring them to learn sport values, pursue their dreams and live decent lives. Founded in 2014, the project is based on the platforms of sport and education, and aspires to expand beyond Pereira to the rest of Colombia and Latin America. The ATP ACES For Charity Grant will be used to sponsor players with equipment, training and at tournaments.

Ivo Karlovic: ACEing Autism, nominated by its ambassador Ivo Karlovic, operates under the tagline of “Connecting Kids Through Tennis”. It aims to provide meaningful benefits to children with autism, their families and communities by utilising unique tennis programmes, including Kids’ Day clinics at ATP World Tour events. ACEing Autism currently impacts more than 500 children in 35 cities across 16 U.S. states, and aspires to double the number of children served by overseeing 75-100 program sites.

Andy Murray: Unicef, the world leading children’s organisation, promotes the rights and wellbeing of children around the world and runs programmes to advocate for lasting change. Andy Murray, a Unicef UK supporter for the past two years, has participated in a variety of campaigns, including Unicef UK’s #BeatDisease appeal to raise awareness and funds to keep children safe from disease. Since September 2015, Murray has supported Unicef’s work for children in emergencies, spurred on by the child migrant and refugee crisis.

Milos Raonic: The Milos Raonic Foundation, founded by the Canadian and his family in 2012, has a mission to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to remove economic, physical and other barriers that might prevent them from becoming healthy, production member of society. The foundation is currently targeting its support to programmes for children with disabilities. The Foundation will match the ATP ACES For Charity grant, donating $30,000 to support the Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital’s SportFit programme aimed at teens with cerebral palsy.

Jacco Eltingh & Paul Haarhuis: The former World No. 1 doubles players are ambassadors of the TJOMMIE Foundation. Founded in 1999 in The Netherlands, it aims to provide poor and vulnerable South African children with support, motivation and inspiration so that they can fully develop themselves and become more resilient. The foundation reaches at least 10,000 children and their families through its cooperation and support of children’s projects of the NGO Ndlovu Care Group, which provides both medical care and socio-economic help in the Limpopo and Mpumalange Province.

Brisbane International presented by Suncorp: Ronald McDonald House South East Queensland (RMH SEQ), the Brisbane International’s Charity of Choice, provides accommodation and support services for seriously ill children and their families who live more than 50km from the treating hospital in Brisbane. Funds from the ATP ACES For Charity grant, along with a $250 donation for every ace served on Pat Rafter Arena during this week’s tournament, will help fund the new Ronald McDonald House South Brisbane, anticipated to open by mid-2016.

Aircel Chennai Open: The Aircel Chennai Open aims to do its part in assisting those affected by the recent flooding in Chennai, with the ATP ACES For Charity grant going towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund organises flood relief measures for the distressed in Chennai and across the State of Tamil Nadu. Its wide scope of rehabilitation work includes housing and infrastructure development; provision of food, medication and essential relief materials; free medical check-ups; and compensation for losses.

Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati): The Paul and Carolyn Flory Fund, which operates under the motto “It Started With Tennis, It Ends With a Cure”, was created in memory of the long-time Cincinnati Tournament Director and his wife, who together orchestrated more than $10 million in giving toward fighting cancer. The Flory Fund directly benefits the Barrett Cancer Center at the University of Cincinnati. The ATP ACES For Charity donation will assist with hiring and retaining key medical personnel, acquiring advanced diagnostic equipment, and funding research retreats for top doctors and researchers.

Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo): Through the Japan Wheelchair Tennis Association and Shingo Kunieda, the World No. 1 wheelchair player, the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships aims to introduce children to wheelchair tennis and start a junior tournament. The ATP ACES For Charity grant will be used for the cost of courts and balls, as well as to buy and repair wheelchairs for tennis.