Is this the week Lorenzo Musetti captures his first trophy of the year?

The 21-year-old Italian advanced to his third tour-level semi-final of the season on Sunday when he moved past Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-3 at the Chengdu Open.

The second seed played with flair throughout the one-hour, 28-minute clash, striking 32 winners at the ATP 250 hard-court event. He timed the ball cleanly off both wings and hit an array of acute angles to outmanoeuvre Rinderknech.

“It was a step forward from yesterday. Yesterday’s match gave me a lot of confidence and today I started very well,” Musetti said. “Breaking him immediately and that was the key to my win. A really solid performance from the baseline and I am really happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Musetti, who won two tour-level titles in 2022, will next meet Roman Safiullin. The World No. 55 advanced to his first semi-final of the season after Jordan Thompson was forced to retire after Safiullin had won the first set 7-6(1).

Musetti has endured a modest season by his standards, holding a 31-22 record on the year. His best results were semi-final runs in Barcelona and Bastad.

Karen Khachanov continued his comeback with a thrilling victory on Sunday at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships.

The top seed was pushed hard by sixth seed Mackenzie McDonald, advancing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 38 minutes to reach his third tour-level semi-final of the season.

In hot conditions at the Chinese ATP 250 hard-court event, Khachanov recovered from a slow start, upping his intensity and depth off the ground to improve to 4-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against the American.

“It was very tough,” Khachanov said. “A mental and physical match. I was behind from the beginning and he was leading the match. I had to try to push and bring all the energy to change the momentum and the way the match was going and I think in the second set from 4-4 I was able to push through and win the second set. It gave me extra confidence and in the third set to be more in a leading position towards the end of the match.”

Khachanov, who is chasing his first title since 2018, will meet Sebastian Korda in the last four.

Khachanov was competing for just the third time since his quarter-final match at Roland Garros, where he suffered a stress fracture in his back. He fell in the first round at the US Open, but has recorded consecutive wins in Zhuhai, also defeating Alex Bolt.

Korda improved to 6-0 against Argentine players when he defeated fifth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-2 in 72 minutes. The American, who is chasing his first title of the season, hit 21 winners and did not face a break point to advance.

Korda is up to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his 18th tour-level win of the season. His best result this year was a final run in Adelaide, where he held championship point against Novak Djokovic.

Team World moved to within one win of retaining its Laver Cup title on Saturday night when Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton downed Hubert Hurkacz and Gael Monfils to give John McEnroe’s side a 10-2 lead against Team Europe.

After Casper Ruud had given Team Europe its first points earlier on Saturday, Frances Tiafoe responded to regain momentum for Team World. Auger-Aliassime and Shelton’s 7-5, 6-4 victory means Team World need to win one of the remaining four matches on Sunday to lift the trophy for the second consecutive year. Each match on Sunday will be worth three points.

Competing in Vancouver, Canadian Auger-Aliassime and American Shelton won 81 per cent (42/52) of their first-serve and points and saved all three break points they faced to triumph after one hour and 23 minutes.

Tiafoe faced pressure Saturday evening when he stepped on court at the Laver Cup. Not only was the American trying to halt Team Europe’s momentum after Ruud won the second match of the day, but Tiafoe was trying to flip the script against Hurkacz, who had won their past three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings.

Mission accomplished for the 25-year-old. Tiafoe defeated Hurkacz 7-5, 6-3.

“I just think being in a team environment is so foreign to us tennis players,” Tiafoe said. “It is such an individual sport. But I just came out and I just want to compete for the guys and play well for the guys. I want to put on a show.

The No. 11 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Tiafoe had lost three consecutive singles matches entering the encounter. But after earning a doubles victory alongside Tommy Paul on Friday evening, Tiafoe rose to the occasion in Vancouver. He harnessed the energy of the crowd to withstand 11 aces from Hurkacz.

In the critical moments, it was the American who thrived. Tiafoe saved the only break point he faced while converting three of his five opportunities to triumph after one hour and 13 minutes.

After a perfect 4-0 start for Team World on Friday at the Laver Cup, Taylor Fritz maintained the trophy-holders’ perfect record in Vancouver on Saturday afternoon. The American played his best early and late in a 6-2, 7-6(3) win against Team Europe’s Andrey Rublev, extending his team’s lead to 6-0 by earning two points for his Day 2 victory.

In a battle of aggressive baseliners, Fritz’s clean ball-striking helped him dictate more of the action on the indoor hard courts. Rublev had his moments, including several screaming return winners, but Fritz’s steadier tennis — and dogged defence at times — made the difference.

Fritz immediately carried over the momentum from Friday by breaking in the opening game and easing to a one-set lead. Rublev, seeking to win Team Europe’s first singles set at this year’s event, started well in set two but saw his 3-0 lead erased as Fritz came on strong late.

Both players fought off a break point late in set two, with Rublev’s break chance doubling as a set point at 6-5. In the decisive tie-break, Fritz hit two brilliant half-volleys to help seal the match.

“I was telling my team, I feel like I’ve always been much better at the handsy half-volley pick-ups and stuff,” Fritz said of those moments of magic. “I feel like people definitely don’t believe that I have that. But I think I’m more likely to miss the easier volleys than the half-volleys.”

Fritz was in constant communication with captain John McEnroe and his team during changeovers, and the American said he thrives in the group setting.

“Any type of team environment, I feel like it always elevates my game,” he explained. “I feel like I always play better actually, I feel like my record in team events is really strong and it’s because I have a team cheering for me. I can get pumped up for them, I’m excited to play for them. It just adds a lot more pressure and fire to it and I think I play better in those situations.”

Fritz’s win passes the baton to Tommy Paul, who will be the next man up to continue his team’s perfect run when he takes on Casper Ruud to close the day session. In the evening slate, Frances Tiafoe will play Hubert Hurkacz before Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton take on Hurkacz and Gael Monfils in doubles.

After one point was awarded for each win on Day 1 at Laver Cup, two points are on offer for each win on Saturday. On Sunday, three points will be awarded for each victory. With a 6-0 lead, Team World is nearly halfway to the 13 points needed to win the trophy.

Alexander Zverev was given a mighty test by Pavel Kotov on Saturday at the Chengdu Open, but the top seed turned to his trusty first serve to fire him through an entertaining clash at the hard-court ATP 250.

Zverev prevailed 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1 after winning 86 per cent (43/50) of points behind his first delivery on his Chengdu debut. Despite struggling to shake off the World No. 106 Kotov for much of the match, Zverev pulled away in the deciding set to wrap a two-hour, 26-minute victory and reach his ninth tour-level quarter-final of the year.

“The best players in the world find a way to win when they’re not playing great, and today I definitely was far away from playing great,” said Zverev, who converted three of six break points he earned against Kotov. “In the end I won and that’s the most important thing. I am still in the tournament.”

The 26-year-old German’s next opponent in Sichuan province will be seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic. He is delighted to be competing for the first time since 2019 in China, where he has never won a title but has reached a championship match at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (l. to Medvedev in 2019).

“I think the Chinese fans have missed tennis,” said Zverev. “We haven’t been here in four years. It’s been a very long time for everybody. I enjoy playing here, I enjoy coming back to China. Historically I played quite OK here and I can hopefully keep that streak going.”

With his victory against Kotov, Zverev rose above Holger Rune into seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He will hope to forge a deep run in Chengdu as he looks to boost his prospects of qualifying for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, where he is a two-time champion.

Another former Nitto ATP Finals winner, Grigor Dimitrov, earned his 400th tour-level win in Chengdu after he moved past Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Bulgarian, who is making his third appearance at the Chinese hard-court event, struck the ball cleanly in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Varillas. He also recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set to advance after one hour and 26 minutes.

The 32-year-old Dimitrov captured his first win at an ATP Tour event in Rotterdam in 2009, defeating Tomas Berdych in three sets. Dimitrov has since lifted eight tour-level titles, rising to a career-high No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Dimitrov will next face Christopher O’Connell as he continues his quest for his first title of the season. Earlier this year, the World No. 20 reached the final in Geneva.

Second seed Lorenzo Musetti also advanced after pulling through a marathon clash against #NextGenATP Australian Philip Sekulic. Musetti accelerated through the deciding set to prevail 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-0 in two hours, 54 minutes and reach his first quarter-final on hard courts this year. He will next take on Arthur Rinderknech, after the Frenchman saw off Marcos Giron 7-6(2), 6-4.

Aslan Karatsev overcame former World No. 1 Andy Murray once again on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships.

The 30-year-old defeated Murray in the Sydney final in their only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in January 2022 and ensured he maintained his 100% record against the Scot with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory at the Chinese ATP 250 hard-court event.

Karatsev was aggressive off both wings throughout the two-hour and 54-minute clash. Murray offered up an increasing number of short balls as the match went on, with Karatsev hitting through the 36-year-old to seal his sixth Top 50 win of the year.

The World No. 63, who is chasing his first tour-level title since Sydney in 2022, will next face second seed Cameron Norrie in his third quarter-final of the year.

Murray was aiming to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the year after advancing to the final in Doha in February. The Scot has lifted five titles on Chinese soil, including three Shanghai crowns.

Norrie defeated Australian qualifier Marc Polmans 6-0, 6-3 in 76 minutes. The British lefty won 90 per cent (26/29) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point en route to victory. The World No. 17 is seeking his second title of the season this week, having triumphed in Rio.

Norrie is currently 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He will need a strong Asian Swing to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.

In other action, Sebastian Korda improved to 13-2 against Frenchmen when he defeated Alexander Muller 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

The American is aiming to win his first title of the season this week at the Chinese ATP 250 event, having fallen in the final to Novak Djokovic in Adelaide at the start of the year. The fourth seed will next play Tomas Martin Etcheverry after the Argentine defeated #NextGenATP Czech Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3.

One of the most graceful players in ATP Tour history, Grigor Dimitrov has never been one to focus on cold, hard numbers. That is not to say the Bulgarian’s career stats do not hold up.

On Saturday, Dimitrov defeated Juan Pablo Varillas at the Chengdu Open for his 400th tour-level win, a milestone he later acknowledged he was unaware of while completing his 6-3, 6-4 victory.

“I’m a person that loves the game and I’ve, in a way, lived for the game,” the 32-year-old told ATPTour.com. “I think this [milestone] has been something for me that was not the most important thing, but at the same time I try to do the right things for the sport itself. I think when you do these things and you win, it adds up.

“This is an achievement in itself. For me, I never set myself a goal to have 500 or 300 wins or whatever it is. You just never know how it is going to be, but I’ve been on Tour for 14 years now so it’s nice when you have that approval and you’ve done it yourself out there. You’ve gone out there 400 times and won, so I think it’s pretty cool.”

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_{^{Grigor Dimitrov poses for a selfie with fans after claiming his 400th tour-level win at the Chengdu Open. Photo Credit: Chengdu Open.}}

An eight-time tour-level champion and former No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Dimitrov has come a long way since his first tour-level victory as a 17-year-old in 2009, when he upset then-World No. 23 Tomas Berdych in three sets in Rotterdam. The Bulgarian retains clear memories of that triumph and his first experience of being a winner on the ATP Tour.

“I remember everything about that day, about that match,” recalled Dimitrov, who went on to push Rafael Nadal to three sets in the second round. “About two days before that match, I was supposed to play qualies in Rotterdam, and the night before the qualies started they decided to give me a wild card and I drew Tomas. Then I saw the draw and it was Tomas, and Rafa was up there, and he’d just come from winning the Australian Open.

“That match against Tomas was crazy. I was sliding, running around. I was just being myself out there really, and I never thought about, ‘Oh that’s my first [Tour win]’ or something like that, it was just another match for me. I think this is something that at some point you need to remind yourself a little bit more.”

Still going strong on the ATP Tour 14 years later, Dimitrov hopes to use breaking the 400-win barrier as a foundation for renewed success deeper into his 30s.

“It not only motivates me to play well, but to develop more,” said Dimitrov, who lifted the biggest and most recent title of his career at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. “I think in whatever I want next in my life as well. Tennis is not everything. The career, if you think about it, it comes and goes.

“Nothing lasts forever, especially in our sport, so use that window as much as possible, enjoy as much as possible, love as much as possible, play as much as possible and how the cards fall, you never know. The only thing I can try to do is give 100 per cent of myself.”

Regardless of what happens, Dimitrov will take some time to cherish his latest achievement in a career that has made him one of the most popular figures on Tour among players and fans alike.

“I’ve always been the type of person that never focused on [stats], but of course I’m going to rank it up there,” he said of hitting the 400-win mark. “One of my favourite stats, and I have it almost as a trophy. I haven’t won a tournament lately, but I feel like I’ve won something very special and that’s that. My career is far from over, so who knows, maybe I’ll reach 500?”