Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop delivered for The Netherlands on Tuesday in Split, where they earned a decisive Group D Davis Cup Final Group Stage doubles win against Finland’s Harri Heliovaara and Patrik Niklas-Salminen 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.

The Dutchmen did not face a break point in the two-hour, seven-minute clash, sealing a 2-1 win for their nation. The Netherlands is aiming to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time since 2005.

Earlier, Otto Virtanen had given Finland a 1-0 lead after he downed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(0), 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. The World No. 125 has now won four of the eight Davis Cup singles matches he has played.

Tallon Griekspoor then levelled the tie, defeating Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(7), 6-3 in one hour and 46 minutes. World No. 24 Griekspoor saved one set point in the first set at 6/7. He then broke twice in the second set to triumph.

Chile Defeat Sweden
Chile also moved to 1-0 in Davis Cup Finals Group Stage action.

Cristian Garin clawed past Leo Borg 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5 in the first match of the day in Bologna to give Chile a lead in its Group A tie against Sweden.

Garin, who made his Davis Cup debut aged 16 in 2012, battled hard in the two-hour, 36-minute clash. He fired 17 aces and won 78 per cent (62/79) of his first-serve points to defeat debutant Borg.

World No. 22 Nicolas Jarry then sealed victory for Chile with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph against Elias Ymer. Jarry has enjoyed a career-best season on the ATP Tour, lifting trophies in Santiago and Geneva. Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo sealed a 3-0 win for Chile, defeating Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson 6-4, 7-5.

This week 16 countries are competing in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from Tuesday through Sunday in the hopes of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

The countries will compete across four groups in four cities — Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split — with the top two countries per group to qualify for the knockout stage in two months.

Ugo Humbert ensured France made a winning start to its Group B Davis Cup Finals Group Stage campaign on Tuesday when he defeated Stan Wawrinka to guide the 10-time champion to an unassailable 2-0 lead against Switzerland.

The lefty delivered a clean-hitting performance against Wawrinka in Manchester, where he triumphed 6-4, 6-4 in 89 minutes. With his victory, Humbert lifted France to the top of Group B after one tie.

Earlier, Adrian Mannarino defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker, who upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the fourth round at the US Open last week.

Mannarino struck 22 winners and broke three times to clinch a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win in two hours and three minutes. The 35-year-old has now won six of his eight Davis Cup matches. France is aiming to reach the quarter-finals at the Davis Cup Finals since 2018.

This week 16 countries are competing in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from Tuesday through Sunday in the hopes of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

The countries will compete across four groups in four cities — Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split — with the top two countries per group to qualify for the knockout stage in two months.

France and Switzerland are joined in Group B by Great Britain and Australia.

Following fourth-round appearances at the US Open, Dominic Stricker, Rinky Hijikata and Borna Gojo cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. Thiago Seyboth Wild earned back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles to also make his Top 100 debut.

ATPTour.com reviews highlights from each player’s season to celebrate their breakthroughs.

Dominic Stricker
The 21-year-old is the youngest Swiss to reach the milestone since 20-year-old Stan Wawrinka did so in 2005. A five-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, including two titles this year, Stricker made a splash at Flushing Meadows by stunning seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set, second-round match. The lefty struck 78 winners throughout the four-hour, 10-minute encounter and maintained his form to make the fourth round, lifting him 38 spots to World No. 90.

Stricker will look to continue his surge to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for a second consecutive year. A semi-finalist at last year’s 21-and-under event, he is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah.

Rinky Hijikata
The US Open will always hold special memories for the Australian. In 2022, he made his Grand Slam main-draw debut against 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated Hijikata in four sets on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fast forward a year, Hijikata reached the fourth round in New York, propelling him to World No. 82.

“It feels really good to be able to crack the Top 100. Obviously it’s been a big goal of mine for a while now and to finally be cemented in the Top 100 is pretty special,” Hijikata said. “I think it’s a big goal for everybody, getting automatic entry into the Grand Slams. I am looking forward to hopefully staying there and seeing how far up the rankings I can go.”

Since Hijikata turned pro in 2021 following two years at the University of North Carolina, he has collected two ATP Challenger Tour titles, both on home soil. The 22-year-old made a tour-level breakthrough this year at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch where as a lucky loser he reached the semi-finals.

“The Challenger Tour has been great for me. There’s so many quality players on the Challenger Tour and I honestly feel like the level isn’t too different between Challengers and ATP Tour events,” Hijikata said. “To make that transition is very important, to play Challengers and put yourself week in and week out against some quality players, just being able to back up good weeks week after week is hard to do and important.”

Borna Gojo
The 25-year-old advanced through qualifying at Flushing Meadows en route to the Round of 16, where he fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. At No. 77 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Gojo is the first Croatian since Borna Coric in 2014 to crack the Top 100.

“It’s really satisfying to crack the Top 100. Now it gives you even more motivation to push forward to go up the rankings as much as possible,” Gojo said.

Gojo’s 19-9 Challenger-match record this season put him in prime position to reach the milestone at the season’s final major, where he started the tournament as World No. 105.

“I didn’t check the rankings that much. Mid-season, I started to check it a bit more and then now again, I wasn’t really checking. It just happened at the US Open with a very good tournament,” said Gojo.

Thiago Seyboth Wild
Nobody boasts a better Challenger-match record this season than Seyboth Wild (38-9). The 23-year-old earned back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles (Como, Genoa) the past two weeks to surpass the Top 100.

“Challengers are tough to win and I am proud of what I have accomplished. Hopefully I can continue winning matches and bigger tournaments,” said Seyboth Wild, who has won four Challenger trophies this season. “The Challenger Tour has really helped me develop my game and to prepare for those bigger tournaments.”

Earlier this season, the Brazilian No. 1 advanced through Roland Garros qualifying and upset Daniil Medvedev in the opening round en route to a third-round appearance. He became the lowest-ranked player (then-No. 172) to beat a second seed in the first round at Roland Garros since 1998. The standout year has been a welcomed sight for Seyboth Wild.

“It feels great to be in the Top 100. I started the year outside the Top 400 so this is an important step for me,” World No. 76 Seyboth Wild said. “I’ve been working hard all year with my team and I hope to continue to climb the rankings.”

Novak Djokovic celebrated his US Open victory on Monday with an early-morning wakeup to make the rounds at some of the United States’ premier morning shows.

Djokovic joined the TODAY Show, where he spoke about the gruelling second set he won against Daniil Medvedev in the final and more.

“There were doubts, there are always doubts,” Djokovic said. “But it’s important to keep things quite simple and have good clarity and be in the present moment and focus on the next point and what needs to be done.”

Novak Djokovic” />
^{Photo: Nathan Congleton / ©NBCUniversal}
Djokovic did just that to emerge victorious after three sets with his fourth US Open trophy and 24th major crown.

“It’s a good tired this morning,” Djokovic said. “I guess it will probably settle in a few days. But it has been an incredible experience last night.”

The Serbian also visited CBS Mornings, where former NFL player Nate Burleson asked Djokovic about his hunger to strive for more even though he has already accomplished so much.

“I think setting goals and objectives is extremely important for anything, really,” Djokovic said. “That’s one of the reasons why I think athletes resonate with people, because we are able to go through the lowest of the lows to highest of highs in a very short timespan in a game, in a tennis match or a football game or a basketball game.

“I think this incredibly wide spectrum of emotions that you go through and facing adversities and overcoming the challenges and obstacles is something that people relate to.”

This week 16 countries will compete in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from Tuesday through Sunday in the hopes of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

The countries will compete across four groups in four cities — Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split — with the top two countries per group to qualify for the knockout stage in two months.

In Group A, defending champion Canada, Italy, Chile and Sweden will square off. Notable players in action include Denis Shapovalov for Canada, Lorenzo Musetti for Italy and Nicolas Jarry for Chile.

Group B is full of stars, with Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans and Andy Murray leading the way for Great Britain and Stan Wawrinka on the Swiss side, which also includes Dominic Stricker, the man who upset Stefanos Tsitsdipas at Flushing Meadows. Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis are competing for Australia.

US Open champion Novak Djokovic headlines Group C as he leads Serbia. Also in the group will be 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Jiri Lehecka, the Czech who made this year’s Australian Open quarter-finals.

Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul will try to send the United States to the Final 8 with a good performance in Group D, where Borna Coric will lead the home Croatian side. 

Group A – Bologna: Canada, Chile, Italy, Sweden

Group B – Manchester: Australia, France, Great Britain, Switzerland

Group C – Valencia: Czech Republic, Serbia, South Korea, Spain

Group D – Split: Croatia, Finland, Netherlands, United States

Two countries from each group will advance to the Final 8.

Following Christopher O’Connell’s second-round appearance at the US Open, where he pushed finalist Daniil Medvedev to four sets, the Australian made the long journey from New York to Shanghai, where he competed at the ATP Challenger 100 event, the Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Despite the lengthy trip, the 29-year-old did not drop a set en route to the title, which lifted him to a career-high No. 53 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. O’Connell, who is one of six Challenger champions this week, defeated Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki 6-3, 7-5 in the final. Despite Watanuki’s 20 aces, O’Connell held the edge on second serve, winning 68 per cent of his second-serve points, compared to his opponent’s 32 per cent.

“I loved playing here. As soon as I arrived here, I felt pretty comfortable. It was a tough trip coming from the US Open, playing a tough match against Medvedev,” O’Connell said. “I continued playing some really good tennis. I love the conditions here, the humidity. I’ve been training prior to the US Open in Florida with conditions similar to this, so that really helped with how I played this week.”

The ATP Challenger Tour made its long-awaited return to China three weeks ago after a near four-year absence on the calendar. Starting next week, China will host four tour-level tournaments in as many weeks. O’Connell looks to maintain his form in Asia. He will next play the Guangzhou Challenger before competing at the ATP 250 event in Chengdu.

“My goal is to finish the season inside the Top 50. Playing here is going to put me in really good stead for the Masters [1000 event] in a couple weeks’ time,” O’Connell said.

In other Challenger action, Thiago Seyboth Wild captured his second consecutive trophy, extending his winning streak to 10 by winning the AON Open Challenger in Genoa, Italy. The 23-year-old defeated five Italians en route to the title and downed home favourite Fabio Fognini 6-2, 7-6(3) in the final.

Thiago Seyboth Wild wins the Challenger 125 event in Genoa, Italy.” />
^{Thiago Seyboth Wild wins the Challenger 125 event in Genoa, Italy. Credit: AON Open Challenger}

Following his triumph, Seyboth Wild surged to a career-high No. 76 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, marking his Top 100 debut.

“It feels great to be in the Top 100. I started the year outside the Top 400, so this is an important step for me,” said Seyboth Wild, who leads the ATP Challenger Tour with four titles and 38 match wins this season. “I’ve been working hard all year with my team and I hope to continue to climb the rankings.”

The Brazilian No. 1 has enjoyed a standout season, with a breakthrough moment coming at Roland Garros. Seyboth Wild advanced through qualifying and upset Daniil Medvedev in the opening round en route to a third-round appearance. He became the lowest-ranked player (then-No. 172) to beat a second seed in the first round at Roland Garros since 1998.

Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena successfully defended his title on the unique yellow clay at the LX Copa Sevilla. The top seed cruised past Frenchman Calvin Hemery 6-3, 6-1 in the final to lift his 11th Challenger trophy and first of this season.

Roberto Carballes Baena collects back-to-back titles at the Seville Challenger.” />
^{Roberto Carballes Baena collects back-to-back titles at the Seville Challenger. CredIt: Manuel J. Pérez/Copa Sevilla}

The 30-year-old, who in April won the ATP 250 event in Marrakech, joins Arthur Fils as the only players to win a tour-level and Challenger title this season. Carballes Baena is the third player to defend a Challenger crown in 2023, alongside Jurij Rodionov and Hugo Dellien.

Mattia Bellucci is one spot shy of tying his career-high No. 142 following his title run at the Cassis Open Provence by Cabesto in France. The Italian lefty overcame Czech Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4 in the final to win his third Challenger trophy and first of the year.

“I’m really, really happy because I was not feeling well on court the first six months of the year. I qualified at the Australian Open and really raised my expectations, I was just rushing and not believing in time,” Bellucci said. “This is a good step for me also because I think I played well.”

Mattia Bellucci wins his third Challenger title in Cassis, France.” />
^{Mattia Bellucci wins his third Challenger title in Cassis, France. Credit: All In Group}

Vit Kopriva was crowned champion at the NO OPEN powered by EVN in Tulln, Austria. In the final, the Czech ousted Indian Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-4 after winning 80 per cent of his first-serve points. The 26-year-old has won 11 of his past 12 Challenger matches, including a title run in Verona in July.

Vit Kopriva wins the Challenger 100 event in Tulln, Austria.” />
^{Vit Kopriva wins the Challenger 100 event in Tulln, Austria. Credit: Manfred Binder}

Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur collected the title at the Istanbul Challenger TED Open, where the 31-year-old defeated Slovakian Lukas Klein 7-6(5), 6-3 in the final to win his first trophy at any level since 2018. A three-time tour-level titlist, the former World No. 23 earned his maiden hard-court Challenger crown by ending his five-match skid in finals at that level.

Damir Dzumhur wins the Challenger 75 event in Istanbul, Turkiye.” />
^{Damir Dzumhur wins the Challenger 75 event in Istanbul, Turkiye. Credit: Istanbul Challenger TED Open}