Home favourite and 2019 champion Dominic Thiem reached his third quarter-final on clay this year after rallying from a first-set beatdown against Zhang Zhizhen at the Generali Open in Kitzbuehel Wednesday.

Thiem took time to adjust to starkly different conditions to the night match he played on Tuesday before pulling away to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. The 29-year-old Austrian crushed a trademark down-the-line fadeaway backhand from deep behind the baseline to break in the opening game of the third set and never relinquished his lead.

“The first set was so tough, with completely different conditions to last night. I felt it was 15 degrees warmer and the ball was bouncing completely different. I didn’t know what was going on and it felt that he was playing so fast,” said Thiem, who did not offer up a break point in the final two sets.

“I just tried to put the first set out of my head and start the match from zero. I had a pretty good start to the second set and that was the turnaround today.

“He was playing very fast, very flat, and if I wasn’t aggressive enough he would put me away, like he did in the first set. So I tried to play more offensively and make him have more mistakes. I did a good job of that in sets two and three.”

Thiem lost nine of his first 10 matches in 2023, and came into this tournament No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He was 6-5 during the clay swing through Roland Garros but went winless during the grass swing, which included a valiant fifth-set tie-break loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of Wimbledon.

Suffering a tear in his right wrist that forced him to miss nine months from June 2021-March 2022, Thiem is looking for his first title since claiming his lone major at the US Open in September 2020.

The former World No. 3 next faces a first-time meeting with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who took out second seed Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 7-6(3), 6-3.

Alex Molcan staged one of the greatest comebacks of the season to defeat Sebastian Ofner 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5). The Slovakian saved two match points trailing 0-5 in the second set as he began a winning streak of nine straight games to lead 2-0 in the third set.

On the cusp of victory, Ofner suddenly began to struggle to put his serve into play while Molcan knuckled down and played rock-sold tennis. The left-hander will next play Argentine Sebastian Baez, who enjoyed a crushing 6-1, 6-2 win over sixth-seed Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. The 22-year-old Baez has dropped just nine games through the first two rounds.

After a breakout 2022 season, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be the first to admit this year has not been perfect. But the Canadian, who is the third seed this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, is using what some might view as a difficult campaign as a learning experience to grow.

Despite struggling with knee pain in recent months, the No. 12 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings has remained positive.

“You’ve never heard of an athlete that never had injuries, especially tennis players who play a lot. It’s a tough sport physically, so there’s for sure going to be injuries at some point in a career,” Auger-Aliassime said. “And looking back, I feel like I was fortunate enough that the last three or four years I never had a serious injury. And even now, this one this year wasn’t so serious, but just one that I was dealing with some pain for quite a long time, a few months. And I always try to take the positive out of it.”

Auger-Aliassime has not won consecutive matches since reaching the Indian Wells quarter-finals in March. His past two tournaments were at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, where he lost in the opening round as he struggled with his knee.

But the Canadian explained that dealing with the situation has allowed him to learn and help restructure to avoid future injuries.

“[It allowed me to] be really focussed on doing the right things and putting even more prevention in my work and becoming even more precise and professional and with how I do things,” the Netflix Break Point star said. “I would have loved to keep on playing and winning all the time. But I guess it was a good time to take a step back, restructure things to come back from it.”

It is a mature mindset for a player who is only 22, turning 23 on 8 August. Auger-Aliassime has gained plenty of experience since debuting on the ATP Challenger Tour aged 14.

“For me, things came quicker, or certain results or certain accomplishments came quicker than I even hoped or that I planned. So you take it. You take it when it comes,” Auger-Aliassime said. “And I guess, looking back, it was good for me that I went through certain experiences at a young age, becoming a professional at 18, and travelling the world and learning about my job, learning about how it is to deal with having a team of professionals around you, and how to manage my career in a better way. I was on the Player Council a couple years ago.

“So I feel like all these experiences, and I’m still [just turning] 23, I think it’s a great thing. It’s a great thing. And I think it’s going to be a big help over my career.”

Speaking about the lessons he has learned, Auger-Aliassime said: “I think it’s more in general just focussing on the things that I control. And I learned that I think at 17, 18. You want results, and you have certain expectations, but you quickly realise that you just don’t get what you want, just by really wanting it or working for it.

“You have to really trust that by doing the right things on a daily basis that eventually you will get to where you want to be. And [you need] to really be convinced, deep inside of you that you will get there and trust in training and trust the professionals around you.”

Last year Auger-Aliassime won the first four ATP Tour titles of his career, reached a career-high World No. 6 and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. It would have been nice to maintain his momentum, but Auger-Aliassime is not overreacting to a 13-11 start to 2023.

“[It is important] to stay very calm and composed,” Auger-Aliassime said. “To be proactive when things aren’t working well, but to never panic. And I think that was a big key for me to, to my consistency.”

The Canadian will try to get back on track this week in Washington, where he is happy to be competing for the third time.

“There’s a lot of diversity in the city. First of all, I go to restaurants and I see many different faces, which is always great to see. And I think that’s one thing that I love also when I come to the site, I’m practising and I’m playing matches,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I have people from various ages and young kids, families or older people, adults from many different backgrounds that also come from very different places. So it’s nice to see that kind of diversity.

“I think Washington does have that and then I love the layout of the city in a way, how green it is. You walk around, there’s parks. It’s very green. There’s not skyscrapers and tall buildings, so you don’t feel suffocated in a way. So yeah, I think those are things that I like about the city and I mean, it’s a tournament that’s been going on for many years. So people are used to having tennis, used to having a tournament here, so they come out in big numbers and it’s always great to see.”

Fifth seed Alex de Minaur passed a stern test Tuesday to begin his title quest at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo.

Amidst humid conditions, the 24-year-old defeated Tunisian qualifier Skander Mansouri 6-4, 6-4 after recovering from a break down twice in the second set. Despite making just 47 per cent of his first serves, De Minaur dropped just four points behind his first delivery to advance at the ATP 250 tournament.

The World No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings broke Mansouri’s serve at 5-4 in both sets and sealed the match after one hour, 45 minutes.

A seven-time tour-level titlist, De Minaur’s opening-round victory in Los Cabos marks his 180th tour-level match win. The Sydney-native has not lost in the first round of any tournament this season.

Making his Los Cabos debut, De Minaur has already tasted success in Mexico this season, claiming his biggest career title at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco in February. De Minaur will next meet Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round of the ATP 250 tournament.

Radu Albot’s life is about far more than tennis. These days, it is focussed on his daughter, three-year-old Adeline.

A prime example of that came at Wimbledon. After Albot won a match in qualifying, young Adeline ran onto the court to congratulate her father.

“They asked me, How does it feel winning and I was holding her in my hands during the interview,” Albot recalled. “I said when you have a daughter like this, winning or losing doesn’t matter. So at the end of the day, I guess even when you lose, and you’re playing with your kid, it just puts your mood up and you forget about everything.”

Albot won his first ATP Tour title at Delray Beach in 2019 and later that year climbed to a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. But his most impactful moment in recent years came when Adeline was born.

“It changed me of course. So much more responsibility. When you’re home, there [are many] more things to do and it’s around her,” Albot said. “The world is around her now. So in the morning, I was waking up before and I was doing my stuff. Now, first thing I do, I go to wake her up when I’m home. I go put the clothes on, my wife is preparing breakfast, we eat and we go to the kindergarten.

“Before I could do whatever I wanted. Now, I need to go to the kindergarten every time [at] eight o’clock in the morning. Everything is around her. [Around this] I need to plan the day, what I do, how I practise. And then I need to pick her up around five from kindergarten, so that’s the new stuff. And of course, in the evening you need to pay attention. She wants to play with you, especially when I’m travelling a lot and I’m coming back she always [says] to me ‘Daddy, I miss you.’”

Radu Albot and his family” />

When Albot, who is competing this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, speaks with his daughter on the phone, she often asks why he left for work. “It’s a little bit sentimental of course,” he said.

Last year, Adeline and Albot’s wife, Doina, joined him during this North American swing. This year, they spent more time with him in Europe.

“It’s not so easy to take her so often from kindergarten, because she’s also missing her friends. She is also there with their activities,” Albot said. “There is a group chat from the kindergarten and they’re sending all the time pictures [of] what they’re doing. They go fishing, they go to some theatres with the kids. They go in the forest to see some bugs, they go in the forest to see some some flowers and different grass.

“She [also] needs to develop herself. She doesn’t need to travel all the time with me because she’s developing with kids of the same age. And she likes it in the kindergarten.”

Regardless if Adeline is with him on the road or back at kindergarten, Albot carries Adeline with him in his heart. That matters more to him than results.

“Of course you want to win all the matches,” Albot said. “But if you have your family and everybody is healthy and everything is good around [you], it doesn’t really matter so much.”

Frances Tiafoe was not the only local star inside the Stadium at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday night. NBA superstar Kevin Durant was in attendance to watch the American’s 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over Aslan Karatsev.

After the match, the two shared a nice embrace on court. Durant joined Tiafoe and stadium emcee Rennae Stubbs for an interview on court. How is Durant’s tennis game?

“Mine is nonexistent,” Durant said, cracking a laugh. “But there was a lot of energy in the building tonight. It was exciting, I’m glad he got the win.”

“He’s just bringing that energy from this area… we’re all proud of him.”

NBA legend @KDTrey5 with some love for @FTiafoe at @mubadalacitidc 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bjtwZIvaVc

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 2, 2023

Durant was sure to point out the impact Tiafoe is making on his local community. The American last year made the US Open semi-finals and this June cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The fans showed their appreciation for Tiafoe’s efforts all night long and helped push him to his win.

“He’s just bringing, first of all, that energy from this area,” Durant said. “He’s representing right, so we’re all proud of him.”

Tiafoe has long spoken about his roots as a kid in the area training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. On Tuesday he came full circle and was the centre of attention, celebrated by a global icon in Durant.

“Think about it. I was a kid who had an opportunity and dreamed massively big. Shouldn’t be doing any of these things, honestly. [I was] sneaking into this event, telling my parents I was going to be a pro at a super young age, against all odds, wearing hand-me-down clothes, holes in my shoes, cargo shorts,” Tiafoe said. “Now I’m playing this tournament. People are here to see me. I’m packing it out. Doubles was nuts yesterday. Packed it out today. Guys like KD and [Kentavious] Caldwell-Pope and Gaff [Daniel Gafford] want to come see me play.

“I have just worked really hard over the years. I think it’s come from a great place. I’m super humble about it. I’m humble they want to take the time out and come and watch me play. Yeah, it’s so impactful, and it’s one of those things you want to keep these moments going.”

Cheered on by NBA legend Kevin Durant, American Frances Tiafoe opened his Mubadala Citi DC Open campaign with a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win against Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.

The second seed Tiafoe, who has claimed titles in Houston and Stuttgart this year, thrilled the home crowd with his shotmaking ability throughout the two-hour, nine-minute contest and absorbed Karatsev’s firepower to advance at the ATP 500 event. 

Playing in his first match since Wimbledon, the 25-year-old Tiafoe fought off a set point on serve at 5-4 in the second set to avoid going the distance and later in the tie-break, he won four consecutive points after falling behind 3/5.

“Unbelievable match tonight. It was so tight all the way through, he really made me earn it,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “I’m just happy to get through. He’s a tough player, he’s made the semis of a Grand Slam and he’s very, very dangerous. Very tough first round.” 

With Durant sitting courtside, Tiafoe earned his second Lexus ATPHead2Head win against Karatsev to set a first-time meeting against 18-year-old Chinese star Shang Juncheng in the second round. In his seventh appearance in Washington, World No. 10 Tiafoe’s best result at the hard-court tournament came last year, when he made the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios. 

Mubadala Citi DC Open.” />
^{Kevin Durant attends Tuesday’s evening session at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Credit: Ben Solomon}

Earlier in the day, Michael Mmoh saved three match points to upset fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4). Despite having a match point of his own on return at 6-5 in the second set, Mmoh was pushed to a decider before closing the exciting two-hour, 55-minute battle.

The American traded blows from the baseline with the World No. 17 and produced a highlight reel of winners to earn his third Top 20 win of the season. Hurkacz will rue letting slip three match points, one of which came after winning a gruelling 38-shot rally at deuce. All three of the Pole’s match points came on return at 5-4 in the third set, but Mmoh held his nerve and continued to play aggressive to escape.

Australian Jordan Thompson ousted wild card Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-1 after winning 56 per cent of points behind his second serve, compared to the South African’s 40 per cent. Anderson, 37, was playing just his second tournament since returning from retirement in July. Emil Ruusuvuori produced a clean-hitting performance to rally past last year’s finalist Yoshihito Nishioka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 after two hours, seven minutes. 

Alexander Shevchenko upset eighth seed Sebastian Korda 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 to close the day. Shevchenko, 22, saved 19 of 24 of break-points faced to survive the World No. 26.

Let’s not call it a resurgence, but Dominic Thiem took another important step towards rebuilding his career at the Generali Open Tuesday.

Cheered on by a raucous home crowd, the 2020 US Open champion survived the first round for the third consecutive tour-level event and claimed his 10th match win of the year with a dramatic 7-6(3), 7-6(6) win in two hours and 22 minutes over Argentine Facundo Bagnis.

It may sound like a modest milestone for a Grand Slam champion, but the Austrian is taking nothing for granted in 2023 after losing nine of the first 10 matches he played this season.

The 2019 Kitzbuehel champion and 2014 finalist staved off five set points on serve in the 10th game of the opening set and another two set points in the second-set tie-break.

Thiem, who served 10 aces, trailed 2-4 before a lengthy rain delay interrupted the match. He immediately broke back when the match resumed and played an aggressive brand of tennis to push on to victory.

“It was another great, great night here in Kitzbuehel,” Thiem said on court after the match. “It’s the third time I kicked off the tournament with a night session and all three of them have been legendary. It was not easy with the rain delay but it was an amazing atmosphere with everyone staying. I’m so happy I am through to the second round.

“In the first set when we came back from the rain delay I played a very good level and he kept it up, so it was an even match. I played offensively and finished many points at the net. “

Thiem, who two weeks ago reached the second round in Gstaad, repeated his win over Bagnis in the first round of Umag last week.

Thiem lost nine of his first 10 matches in 2023, and came into this tournament No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He went 6-5 during the clay swing through Roland Garros but went winless during the grass swing, which included a valiant fifth-set tie-break loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of Wimbledon.

Suffering a tear in his right wrist that forced him to miss nine months from June 2021-March 2022, Thiem is looking for his first title since claiming his lone major in New York in September 2020.

Eighth-seeded German Daniel Altmaier came up big when it mattered most to defeat Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round. The 2021 semi-finalist saved three of the four break points he faced and converted all four break chances on his opponent’s serve to claim his 11th match win of the year.

Altmaier, who hits with a one-handed backhand like his childhood idols Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, also defeated Huesler in the first round of Roland Garros this year.

Altmaier will next face Colombian World No. 76 Daniel Elahi Galan.

Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild picked up his first tour-level win since Roland Garros (where he stunned Daniil Medvedev in the first round en route to the third round) when he defeated Austrian Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-4

The World No. 117 will next face Serbian Laslo Djere, who last week reached the final of the ATP 500 in Hamburg.

Two weeks, two wins for Shang Juncheng against Ben Shelton.

In a battle of #NextGenATP stars, 18-year-old Shang defeated home favourite Shelton 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the third round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

“I’m definitely very happy right now,” Shang told ATPTour.com. “Ben is not an easy player to beat. I think I’ve got a game that kind of suits me to playing him.”

Last week, Shang eliminated Shelton 6-4, 6-4 at the Atlanta Open. One week later, he broke his opponent’s serve five times from nine chances to triumph in three sets after one hour and 42 minutes.

“I’ve got a great return I think and in the past two weeks, I’ve been returning really well. So I think that was the key today, to break a few service games from him,” Shang said. “Overall, I’m playing very confident and I’m just very patient on court and fighting for each point.”

It was the Chinese teen’s fourth win in as many days in Washington, where he won two qualifying rounds over the weekend before ousting Emilio Gomez in the first round on Monday.

The timing for Shang’s success is good, because next Monday he will drop 80 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points he earned by winning the Lexington ATP Challenger Tour event last year. He is at a career-high World No. 149. Shang will next play second seed Frances Tiafoe or Aslan Karatsev.

In other action, fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov earned his place in the third round with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Mackenzie McDonald. The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion is competing in Washington for the eighth time and in 2013 advanced to the quarter-finals.

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis also moved on with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Japan’s Taro Daniel. Another Japanese player, lucky loser Sho Shimabukuro, claimed his first ATP Tour victory with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over South African Lloyd Harris.