China’s Zhang Zhizhen earned his first tour-level grass-court win on Tuesday at the Rothesay International where he defeated former finalist Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-3.

The World No. 54 saved three set points on serve in the first set at 5-6, before earning the decisive break of the second set in the eighth game to advance after one hour and 59 minutes in Eastbourne.

“It was very enjoyable. My first win on grass, so it is amazing,” Zhang said. “Going from clay to grass is not easy, different styles… I am happy to win this match.”

Zhang, who is competing in his third tour-level event on the surface this week, will play Maxime Cressy in the second round after the American defeated Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 7-5 to snap an 11-match losing streak.

In other Tuesday action, Mikael Ymer notched his maiden grass-court win against a Top 50 opponent by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Ymer converted four of his nine break points to oust the ninth seed in two hours, 12 minutes and reach the second round. His next opponent will be Liam Broady, after the World No. 147 prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in an all-British battle against Jan Choinski.

Mackenzie McDonald joined his countryman Cressy in the second round on England’s south coast by easing past Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 6-3 to set a meeting with top seed Taylor Fritz.

The ATP has announced the launch of an official merchandise collection, dedicated to serving the more than 85 million recreational tennis players around the world, created in collaboration with Tennis-Point, the ATP’s Official Racket Sports Products Retailer.

The collection features a classic apparel line and essential equipment including tennis bags, strings and grips. With a focus on providing great quality at fair prices, the collection aims to make tennis more accessible to the millions of global fans who enjoy playing the game at all levels. It marks a significant new milestone in the global partnership between ATP and Tennis-Point, which began in 2021.

The unisex apparel line includes essential polos, tees, hoodies, shorts and headwear. Sporting the ATP Tour’s signature blue and white colourway, discreet detailing and clean lines inspired by classic tennis collections, the items offer a versatile and timeless on-court and clubhouse look.

In parallel, ATP and Tennis-Point have released a line of affordable, high-quality strings, grips and tennis bags. Other performance gear includes towels, wristbands and dampeners – providing players with the complete equipment set to maximise their enjoyment and performance playing the game. This marks the first time ATP has launched a comprehensive collection of apparel and equipment.

“We’re excited to bring the ATP Tour brand even closer to the tennis playing community through our new official merchandise line,” said Daniele Sanò, ATP Chief Business Officer. “We’re thrilled to expand our collaboration with Tennis-Point and offer high-value products that unlock great experiences for our fans.”

“Taking our already successful partnership with the ATP to new heights by making tennis equipment available to players of all levels for an affordable price is something we’re very proud of. The ATP brand is iconic in world sport, and we look forward to using our global presence to connect fans with this great collection,” said Christian Miele, Founder and Managing Director of Tennis-Point.

Browse the ATP Tour collection today in Tennis-Point retail stores, on Global.Tennis-Point.com, or national online shops in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The collection will become available on Tennis-Point.com, TennisExpress.com and Tennispro.fr from the end of July.

– All photos courtesy of Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

The challenge faced by Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Mallorca Championships is not unfamiliar to him. The Greek landed on the Balearic Island on Sunday aiming to make to it back-to-back titles at the grass-court ATP 250, something he has previously achieved in Marseille (2019-20) and at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (2021-22).

The No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is yet to add to his trophy haul this season, although he has reached two finals. One of them came on Spanish soil, at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (the other was at January’s Australian Open).

Tsitsipas is fifth on the leaderboard of most tour-level wins in 2023 with 32. This week, he will hope for a trophy to reward his consistent winning on the grass of Mallorca. For his trip to the ATP 250, Tsitsipas is joined by his father and long-term coach Apostolos Tsitsipas, his brother Petros Tsitsipas (who is competing in the doubles), and his girlfriend, WTA Tour star Paula Badosa.

Badosa, who is recovering from a stress fracture to a vertebra, is preparing herself for a return to competition. On Monday morning she took part in a practice session under the supervision of Apostolos.

In the afternoon, she shared a practice court with Stefanos before the 24-year-old, who is the top seed in the singles draw, took to court to play his first-round doubles match alongside Feliciano Lopez.

A nine-time ATP Tour champion, Tsitsipas will take on the in-form Yannick Hanfmann in his opening match, after the German defeated Pedro Cachin 6-2, 6-1 on Monday.

Luca Van Assche’s first tour-level win on grass was a memorable one.

The #NextGenATP Frenchman prevailed 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in a thrilling first-round encounter against home wild card George Loffhagen on Monday at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.

In the second set, Van Assche twice broke Loffhagen when the Briton was serving for the match. In the decider, the 19-year-old qualifier rallied from 1-3 before winning his second tie-break of the match for a see-saw two-hour, 56-minute victory.

Van Assche, who has claimed his first four tour-level victories this year and also won ATP Challenger Tour titles on hard courts and clay, is sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race. In the second round he will take on J.J. Wolf, who defeated sixth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-2, 6-4 earlier in the day for his own maiden tour-level win on grass.

Eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic also advanced to the second round on Monday, when the Serbian edged Wu Yibing 7-6(4), 7-6(5) on his Eastbourne debut. The World No. 41 next faces a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash against Aleksandar Vukic, who also held his tie-break nerve to overcome Brandon Nakashima 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

In the final match of the day, Marc-Andrea Huesler dashed home favourite Ryan Peniston’s hopes of another dream run in Eastbourne. The World No. 83 Huesler downed 2022 quarter-finalist Peniston 6-3, 6-2 to book a second round meeting with fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Gregoire Barrere and Sebastian Baez also claimed opening wins on the Eastbourne grass. Barrere defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to set a second-round showdown with Nicolas Jarry. Baez prevailed 6-3, 6-4 against Nuno Borges and will next play second seed Tommy Paul.

The first season of Break Point wrapped by digging deeper with Taylor Fritz and getting to know WTA player Aryna Sabalenka.

The settings were the Nitto ATP Finals and the WTA Finals, the respective tours’ year-end championships.

“This is what everyone has their sights set on,” Fritz said.

The American for the first time in the series spoke about his son, Jordan, from a previous relationship.

“I just hope as he gets older he understands what I’m doing and understands what I’m trying to do,” Fritz said.

The American added: “When I told him that I’m not the best tennis player in the world he was a little surprised and a little disappointed that I’m not the best. He’s not easily impressed.”

It was a breakthrough season for Fritz, whom the show followed during his first ATP Masters 1000 title run in Indian Wells and then at his lowest point of the season at the US Open. But Turin was his chance to end 2022 on a high. He was set to face Rafael Nadal, whom he had beaten at Indian Wells and lost to at Wimbledon.

“I feel like he [Rafa] really wants to just come out tomorrow and just beat the s*** out of me because Indian Wells was his first loss of the year,” Fritz said in his hotel room, alongside girlfriend Morgan Riddle. “It’s going to be an interesting one. It’s a big match. And obviously I just can’t stop hearing it from like, ‘Oh Rafa had his rib injury, blah, blah, blah, he would have killed you if he was fine.’ I’m just like, ‘Shut the f*** up.’ I don’t know, I’m sick of everyone trying to discredit the win. I just want to win and I want it to be fully just legit.”

Fritz would defeat Nadal before falling to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals to end the best season of his career.

The other player heavily featured in the final episode of Season 1 was Sabalenka. The show painted a picture of a player who has had both highs and lows.

“She’s intimidating,” Martina Navratilova said, complimenting Sabalenka and the powerful game she brings to the court.

On the other hand, Sabalenka has also gone through struggles both on and off the court, including due to Belarus’ support of Russia’s war in Ukraine. She went through a period in which she could not dial in her second serve, which became a hot topic throughout the tennis world.

Expert Paul Annacone said: “No matter what your level is, you’re only good as your mind lets you.”

Sabalenka, who is shown during a visit to her apparel sponsor as a fun, energetic personality, also went through tough times as she struggled off the court.

“I honestly thought I was going to stop playing tennis because it was so bad,” Sabalenka said in one clip.

The powerful righty fell just short of capturing the WTA Finals title in the championship match against Caroline Garcia. But in the closing montage she explained how much mentally stronger she felt than before. Sabalenka then proved prophetic.

“Next season it’s my year guys,” she said, flashing a wide smile and two thumbs up.