Chinese men’s tennis continues to rise. Less than four months after Zhang Zhizhen made history as the first Chinese man to crack the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Wu Yibing on Monday became the second to achieve the feat.

After reaching the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Cleveland, Wu ascended to a career-high World No. 97.

“That’s [a] goal I’ve wanted to achieve since I’m a kid,” Wu told ATPTour.com of breaking into the Top 100. “Everything became true and of course I feel good. It’s not the end. It’s just the beginning for me, I think.”

As recently as April last year, Wu was tied for World No. 1869 following a series of injuries. But he has enjoyed a meteoric rise since, winning three ATP Challenger events in less than a two-month span last year before qualifying for the US Open and reaching the third round.

“Since now I have a better ranking I will start playing more on the ATP Tour than Challengers,” Wu said. “Hopefully I can achieve the Top 30 this year.”

While it will take more success for Wu to reach that goal, he has an opportunity to move closer in the coming months. From now until the start of June, Wu has just 40 Pepperstone ATP Ranking points to defend. He is competing this week in the Dallas Open, an ATP 250 event.

“I think I have good potential,” Wu said. “I don’t have many points to defend from now until Wimbledon, so that’s a pretty good block for me to gain ranking.”

It has been quite the journey for Wu since he became the world’s No. 1 junior as a 17-year-old in 2017. But he has stayed the course and his latest achievement is just another reward for doing so.

“I think I’m happy with the way I’ve played and I enjoyed it more since I was hurt for two or three years. Because of Covid I couldn’t travel that much,” Wu said. “I still kept the passion for tennis and tried to enjoy playing. I also have a good team around me to keep myself concentrated on tennis.”

Wu is also close friends with Zhang, whom he calls ‘Big Jerry’ and Shang Juncheng, an 18-year-old Chinese player he calls ‘Little Jerry’ (both men use Jerry as their English name, and Zhang is taller). Shang is at a career-high World No. 165 and can soon become the third man from their country to break into the Top 100.

Zhang, who is at a career-high World No. 91, sent Wu his congratulations by text message on Monday morning.

“I feel like we’ve always been together. Even though we have some different schedules because Big Jerry, he always plays in Europe. Me and Little Jerry, we’re here in the States. We’re always following each other and we look up to each other,” Wu said. “It’s a very nice competition between the three of us and hopefully let’s make some more history for Chinese men’s tennis.”

If Arthur Fils wanted to make a big first impression on his home fans, the 18-year-old Frenchman certainly chose a good time to do it at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.

Fils upset countryman and 16-time tour-level titlist Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-5 on Monday to register his maiden ATP Tour win. Gasquet entered the clash with a 10-0 record in opening rounds at the ATP 250 event in southern France, where he is a three-time champion. But wild card Fils broke decisively in the 12th game of both sets to clinch a famous one-hour, 52-minute first-round triumph.

“[I’m] really happy, it was a tough match for me,” said Fils post-match. “He was playing good, I was playing good too, but I played really good in the end of the first set and then I was a little bit more relaxed on the court. I’m happy about this win.”

The 36-year-old Gasquet knows how it feels to make a big impact at a young age — he remains the youngest winner of an ATP Tour match after his victory as a 15-year-old against Franco Squillari at the 2002 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Despite taking an early 4-2 lead in the first set on Monday, however, Gasquet this time found himself on the wrong end of the upset as Fils sealed the win having fended off seven of nine break points.

Fils made his ATP Tour debut at the Rolex Paris Masters in November, where he beat Fabio Fognini to qualify for the main draw before losing to the Italian, who was playing as a lucky loser, in the first round. Monday’s win continues an impressive start to 2023 for the World No. 163, who is 9-1 on the ATP Challenger Tour this season and lifted his first title at that level in Oeiras, Portugal in mid-January. His reward for taking out Gasquet is a second-round meeting with fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

“[The win gives me] a lot of confidence,” said Fils. “I just lost one match since the start of the year so my confidence is really up, but to be honest, beating Richard [brings] more than good confidence. It’s super confidence, and I will try to do the same things today against Roberto.”

The first ATP 500 event of the 2023 season will see Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev lead the field at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the tournament in The Netherlands:

When is the ABN AMRO Open?

The 2023 ABN AMRO Open will be held from 13-19 February. The indoor hard court ATP 500 tournament, established in 1974, will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The tournament director is Richard Krajicek.

Who is playing at the 2023 ABN AMRO Open?

The ABN AMRO Open will feature stars including World No. 3 Tsitsipas, 2021 titlist Rublev, defending champion Auger-Aliassime and former World No. 1 Medvedev.

When is the draw for the ABN AMRO Open?

The ABN AMRO Open draw will be made Friday, 10 February at 7 p.m.

What is the schedule for the ABN AMRO Open?

*Qualifying: Saturday 11 February at 11:00 a.m. & Sunday 12 February at a time to be confirmed.
*Main Draw: Monday 13 February – Sunday 19 February.
*Monday-Friday sessions starting at 11:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.
*Saturday sessions starting at 1:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Sunday 19 February at 1:00 p.m.
*Singles Final: Sunday 19 February at 3:30 p.m.

View On Official Website

What is the prize money and points for the ABN AMRO Open?

The Total Financial Commitment for the ABN AMRO Open is €2,224,460.

SINGLES
Winner: €387,940/500 points
Finalist: €208,730/300 points
Semi-finalist: €111,245/180 points
Quarter-finalist: €56,835/90 points
Second Round: €30,345/45 points
First Round: €16,180/0 points

DOUBLES (€ per team)
Winner: €127,440/500 points
Finalist: €67,960/300 points
Semi-finalist: €34,380/180 points
Quarter-finalist: €17,190/90 points
First Round: €8,900/0 points

How can I watch the ABN AMRO Open?

ABN AMRO Open Broadcast Schedule

How can I follow the ABN AMRO Open?

Social
Hashtag: #abnamroopen
Facebook: @ABNAMROOPEN
Twitter: @abnamroopen
Instagram: @abnamrowtt

Who won the last edition of the ABN AMRO Open in 2022?

Felix Auger-Aliassime won the 2022 ABN AMRO Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match. Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Lloyd Harris and Tim Puetz 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 in the final.

Who holds the ABN AMRO Open record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (3)
Most Titles, Doubles: Anders Jarryd, Nenad Zimonjic, Nicolas Mahut (4)
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 36, in 2018
Youngest Champion: Miloslav Mecir, 20, in 1985
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Jimmy Connors in 1978, Roger Federer in 2005
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 156 Anders Jarryd in 1993
Last Home Champion: Jan Siemerink in 1998
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (28)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Win titles and you will quickly climb the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Though much easier said than done, those are the hopes and dreams for the young stars on the ATP Challenger Tour who are hungry for a professional breakthrough. And all four of this week’s Challenger Tour champions are at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking following their triumphs.

American Aleksandar Kovacevic triumphed in Cleveland for his maiden Challenger crown while Rinky Hijikata won in Burnie, Australia to back up his Grand Slam doubles title Down Under. Matteo Arnaldi and Roman Safiullin also lifted trophies on the Challenger Tour this week.

Kovacevic rallied from a set down in the Cleveland Open final to defeat Wu Yibing 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(2). The American avenged his Indianapolis Challenger loss to Wu, who defeated him in July after fending off six championship points.

En route to the Cleveland title, the former University of Illinois standout needed a deciding set in four of his five matches and took out the top three seeds: Emilio Gomez, Wu and Steve Johnson. The Challenger 75 title lifted Kovacevic to a career-high World No. 125 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Wu, who has reached five Challenger finals within the past year, rose to No. 97 and joined countryman Zhang Zhizhen as the only Chinese men to crack the Top 100. Wu and Zhang also battled through qualifying at the 2022 US Open to become the first Chinese men to compete in the main draw at Flushing Meadows. The Hangzhou-native Wu made a run to the third round before falling to then-World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

From the Australian Open doubles title to collecting a Challenger crown on home soil, Hijikata has had a dream start to 2023. The 21-year-old did not drop a set all week en route to the title at the Caterpillar Burnie International. In the all-Aussie final, Hijikata downed top seed James Duckworth 6-3, 6-3.

“I’m stoked to be able to hold the trophy,” Hijikata said. “I wanted to come here and set my year up well and have a strong tournament. I’m pretty happy with the way I played throughout the whole week. I thought I competed well and kept a good level in all my matches. I think it’s another good stepping stone and hopefully I can keep improving.”

Rinky Hijikata at the 2023 Burnie Challenger. Credit: Cameron Wilson

Hijikata paired with countryman Jason Kubler last month at the Australian Open, where the wild cards went on a fairytale run to collect their maiden major title. Hijikata and Kubler followed in the footsteps of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, who won the 2022 Australian Open title as wild cards.

Following his title in Tasmania, the former University of North Carolina star Hijikata climbed to a career-high World No. 119.

On the Canary island Tenerife, the Italian Arnaldi captured his second Challenger title after needing just 58 minutes to defeat countryman Raul Brancaccio in the final 6-1, 6-2.

“I’m super happy with how I played this week,” Arnaldi said. “After the second-round match, I started to play better and better. I think that was the key to winning the tournament.

“Now I will try to go and play more ATP [Tour-level events]. And to play ATP with two Challenger titles and so many matches behind me, that will help a lot.”

Matteo Arnaldi triumphs at the Tenerife Challenger-2. Credit: MEF Tennis Events

Arnaldi, 21, claimed his maiden Challenger title last May on home soil in Francavilla al Mare. The Sanremo-native was also a finalist at the 2022 San Marino and Saint Tropez Challengers. Arnaldi competed at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals as an alternate, but suffered a round-robin exit. The Italian’s title at the Tenerife Challenger-2 lifted him to a career-high World No. 110.

“Since I was a child, it’s been a goal to be in the Top 100,” Arnaldi said. “I try to think match by match and try my best every day. I know it’s close but still a bit far. I will try my best to get in and be in the main draw for Roland Garros.”

In Germany, second seed Roman Safiullin extended his perfect Challenger-final record to 4-0 when he defeated Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-5 to win the Koblenz Open powered by Outlet Montabaur.

After a strong showing in 2022, including two Challenger titles (Nur-Sultan, Chicago), Safiullin is building upon his momentum. The former junior World No. 2 boasted an 18-6 Challenger record last season and reached two tour-level semi-finals: Marseille (l. Auger-Aliassime) and Tel Aviv (l. Djokovic). Following this week’s triumph in Koblenz, the 25-year-old rose to a career-high World No. 82.

Roman Safiullin collects the title at the 2023 Koblenz Challenger. Credit: Meierhans Fotografie

After a week of ATP Challenger Tour events, players have broken new ground in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week as of Monday, 6 February 2023.

View Pepperstone ATP Rankings

No. 97 Yibing Wu, +15 (Career High)
China’s Yibing Wu has climbed into the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after he reached the final at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Cleveland. The 23-year-old is up 15 spots to a career-high No. 97 and is the second Chinese man inside the Top 100, joining World No. 91 Zhizhen Zhang.

No. 82 Roman Safiullin, +18 (Career High)
The 25-year-old has jumped 18 spots after he clinched his first ATP Challenger Tour title of the year in Germany. Safiullin won four three-set matches before he downed Vasek Pospisil in the final.

Other Notable Movers
No. 100 Vasek Pospisil, +13
No. 110 Matteo Arnaldi, +20 (Career High)
No. 119 Rinky Hijikata, +30 (Career High)

Michael Mmoh and J.J. Wolf spent Sunday in true Texas fashion as they enjoyed time at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Mmoh and Wolf, who are both competing in this week’s Dallas Open, got an inside look at the 80,000-capacity stadium before throwing tight spirals to each other on a replica turf field. And the fun did not stop there.

The Americans then switched to a more familiar playing ground, indulging in a friendly rally of mini tennis. Following Mmoh and Wolf’s third-round clash at the Australian Open just two weeks ago, Sunday’s meeting was all about soaking in time away from the court before competing at the ATP 250 event in Dallas. 

“It was cool to see the stadium without a game being played,” Mmoh said. “You could see the stadium a little more rather than just watching a game. The jumbotron is insane.”

Mmoh added: “I’ve been to two games there before when I’ve been in town. The first time the [Washington Commanders] were playing the Cowboys, division rivalry, I had to go. The Commanders are my favourite team. The second time [the Cowboys] were playing the Patriots and Tom Brady. It was like eight years ago and it was a cool experience.”

Mmoh has spent part of this week sight-seeing the various sporting venues Dallas has to offer. On Thursday, the 25-year-old attended the Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Pelicans NBA game with countryman Christopher Eubanks.

Although Sunday’s experience at the Cowboys’ stadium was far different than watching two NFL teams battle on the gridiron, Mmoh and Wolf seemed right at home as they put to test their backyard football skills.

“J.J. has a pretty good spiral, we were catching some good passes. It was fun,” Mmoh said.

Mmoh is set to meet China’s Wu Yibing in the opening round of the Dallas Open while Cincinnati-native Wolf will face a qualifier.

Borna Coric fired Croatia through to the Davis Cup Finals for a fourth time after ending Austria’s hopes of a final day fightback in their 2023 Qualifier in Rijeka.

The World No. 23 saw off former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem 7-6(3) 6-2 in one hour and 45 minutes to prevent Jurgen Melzer’s visiting side from gaining any further momentum after Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler recorded a surprise triumph over the home side in the doubles.

“It was not easy, but I knew that this is Davis Cup, and this is tennis, and that anything can happen,” said Coric of ending Austria’s resurgence. “I was ready after the doubles match. I was pretty nervous, but I had time to prepare myself for the match. I came out on the court and I was playing great tennis today.”

Austrian’s doubles pair upset Nikola Mektic and Ivan Dodig, the doubles World No. 8 and No. 11, respectively, 6-3 7-6 (11) in one hour and 50 minutes to deny a Croatian clean sweep after the two Borna’s – Borna Coric and Borna Gojo – had won their singles on the opening day.

That left Thiem with an opportunity to take the contest to a deciding fifth match on Sunday afternoon, but the 2020 US Open champion, still on the comeback trail from a wrist injury, struggled for consistency against Coric.

While Coric proved watertight, Thiem threw in 38 unforced errors – to Coric’s 23 – and, though he managed to refocus and hit straight back after gifting Coric the first break of the match in the seventh game, the Croatian ran away with the first set tie-break.

Coric upped the ante in set two as Thiem’s error count mounted, ultimately completing a fifth successive Davis Cup victory on home soil for Croatia in front of their delighted fans.

“I enjoyed the fight, it was great,” said Coric. “It was great to play in front of the home crowd. I was very happy with the way I was playing on the important points. I was very aggressive so I’m super happy with the win.”

“It’s a huge disappointment,” lamented Thiem. “Obviously my match today, but also the fact that I couldn’t help to give my team, my country a point. We lost 1-3, I lost two points out of that, so it’s not a good weekend for me, so the disappointment is big right now.”

Erler and Miedler produced a steely display in the first match of the day. They seized their only break point opportunity early in the opening set and held their nerve in the crucial moments as Dodig and Mektic failed to capitalise on any of their three break point opportunities.

“They’re a really good doubles team and we’re just happy that we could beat them,” said Miedler.

Austria, which played at the Finals in 2021, will return to World Group I on 16-17 September in a clash against one of the winning nations from this weekend’s World Group I playoffs.

Chile Uses Home Crowd To Surge Past Kazakhstan
Cristian Garin suffered a tough blow on Saturday when he won just four games against Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov to begin his country’s Davis Cup Qualifiers tie. But the former World No. 17 flipped the script in a major way Sunday.

In a battle of No. 1 singles players, Garin clawed past Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 59 minutes to send Chile to the Davis Cup Finals.

Bublik had defeated Garin in straight sets last year in Florence, but that clash was on hard courts. This time, Garin was on his preferred clay with the backing of his home crowd.

From the early points of the match those in attendance at Campus Trentino urged their man on, with constant singing to help give him any extra energy they could.

That proved critical to his quick start, as Garin rediscovered his form to play consistent tennis throughout the first set. Bublik struck back in the second set with sublime shotmaking, leaving the Chilean frustrated and keeping the crowd at bay.

The Kazakhstani, who was trying to keep his country’s hopes alive, made a critical mistake earlier in the decider. Bublik double faulted down the T at 1-2 to concede a service break to Garin, and that was the only advantage he needed.

The 26-year-old held to love when he served for the match. And after a tense moment waiting for the chair umpire to check a ball mark following a final forehand, the entire Chilean team swarmed the court to celebrate with Garin, who hit 16 winners in his victory.

It was the clinching triumph for Chile because earlier in the day, Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo defeated Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-4, 7-5 under equally raucous conditions.

“The support of the public was felt at key moments. The rivals felt that pressure,” Tabilo said. “The fans knew when to support and that was essential. Being able to play here in Chile doesn’t happen so much and fortunately we were able to take advantage of it.”

– This story features contributions from DavisCup.com.

To stay at the top of the ATP Tour, you need to be able to adapt and develop. With new stars emerging and a range of styles being implemented, the Tour provides numerous tests.

For Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will star in season one of Netflix’s Break Point, the desire to improve is constant.

“I really plan to push boundaries and try and improve, even during games. [I am] aggressive, slightly creative. I am never really satisfied by doing the same thing over and over again,” Tsitsipas told ATP Uncovered in 2022. “I was trying to find new creative ways to perform certain tasks and play in any condition.”

The Greek has continued to adapt, winning titles every season since he captured his maiden crown in 2018. The ability to stay mentally strong and trust his game in crucial moments has been key to his success, with Tsitsipas highlighting this when reflecting on his title run at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019.

“Serving at 6/4 at the Nitto ATP Finals in London in the tie-break, I think I missed my first serve by very few centimetres. I go for an unpredictable second serve towards Dominic’s forehand. I felt it was the right thing to do, it was kind of instinct. Do the opposite of what he would have expected in such a crucial important moment,” Tsitsipas said.

“I just need to stay alive as much as possible. I need to be in that moment, I need to slow down time. That is something that goes through my head. If I am able to slow time down then see and predict and execute. I guess that is what adrenaline does to you. It kind of makes everything move so far and in such a great flow without thinking sometimes.”

Having triumphed in London, Tsitsipas captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Monte Carlo in 2021. The Greek struggled to add to his trophy tally in 2021, winning just one more title that year before he successfully defended his Monte Carlo trophy in 2022.

The Greek revealed that controlling his own thoughts have been key in him being able to bounce back.

“Having faced those moments in a traumatic way where you’re not able to respond and find ways and fight back and sometimes even win,” Tsitsipas said. “That is when it really kind of gets tough to manage those thoughts once this moment reaches during a match.

“Having to deal with those emotions. Having to deal with your own thoughts. I would say that it’s only you. External pressure in a way that is out of your control. Internally you are in full ownership and control of that.”

Netherlands are through to the Davis Cup Finals for the third time after beating Slovakia 3-0 in Groningen.

The foundations for the victory were laid on Saturday when Tallon Griekspoor and Tim van Rijthoven both stepped up to deliver singles points and put the Netherlands 2-0 ahead.

Those wins left the Dutch team in an incredibly strong position, not least because they could rely on the doubles duo of World No. 1 Wesley Koolhof and No. 19 Matwe Middelkoop to lead them out on Sunday, and they didn’t disappoint, beating Alex Molcan and Lukas Klein 6-3 6-3 to clinch the tie.

Middelkoop and Koolhof – with a combined age of 72 – have now won four of their six Davis Cup doubles matches together, and they were a class apart throughout the one-hour, eight-minute clash.

The pair struck the first blow by breaking in the third game of the match as Koolhof timed his move across the net to perfection and put away a simple volley. The Slovakians looked to respond immediately but Koolhof and Middelkoop saved three break points in the very next game to maintain their advantage.

They soon had the first set having broken both of their opponents’ serves and stayed solid behind their own deliveries.

Slovakia have never come from 0-2 down to win a Davis Cup tie and when Middelkoop fired a backhand down the line winner to go up an early break in the second set, an already mammoth task now looked impossible for the visitors.

The party had already started in the stands of the MartiniPlaza. The fans, dressed predominantly in all orange, were singing and dancing at the change of ends and making their presence felt. All that was left was for Koolhof and Middelkoop to finish the job, which they did emphatically.

“We have the older generation like me, the middle like Wesley, and the young generation. Plus Paul is such an experienced coach. He was a top doubles player and a top singles player and he passes that through the team,” Middelkoop said.”

They will now wait with intrigue to find out which teams they will face in the Group Stages, to be played after the US Open.

Slovakia will now compete in World Group I in September.

On a sensational Sunday in Seoul, South Korea dismantled Belgium’s 2-0 lead in the 2023 Davis Cup Qualifiers by winning the doubles and both singles. It is the first time the nation has overturned such a deficit in the history of the prestigious team event.

The hero of the day was World No. 237 Seong-chan Hong, who kept his cool to defeat Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6(4) in the deciding fifth rubber. Even when nerves were a factor for Hong, who is 122 places below the Belgian in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, he held firm to complete a famous victory for his country.

“I tried to show my strengths as much as I could and tried to frustrate my opponent,” said Hong after the match. “As soon as I started, I thought it was working well today. The atmosphere was good before the game. Of course, I was very nervous, but I was also very excited. After the match point, I thought I showed it.”

The decider was needed after Belgian No.1 David Goffin failed in his bid to wrap up the tie, with Soonwoo Kwon coming from behind to take the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, serving up 11 aces in the process.

“It was not an easy game, but I think I could win thanks to the fans who came to see the game today,” Kwon said. “In the first set, there were a lot of errors because I had too many thoughts,” he added. “But from the second set, I tried to find composure and played well as I thought about the practice game with Goffin.”

The day’s drama started from the first ball as Ji Sung Nam and Ming-Kyu Song threw everything at their doubles opponents in a bid to get Korea on to the scorecard.

Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, who have played together in the competition since 2018, were put under pressure from the beginning by a duo ranked some 100 places below them. The match was dominated by serve, with the Koreans prevailing 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

South Korean captain Seung Kyu Park was full of praise for his players.

“I am so grateful and proud of the players for not giving up and doing their best until the end,” he said. “It’s so good that I don’t know how to express it. The players made history as a team with the coaching staff. It’s like a dream to advance to the finals for two consecutive years and I don’t know if this is real.”

This story features contributions from DavisCup.com