There are three ATP Tour events this week with many of the world’s biggest stars in action. One player in the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships doubles draw sticks out: Hyeon Chung.

The South Korean, who won the 2017 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals and advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals less than three months later, has not competed since September 2020 due to a back injury. Chung is making his return on the doubles court alongside countryman Soonwoo Kwon.

“Due to my injuries, I needed to [stay on the] sideline over the [past] few years and then finally I made it back on court again,” Chung said. “I’m feeling just so happy to play tennis again.”

According to Chung, his lower back injury required constant treatment and rehab, which is why he was unable to compete since Roland Garros qualifying in 2020. He only played six matches at all levels that year.

“I had to treat it and rehab, treat and rehab all the time,” Chung said. “Then [it was] training, training, training and rehab for like [the whole] two years.”

Although Chung is only playing doubles this week, he is soon making his singles return. The South Korean plans to play on the ATP Challenger Tour in his home country in the coming weeks and see how that goes.

“[My] first goal for sure is [to suffer] no injuries, so staying healthy,” Chung said. “This is my first competition after two years, so I don’t want to rush, I don’t want to push too hard.”

It is not long ago Chung was one of the fastest-rising players on the ATP Tour. After his run to the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018, he soon reached a career-high No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now he does not have a ranking at all.

But Chung, who has missed the competition the most during his time away, is remaining patient and enjoying this moment as he begins his journey back towards the sop of the sport.

“[There are] many feelings coming together, like happiness and a little bit nervousness because I didn’t play for two years,” Chung said. “But I’m just happy to play again, especially at home where I live in Seoul.”

Novak Djokovic competed over the weekend at the Laver Cup, which not only served as a competition between Team Europe and Team World, but a celebration of the now-retired Roger Federer’s career. The Serbian was happy to partake in the special moment.

“I have a massive respect for Roger, and to what he had contributed to our sport. He had an epic career, he can be proud of it. He’s one of the most recognised athletes of all time,” Djokovic said. “His retirement is a sad moment for tennis.”

Djokovic is 35, but is not thinking about retirement yet. The 88-time tour-level titlist, who is currently No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is eager to maintain his high level.

“I still want to play tennis even though I achieved pretty much everything that you can achieve in tennis,” Djokovic said. “I still have passion and hunger to play at a highest professional level.” 

^{Photo Credit: Tel Aviv Watergen Open}
That journey has taken him this week to Tel Aviv, where the Serbian will compete in the Tel Aviv Watergen Open. The top seed will play Spaniard Pablo Andujar or Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in his opening match.

“I was committed to play at Laver Cup and I also wanted to play for three weeks in a row, so Tel Aviv was a perfect choice for me,” Djokovic said. “Also because I haven’t been here for a while and the last time here I had a fantastic experience.”

In 2006, an 18-year-old Djokovic competed in a Davis Cup tie in Israel. He is excited to be back in the country.

“It was the loudest atmosphere I ever experienced, very passionate people for sport here. I love to see that. And I also visited Jerusalem on my second visit to Israel, but it was a while ago. I forgot many things, so I’ll definitely come back again,” Djokovic said. “This week is mostly about tennis for me, I hope to play well here and to see a lot of people come to watch my matches.” 

Djokovic is also playing doubles this week, partnering 45-year-old Israeli Jonathan Erlich, who is retiring after the tournament. Djokovic’s only ATP Tour doubles title came at Erlich’s side in 2010 at Queen’s Club.

“He agreed to play with me! It’s the other way around,” Djokovic said, cracking a laugh. “That’s his last tournament and I am honoured to be next to him on the court at this time, in front of his crowd in his hometown. Hopefully it won’t be just one match, we will try to go as far as possible.”

Djokovic said he practised for two hours on Tuesday and that he is “feeling good and happy that injuries are now behind” him. That is allowing the 21-time Grand Slam winner and 38-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist to fully focus on playing the best tennis he can.

“There isn’t one secret or one key that solves all the problems. It’s a combination of things that are part of your character: who you are, how you train, what’s your lifestyle. It all creates the image of success,” Djokovic said. “That formula [has] worked for me. But I also try some new things, because I always want to progress. Especially when you have guys like [Carlos] Alcaraz, who is full of power and adrenaline. So you always have to figure out how to improve and take yourself to a higher level.”

Botic van de Zandschulp wasted no time settling in Tuesday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, where the fifth-seeded Dutchman dispatched Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-3 at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

Van de Zandschulp was particularly dominant on serve in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with four-time Tour titlist Sousa. The Dutchman won 83 per cent (29/35) of points behind his first delivery, while also crushing 28 winners to Sousa’s six as he completed a 81-minute first-round victory.

With the win, van de Zandschulp improved his record in first-round matches in 2022 to 18-6, and 10-2 on hard courts. The Dutchman, who played in his maiden ATP Tour final on the clay in Munich in May, will hope to notch his 37th tour-level win of the season in the second round against Liam Broady. The British qualifier earlier downed Serbian wild card Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 6-3.

Van de Zandschulp’s triumph was followed by a first-round upset on the centre court in Tel Aviv, where Tomas Martin Etcheverry rallied after losing a one-sided second-set tie-break to complete a 6-2, 6-7(0), 6-4 win against sixth seed Aslan Karatsev. The win against the World No. 39 was the biggest of Etcheverry’s career, and the Argentine’s reward is a second-round clash against Roman Safiullin.

Also on Tuesday, Arthur Rinderknech set a first tour-level meeting with third seed Diego Schwartzman in the second round in Israel. The big-serving Frenchman, a quarter-finalist in Metz last week, prevailed 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 against Romanian qualifier Marius Copil. Emil Ruusuvuori was also a first-round winner, breaking J.J. Wolf’s serve five times in a 6-3, 6-2 win to advance to face one of two Frenchmen ⁠— seventh seed Adrian Mannarino or Constant Lestienne.

The ATP Tour has returned to Tel Aviv for the first time since 1996 this week. The 88-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic is the top seed on the Mediterranean Coast, where the Serbian is also competing in the doubles alongside home favourite Jonathan Erlich.

There was little to separate Holger Rune and Tim van Rijthoven in a hard-hitting first-round clash at the Sofia Open on Tuesday afternoon.

Yet Rune’s ability to raise his level in a pair of tie-breaks ultimately proved decisive in Bulgaria, where the #NextGenATP Dane prevailed 7-6(2), 7-6(6) to ensure his maiden appearance at the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event was a successful one.

“It feels very good,” said Rune, who reached his career-high of No. 26 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August. “I had just a couple of days of practice here, but I’m really enjoying my time. It’s a tough first round, you never know who can play amazing [and he’s had] some great results, so I’m super happy to get through.”

Despite firing only 18 winners to Van Rijthoven’s 27, Rune showed his mettle under pressure at key moments in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, most significantly when he saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break.

“[I didn’t] want to go to three sets,” said Rune, who will meet Metz champion Lorenzo Sonego or Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the next round. “I had the break and led 5/2 in the [second-set] tie-break. If it [had happened], I was going to fight for sure and try to take it in three, but I’m very happy to finish in two.”

The 19-year-old Rune enjoyed a stellar first half of 2022, lifting his first ATP Tour title in Munich and reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros. Despite struggling to back up those results across the grass and North American hard-court seasons, the Dane is currently fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan as he seeks to qualify for November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second straight year.

“I’m really working hard every day and trying to improve any small things I can,” said Rune. “I think today I stayed very focused all the time. I lost my focus one time on my serve, when maybe I shouldn’t have been broken, but other than that I’m happy with my first match. The first match is always a bit difficult.”

Jenson Brooksby’s resolve was given an early test at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Tuesday, but the eighth seed dug deep before accelerating away from qualifier Wu Tung-Lin to seal a 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-0 first-round victory at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

Wu exerted plenty of pressure on Brooksby’s serve in the two-hour, 20-minute encounter, but the American found a way to save nine of the 11 break points he faced against the World No. 212. Brooksby fended off three set points at 5-6 before going on to take the first-set tie-break, but Wu levelled the match with two second-set breaks of serve as the 24-year-old from Chinese Taipei showed no sign of nerves in his first match against a Top 50 opponent.

Rise-n-Grind 🔥

Jenson Brooksby pulling out all the stops to finally break Wu in Seoul. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/wzWC38Oiuh

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 27, 2022

Brooksby, who reached ATP Tour finals this year in Dallas and Atlanta, reacted to that setback in style, delivering a clinical deciding-set showing to book a second-round meeting against Soonwoo Kwon. The top-ranked South Korean in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Kwon overcame his countryman Yunseong Chung 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-1 in the final match of the day at the outdoor hard-court tournament.

Also on Tuesday, Yoshihito Nishioka maintained his unbeaten record against Daniel Evans with a 6-2, 7-6(3) triumph against the fifth-seed. The Japanese World No. 56 carved out 14 break point chances against Evans, converting four of them to complete a one-hour, 49-minute victory and extend his ATP Head2Head series lead against the Briton to 6-0. Nishioka will take on countryman Taro Daniel or Emilio Gomez in the second round.

Mackenzie McDonald and Steve Johnson joined their countryman Brooksby in the second round in Seoul with straight-sets victories on Tuesday. The World No. 82 McDonald downed Pedro Martinez 7-5, 6-4 to set a meeting against third seed Taylor Fritz, while four-time tour-level titlist Johnson proved too strong for home wild card JiSung Nam. Johnson prevailed 7-6(3), 6-4 against the South Korean and will next face Radu Albot.

Nicolas Jarry will be top seed Casper Ruud’s second-round opponent in Seoul, after the Chilean qualifier prevailed 6-3, 7-6(8) against Ryan Peniston in his opening match. #NextGenATP star Chun-Hsin Tseng also advanced Tuesday in the South Korean capital after his opponent Christopher O’Connell was forced to retire from the pair’s first-round clash with Tseng having taken the first set 6-4.

Dominic Thiem didn’t have things all his own way Monday, but he stepped up when needed to reach the second round at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open.

The Austrian wild card improved on serve and found his range as the match went on to overcome Laslo Djere 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

“I didn’t get off to a great start. I got the break in the second set and then I was a bit lucky I could turn the match around,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “The third set was a real grind… I am very grateful to everyone who came tonight. It is really nice to play in Israel.”

The former World No. 3 Thiem, who reached the final at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Rennes earlier this month, will next play second seed Marin Cilic as he aims to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

In a hard-fought battle, Thiem fired 25 winners and was strong on serve in the third set, not facing a break point in the decider to level his ATP Head2Head series against Djere at 1-1.

In other action, Roman Safiullin defeated Frenchman Hugo Grenier 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and four minutes to earn his first tour-level win since he defeated Mikael Ymer in Belgrade in April.

Two players claimed their first ATP Challenger Tour title Sunday. American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran was crowned champion in Braga, Portugal while Bosnia’s Nerman Fatic triumphed at the Sibiu Challenger.

Moreno de Alboran won seven matches in eight days as he advanced through qualifying en route to the title at the Braga Open, defeating Brazil’s Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

The 25-year-old’s maiden Challenger title comes five months after he relinquished serving for a straight-sets victory in the Salinas Challenger final, eventually falling to Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez.

“I’m very happy, it’s been a very emotional week,” Moreno de Alboran said. “It’s been a tough year for me with a lot of injuries so coming here, qualifying, and then winning the tournament means a lot. I’ve put in a lot of work to be here.”

Moreno de Alboran, who was born in New York City and played college tennis at UC Santa Barbara, now resides in Madrid, Spain. Backing up a run to the semi-finals at the Cordenons Challenger in August (l. Vavassori), this week’s title in Portugal lifts him to a career-high No. 201 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Pucinelli de Almeida, 21, was competing in his first Challenger final; a run that lifts him to a career-high World No. 190.

Fatic, 27, won the all-Bosnian clash in the Sibiu Open final, defeating Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-4.

“It was a crazy week,” Fatic said. “I was playing really well, I didn’t expect this result. I’ve been working hard all my life to achieve this.”

Nerman Fatic celebrates his maiden Challenger Tour title. Credit: Drogos Dumitru/Zeppelin Studio Focus Agency

In Fatic’s semi-final match, he took down top-seeded Federico Coria, to whom he dropped his only set en route to the title in Romania. In the championship match, Fatic, who now climbs to a career-high mark No. 196, defeated his close friend and former World No. 23 Dzumhur.

“Me and Damir were pretty much raised together in Bosnia,” Fatic said. “It is tough to have a tennis career there, but if you have the will and passion, doors will open and you’ll find a way.”

At the ATP Challenger 125 event in Genoa, Italy, Thiago Monteiro captured his second Challenger title of the season, taking down home favourite Andrea Pellegrino in the final 6-1, 7-6(2).

As rain halted play on Saturday, the Brazilian was forced to win back-to-back matches on Sunday to collect his eighth Challenger title. The 28-year-old’s championship run at the AON Open Challenger ties him at his career-high mark No. 62, which he reached this past month shortly after triumphing at the Salzburg Challenger.

“It was a perfect week,” Monteiro said. “I’m really happy to win in Genoa, it’s a beautiful city and a beautiful tournament. I’d like to dedicate this victory to my family and to all my team that works with me.”

Monteiro is riding a 10-match winning streak at the Challenger level and boasts a 18-6 Challenger match record in 2022. When the lefty made his ATP Tour debut in 2016, he defeated then-World No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Rio de Janeiro.

Thiago Monteiro in action during the Genoa Challenger final. Credit: Tiziano Meoni

In Genoa doubles action, German Dustin Brown teamed up with Italian Andrea Vavassori to win their third doubles title this season at the Challenger level (Cordenons and Szczecin). Brown also paired with American Evan King to collect the Troisdorf title in May.

On the hard-courts in Columbus, Ohio, Australian Jordan Thompson didn’t drop a set en route to claiming his second Challenger title of the season, taking down Emilio Gomez 7-6(6), 6-2 in the championship match.

During a nine-match winning streak this summer, Thompson dropped just one set to triumph at the Surbiton Challenger and finished runner-up in Nottingham the following week (l. Evans).

In 2018, The Sydney native collected 52 Challenger match wins (including reaching the final in Columbus, l. Mmoh), a Challenger Tour season record that is only behind Carlos Berlocq’s 57 Challenger match wins in 2010.

Thompson reached a career-high No. 43 in July 2019, shortly after reaching the final at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Argentine Nicolas Kicker won his first Challenger title since 2017 on home soil, defeating countryman Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-3 to win the Challenger Dove Men+Care Villa Maria.

Kicker, 30, finished runner-up at the Todi Challenger in July (l. Cachin) and is a four-time tiltist on the Challenger Tour: Perugia, Guayaquil, Buenos Aires, and this week in Villa Maria. Players from Argentina have combined for a season-leading 18 Challenger titles.

Argentine Nicolas Kicker is crowned champion in Villa Maria. Credit: Challenger Dove Men+Care Villa Maria

In 2017, Kicker made his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, where he claimed a first-round victory (d. Dzumhur), which propelled him to a career-high No. 78. The following season, the Argentine reached the third round at the Australian Open.

Navone took out three of the Top-8 seeds en route to the final, defeating countrymen Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and Facundo Bagnis. The 21-year-old climbs to a career-high No. 265.

Ilya Ivashka and Mikael Ymer closed Monday’s play at the Sofia Open with the match of the day. After three hours and 22 minutes, Ivashka emerged victorious, 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5, at the ATP 250 in Bulgaria.

The two men split 10 breaks of serve across 24 combined break points, Ivashka sealing victory by battling through deuce to break in the final game. Both men struggled on serve, posting matching 57 per cent win rates on their deliveries, while Ivashka saved eight of 13 break points.

The World No. 71, who reached the fourth round at the US Open before losing a five-setter to Jannik Sinner, will face third seed and home favourite Grigor Dimitrov in the Sofia second round.

In other Monday main-draw action, Kamil Majchrzak defeated Ricardas Berankis 7-5, 6-2 and Bulgaria’s Alexandar Lazarov downed Czech #NextGenATP star Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-3 in front of his home fans.

For Lazarov, the World No. 334, it was his first win at an ATP Tour tournament and his first Top 100 triumph.

“I was waiting a long time for this win,” said the Miami-born Bulgarian. “I’m playing this tournament since [2016]. I always dreamed to pass the first round in front of the Bulgarian crowd and I finally made it, so I’m very, very happy.

“It’s extra special. I’m a late bloomer, what they call, because I’m 24. But I think that hard work beats talent and I hope I get to realise what I can do.”

In the final day of qualifying, top seeds Ugo Humbert, Jan-Lennard Struff and Geoffrey Blancaneaux advanced to the main draw, as did Sweden’s Dragos Nicolae Madaras.