Daniil Medvedev moved a step closer to celebrating his impending return to World No. 1 with a trophy thanks to a gritty display against Ilya Ivashka in the quarter-finals at the Libema Open on Friday.

The top seed was clinical in taking his chances in a tight opening set and was resilient in defence in the second to complete a 7-6(8), 6-4 victory at the ATP 250 event in in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Although Medvedev struggled to find his free-flowing best against the World No. 41, he displayed top-class movement to frustrate his opponent and wrap up a one-hour, 51-minute victory.

“I didn’t do so good in the beginning of the first set, but finally we both managed to find our rhythm, there were great points,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. “It was a matter of a few points where sometimes I served well or got a bit lucky at 8-8 [a net cord in the first-set tie-break], and that’s tennis sometimes. So today I was better in the deciding moments and sometimes luck was on my side, and that made a big difference.”

Regardless of how much further he progresses in The Netherlands, Medvedev is set to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday when ranking points from 2021 Roland Garros drop. The 26-year-old feels the grass represents a big opportunity for him to solidify that position.

“I don’t have many points to defend on grass and I have some to win, so hopefully I can play well, starting here,” he said. “Every round is points and the higher you get, the more you need to step up.”

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An intriguing first set saw both players struggle to find their rhythm and four consecutive breaks from the third game reflected an error-strewn contest as neither player was able to take charge. That pattern continued into the tie-break, but it was Medvedev who found the consistency to take the set as he fended off an Ivashka set point before converting his third to edge ahead.

Medvedev struggled to regularly hit through Ivashka with his groundstrokes, ´but he stayed alert to deal with everything his opponent threw at him in the pair’s third tour-level meeting. Ivashka grew into the match and struck the ball cleanly to test the World No. 2 but Medvedev effectively nullified his power before finding a crucial moment to strike. The top seed produced a high-quality game at 5-4 in the second set, breaking to love to reach his first semi-final since Acapulco in February.

The win earned Medvedev a 2-1 lead in his ATP Head2Head series with Ivashka, who is winless in his three tour-level quarter-finals in 2022.

Medvedev’s semi-final opponent is Adrian Mannarino. The Frenchman, who won the most recent edition of the ATP 250 event in The Netherlands in 2019, earlier overcame #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, 6-7(5, 6-1, 6-4.

Patience was a virtue for Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Friday.

The Dutch-British duo were made to wait until their sixth match point to seal a 6-7(4), 6-2, 14-12 quarter-final victory at the Libema Open as Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp showed admirable resistance at the ATP 250 event in The Netherlands.

Koolhof and Skupski had rallied strongly in the second set to level the match after dropping the opening-set tie-break. That momentum carried them to a 9/6 advantage in the Match Tie-break, but McDonald and van de Zandschulp recovered that deficit in a dramatic climax that also saw the unseeded American-Dutch pairing let slip a match point of their own at 11/10.

Second seeds Koolhof and Skupski ultimately proved too strong, however, completing a one-hour, 47-minute win to book a semi-final against Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop. Home favourites Haase and Middelkoop are chasing their second title in the Netherlands this year after lifting the trophy in Rotterdam in February.

Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo upset top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut to also book their spot in the final four. The South African-Brazilian pairing prevailed 7-6(6), 6-4 over the all-French duo in the Netherlands, where their semi-final opponents will be fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell. The Australians overcame Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 2-6, 6-4, 10-7.

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Hurkacz/Pavic Book Final Spot In Stuttgart

At the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, Hubert Hurkacz and Mate Pavic edged Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov to book a spot in the championship match at the ATP 250 event.

Hurkacz and Pavic are playing their first tournament together this week in Germany, but the fledgling partnership stayed strong to sneak a 7-6(1), 7-6(5) semi-final triumph in south-west Germany.

The narrow defeat capped a day of mixed emotions for Bopanna and Shapovalov, who had held their nerve to clinch a 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 quarter-final victory over Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi earlier on Friday.

Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to his third semi-final of the season Friday, overcoming fifth seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(5), 6-4 at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The Canadian, who is making his debut at the ATP 250 grass-court event, backed up his opening-round win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor with an attacking performance against Khachanov. The second seed fired eight aces and broke twice to advance after one hour and 49 minutes, improving to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series with the 26-year-old.

Auger-Aliassime now holds a 20-8 record on grass, having advanced to finals in Stuttgart in 2019 and 2021. The World No. 9 is aiming to clinch his second title of the year this week, after triumphing in Rotterdam in February.

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The Canadian will next play Dutch wild card Tim Van Rijthoven after the World No. 205 continued his dream run with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over Frenchman Hugo Gaston.

“I am surprised to be in the semi-finals at an ATP event,” Van Rijthoven said. “I think the performance overall today was very good from my side. I served very well again. One game I had chances on his serve and I took the chance and served it out.”

The 25-year-old is making his ATP Tour debut this week and built on his standout wins over Matthew Ebden and Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz by producing a strong serving display against Gaston. Van Rijthoven fired 12 aces and did not face a break point to seal victory after 83 minutes.

Prize money for Wimbledon will total a record £40,350,000 in 2022, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced.

The figure represents a £5,334,000 (15 per cent) increase from the 2021 edition of The Championships, and a £2,350,000 (6.2 per cent) increase on the previous record figure from 2019. The prize money is equal across the men’s and women’s draws.

The third major of the year will take place from 27 June to 10 July at the All England Club in London, where Novak Djokovic is the defending men’s singles champion. Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the defending men’s double’s champions.

Men’s & Women’s Singles Prize Money

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Matteo Berrettini’s return to Tour continued to gather pace Friday, when the Italian edged countryman Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second semi-final of the season at the BOSS Open In Stuttgart.

The World No. 10 is competing for the first time since he underwent a minor operation on his right hand in March. Despite being sidelined for three months, the 26-year-old has quickly found his range at an event he triumphed at in his only previous appearance in 2019.

“It was a really tough match,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview. “Lorenzo was playing really well. I wasn’t feeling that comfortable but it is normal. I haven’t played for three months and it isn’t easy to come back. The crowd helped me and my team is always here. I am happy with the win.”

Berrettini, who moved past Radu Albot in his opening match, took the ball early against Sonego to dictate with his powerful forehand, forcing the 27-year-old deep behind the baseline to advance after two hours and 19 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“It is really nice, we are playing in the best tournaments in the world against each other,” Berrettini said when discussing how he felt playing against friend Sonego. “We started playing against each other aged 10, so it is really nice to see where we are. He is a really nice guy, we hit a lot together.”

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The Italian reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January and now holds an 11-6 record on the season. He will next face Oscar Otte at the ATP 250 grass-court tournament after the German received a walkover from Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

Berrettini enjoyed success on the grass last year, soaring to the title at the Cinch Championships, before he reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Andy Murray earned his first Top 5 win since 2016 at the BOSS OPEN Friday, upsetting World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in Stuttgart.

The former World No. 1 showed his grass-court pedigree throughout the one-hour, 40-minute encounter, using his backhand slice to keep the ball low, while he moved inside the baseline to effectively close points at the net.

“It was an amazing atmosphere,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “Almost full crowd. Beautiful weather today, really nice conditions to play tennis… I thought I did well. He served unbelievably in the first set.

“I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances on my serve, I stayed strong. I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points. It was a good performance.”

With his standout victory over the Greek, Murray levelled their ATP Head2Head series at 1-1 and improved to 113-23 on grass. The Scot, who saved one set point against Tsitsipas in the first set, is aiming to capture his ninth trophy on the surface and will next play Nick Kyrgios. The Australian, who reached the semi-finals in Houston in April, was leading Marton Fucsovics 7-6(3), 3-0 when the Hungarian retired.

“In the first set he seemed that he was in a groove on his serve. In the first set I wasn’t able to get many opportunities, he was very solid,” Kyrgios said. “I think he really likes the grass. He has had some good results at Wimbledon. I wasn’t feeling that great at the back of the court, but if I am serving 215kmh and hitting the good spots on this court it is almost impossible to return. Hopefully I can bring more of that tomorrow.”

Kyrgios now holds a 27-15 record on grass, having enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at The Queen’s Club in 2018.

Murray’s last victory over a Top 5 opponent came against Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2016, the same year he reached his last grass-court singles final (Wimbledon).

The 35-year-old, who opted to miss the bulk of the clay swing to prepare for the grass-court events, is up to No. 53 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The last time Murray was inside the Top 50 was in May 2018.

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In a tight match, little separated the pair in the first set, with both players strong behind serve. The Scot saved one set point on serve at 5-6, before he found his best level in the tie-break to move ahead. Fuelled by confidence, Murray went on the attack in the second set, gaining the decisive break in the sixth game with a trademark backhand pass. He then held his nerve on serve to gain revenge for his defeat to Tsitsipas at the US Open last year.

Tsitsipas was seeking to win his second title of the season but first career trophy on grass on debut in Stuttgart. The 23-year-old has earned a Tour-leading 35 wins this year, but was unable to consistently find his best level against Murray in front of a lively crowd in Germany.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas advanced to their second quarter-final of the season Thursday, moving past Gijs Brouwer and Tim Van Rijthoven 7-6(7), 6-4 at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The top seeds, who lifted the trophy in Montpellier in February, saved two set points in the first-set tie-break before sealing victory after 86 minutes at the ATP 250 grass-court event.

The Frenchmen will next play Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo after the South African-Brazilian team downed Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-6(13), 6-4. Prior to this week, Klaasen and Melo last teamed in 2015, winning titles in Tokyo and Shanghai.

Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp overcame Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 6-3, 4-6, 10-7. McDonald and van de Zandschulp are teaming for the second time, having reached the semi-finals in Doha in February.

They will next meet Julio Peralta and David Vega Hernandez or second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. Koolhof and Skupski have captured a Tour-leading four titles this season.

Fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell also advanced, edging Alex de Minaur and Luke Saville 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-7 in an-all Australian clash. They will next face Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Puetz/Venus March On In Stuttgart
Tim Puetz and Michael Venus advanced to the semi-finals at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, downing Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-7.

The German-New Zealand tandem won the title in Dubai earlier this season and arrived at the ATP 250 grass-court tournament off the back of a run to the third round at Roland Garros.