Daniil Medvedev kicked off his grass-court season with victory Thursday, moving past Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The 26-year-old, who is up to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, grew into the match against the Frenchman at the ATP 250 grass-court event. Medvedev saved three set points in the first set as he rallied from 2-5 down, before he clicked into gear in the second set to secure victory after one hour and 54 minutes.

The top seed dominated the longer exchanges with his flat hitting to earn a first victory over Simon, improving to 1-3 in their ATP Head2Head series. He will next play Ilya Ivashka after the World No. 49 defeated Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-2.

Last season Medvedev captured his first grass-court tour-level title in Mallorca. The 13-time tour-level champion is still searching for his first trophy of 2022, with his best result a run to the final at the Australian Open.

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Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced on his debut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, eliminating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2), 7-6(5) in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

The Canadian, who held a 10-3 record on grass in 2021, saved both break points he faced against the home favourite and struck 13 aces to triumph after one hour and 48 minutes. The World No. 9 will next face fifth seed Karen Khachanov or Pole Kamil Majchrzak.

Dutch wild card Tim Van Rijthoven upset World No. 14 Taylor Fritz 6-7(9), 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals on his ATP Tour debut.

The World No. 205, who edged Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden in the first round, fired 18 aces to set up a meeting with Hugo Gaston. In a rain-disrupted match, Frenchman Gaston moved past American Jenson Brooksby 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 26 minutes.

In an-all American clash, #NextGenATP star Brandon Nakashima downed Sam Querrey 7-6(4), 7-6(8) in 89 minutes. The 20-year-old, who is making his debut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, will next play Adrian Mannarino following the Frenchman’s 6-2, 6-3 win over fourth seed Alex de Minaur. Mannarino lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 grass-court event in 2019.

Stefanos Tsitsipas earned his first win on grass since 2019, dispatching Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart on Thursday.

The top seed, who lost to Frances Tiafoe in his only match last year on the surface at Wimbledon, quickly found his range at the ATP 250 event, firing his forehand through the court in a rain-disrupted match to triumph against the #NextGenATP star after 72 minutes.

“I could work a little bit on the percentage of the first serve, which could be higher. Otherwise I was very involved with my footwork,” Tsitsipas said. “Being very active on the first ball on the serve, pushing my opponent back. It was a good match.”

Tsitsipas has now recorded a Tour-leading 35 victories this season, highlighted by his run to the title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April. His last win on grass prior to his victory over Stricker came against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy at the Cinch Championships in June 2019.

The Greek wild card is making his debut in Stuttgart and will next play former World No. 1 Andy Murray. It will be the second ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair, with Tsitsipas running out a winner in five sets at the US Open in 2021.

Tsitsipas reached finals in Rotterdam and Rome earlier this season, but arrived at the grass-court tournament in Germany off the back of a disappointing fourth-round exit at Roland Garros.

Stricker, who defeated Maxime Cressy in the first round, was facing a Top 10 opponent for the first time in his career. The 19-year-old won an ATP Challenger Tour title in Cleveland in February.

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Australian Nick Kyrgios advanced to the quarter-finals in Stuttgart for the second time, moving past fifth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

“He is a hell of a player. He is the World No. 25 for a reason and he has beaten some great opponents, so I knew he is dangerous,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “When he gets in his groove he is hard to get out of. I am just really happy with the way I competed.”

The 27-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in Germany in 2018, fired 20 aces and won 83 per cent (49/59) of his first-serve points to set a meeting with Marton Fucsovics after the Hungarian edged third seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 6-7(9), 6-3.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray reached his second tour-level quarter-final of the season Thursday, overcoming seventh seed Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6(4) at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart.

In windy conditions, the Scot, who is making his debut at the ATP 250 grass-court event, returned well and showed his fighting spirit, saving three set points in the second set as he rallied from 2-5 to eventually advance after one hour and 42 minutes.

“He is predictable in his unpredictability. You are prepared for some amazing shots and then maybe some loose games,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “Today he played some amazing stuff for five or six games in the second set and everything was coming off and I was getting a bit frustrated, but I kept fighting. Held a tough game at 2-5 and I thought I played well through to the finish.”

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Murray opted to miss most of the clay-court swing to focus on his grass preparations and it is a decision that is paying off so far. The 35-year-old found his rhythm at the Surbiton Trophy ATP Challenger Tour event last week, reaching the semi-finals and is yet to drop a set in his opening two matches in Stuttgart.

The win lifts Murray to No. 59 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. If the Scot can reach the semi-finals, he would move to the edge of the Top 50. The last time Murray was inside the Top 50 was in May 2018.

“It was quite tricky the conditions today, it was quite blustery,” Murray added. “I moved well on the courts well. The court is very dry, so it is nice to move on and hopefully into the weekend the conditions will be a bit calmer and I can play some better tennis.”

The 46-time tour-level titlist now leads Bublik 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series and has improved to 112-23 on grass. Murray, who advanced to the final in Sydney on hard in January, will next play top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In other action, Germany’s Oscar Otte continued to impress on home soil, upsetting fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to advance to his third tour-level quarter-final of the year.

The World No. 61 saved one set point on serve at 4-5, 30/40 in the first set, before he held his nerve in the second-set tie-break to advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

It is the second time the 28-year-old has defeated a Top 20 player this season after eliminating then-World No. 17 Reilly Opelka en route to the semi-finals in Munich. Otte will next face Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

In a match that resumed on Thursday, Italian Lorenzo Sonego edged Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(2), 7-6(4) to book a meeting with second seed Matteo Berrettini. Sonego now holds a 13-6 record on grass, having lifted his first ATP Tour title on the surface in Antalya in 2019.

The ATP has announced Phase One approval of ‘OneVision’, a long-term transformational Strategic Plan designed to take tennis to new heights from 2023.

With tennis boasting more than a billion global tennis fans, an emerging generation of superstar players and a content offering perfectly suited for the digital age, OneVision establishes robust foundations for future growth of the sport.

In development by ATP leadership since 2020, the ambitious plan introduces a groundbreaking set of reforms across the ATP Tour, reducing fragmentation, aligning interests between players and tournaments, and repositioning tennis within the increasingly competitive entertainment landscape. OneVision is made up of two independent phases and centres on three core principles: driving unity, enhancing the fan experience, and leveraging scalable growth opportunities in media, data, content and tech.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “Our sport has huge upside and stands on the cusp of a new era of growth. Fulfilling our potential requires us to be united, pursue new growth opportunities and focus on what matters most: the fans. OneVision gives us a game plan to do just that. Its launch represents a game-changing moment for the Tour and a huge collective effort across our sport. I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come.”

The approval of Phase One by the ATP Board marks a major milestone for the ATP Tour. It follows more than two years of extensive consultation with the ATP Board, Player and Tournament Councils and ATP’s Advisory Board of industry experts from media and tech. Coming into play from January 2023, it introduces major reforms and game-changing benefits.

For the first time in the history of the ATP Tour, audited tournament financials will provide full transparency to players on the economics of tournaments. In tandem, a groundbreaking 50/50 profit sharing formula will align the interests of players and tournaments in growing the game as partners in success.

Through the expansion of several ATP Masters 1000 events, the Tour will provide more premium action for fans across the season and more earning opportunities for players. Five additional top-tier tournaments will grow from eight-day (56 Draw) to 12-day (96 Draw) events over the coming seasons, in line with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open presented by Itau:

– Mutua Madrid Open (from 2023)
– Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome, from 2023)
– Rolex Shanghai Masters (from 2023)
– National Bank Open presented by Rogers (Canada, from 2025)
– Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati, from 2025)

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This expansion is in turn set to deliver an immediate uplift at the Masters 1000 level, with prize money at the five expanded top tier events increasing by more than 35 per cent between 2022 and 2025. The year-end Bonus Pool is projected to almost double in the near term and will now be distributed to the Top 30 players (up from 12). Additionally, a brand-new element of profit sharing based on the financial performance of the tournaments, has the potential to provide further financial support to more than 140 players.

Also from 2023, new tournament category agreements for ATP Masters 1000 and ATP 500 tournaments will become effective to provide long-term stability to the Tour and to enable major investment into the sport, while elevating all event standards for players, media and fans.

Aggregation of tournament media rights into ATP Media, the sales, production and distribution arm of the ATP, and the recently formed Tennis Data Innovations, an entity fully dedicated to the professional exploitation of data, will enable the Tour to provide an enhanced integrated experience for fans worldwide. Importantly, this will open up major growth opportunities in media and data, two highly scalable revenue streams. Embracing the digital transformation will also shift the Tour away from over-reliance on ticketing, a concerted move seen across many other major sports.

Lastly, OneVision will usher in a new era of corporate governance and professional decision-making, through an expanded and restructured ATP Board composition, alongside new checks and balances to protect against conflicts of interest.

Development of Phase Two of OneVision is currently ongoing, with the vision of creating a unified governance structure and operating model across the wider sport, exploiting key synergies and delivering greater support for lower levels of tennis through incremental growth.

Phase Two development remains a collective effort across tennis’ bodies, the ATP, WTA, ITF, Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Recent collaboration has yielded encouraging results including the announcement of a joint Netflix series, a collective response to the global pandemic, greater consistency and alignment across rules and format, as well as coordinated fundraising initiatives. Resounding endorsement by leading industry experts, in parallel with decision-making challenges on complex issues due to the current fragmentation, have further highlighted the major opportunity that lies in bringing the wider sport together.

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Wednesday was a day of celebration for 33 students as they celebrated their graduation from the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar alongside Spanish legend Rafael Nadal.

The 36-year-old, who captured a historic 14th Roland Garros title last week, presided over the ceremony. The World No. 4 gave a motivating speech to the students, while he praised their families and teachers for the support they had offered over the years.

“I know that the fashion now is immediacy and that patience is not a greatly valued virtue,” Nadal said. “When we want something, all we have to do is pick up our mobiles and make a purchase, read an article or get the information we need.

“But today I would like to remind you that the greatest goals in life are not achieved from one day to the next. They are achieved by fighting, struggling and learning when you fall down. I’m convinced that all of you will be great professionals and good people, which is the most important thing.

“But I can also tell you, through experience, that along the way you will have unexpected moments and disappointments that will make you question everything. In those moments, you must rely on your family, your loved ones and the people you trust, who will remind you what your dreams and goals were so that you can dream of them again.”

NBA star Ricky Rubio also spoke at the ceremony. The students attended the academy’s school, the American International School of Mallorca, and are the sixth cohort to graduate.

Rubio encouraged the young students to work hard and succeed in the face of adversity, joining previous year’s guests including Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova in sharing words of wisdom.

Jenson Brooksby made a confident start to his second-round match with Hugo Gaston at the Libema Open, but persistent rain prevented any matches from being completed Wednesday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

After both players dropped their opening service games, eighth seed Brooksby broke Gaston again in the sixth game to take charge of the first set before the rain arrived. The American leads Gaston 4-2 and 30/0 on his own serve in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, with play scheduled to resume on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time.

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No other play was possible Wednesday due to the inclement weather in The Netherlands, where Daniil Medvedev is the top seed at the grass-court event. The World No. 2 is now scheduled to make his tournament debut Thursday against James Duckworth or Gilles Simon, with second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also set to start his campaign against home favourite Tallon Griekspoor.