Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski capped off another dominant week in style Friday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

The third seeds defeated Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov 7-6(4), 6-1 to capture the title in Doha.

The Dutch-British pair dropped just one set en route to the championship match and played with confidence throughout against Bopanna and Shapovalov. They combined strong serving with deep returns to dictate and triumph after 78 minutes.

With their victory, Koolhof and Skupski are now 16-2 on the year, having clinched three tour-level titles since they first teamed at the start of the season. They lifted trophies on Australian soil at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Adelaide International 2 in January.

Individually, Koolhof has now won 10 tour-level crowns, while Skupski has earned eight titles at this level.

Bopanna and Shapovalov were seeking their first trophy together, after also reaching the final in Stuttgart in 2019.

When the rain came pouring down at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Thursday evening, #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was on hand to save the day for the stranded ball kids.

Moments after play was suspended due to heavy rain during Alcaraz’s match against Federico Delbonis in Rio de Janeiro, the 18-year-old quickly rushed under cover to avoid a soaking.

Wholesome rain delay content 😊☂️@alcarazcarlos03 and the ball kids sharing an umbrella is what we love to see!@RioOpenOficial pic.twitter.com/SK6SxadZwL

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 18, 2022

Without hesitation, Alcaraz then ensured the ball kids remained dry as well, ushering them under the umbrella as they gratefully joined him by the side of the court, cracking smiles.

Following the suspension of play, Alcaraz will return to court on Friday at the ATP 500 event, leading Delbonis 5-4, 30/15. If the World No. 29 can advance, he may face Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals later on Friday. The top-seeded Italian faces Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in the second round.

Tickets for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals to be held from 13 to 20 November at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin will go on general public sale from 18 February, at 16.00 CET. Tickets will be on sale on the official website.

It will be the 53rd edition of the Nitto ATP Finals, the second in Italy. The Nitto ATP Finals is the year-end climax to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams as they battle it out for the last title of the season.

Serena Williams and Venus Williams added serious star power to the Delray Beach crowd on Thursday. With the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com site near their Florida residences, the sisters took advantage of the opportunity to catch some ATP Tour action.

Venus arrived in the afternoon to watch compatriot Reilly Opelka’s win over Jack Sock, and Serena joined her during the evening session for Grigor Dimitrov’s victory over Mitchell Krueger. Opelka’s match started at 2:30 p.m. local time, while Dimitrov finished near 11:30 p.m., making it a nine-hour day of tennis for seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus.

Dimitrov, seeded third in Delray Beach, was playing in his first match since the Australian Open. (Read Thursday’s full Delray Beach report.) He thanked the sisters following a special win in the presence of tennis royalty.

“They’re amazing. They’re some of my closest friends, no doubt about that,” he said post-match. “Their support means so much to me, especially in moments like that. They’re sort of nearby and it’s just very nice that we can share a moment like that.”

👀😀😃

Looks like @serenawilliams has joined @Venuseswilliams for some nighttime tennis in Delray 🙌@DelrayBeachOpen pic.twitter.com/EkAMegTwfV

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 18, 2022

Back on the court for the first time since a second-round Australian Open loss, Grigor Dimitrov got back in the win column late Thursday night in Delray. The third seed and tournament wild card was a 7-6(4), 6-3 winner over American qualifier Mitchell Krueger at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams were in attendance for the Bulgarian’s evening match on Thursday, with Venus arriving in the afternoon to watch Reilly Opelka’s win over Jack Sock.

Doing his best to put on a show in windy and wet conditions, Dimitrov saved a pair of break points in both the ninth and 11th games of the opening set. He summoned just enough shotmaking at the crucial moments, including a flicked backhand pass to escape trouble at 5-all, deuce, as he secured the opening set.

“It’s always very tough [in your opening match], especially playing the last match on,” Dimitrov said following the victory. “I’ve been here for a week already and I was eager to get out there and play. Today was just a match I had to get through. Very tough conditions: rain, wind, cold, hot. It is what it is, and you’ve got to deal with it.”

Drawing confidence from a well-played tie-break, the Bulgarian created break points in his first three return games of the second set, converting in the latter two. He failed to consolidate the initial break, but used a love hold to back up the second.

Firmly in the ascendancy, Dimitrov showed his full range as he broke in the match’s final game. He won points from the baseline and net, and another with a classy pickup as he booked his quarter-final berth.

The former World No. 3 will face John Millman on Friday, after the Aussie beat Marcos Giron, 6-3, 7-6(8), earlier in the day.

Dimitrov closed the Thursday evening session after Adrian Mannarino opened it with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over Brandon Nakashima. The match was decided by just a few crucial points as the Frenchman produced some magic on a pair of break points, most notably with an on-the-run forehand pass to break for 6-5 in the third.

Can you think of a better way to break at 5-5 in the final set?

Nope. 🔥🔥 @AdrianMannarino#DBOpen pic.twitter.com/q4vXtuxOkU

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 18, 2022

The seventh seed served the match out to love to book a quarter-final matchup with second seed Reilly Opelka. It’s Mannarino’s ninth appearance in Delray, with his best result coming in a semi-final run in 2015.

Opelka, the newly crowned Dallas Open champion, broke away late in a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Jack Sock. He earned a crucial mini-break with a backhand down-the-line winner in the second tie-break and never looked back.

“I knew I needed to be tough in the breaker and I couldn’t just play balls in the court because he was going to go for it,” Opelka said, noting he sensed his compatriot tiring late in the second set. “I really was happy that I was still able to be aggressive… I think I did the right thing, played chess out there, and I got the mini-break when I needed it.”

The World No. 20, who lives near the Delray site, saved the only break point he faced, midway through the opening set.

Only two of the four singles matches scheduled for Thursday were completed at the Rio Open presented by Claro, with both Miomir Kecmanovic and Francisco Cerundolo advancing in straight sets before rain halted play in Brazil.

The two early winners will face off in the quarter-finals on Friday in the draw’s bottom section.

Qualifier Kecmanovic took out sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego, 7-5, 6-4. The Serb continues to build on a strong start to 2022 that includes a fourth-round run at the Australian Open.

Argentina’s Cerundolo, who qualified and reached the quarter-finals last week in Buenos Aires, was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Roberto Carballes Baena. The Spaniard was a late replacement for Casper Ruud, who was slated to be the tournament’s second seed.

Seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz was two points away from taking the opening set against Federico Delbonis when rain interrupted play. After two forehand winners earned an early break, the Spaniard led 5/4, 30-15 when play was halted.

Top seed Matteo Berrettini was set to take on home favourite Thiago Monteiro in the Rio nightcap. Both matches will be pushed to Friday, with the winners set for double duty on quarter-final day. Should Alcaraz and Berrettini both advance, they would set up a rematch of their Australian Open third-round epic, won by the Italian in fifth-set tie-break.

Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies battled into the semi-finals at the Open 13 Provence on Thursday, edging Frenchmen Ugo Blanchet and Timo Legout, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.

The third seeds are teaming for the first time this year at the ATP 250 event, after competing together in Stockholm last year. Mies’ full-time partner is Kevin Krawietz, with whom he has won two Roland Garros titles. Following their 75-minute victory in Marseille, the Dutch-German tandem will next play second seeds Ben McLachlan and Raven Klaasen.

Denys Molchanov and Andrey Rublev also moved through on Thursday, defeating Benjamin Bonzi and Albano Olivetti, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8, in 89 minutes.

Koolhof/Skupski Continue Momentum In Doha

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski continued their strong start to the season on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin, 6-4, 7-6(3) to advance into the final in Doha.

Koolhof and Skupski are now 16-2 on the season, having triumphed at the Melbourne Summer Set and Adelaide International 2 in January.

The Dutch-British team will play Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov in the championship match after the Indian-Canadian tandem downed Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-4, 7-6(2), in 75 minutes.

Delray Seeds Downed In Match Tie-Breaks
There were upsets in each of the two doubles matches at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, with each coming by the slimmest of margins.

Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson reached the semi-finals with a 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 win over second seeds Austin Krajicek and Hugo Nys. With a very similar scoreline, Hans Hach Verdugo and Marcos Giron eliminated second-seeded Aussies Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Fognini/Bolelli Beat Rio Rain

In the lone doubles match to finish before the rain at the Rio Open presented by Claro, Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini dismissed Spain’s Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the semi-finals.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares led Benoit Paire and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-3, 0-1, before rain suspended play. Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are still to play Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Jannik Sinner over the past two days has announced he has split with longtime coach Riccardo Piatti and hired Simone Vagnozzi.

“Happy to announce I’ll be working with Simone Vagnozzi as my coach moving forward and he will be heading up my team,” Sinner wrote Thursday. “Currently we have no plans to add any more team members at this time but we will review the situation as we go. Excited to get started on this new chapter, forza.”

Vagnozzi has previously worked with Italians Marco Cecchinato — who in 2018 reached the Roland Garros semi-finals — and Stefano Travaglia.

Sinner had worked with Piatti since his early teens. He moved from San Candido, near the Austrian border, to train at Piatti’s academy. Since then he has climbed as high as No. 9 in the ATP Rankings.

“After many successful years together, my coaching team and I have decided to part ways. I’d like to thank Riccardo, Dalibor, Claudio, Andrea, Cristian, and Gaia for everything they have done for me from the beginning of my career until now,” Sinner wrote Wednesday. “Riccardo especially, he taught me many things that will forever remain a part of my tennis.

“Many special memories were made and I’ll always look back on the time we spent together fondly.”

Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva played the final match of his 19-year career on Wednesday, when the 38-year-old and countryman Orlando Luz lost against doubles stars Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the first round of the Rio Open presented by Claro.

“I feel great. It was a perfect way to end my ATP career, with the crowd full,” Dutra Silva said. “Everybody is here, family, friends and [I was able] to play against one of my best friends on Tour, so it was the best scenario to end my career.”

^{Photo Credit: fotojump}
Dutra Silva reached a career-high No. 63 in the ATP Rankings in 2017 and a career-best No. 84 in the ATP Doubles Rankings in 2018. He is a four-time ATP Tour singles quarter-finalist.

The Brazilian found some of his best tennis later in his career, winning his only tour-level title in doubles in 2017, when he lifted the Sao Paulo trophy alongside Andre Sa. Dutra Silva also made the 2012 Hamburg championship match with Daniel Munoz de la Nava and the 2019 Rio de Janeiro final with Thomaz Bellucci.

“I’m such a lucky guy to have a lot of really good moments,” Dutra Silva said. “I think the Olympic games here in Rio were really awesome. When I made the final here as well a few years ago was very good.”

The 38-year-old was always a fighter on court, earning two of his five major main draw singles wins from two sets down. The Brazilian said this might not be the last he sees of the ATP Tour.

“Now it’s some time off, but I want to be a coach on the ATP Tour,” Dutra Silva said. “Let’s see in a few years if I can come back and still work at ATP tournaments.”