Andrey Rublev returned to the winners’ circle on Sunday, overcoming Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 7-6(4) in the Open 13 Provence final to lift his first ATP Tour trophy since March 2021.

The Russian, who defeated three Frenchmen in Marseille to reach the championship match at the ATP 250 event, has now captured nine tour-level crowns, improving his record in finals on indoor hard courts to 5-0.

All the battles I have had with Felix since the first time back in 2018 have had drama,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “All have had at least one set that went 7-6 and now he is one of the greatest players. Especially this season, he is on top now. It was a pleasure to share a court with him and have an amazing final like this.”

The 2022 Marseille champ!

Championship point as @AndreyRublev97 took the title at the #Open13Provence 🌟 pic.twitter.com/vSkhTqZPg9

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2022

Since triumphing in Rotterdam last March, Rublev had lost finals at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati and on grass in Halle, an ATP 500 event. However, the second seed ensured he would not suffer the same heartache against Auger-Aliassime.

Rublev demonstrated his impressive mental strength in the championship match. The Russian rallied from a break down in the first set and recovered from failing to serve out the clash at 5-4 in the second set. He then saved a set point on serve at 5-6, 30/40 in the second set to eventually triumph after one hour and 57 minutes.

“I had to increase my level otherwise I would have had no chance against Felix,” Rublev said. “From 5-4 he started to play even better and I was thinking it would go to three sets. But somehow I was able to raise my level and in the end it was tough.”

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With his victory, the World No. 7 has now improved his ATP Head2Head series over the Canadian to 3-1, avenging the semi-final defeat he suffered against Auger-Aliassime in Rotterdam last week.

The 24-year-old will now take to court in the doubles final with Denys Molchanov, aiming to become just the third man in the tournament’s 30-year history to win the singles and doubles titles in the same edition (Thomas Enqvist 1997, Michael Llodra 2010).

In a lively start, Auger-Aliassime raced into a 2-0 lead. However, Rublev quickly found his range, responding immediately to level as he stepped inside the baseline to pin the Canadian deep behind the baseline. The Russian, who fired seven aces in the first set, then raised his level at the end of the first set, breaking to lead 6-5, before holding serve to seal the opener.

The second set was a tight affair with both continuing to go blow-to-blow from the baseline. Auger-Aliassime, however, showed signs he was tiring following his busy recent schedule. Three breaks were exchanged in a row from 2-2, with Rublev earning two.

Yet the Russian was unable to serve out the match at 5-4, with Auger-Aliassime pulling Rublev from corner to corner as he broke back to love. However, the Russian quickly regained his focus, saving a set point on serve at 5-6, 30/40, before he played consistently and aggressively in the tie-break to seal his victory.

Auger-Aliassime was aiming to clinch his second title in as many weeks, having captured his maiden tour-level trophy in Rotterdam last week. The Canadian did not drop a set en route to the final in Marseille, defeating childhood idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, World No. 49 Ilya Ivashka and Russian Roman Safiullin.

Did You Know?
Rublev battled back from 2-5 in the third set against Richard Gasquet in his first match of the week in Marseille, advancing 7-6(3) in the decider after two hours and 27 minutes.

After five-and-a-half hours on court Saturday, Diego Schwartzman is through to his second ATP Tour final in as many weeks. The Argentine backed up a marathon win over Pablo Andujar in the afternoon with a two-hour win over countryman Francisco Cerundolo in the evening to reach the championship match at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Friday rain meant double duty on Saturday on a hectic day in Rio.

Schwartzman’s semi-final could have gone even longer, but the third seed saved three set points in the opening stanza to pave the way for a much-needed straight-set win. He can look forward to a good night’s sleep after a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Cerundolo on Quadra Guga Kuerten. 

“Unbelievable. The effort I did today with my team, not just me. Also Francisco, both of us, and now Fognini and Alcaraz,” Schwartzman reflected.

“Yesterday we were here all day long. We went to the hotel at 10 p.m. yesterday, coming back in the morning today to play one match, now the other one. I don’t know how I did it, I really don’t understand how I did it, but I did. So I’m very happy and of course playing with this crowd in Brazil, for an Argentinian player it’s unbelievable.”

Down an early break, Schwartzman saved five break points to stay within touching distance at 4-3 in the first. He saved a first set point on serve to get to 5-4, then saved two more on the return to level the set and ultimately force a tie-break.

“I think he had too many chances at the beginning of the match to win the first set,” Schwartzman said post-match. “I think the first set, for both of us, it was very important. 

“At the end [of the set], I was just trying to think, ‘Hey, he didn’t play a final at an ATP 500 tournament, so maybe the nerves are there’… I took the chance. We are here to take the chances, and I did great today.”

After winning the last three points of the tie-break, he carried that momentum into set two, taking an early lead. Cerundolo won consecutive love games to turn 3-1 to 3-3, but Schwartzman again raised his level late as he finished the match with his third and fourth breaks of the evening.

WHAT AN EFFORT 🙌

5.5 hours on court today and @dieschwartzman takes out Cerundolo 7-6 6-3 to reach the finals in Rio! pic.twitter.com/uXeNuOvtLZ

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2022

He awaits the winner of the second semi-final between seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz and Fabio Fognini. Against either man, the Argentine expects a “crazy final” against an in-form opponent who will mix aggressive play with “tricky shots, drop shots.”

“I’m in a good position right now,” Schwartzman said. “I already played, I’m in the final, so let’s see who wins, and I’ll try to do my best tomorrow.” 

Felix Auger-Aliassime won his first ATP Tour title last week in Rotterdam, and will bid for another in Sunday’s Marseille final. But it’s not just success that has earned the Canadian the respect of his peers; it’s the manner in which he has conducted himself.
There was no better illustration of that than in his Saturday semi-final against Roman Safiullin at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Locked in a tight battle with the Russian, FAA watched a stinging passing shot fly past him down the line midway through the second set. The lasered forehand was called out, but the third seed was not so sure.

After a brief discussion with the chair umpire, who started to mistakenly announce a challenge from the Canadian, Auger-Aliassime encouraged his opponent to call for a review.

Safiullin obliged and the replay revealed that his pass clipped the line, giving him a 15/0 advantage in the set’s sixth game. The Russian went on to hold in that frame, but Auger-Aliassime advanced with a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory.

Daniil Medvedev controls his own destiny in his bid to overtake Novak Djokovic atop the ATP Rankings, knowing a title in Acapulco would see him rise to World No. 1.

Now the Russian also knows his potential path to the trophy, following the release of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC draw.

Medvedev will open against France’s Benoit Paire in the 32-player draw, with seventh seed Taylor Fritz lurking in his quarter and fourth seed Rafael Nadal a potential semi-final opponent. 

It would be a sixth ATP Head2Head meeting between Medvedev and Nadal, with the Spaniard leading the series 4-1 after his historic five-set comeback in the Australian Open final. Nadal is seeking to continue his perfect start to the 2022 season in Acapulco. The World No. 5 is 10-0 on the year, a trophy at the Melbourne Summer Set preceding his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.

Alexander Zverev, the draw’s second seed, opens against American Jenson Brooksby, while third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Laslo Djere. Matteo Berrettini, Cameron Norrie and Pablo Carreno Busta round out the eight seeds in the Mexican ATP 500 event, with Great Britain’s Norrie taking on Carlos Alcaraz in a first-round blockbuster.

Here are all the scenarios in which Medvedev would climb to World No. 1 on 28 February:

• Medvedev wins the Acapulco title, regardless of Djokovic’s results in Dubai
• Medvedev reaches the Acapulco final and Djokovic does not win the Dubai title
• Medvedev reaches the Acapulco semi-finals and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai final
• Medvedev reaches the Acapulco quarter-finals and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai semi-finals
• Medvedev reaches the second round in Acapulco and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai semi-finals
• Medvedev loses in the first round in Acapulco and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai quarter-finals

Defending Champ Garin Leads Santiago Draw
Cristian Garin occupies the top line of the Chile Dove Men+Care Open draw in his native Santiago. The home favourite shares the top half with fourth seed Pedro Martinez, and could face compatriot and tournament wild card Alejandro Tabilo in the second round.

Second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas and third seed Federico Delbonis headline the draw’s bottom half. Chilean wild card Nicolas Jarry is also in the bottom section, giving the host nation at least three men in the draw before any potential qualifiers.

In opposite halves of the Rio de Janeiro draw, Diego Schwartzman and Fabio Fognini took opposite paths to quarter-final victories.

The third-seeded Schwartzman needed over three-and-a-half hours to edge Pablo Andujar, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4, while Fognini edged past Federico Coria in half that time with a tidy 6-4, 6-2 result.

In a match that saw at least four breaks of serve in each set, Schwartzman broke 12 times to hold off Spain’s Andujar. A see-saw match reached an eventful climax after the Argentine was broken in the longest game of the contest, a five-deuce frame which saw Andujar draw level at 4-4 in the third.

The World No. 14 immediately restored his break advantage, but then needed to escape 15/40 as he served for a semi-final place. A would-be Andujar passing shot clipped the tape on his first break chance, and another backhand did the same on his second.

The drama ended on Schwartzman’s third match point, as an Andujar lob sailed long.

The Argentine is one win away from consecutive ATP Tour finals, after he reached the title match in Buenos Aires last weekend. He will face compatriot Francisco Cerundolo in the semis, after the 23-year-old got past Miomir Kecmanovic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Cerundolo entered Rio with a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 100, and will likely improve upon that with his run to the final four.

Fognini dominated Coria in the lone straight-set match of the Rio quarter-finals. The Italian raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, and again broke in the opening game of the second on the way to a routine win. 

The 34-year-old will face either top seed Matteo Berrettini or seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz next.

Berrettini sent that marquee quarter-final into a third set before rain interrupted play for a third straight day in Rio. Alcaraz took the opener, 6-2, with the Italian taking the second by the same scoreline.

Both the quarter-final and semi-final rounds are scheduled to be completed on Saturday, weather permitting.

Cameron Norrie’s 2022 season is bubbling up nicely.

The top seed gave nothing away in a solid 6-3, 6-3 victory over American wild card Tommy Paul at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com on Saturday.

After starting 2022 with four straight defeats, Norrie sparked his season to life with a quarter-final run in Rotterdam last week and will now play for a third ATP Tour title in Sunday’s championship match in Florida.

It marks an improvement on Norrie’s 2021 run at the ATP 250 event, when he was defeated by Sebastian Korda at the semi-final stage.

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The World No. 13 got off to a fast start by breaking Paul in the second game of the match. Norrie then resisted the American’s attempts to get back in the set by recovering from 15/40 to hold for 5-2, the Brit converting his first set point two games later.

A tight second set was also decided by a lone break, Paul sending a forehand long at 30/40 on his own serve to hand Norrie a 3-2 lead.

Paul went for his shots throughout as he tried to find a way past Norrie’s defences. The fourth-seeded American hit 24 winners to Norrie’s 13, but also made 20 unforced errors compared to his opponent’s nine. Norrie’s consistency was a constant thorn in the American’s side as the Brit deflated some vocal home support to seal victory in 76 minutes.

The win gives Norrie a 2-1 ATP Head2Head series lead over Paul and takes him to his eighth tour-level final. He’ll face Dallas Open champion and Delray Beach second seed Reilly Opelka in the final. The pair split their only two tour-level meetings, with Norrie taking the most recent matchup at the Rolex Paris Masters in November.

Opelka won his third straight three-setter in the Saturday nightcap, outlasting Aussie John Millman, 7-6(8), 6-7(3), 7-6(4) after three hours. The American had the better of the match throughout, winning 82 per cent of his first-serve deliveries and creating 10 break points to just two against.

3-set thriller 💥

Former champ @ReillyOpelka is back in the finals with a 7-6 6-7 7-6 win over Millman!

It’ll be a 1st vs 2nd seed final against Norrie tomorrow!@DelrayBeachOpen pic.twitter.com/msaShM6ExI

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2022

The World No. 20 nearly got it done in straight sets, but Millman saved three match points at 4-5, 0/40 in the second to stay alive. After holding in a three-deuce 12th game of the set, the Aussie forced a fifth set with a steady performance in the tie-break.

“It would have been nice to have been out of there in two. I would have been home, probably in bed by now,” Opelka said after the match. “He hit one unbelievable forehand on one of those match points, so not much I can do. There’s one backhand that I’m kicking myself over that I missed in the net, that I kind of had the whole court. It’s unfortunate that that happened, but I was able to get a win.”

Full of confidence following his Dallas title, Opelka brushed off the missed opportunity to create an early break chance in the third. Again, Millman stood strong to hold, and both men protected their serves well as the match eased into another tie-break.

One mini-break was all that was required for Opelka, who earned it by getting the better of an 18-ball rally. The self-proclaimed “serve-bot” excelled in lengthy rallies throughout the night as he showcased his patience, movement and fitness. 

Looking ahead to the final against Norrie, Opelka previewed: “He’s the one seed for a reason. He won a lot of matches last year. He’s definitely fresher than I am, I had a long week last week and a long night tonight. It’s the last one, I’ll leave it all on the line.

“I’ve got a quick turnaround, 6 a.m. flight on Monday. My consolation is I get to play Rafa in Acapulco.”

Having finally captured his maiden ATP Tour title last week in Rotterdam, Felix Auger-Aliassime will hope the floodgates have opened.

The 21-year-old reached consecutive tour-level finals as he ended the breakout run of Roman Safiullin with a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory in the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence in Marseille on Saturday.

Safiullin more than played his part in a tense two-hour, 27-minute battle, but Auger-Aliassime’s quality shone through at crucial moments as the Canadian sealed his eighth consecutive win.

Some early nerves from Safiullin gave his opponent a break in the opening game of the match, but the Russian quickly settled and hit back after converting his sixth break point of a marathon sixth game.

After another quick exchange of breaks the qualifier drew near to the first set as he earned a 4/1 lead in the tie-break, but Auger-Aliassime strung together a series of big points to turn it around, winning six on the trot to take the first set.

Sportsmanship doesn’t get much better than this 👏@felixtennis hears the call of out and tells Safiullin to challenge it because he believes it was in! pic.twitter.com/m6VmeP8hFW

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 19, 2022

A second set dominated by serve almost opened up for Auger-Aliassime in the eighth game. The Russian showed more courage under pressure to save four break points and hold, but it was the World No. 9 who once again triumphed in the tie-break, Safiullun netting a forehand to send Auger-Aliassime into his tenth ATP Tour final.

After impressing for Team Russia at the ATP Cup in January, World No. 163 Safiullin will hope his strong run at the ATP 250 event is the trigger for a big move up the ATP Rankings in 2022. His bid to reach a first ATP Tour final fell just short as Auger-Aliassime’s serving got him through in crucial moments, the Canadian ending with 15 aces.

Auger-Aliassime will face Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s championship match, after the World No. 7 once again proved he is having no problems upsetting the locals this week in Marseille.

The Russian defeated a French opponent for the third consecutive match as he put an end to Benjamin Bonzi’s dream run at the Open 13 Provence with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 semi-final victory on Saturday.

“[Coming into] this week I was really motivated,” said Rublev after the match. “I was so excited to compete, to try to play at a good level, to win some matches and it’s my first final of the season so I’m really happy and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

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It was another encouraging performance for the World No. 69 Bonzi, playing in his first tour-level semi-final, but Rublev found an extra gear in the deciding set to reach his maiden final of 2022.

The Russian came out firing in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, hitting a series of searing forehand winners to seal the first set as ninth seed Bonzi struggled to live with Rublev’s power.

Bonzi, who has won seven ATP Challenger Tour titles in the past 12 months, reacted to dropping the first set of his Marseille run by upping his level to push Rublev hard in the second set. The Russian saved two break points before holding in a marathon third game, but Bonzi persevered and didn’t miss his opportunity to break for 4-3. The Frenchman served out the set to level the match as a delighted home crowd sensed an upset.

Rublev required deciding sets against both Richard Gasquet and Lucas Pouille in his previous rounds and did not panic as the crowd grew louder. The Russian broke early to establish a 3-0 lead and defied the febrile atmosphere to go on and seal victory in one hour, 52 minutes, having served nine aces and won 75 per cent (52/69) of points behind his first serve overall.

“It was super tough,” said Rublev after winning through to face Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s championship match. “Benjamin is playing really great this year, he beat great players this week and I’m happy to be in the final.”

With his World No. 1 ATP Ranking on the line, Novak Djokovic faces a tough first assignment of 2022 when he takes on #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai.

The Serb returns to the ATP Tour this week knowing that Daniil Medvedev will become World No. 1 for the first time if the Russian wins the title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco. The talented Musetti gave Djokovic a real scare by taking the first two sets in the pair’s sole previous meeting at Roland Garros last year, but Djokovic is a five-time champion in Dubai and will be confident of performing well again in the desert conditions of the U.A.E.

View Draw: Dubai

Djokovic’s half of the draw at the ATP 500 event is littered with in-form rivals. Should he get past Musetti he could play 2018 Rolex Paris Masters champion and Adelaide International 1 finalist Karen Khachanov in the second round, with a semi-final with Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime also a possibility.

Second seed Andrey Rublev headlines the bottom half of the draw, and he will look to snap a two-match losing streak against the World No. 28 Daniel Evans in the opening round. A potential semi-final opponent for the Russian is former World No. 1 Andy Murray, who opens up against a qualifier as he aims to repeat his title run from his last appearance in Dubai in 2017.