Raducanu reaches first final since 2021 US Open triumph
Emma Raducanu digs deep to secure a gritty win over Oleksandra Oliynykova and reach her first final since her 2021 US Open triumph.
Emma Raducanu digs deep to secure a gritty win over Oleksandra Oliynykova and reach her first final since her 2021 US Open triumph.
Martin Damm and Titouan Droguet both used big-serving performances to advance to their first tour-level semi-finals with milestone wins Friday at the Open Occitanie. Both qualifiers at the ATP 250 in Montpellier, American Damm beat Luca Nardi 6-3, 7-6(8) before home hope Droguet upset fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(5), 7-6(1).
The 22-year-old Damm, who saved a match point in qualifying, beat former Top 10 stars Hubert Hurkacz and Roberto Bautista Agut in the main draw to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final. Against Nardi, he fired 16 aces and saved the only break point he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“For sure it was a bit nerve-wracking today, a lot on the line,” said Damm, who has climbed 31 places to No. 129 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings this week. “I knew that if we went three sets, then maybe it would get a little bit tricky for me. I’m happy that I’m tall and I have a pretty good serve, so thanks to my parents!”
He will next meet Adrian Mannarino after the 37-year-old ended the run of French qualifier Arthur Gea with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Mannarino, up 15 spots to No. 55 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, is into his 26th tour-level semi-final and his first semi-final since Dallas in February 2024.
Droguet also used a stellar serving performance to break new ground at tour-level, blasting 21 aces and never facing a break point against Griekspoor. The win against the No. 29 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is Droguet’s second Top 50 victory, with his first coming against Lorenzo Musetti in five sets at the 2023 US Open.
“I’m not used to playing on big courts like this. So I’m trying to not look up there, looking only at the court and my team, to stay focused,” the Frenchman said after his victory on Court Patrice Dominguez.
[ATP APP]The 24-year-old Frenchman will hope for continued crowd support when he takes on top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in Saturday’s semi-finals. Auger-Aliassime followed his opening win against Stan Wawrinka with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against sixth seed Arthur Fils on Friday. Like Droguet, he did not face a break point.
Droguet and Auger-Aliassime are set for their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting on Saturday, though the Frenchman revealed he lost a 6-0 practice set to the top seed last season.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool avoid a huge scare to put Great Britain into the final round of Davis Cup qualifying with a 3-0 win over Norway.
Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie guided Great Britain to victory against Norway in the first round of the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers. On his return to action Thursday, Draper defeated Viktor Durasovic 6-2, 6-2 before Norrie overcame Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-4, 6-4.
Great Britain then moved into an unassailable 3-0 lead in the tie on Friday when Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool defeated Durasovic and Budkov Kjaer 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5). In a tight doubles rubber, Cash and Glasspool produced their best level in the third-set tie-break, returning with aggression and serving well to triumph after one hour and 59 minutes in Oslo. The pair won seven tour-level titles together last year, including Wimbledon.
Draper was playing for the first time since his opening-round match at the US Open in August against Sebastian Baez. The lefty rose to a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last season, lifting his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Indian Wells. The 24-year-old had been sidelined with a bruised bone in his service arm. Ruud was not playing for Norway following the birth of his first child last week.
[ATP APP]Great Britain will compete in the second round of the Davis Cup Qualifiers in September. The Final 8 will then take place in Bologna in November, with eight nations competing to lift the trophy in a six-day event. Italy is the three-time defending champion.
Japan’s two-day tie against Austria started on Friday. Yosuke Watanuki beat Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 to give Japan the lead, before Jurij Rodionov downed Shintaro Mochizuki 6-4, 7-5 to level for Austria.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz’s Australian Open victory was important for more than just the moment. With his triumph at Melbourne Park, Alcaraz crucially extended his lead over Jannik Sinner in the battle for World No. 1.
Alcaraz, who on Sunday lifted the Australian Open trophy for the first time, currently leads the PIF ATP Rankings with 13,650 points, 3,350 points more than World No. 2 Sinner.
With just 400 quarter-final points to defend in Melbourne, Alcaraz had room to gain and he did so by leaving with the trophy and 2,000 points.
Meanwhile Sinner, the 2024 and 2025 champion, was defending 2,000 points from last year’s title run. The Italian reached the semi-finals in this year’s edition, earning 800 points. Because of that, he departed Australia with 1,200 fewer points than he entered with.
Alcaraz entered the season’s first major with just a 550-point advantage over his rival. But thanks to Alcaraz’s gain and Sinner’s loss, the battle swung 2,800 points in Alcaraz’s favour.
PIF ATP Rankings
| Player | Points |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 13,650 |
| 2) Jannik Sinner | 10,300 |
| 3) Novak Djokovic | 5,280 |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 4,605 |
| 5) Lorenzo Musetti | 4,405 |
With that said, it is still early in the season and there are many points up for grabs in the coming weeks and months. Sinner enjoyed a 65-week debut reign atop the PIF ATP Rankings, which ended after the Italian fell to Alcaraz in last year’s US Open final. The back-and-forth battle continued as Sinner reclaimed the honour for one week after winning the Rolex Paris Masters in November, before Alcaraz secured ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the second time in Turin.
[NO 1 CLUB]While Sinner’s 66 weeks as World No. 1 places him 12th among the 29 ATP No. 1 Club members, Alcaraz is not far behind at 57 weeks (14th in PIF ATP Rankings history). Across every phase of their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, Alcaraz and Sinner have remained in close pursuit of one another.
By triumphing in Melbourne, Alcaraz captured his seventh major trophy and completed the Career Grand Slam — a feat that Sinner will have his chance of conquering at Roland Garros.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Casper Ruud will not compete at next week’s Nexo Dallas Open due to the birth of his daughter last week. The Norwegian, who welcomed his first child with his wife, Maria, shared the news on social media Thursday.
“I am very sorry to let you know that I will sadly miss the Dallas Open next week. Having played the final last year, I was of course so much looking forward to being back especially also because I loved my time there last year with the incredible team that runs the event so well and organised,” he shared in his Instagram Story.
“However, with the birth of our daughter this past weekend, I will be spending an extra week at home here in Norway to enjoy this special time together. I am already looking forward to being back next year in Dallas, and wish everyone a great week next week with the tournament for this year’s edition.”
The 27-year-old made his tournament debut in Dallas last year, when he lost to Denis Shapovalov in the championship match. He began his 2026 season at the United Cup and reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, where he fell to Ben Shelton.
Ruud owns a 4-3 record this year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index and is No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jack Draper cruises to an emphatic victory on his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain the lead over Norway in Davis Cup qualifying.
Jack Draper claims an emphatic victory on his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Norway in Davis Cup qualifying.
Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime made a winning start to his title defence on Thursday at the Open Occitanie, where he overcame wild card Stan Wawrinka, who was making his final appearance at the ATP 250.
In the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, top seed Auger-Aliassime earned a 6-4, 7-6(3) win against the 40-year-old Swiss star to reach the quarter-finals in Montpellier.
Auger-Aliassime, 25, retired during his first-round match at the Australian Open against Nuno Borges last month but bounced back against Wawrinka to move a step closer to his ninth tour-level title.
“I know him very well,” Auger-Aliassime said of Wawrinka. “Growing up all these years — watching him be the legendary player he is — all of us young players dream of a career like he has had. The winning, but the resilience, the hard work, the consistency.
“He has been an example for all of us young players. It is crazy we had never played before and I told him in the locker rooms in Australia, ‘It is crazy we have not played before’, and then it happens. It was great to share the court with him.”
Since the start of the decade, the Canadian Auger-Aliassime has earned a Tour-leading 86 indoor victories, lifting seven titles in these conditions. The No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next play sixth seed Arthur Fils or Ugo Blanchet.
[NO 1 CLUB]Luca Nardi upset second seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 to earn his third Top 20 win. Nardi is into his second tour-level quarter-final and leads Cobolli 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Nardi will meet Martin Damm in the last eight, while Cobolli will head to the ATP 500 event in Dallas, aiming to bounce back from opening-round defeats at the Australian Open and Montpellier.
Fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor dispatched Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-4 to capture his first win since October. The Dutchman will next face French qualifier Titouan Droguet after the home hope beat last year’s finalist Aleksandar Kovacevic 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The 2026 ATP Tour season exploded into life in January, delivering a month packed with breathtaking shotmaking. But which moment stands out enough to earn Hot Shot of the Month presented by Yokohama?
Lorenzo Musetti unleashed his trademark flair in Hong Kong, carving a jaw-dropping banana forehand winner, while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina kicked off his 2026 highlight reel with a full-stretch diving effort in Adelaide.
Brandon Nakashima brought the crowd to its feet in Brisbane during a remarkable rally featuring three tweeners, and Cameron Norrie showcased his relentless defence, turning a seemingly lost point into a winner while under constant pressure in Auckland.
Watch the video below and then cast your vote for your favourite Hot Shot here. Voting closes at 12 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. CET on Tuesday, 10 February.