For the second straight day, Jiri Vesely saved match points in a final-set tie-break to keep his title hopes alive at the Tata Open Maharashtra.

After surviving two match points during his quarter-final victory against Ilya Ivashka on Friday, the unseeded Czech saved four match points to outlast Ricardas Berankis 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(7) on Saturday, advancing to his first ATP Tour final in nearly five years.

“I am very happy with my performance and my fighting spirit.” said Vesely. “I didn’t give up… In total he had four match points and I kept fighting. It just paid off today.”

The World No. 107, who trailed 3/6 in the final-set tie-break, landed 28 aces and won six of the final seven points to triumph after three hours and two minutes. Vesely will attempt to lift his second trophy in his third tour-level championship match, following 2015 final appearances at the ASB Classic (d. Mannarino) and Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez).

“I am really happy to be in a final again after almost five years,” said Vesely. “I hope I can keep the momentum. I hope I can use these two matches where I turned the match around and use it as an advantage. I will play with a lot of confidence tomorrow and I will go for it, that’s for sure.”

The 6’6” left-hander levels his ATP Head2Head series against Berankis at 1-1. At last year’s US Open, Berankis defeated Vesely in five sets to reach the second round.

Vesely will meet eighth seed Egor Gerasimov for the title. The Belarusian advanced to his maiden ATP Tour final with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against sixth seed James Duckworth.

Competing at a career-high No. 90 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Gerasimov dropped just five points behind his first serve (40/45) and did not face a break point to overcome the Australian after 90 minutes. Gerasimov and Vesely have never met at tour-level, but the Belarusian defeated Vesely in their only previous match in the second qualifying round at last year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“I think I was playing pretty well. My first final of an ATP [Tour event]. Everyone is dreaming about this. I am very happy.” said Gerasimov.

#NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime has taken the ATP Tour by storm on the court. But in 2020, he’s doing so off the court, too.

The 19-year-old announced Friday that he will be donating $5 for every point he wins this season to EduChange, partnering with CARE to support the protection and education of children in Togo.

Extremely proud to announce that each point I win during the season will contribute to the education of children in Togo, thanks to the #FAAPointsForChange project with @BNPParibas and @CARE. Details in this video! pic.twitter.com/DJRFggyphZ

— Félix AugerAliassime (@felixtennis) February 7, 2020

“I feel very lucky to have had a hugely satisfying career so far, but I think it’s time to bring more meaning to it beyond tennis,” Auger-Aliassime said. “This year, all my winning points count.”

BNP Paribas will donate $15 for every point Auger-Aliassime wins. The World No. 21 has won 768 points in 10 matches so far this year. And as he continues his ascent up the FedEx ATP Rankings, Auger-Aliassime will have more motivation than ever, as he is trying to raise funds for 2,500 children in 2020.

“This year, more than ever, every point will matter,” Auger-Aliassime said.

The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the first ATP 500 event of the 2020 season, features four Top 10 players: Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Gael Monfils and David Goffin.

World No. 5 Medvedev reached the quarter-finals as a qualifier on his tournament debut in 2018, the semi-finals in 2019 (l. to Monfils), and he will attempt to reach the final this year as the top seed. Tsitsipas, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, will be looking for his first win in Rotterdam in his third main draw appearance.

Meanwhile, Monfils will aspire for continued success here. The 33-year-old Frenchman has advanced to the final on his past two visits to Rotterdam, finishing runner-up to Martin Klizan in 2016 and winning the title last year with victory over Stan Wawrinka in the final.   

The field also features Andrey Rublev, who is off to an 11-1 start in 2020 with titles in Doha and Auckland, #NextGenATP Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, as well as Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner. 

Here’s all you need to know about Rotterdam tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 1974

Tournament Dates: 10-16 February 2020

Tournament Director: Richard Krajicek

Draw Ceremony: Friday, 7 February 2020 at 6:30pm in the RotterTram

#abnamrowtt TD @RichardKrajicek about the stunning 2020 draw:

“With so many amazing players we were always going to see an amazing draw, featuring some blockbuster first rounds. We got exactly that all around, but especially in the bottom quarter. We’re proud and happy!” pic.twitter.com/Ve5JXSwE0z

— ABN AMRO WTT (@abnamrowtt) February 7, 2020

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: begins Saturday at 11am
* Main draw: Monday – Friday at 11:00am and 7:30pm, Saturday at 1:00pm and at 7:30pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 16 February at 1pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 16 February not before 3:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

Venue: Rotterdam Ahoy
Main Court Seating: 10,000

Prize Money: € 2,013,855 (Total Financial Commitment: € 2,155,295) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (3)
Most Titles, Doubles: Anders Jarryd, Nenad Zimonjic (4) 
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 36, in 2018
Youngest Champion: Miloslav Mecir Sr., 20, in 1985
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Jimmy Connors in 1978 and Roger Federer in 2005
Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1990): No. 156 Anders Jarryd in 1993 — Since 1990
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (28)

2019 Finals
Singles: Gael Monfils (FRA) d [WC] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 63 16 62   Read & Watch
Doubles: Jeremy Chardy (FRA) / Henri Kontinen (FIN) d Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) / Horia Tecau (ROU) 76(5) 76(4)  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #abnamrowtt

Facebook: @ABNAMROWTT
Twitter: @abnamrowtt
Instagram: @abnamrowtt

Did You Know…  The Rotterdam honour roll includes Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. 

The New York Open, one of the longest-running tennis tournaments in the United States, plays its third edition at its home at NYCB Live on Long Island. The winners of the past two editions, Kevin Anderson and Reilly Opelka, both return in 2020.

Top American and two-time semi-finalist John Isner is set to lead the field, and he will be joined in the draw by a number of countrymen, including recent Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren, Steve Johnson and Tommy Paul. 

Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic is undefeated at this ATP 250. The Canadian won three straight titles from 2011-13, when the tournament was held in San Jose, and will look to continue his undefeated run on his first visit to NYCB Live.

Here’s all you need to know about the New York tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

? Player preview: See top-ranked ?? @JohnIsner live in action on the black courts.

?️ https://t.co/uPWO5U4B3c
?️ Feb. 9 – 16
? @NYCBLive #NYOpen | #NYOpen2020 | #ATPTour pic.twitter.com/mXHz0K31bX

— #NYOpen (@NewYorkOpen) February 6, 2020

Established: 1889

Tournament Dates: 10-16 February 2020

Tournament Director: Peter Lebedevs

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 8 February at 1pm 

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Sunday and Monday at 12pm
* Main draw: Monday – Friday at 12pm and 7:30pm, Saturday at 2pm and 7pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 16 February at 2pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 16 February not before 4pm 

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: NYCB LIVE Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Main Court Seating: 4,200

Prize Money: USD $719,320 (Total Financial Commitment: USD $804,180) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: John McEnroe, Andre Agassi (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: John McEnroe (9)
Oldest Champion: Roy Emerson, 36, in 1973
Youngest Champion: Michael Chang, 16, in 1988
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 John McEnroe in 1984, Pete Sampras in 1997 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2002
Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1979): No. 89 Reilly Opelka in 2019
Most Match Wins (since 1970): Andre Agassi (49)

2019 Finals
Singles: Reilly Opelka (USA) d [Q] Brayden Schnur (CAN) 61 67(7) 76(7)   Read & Watch
Doubles: Kevin Krawietz (GER) / Andreas Mies (GER) d Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) / Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 64 75  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #NYOpen

Facebook: @newyorkopentennis
Twitter: @NewYorkOpen
Instagram: @nyopentennis

Did You Know… In 2018, the tournament relocated from Memphis to Long Island, ensuring the continuation of one of the ATP Tour’s longest-running tournaments in the United States. During the Open Era, the tournament was also held in Berkeley, Albany, San Francisco and San Jose. 

Diego Schwartzman and Guido Pella lead the charge at one of their home country tournaments, the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. Argentines claimed this title four times in five years, in 2004-05 and 2007-08, but have not won the title again since then. Schwartzman came close to ending the title drought last year, upsetting two-time champion Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals before losing to Marco Cecchinato. Pella also fell victim to Cecchinato in 2019, in the semi-finals.

Contested on clay at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, known as the “Cathedral of Argentinean tennis”, the ATP 250 tournament will also feature Cecchinato, Croatian Borna Coric, 2019 Rio Open presented by Claro champion Laslo Djere and Cristian Garin, who won two clay-court titles last season in Houston and Munich. 

Here’s all you need to know about Buenos Aires tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 2001

Tournament Dates: 10-16 February 2020

Tournament Director: Martin Jaite

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 8 February at 3pm on-site

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday at 11am, Sunday at 11:30am
* Main draw: Monday – Friday at 2:30pm and 7pm, Saturday at 12pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 16 February at 1pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 16 February not before 3pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis
Main Court Seating: 4,800

Prize Money: US $611,420 (Total Financial Commitment: US $696,280) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now 

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: David Ferrer (3)
Most Titles, Doubles: Sebastian Prieto (3)
Oldest Champion: David Ferrer, 31, in 2014
Youngest Champion: Guillermo Coria, 22, in 2004
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 2 Gustavo Kuerten in 2001
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 90 Nicolas Massu in 2002
Most Match Wins: Nicolas Almagro (29) 

2019 Finals
Singles: [3] Marco Cecchinato (ITA) d [4] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 61 62   Read & Watch
Doubles: [1] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d Diego Schwartzman (ARG) / Dominic Thiem (AUT) 61 61  Read More 

Social
Hashtag: #ArgOpen2020

Facebook: @ArgentinaOpen
Twitter: @ArgentinaOpen
Instagram: @argentinaopenatp

Did You Know… From Carlos Moya’s triumph in 2003 to Rafael Nadal’s in 2015, Spaniards and Argentines (David Nalbandian, Juan Monaco, Gaston Gaudio, Guillermo Coria) shared 13 straight titles in Buenos Aires.

World No. 14 Diego Schwartzman has never lifted an ATP Tour trophy at home in Argentina. But the top seed is now just two wins away from doing so in Cordoba.

Schwartzman beat Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-0, 7-6(0) in one hour and 40 minutes on Friday evening to reach the semi-finals of the Cordoba Open, an ATP 250 event held on red clay. The three-time tour-level titlist will face Serbian fourth seed Laslo Djere in the last four.

Schwartzman now leads Ramos-Vinolas 5-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, and he has won all 10 sets he has played against the lefty. Ramos-Vinolas is a tough clay-court player, proving as much by reaching the final of the 2017 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event. But the Argentine rode the support of his home crowd, saving the two break points he faced to move on.

The 27-year-old last reached an ATP Tour final just more than three months ago in Vienna, falling short against Dominic Thiem. Schwartzman earned his third tour-level trophy last July in Los Cabos.

His next opponent, Djere, clawed past defending champion Juan Ignacio Londero 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) after two hours and 43 minutes. The Serbian struck 14 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points to squeak by the home favourite.

“I had no extra pressure… he won last year, he had to defend many points. I know what it can be because it is what awaits me in Rio,” Djere said. “The public was on his side and probably pushed him through difficult times. I tried to feed from people too ,and I am very happy with today’s victory.”

Djere made his biggest breakthrough last February, when he won the Rio Open presented by Claro. Schwartzman beat Djere last year in Cincinnati in their only previous ATP Head2Head match.

“To play two days against Argentines, I’m not very happy about that,” Djere joked. “I expect even more people tomorrow in favour of Diego. Today I could handle it and it is important that I stay focussed.”

On the bottom half of the draw, third-seeded wild card Cristian Garin rallied past sixth seed Pablo Cuevas 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 after one hour and 57 minutes. Garin won his first two ATP Tour trophies on clay last year in Houston and Munich.

The Chilean will next face Slovakian Andrej Martin, who eased past Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 31 minutes. Martin is pursuing his first tour-level title.

Every time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play is a special occasion. But the Match in Africa 6, held on Friday in South Africa’s Cape Town Stadium to benefit children’s education in Africa, was particularly special.

Federer defeated Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in front of 51,954 people, a record number of spectators for any tennis match. But the real winners were those who will benefit from what Federer announced on social media was more than $3 million in funds raised on the evening.

“It was such a privilege to be here tonight. Of course we want to try to play the best tennis we can, that’s what we’re world-famous for. It was an absolute pleasure to share the court with Rafa again, but the first time here in beautiful Cape Town in South Africa means so much more. It really is very, very special on so many levels,” Federer said on court after the match, “This is so much more than just tennis. I really hope we can do it again. I hope Rafa can do it again one day, come back to this beautiful country. I’m so proud to have roots down here and thank you very much for coming everybody. It really is so, so special.”

This was the first Match for Africa to take place in Africa, and Nadal was thrilled to support a good cause. Playing in front of more than 50,000 people made it even more unforgettable for the Spaniard.

“We tried our best as always. The energy has been just fantastic. I think we can’t describe our feelings. It’s a lifetime experience playing here in front of such an amazing crowd, such an amazing stadium. It’s not my first time playing here in South Africa, I played when I was a kid. But it’s my first time as a professional player,” Nadal said. “I just can say well-done to Roger and all his family, all his team, because the organisation of this event has been just fantastic. It has been a big pleasure for me to be part of it.”

Before Federer and Nadal competed in singles, Federer and Bill Gates teamed against Nadal and Trevor Noah in a special doubles exhibition, with Federer and Gates triumphing 6-3.

“The three people I played with I really admire,” Gates said. “Tennis is an incredible hobby. I encourage everybody to try it, so this was unforgettable.”

Noah, a comedian, is from South Africa. So he was excited to put on a show in front of a record crowd in his home country.

“To be in South Africa, my home, the country that lifted me into the world, to be playing with Bill Gates, a man who invented an operating system that changed my life and took me into the world, to be playing against two of the greatest tennis players in not just our lifetime but possibly all-time in one of the greatest cities in the world, is truly an experience I don’t even think I could fully comprehend and absorb right now,” Noah said. “I think events like these remind South Africans what we’re capable of, it reminds me of the magic we can achieve. We come together when sports are being played and I think we need to keep this energy as a nation because this is where we need to move forward to.

“We need to keep excelling, we need to keep getting better, we need to keep thriving, we need to keep striving to get better as a country and nights like tonight remind us of what we can do as a country.”

The more than $3 million will go towards the Roger Federer Foundation, which has been actively helping kids get off to a good start in their educational journeys for more than 16 years.

“It’s great for tennis, it’s great for charity, it’s great to inspire and motivate kids and other people to do good and he’s a kind man, Rafa,” Federer said. “You were kind enough to come here tonight. So did Bill, so did Trevor, and it was a magical evening. Thank you so, so much.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz have formed a budding ATP Head2Head rivalry over the past 15 months, and they will play once again at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Seven of the Top 15 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings, led by World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, are heading to Rotterdam for the first ATP 500 tournament of the season, and there are several first-round matches at which popcorn will be a requirement, with players who could make deep runs meeting in the opening round.

Second-seeded Tsitsipas has won four of his five matches against Hurkacz, with four of their battles coming in 2019. But their past three clashes have all been tightly contested, with Tsitsipas needing a final-set tie-break to triumph at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Tsitsipas loves to play aggressive tennis, serving big and working his way into the net. Hurkacz stands 6’5”, but he moves well for his height, making for a high level of tennis between two of the sport’s rising stars. Both men competed at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where Tsitsipas emerged victorious.

Another match to watch features two players who were inside the Top 10 at the same time last year: fifth seed Fabio Fognini and big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov. They split their first two meetings last season, which took place in back-to-back weeks in China. Fognini and Khachanov are two of the cleanest ball-strikers on the ATP Tour.

Two players who also belong in that category are in-form Russian Andrey Rublev and Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who will face one another for the fourth time. 

Basilashvili leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-1, including a victory in last year’s Hamburg final. But Rublev, who earned his lone win against the Georgian last season in Cincinnati, is in perhaps the best form of his career, winning a title in each of the first two weeks of the season, in Doha and Adelaide. The 22-year-old became the first player since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to start the season with back-to-back titles.

Eighth seed Denis Shapovalov will try to level his record against 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov (0-1) when they meet in Rotterdam. If Shapovalov advances, he could face fellow #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who plays powerful German Jan-Lennard Struff in his opener.

The top seed is Medvedev, who starts his tournament against a qualifier or special exempt. The Russian was one of the revelations of 2019 on the ATP Tour, and he will push to reach his first final of the season after leading all players with nine of them at tour-level last year. The first seeded opponent he could face is Rublev in the quarter-finals.

Other players to watch for are defending champion Gael Monfils, who opens against Portuguese Joao Sousa, and sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who won all six of his matches at the ATP Cup before falling in a five-set thriller against former World No. 3 Marin Cilic at the Australian Open. The Spaniard will play a qualifier or special exempt.

Seventh seed Filip Krajinovic saved two set points in the second set to beat France’s Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 7-5 in 75 minutes on Friday at the Open Sud de France. Krajinovic, who won the first four games of the match, saved two set points at 4-5, 15/40. He now plays Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, who led three-time former champion Richard Gasquet 6-1, 1-0 when the Frenchman retired after 32 minutes of play.

Later today, top-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, the 2010 and 2014 titlist, faces Norbert Gombos, while Pierre-Hugues Herbert looks to break a four-match losing streak against second seed David Goffin.

Serbian/Croatian Team Reach Doubles Final
Nikola Cacic and Mate Pavic recovered from 1-4 down in the first set en route to a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over Tomislav Brkic and Ante Pavic for a place in the Montpellier doubles final.