Japan’s Yuichi Sugita set a second-round showdown with Serbian Viktor Troicki on Monday at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.

The fifth-seeded Japanese beat Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 6-0. Sugita saved six of seven break points to improve to 2-1 in 2020. 

The 33-year-old Troicki qualified for the ATP 250 and secured his first singles win of the season with a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1 win against Indian Sumit Nagal, who took a set off Roger Federer last year in the first round of the US Open.

In other action, German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe beat 2019 finalist Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4 and will next meet second seed Ricardas Berankis. Seventh seed Salvatore Caruso of Italy also advanced, holding off Indian wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

A LOOK BACK
Oracle Challenger Series Newport Beach (Newport Beach, California, USA): To say that Thai-Son Kwiatkowski earned his first ATP Challenger Tour title would be an understatement. The American reeled off six wins in six days in Newport Beach, lifting his maiden trophy in emphatic fashion. Not only did Kwiatkowski topple four seeds in a row, but he rallied from a set down to overcome Brayden Schnur and Steve Johnson along the way.

The former University of Virginia standout dominated Sunday’s final, beating Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 6-1 in just 58 minutes. Appearing in his first final, Kwiatkowski exhibited nerves of steel in taking the title. He soared 89 spots to a career-high No. 181 in the FedEx ATP Rankings with the victory.

“I almost didn’t come to this tournament,” said Kwiatkowski during the trophy ceremony. “I had a really bad week of training last week and my girlfriend dumped me two weeks ago so to win this is amazing.

“He qualified for the Australian Open last week so I knew he’s super match tough and playing well. I was incredibly nervous, it was my first ATP Challenger final. I just tried to not think about what was on the line and play every point. It was super difficult, it was a little bit cooler than yesterday. But I hung in there really well.”

The NCAA singles champion in 2017, Kwiatkowski was also an integral part of three national championship runs for the University of Virginia. Now, three years after turning pro, he is putting it all together on the professional scene alongside longtime coach Carlos Benatzky. He is coming off a 23-win season that also saw him claim his first Top 100 victory.

Kwiatkowski, who was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, is three-quarters Vietnamese and one-quarter Polish. Last year, he visited Vietnam to hold a series of kids’ clinics in Ho Chi Minh City. The 24-year-old has stressed the importance of growing the game in his mother’s native country.

Meanwhile, in doubles, Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar continued their impressive run together, earning a seventh Challenger title as a team. All seven titles have come within the past year, as the Uruguayan-Ecuadorian pair move closer to the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings.

Caterpillar Burnie International (Burnie, Australia): Top seed Taro Daniel was a class above the rest in Burnie. The World No. 110 dominated from start to finish, not dropping a set en route to lifting the trophy. He conceded just five games in the quarter-finals, four games in the semis and routed Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday’s championship.

It was a long-awaited return to the winners’ circle for the Japanese star, who celebrated his first title since 2017. It was his sixth overall on the ATP Challenger Tour and first alongside new coach Sven Groeneveld. Closing in on a Top 100 return, he rises eight spots to No. 102 in the latest FedEx ATP Rankings.

Watch Daniel Interview

Punta Open (Punta del Este, Uruguay): The first clay-court champion of 2020 is Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro. The 25-year-old successfully defended his Punta del Este crown in dramatic fashion, saving three match points against Marco Cecchinato in Sunday’s final.

Monteiro, who fought off those three championship points at 5-4 in the third set, prevailed 7-6(3), 6-7(6), 7-5 after two hours and 51 minutes. He turned in a clutch serving performance as well, denying eight of nine break points faced.

In 2019, Monteiro broke through with three Challenger titles and soared inside the Top 100 to become the No. 1-ranked Brazilian. This week, he picked up right where he left off, adding a sixth title overall after opening the year with a run to the second round at the ASB Classic in Auckland as a qualifier.

Open Quimper Bretagne Occidentale (Quimper, France): Kwiatkowski wasn’t the only player to lift his first trophy on Sunday. In Quimper, Cem Ilkel reigned for the first time, defeating home hope Maxime Janvier 7-6(6), 7-5 for the title.

The 24-year-old Ilkel is the first player from Turkey to win a Challenger title since Marsel Ilhan in 2016. He earned every bit of the victory, with four of his wins coming in three sets. He rises 65 spots to a career-high No. 200 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Meanwhile, in Quimper, another first-time winner was crowned.

Cem Ilkel is Turkey’s ?? first #ATPChallenger champion since 2016, taking the title @OpendeQuimper. pic.twitter.com/loE0VswQ3q

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 2, 2020

A LOOK AHEAD
Two tournaments highlight this week’s slate, with Frances Tiafoe headlining the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas. He is joined by Andreas Seppi, Dominik Koepfer, Brayden Schnur, defending champion Mitchell Krueger and two-time runner-up Mackenzie McDonald.

And in Launceston, Australia, Marc Polmans and Alex Bolt lead the charge on home soil. Max Purcell, seeded 10th, is coming off a run to the Australian Open doubles final with countryman Luke Saville.

No. 56 Tennys Sandgren, +44
The American, who dropped out of the Top 100 on 13 January, bounced back with a 44-place rise to No. 56 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second time (also 2018). Sandgren reached a career-high No. 41 on 14 January 2019.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic, +1
The Serbian star captured his eighth Australian Open crown — which marked his 17th Grand Slam championship title — for a return to No. 1. Djokovic, who has now been World No. 1 for 276 weeks during nine of the past 10 seasons (2011-16, 2018-20), will break Roger Federer’s record for most weeks at No. 1 (310 weeks) if he stays at the top until 5 October. Read More

View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings

No. 20 Nick Kyrgios, +6
The Australian returned to the Top 20 for the first time since 13 August 2018 (at No. 18) after advancing to the Australian Open fourth round (l. to Nadal). Kyrgios attained a career-high No. 13 on 24 October 2016.

No. 53 Marton Fucsovics, +14
The Hungarian beat Denis Shapovalov, Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul en route to the Australian Open fourth round for a second time (also 2018) to rise up 14 places in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He remains 22 spots below his career-high of No. 31 on 4 March 2019. Read Feature

Other Notable Movers
No. 15 Andrey Rublev (Career High), +1
No. 31 Cristian Garin (Career High), +5
No. 41 John Millman, +6
No. 66 Yoshihito Nishioka, +5
No. 70 Tommy Paul (Career High), +10
No. 78 Jannik Sinner, +4
No. 90 Egor Gerasimov, +8

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic today returns to the top of the FedEx ATP Rankings for a fifth stint after capturing a record-extending eighth Australian Open title. It will be his 276th week at the top, replacing Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who had overtaken him at No. 1 on 4 November last year.

Djokovic, who has now been World No. 1 during nine of the past 10 seasons (2011-16, 2018-20), will break Roger Federer’s record for most weeks at No. 1 (310 weeks) if he stays at the top until 5 October.

“That’s one of the two biggest goals, for sure. I mean, there is no secret in that,” said Djokovic, after winning in Melbourne.

View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said, “Novak has had a faultless start to the season, leading Serbia to victory at the ATP Cup and capturing a record eighth Australian Open crown. He has proven yet again that he is the man to beat and his record in Australia is second to none. Many congratulations to Novak and his team on such impressive start to the year and his deserved return to World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.”

Djokovic first ascended to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings aged 24 on 4 July 2011 for a total of 53 weeks until 8 July 2012. The Serbian returned to top spot on three further occasions between 5 November 2012 and 6 October 2013 (48 weeks), from 7 July 2014 to 6 November 2016 (122 weeks) and from 5 November 2018 to 3 November 2019 (52 weeks).

The 32-year-old Djokovic is unbeaten in 2020 with a perfect 13-0 match record, which includes helping Team Serbia clinch the inaugural ATP Cup trophy. His Australian Open win takes Djokovic’s Grand Slam championship tally to 17 (third in the all-time list behind Federer on 20 and Nadal on 19) and gives him a strong lead in the year-to-date FedEx ATP Race To London.

Tickets are now on public sale for the Nitto ATP Finals, which marks the 50th anniversary of the season finale and will be the 12th and final edition held in London, before it moves to Turin, Italy, in 2021. The Nitto ATP Finals will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Buy Tickets

MOST WEEKS AT NO. 1 IN FEDEX ATP RANKINGS (since 1973)
A list of the total number of weeks each player has spent at No. 1 in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings (since 1973):

With his eighth Australian Open and 17^th Grand Slam title, Novak Djokovic gave himself a cushion against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the hunt for the most “Big Titles”, a trophy at a Grand Slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals or an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Djokovic now has 56 Big Titles compared to 54 each for Federer and Nadal. The 32-year-old Serbian improved to 13-0 in 2020 with his 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against Austrian Dominic Thiem on Sunday in Melbourne. It marked the first time that Djokovic has come back from two sets to one down in a Grand Slam final.

The new World No. 1 also maintained his leading win rate at Big Title events. Djokovic has won 56 titles from 186 events, meaning he wins a Big Title every 3.3 opportunities. Nadal is close behind, with a win rate of 3.4 (54/185), while Federer trails them both with a win rate of 4.3 (54/234).

All three players will next have a chance to win a Big Title in March at the season’s first Masters 1000 event, the BNP Paribas Open, to be followed by the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990.

Novak Djokovic had to dig deeper than he has ever dug in the past, but the 32-year-old Serbian still found a way to win his record-extending eighth Australian Open title and 17th Grand Slam crown on Sunday in Melbourne.

Djokovic came back from two sets to one down for the first time in a major final to beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 over three hours and 59 minutes. Fellow ATP Tour players, former players and legends of the sport took to social media to congratulate Djokovic on his historic achievement.

Idemo!!! @DjokerNole ??

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) February 2, 2020

Congratulations @DjokerNole, champions always find a way and you did again tonight. It was a magnificent final. Dominic, your time will come make no mistake. Keep fighting hard, you’re a real star.

— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) February 2, 2020

Congrats to @DjokerNole for his 8th @AustralianOpen title and to @ThiemDomi for an amazing run!! Bravo guys ?￰ﾟﾏﾼ?￰ﾟﾏﾼ

— Fernando Verdasco (@FerVerdasco) February 2, 2020

Congrats to Novak and his team! What a start to 2020 for him? @AustralianOpen

— Magnus Norman (@normansweden) February 2, 2020

Congratulations ?￰ﾟﾍﾾ Djoker @DjokerNole on your 8th @AustralianOpen 17th grand slam with a grueling 5th set win over Home ? Thiem ?￰ﾟﾘﾎ?￰ﾟﾑﾍ? ?

— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) February 2, 2020

.@DjokerNole

?? ????????
?? ?
?? ?????
?? ???#Djokovic

— Nicolas Kiefer (@Nicolas_Kiefer) February 2, 2020

?￢ﾚﾡ️? @ Melbourne https://t.co/KmdufpwYaR

— Janko Tipsarevic (@TipsarevicJanko) February 2, 2020

Thank you Australia #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/fzyi5vspXU

— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) February 2, 2020

Congratulations to @DjokerNole
Number 17th Grand Slam ???#Australianopen

— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) February 2, 2020

Word https://t.co/j6FlNACPAt

— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) February 2, 2020

Incredible. Congrats @DjokerNole ? https://t.co/bsZbXC1L4o

— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) February 2, 2020

Seven times Novak Djokovic had trailed his opponent two sets to one in a Grand Slam final, and all seven times Djokovic had lost.

But on Sunday against Dominic Thiem, Djokovic rallied from that deficit for the first time to win his eighth Australian Open title and 17^th major championship.

The 32-year-old Serbian moved to within two major titles of Rafael Nadal (19) and three of all-time leader Roger Federer (20). After the comeback win, Djokovic reflected on the root of his mental strength and what helped him achieve the career-first comeback.

“We all grew up in different circumstances, different countries, different upbringing. My upbringing was in Serbia during several wars during the ’90s, difficult time, an embargo in our country where we had to wait in line for bread, milk, water, some basic things in life. These kind of things make you stronger and hungrier for success I think in whatever you choose to do,” Djokovic said.

“That probably has been my foundation, the very fact that I came from literally nothing and difficult life circumstances together with my family and with my people. Going back to that, reminding myself where I came from always inspires me, motivates me to push even harder.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why I managed to find that extra gear, the mental strength to overcome challenges when they present themselves.”

Djokovic has made a career of overcoming challenges, especially in the big moments. He is now 17-9 in Grand Slam finals and will begin his fifth stint — and 276th week — at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday.

If he maintains that place throughout 2020, Djokovic is projected to pass childhood idol Pete Sampras (286 weeks at No. 1) on 20 April and Federer (310 weeks) on 5 October to set a new all-time record for most weeks at No. 1.

“Grand Slams are one of the main reasons why I am still competing and still playing a full season, trying to obviously get the historic No. 1. That’s the other big goal. I put myself in this position that is really good at the moment. I’m super happy with the way I started the season. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the year,” Djokovic said.

“I’ve had that privilege to win this big tournament for eight times. To start off the season with a Grand Slam win significantly boosts your confidence and your expectations are quite high for the rest of the season. But whatever happens, this season is already successful.”

It was a “turbulent” final, Djokovic said, one unlike any other he’s experienced because of the comeback but also because of his mid-match dip that Thiem seized upon to lead two sets to one.

“After I lost the second set, I start to feel really bad on the court. My energy dropped significantly. To be honest, I don’t still understand the reason why that has happened because I’ve been doing the things that I’ve been doing before all of my matches. I was hydrated well and everything. Apparently doctor said I wasn’t hydrated enough,” Djokovic said.

“[I] regained my energy and strength midway in the fourth set and got back into the match. I was on the brink of losing the match. Dominic is a fantastic tennis player that plays with tremendous amount of power in his shots, especially from the forehand side. He uses his slice really well. He disrupted my rhythm in my game at one point. He was a better player.”

But in the fourth and fifth sets, Djokovic relied on a rarely used but much improved part of his game – serving and volleying – to lead for good.

“Probably one point and one shot separated us tonight. Could have gone a different way. I served and volleyed when I was facing a break point in the fourth and in the fifth. It worked both of the times. It could have also been different. Serve and volley is not something I’m accustomed to. I’m not really doing that that often,” Djokovic said.

“I kind of recognised that as an important tactic in those circumstances, and I’m really happy it worked.”

Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have continued to evolve and improve throughout their historic careers. And, just as Federer and Nadal are thinking, Djokovic also has his mind set on even more improvement. After a bit of rest, one of the most mentally strong players in history will be eager to get back to the practice court and start to repeat the cycle: improve, win more trophies, improve, win more trophies.

“What I can do to still improve? There are many things on the tennis court that I can still improve. That excites me and motivates me to go day in, day out with my commitments, with my practice sessions, because there’s always something to work on, there are always more trophies to win,” Djokovic said.

Did you know?
Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win a Grand Slam title in three different decades. Ken Rosewall also accomplished the feat in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.