Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to six players who retired in 2018. In part two of our two-part series, we will look back at the careers of five other players, including Mikhail Youzhny.

Tommy Haas (Retired: 16 March), career-high No. 2
There were many highs and injury lows — nine surgeries in total — during the German’s career, which took him to as high as No. 2 in the ATP Rankings on 13 May 2002 and eight Top 20 season finishes. The 39-year-old Haas lifted 15 ATP Tour trophies from 28 finals, he won 569 matches—second-most among Germans in the Open Era to Boris Becker (713) and earned the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was twice named as the ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 2004 and 2012, with his final tour-level match win coming against his good friend, Roger Federer, in June 2017 at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. In June 2016, Haas was named Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a role he will continue in his playing retirement. Read & Watch Tribute

Alejandro Falla (Retired: 25 January), career-high No. 48
The first Colombian to break into the Top 100 since Mauricio Hadad in 1996, Falla’s career-high arguably came in defeat in the 2010 Wimbledon first round. At 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 5-4, Falla came within three points of beating Roger Federer, but he blinked. Tour-level victories over Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin del Potro, Ivan Ljubicic and Tommy Haas were also huge confidence boosters for Falla, who rose to a career-high No. 48 on 16 July 2012.

On home soil in 2013, Falla advanced to the inaugural Bogota tournament final (l. to Karlovic) and the following year at the 2014 Gerry Weber Open, he became the first Colombian to reach a grass-court final (l. to Federer). His best Grand Slam championship result came in 2011, when, as a qualifier, he advanced to the fourth round (l. to Chela). The 34-year-old left-hander also had an 11-8 record in ATP Challenger Tour finals. Read More

Sam Groth (Retired: 24 January), career-high No. 53
The Australian was one of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour, but at the end of 2017 lacked desire. “I just don’t think my heart was in it to keep going,” said 30-year-old Groth. “I wanted to be able to go out at home as well.”

So, in partnership with his great mate, Lleyton Hewitt, Groth bid farewell to the sport at this year’s Australian Open. He rose to a career-high No. 53 in the ATP Rankings in 2015, the year he reached the third round at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Groth, who won two doubles titles with Chris Guccione at 2014 Bogota and 2016 Newport, played Aussie Rules football in 2011, before returning to tennis in 2012. Read More

Daniel Nestor (Retired: 15 September), career-high doubles No. 1
Father Time waits for no one. Not even 45-year-old Nestor, the tactician with a killer left-handed serve and great variety, who was the first doubles player to pass the 1,000 match wins milestone on 11 January 2016. The Canadian’s resume speaks for itself: 91 tour-level doubles titles (with 11 different partners), including eight Grand Slam championship men’s doubles crowns, doubles World No. 1 on 19 August 2002, 10 stints at the top of the ATP Doubles Rankings, more than 15 years in the Top 10 and plenty more accolades to celebrate.

As a singles competitor, he recorded four Top 10 wins and rose to a career-high No. 58 in the ATP Rankings. Fittingly, his final ATP Tour event came at his 30th Rogers Cup. Read & Watch Tribute

Andre Sa (Retired: 1 March), career-high doubles No. 17
Hailing from the talent hotbed of Minas Tênis Clube, the Brazilian moved to the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida aged 13 and for much of his 23-season pro career was a talented player, a diplomat and ambassador, comfortable in dealing with complex matters. As a speaker of five languages, Sa was a knowledgeable advocate for the development of tennis on the ATP Player Council from 2012 to 2016.

The Brazilian captured 11 ATP Tour doubles crowns (11-19 finals record) and advanced to the 2007 Wimbledon semi-finals with Marcelo Melo. As a singles competitor he reached the 2002 Wimbledon quarter-finals (l. to Henman) and rose to a career-high No. 55 on 12 August 2002. Read & Watch Tribute

Scott Lipsky (Retired: 25 June), career-high doubles No. 21
A standout junior and a three-time All-American Stanford graduate, Lipsky carved out a successful doubles career that included 16 ATP Tour titles, five of which came on Portuguese soil. The 36-year-old, who tore his meniscus in in 2017, contested his final tournament at Roland Garros, the scene of his 2011 mixed doubles title with Australia’s Casey Dellacqua.

“You watch these matches on television, and you wish that someday you can be there,” said Lipsky. “To be on this stage playing a Grand Slam final, and to come out with a win, and to say now for the rest of my life that I’m a Grand Slam champion, it’s amazing.”

With Rajeev Ram, the duo lost to fellow Stanford graduates Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the 2014 US Open semi-finals. He rose to a career-high No. 21 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 17 June 2013.

Kevin Anderson helped raise more than $100,000 last weekend at his inaugural Grand Slam Cause For the Paws, supporting South Florida dog rescue Dezzy’s Second Chance and Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance.

The idea came about in Januar 2017, when Anderson had to miss the Australian swing due to injury. The South African and wife, Kelsey Anderson, were eating lunch one day in Florida just after practice when Kelsey saw a dog that caught her attention.

“A few weeks later, we adopted her, and since then we’ve really gotten close with the rescue,” said Anderson of ‘Lady Kady’, the dog the Andersons adopted from Dezzy’s Second Chance. “That’s why a weekend like this so exciting for us.”

On Saturday, former player and comedian Michael Kosta hosted a question-and-answer session, and there was also a live auction. Former ATP star Sebastien Grosjean and WTA players Eugenie Bouchard and Shelby Rogers also attended. Rain delayed the tennis portion of the event, but there was plenty of action on Sunday at the Boca Grove Plantation Tennis Center, as Anderson and American Tennys Sandgren faced Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

^{Sebastien Grosjean, Tennys Sandgren, Michael Kosta, Kevin Anderson, Shelby Rogers and Eugenie Bouchard.}
“This was a great event,” Mike Bryan said. “It had a great turnout, raising a lot of money for some unbelievable causes. He helped us out with our event a few days ago and we’re happy to help him. He’s one of the nicest guys on Tour, does a lot for charity, so it was a pleasure playing him in the exhibition.”

Everyone involved backed the special causes. Anderson has posted on social media about the importance of reducing single-use plastics, reusing safe plastics and recycling.

“Hats off for what they’re doing,” Bob Bryan said. “We’re happy to support whenever we can. He’s done so much for us, he’s a great friend of ours and we’ll be doing this event for a lot of years.”

Sandgren gave credit to the effort the Andersons put into the event, and was happy to do whatever he could to offer his support.

“Kevin and Kelsey are awesome people and they do a lot of great work, and they’ve worked so hard to get this charity event running. So when he asked me to participate, I didn’t even think twice about it,” Sandgren said. “The fact that there are two great causes that we’re fighting for here — for dogs getting a second chance and for the ocean’s health and renewable plastics — I think it’s fantastic. I think both of these causes are great and I’m excited to be helping out.”

While the event is over, there are still time left in and online auction in which fans can bid on items signed by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and more, with all proceeds going to charity.

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2018 season. In part two of our two-part series, we look at the year’s final six first-time winners.

Mischa Zverev – Eastbourne [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
Employing an exclusive serve-and-volley gameplan, Mischa Zverev turned back the clock to take his first ATP World Tour title at the Nature Valley International in June. Zverev lifted his maiden trophy on the grass of Eastbourne with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Lukas Lacko, sprinting forward and slicing and dicing his way to the crown after one hour and 37 minutes.

It was a long time coming for then 30-year-old Zverev, who dropped as low as No. 1067 in March 2015 after dealing with a series of injuries.

“It feels amazing,” said Zverev. “It was definitely one of the emotional moments in my life… I always wanted to win at least a title. For many years I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I was going to do it, especially when I was ranked No. 1100.

“But thank God I have my family and my brother and the whole team, my wife who is always telling me, ‘No, you can achieve things, you can do big things. Just believe in yourself, work hard, and it’s going to pay off one day.’ Luckily I have them and luckily I was able to listen to them, believe in myself, and just keep working and wait for it. Finally, I’m here. It’s incredible.”

Matteo Berrettini – Gstaad [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
Prior to arriving in Gstaad, Matteo Berrettini had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after beating three seeded opponents in five matches at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad, the Italian lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy.

Berrettini saved two set points in a tense first set before clinching the only break of the match to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(9), 6-4 in one hour and 45 minutes. The 22-year-old Gstaad debutant, who also captured his maiden tour-level doubles trophy at the event, won each of his 49 service games en route to the title, navigating his way past fourth seed Andrey Rublev, eighth seed Feliciano Lopez and second-seeded Bautista Agut along the way.

“[It was an] unbelievable week,” said Berrettini. “I think I played the best tennis of my life and I am really happy.” 

Nikoloz Basilashvili – Hamburg [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
Having trailed 3-5 in the third set of his final-round qualifying match, it seemed unlikely that Nikoloz Basilashvili would reach the main draw at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann. But that did not stop the World No. 81 from making national history.

After rallying from behind to qualify for the ATP World Tour 500 event, the Georgian navigated his way past three Top 40 players to become the first man from his nation to capture an ATP World Tour title. Basilashvili defeated two-time Hamburg titlist Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 in the championship match to rise to No. 35 in the ATP Rankings, setting another Georgian record.

“What a match today. I’m extremely tired, I played seven matches. I literally gave, in every match, my heart,” Basilashvili said on court after the victory. “I’m pretty sure every player worked so hard for this, but it’s an unbelievable moment for me.”

Yoshihito Nishioka – Shenzhen [First-Time Winner Spotlight]  
Just 18 months after tearing his left ACL at the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau, Yoshihito Nishioka became the sixth qualifier to win a tour-level title in 2018 at the Shenzhen Open, beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

“I believe this is the beginning,” said Nishioka. “[Now I will] try to win [ATP World Tour] 500 and [Masters] 1000 events… This is a very happy [moment] and I believe I can win more.”

Nishioka, who saved two match points at 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-5 (15/40) against Denis Shapovalov in the second round, won 61 per cent of second-serve return points and withstood 12 aces from Herbert to lift his first tour-level trophy after two hours and 20 minutes.

Stefanos Tsitsipas – Stockholm [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas made history at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The 20-year-old, who had reached championship matches in Barcelona and Toronto earlier in the season, defeated qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-4 to become the first Greek to capture an ATP World Tour title.

Tsitsipas dominated on serve, winning 80 per cent of his service points and saving the only break point he faced. The No. 3 seed dropped the second set of his opening-round match against John Millman, but then won seven consecutive sets to emerge victorious in the Swedish capital.

“Of course I feel happy because I’m the first Greek [to win a title]. Hopefully many Greek players can achieve something like this. I would be super happy to see them achieve something like this in the future,” Tsitsipas said. “Representing my country at such high-level tournaments, being the first Greek to crack the Top 100 is very, very special for me.”

Kyle Edmund – Antwerp [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
After opening the season in style with a surprise run to the Australian Open semi-finals, Kyle Edmund became the final first-time winner of the 2018 season at the European Open in Antwerp. The British No. 1 claimed his maiden tour-level crown in dramatic fashion, defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) after two hours and 27 minutes.

If there was any doubt that the moment meant a lot to the British No. 1, Edmund broke down into tears as he walked over to celebrate with his team after crushing a forehand winner down the line to clinch the milestone victory.

“I’m obviously very happy. A lot of hard work goes into this. So it’s just emotional,” Edmund said on court. “You always remember this one. Gael made me work for it today, that’s for sure, so credit to him. I’m just so happy.”

Rafael Nadal was the king of break points in 2018.

The 32-year-old Spaniard finished the season at No. 2 in the ATP Rankings with a 45-4 record, including five titles. He also earned more than $8.6 million dollars in prize money. Nadal’s outstanding performance in the crucible of break points – both when serving and receiving – was a major reason.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Nadal on break points in 2018 uncovered that he finished second best on tour this year with break points saved, and third best with break points converted.

Rafael Nadal: 2018 Season
No. 2: Break Points Saved = 70.46% (198//281)
No. 3: Break Points Converted = 45.57% (216/474)

The following analysis combines break points saved when serving along with converting break points when receiving into one number. As you will see from the table below, which includes the best 10 players in this combined metric, Nadal’s separation on break point is evident.

2018 Season: Combined Total – Break Points Saved & Converted

Roger Federer finished second best with the combined total (110.37), which helped power the Swiss to an end-of-season ATP ranking of No. 3. He also spent six weeks at No. 1 earlier in the year.

Gael Monfils finished 10th best in the combined totals list, and actually finished first in Break Points Converted for all players on tour in 2018, winning 46.42 per cent (149/321). Steve Johnson was the tour leader in Break Points Saved, at 70.75 per cent (208/294).

Nadal and Federer both had an outstanding win rate on break points in 2018.

2018: Nadal & Federer – Percentage of Break Points Played

The illustrious careers of both Nadal and Federer have been built around winning the big points, and 2018 was no exception.

Nick Kyrgios has thrilled countless fans throughout the world with his tennis. But the Australian continues to prove that his kindness off the court makes an impact, too.

Kyrgios, who has ramped up the work with his NK Foundation in 2018, participated in the Get Set Games Charity Challenge at the Kaleen Tennis Club in Canberra, Australia on Saturday. The event raised more than $5,000 for his foundation.

But more important were the memories that Kyrgios helped create for the nearly 100 children in attendance. One girl, Loga Gandhi, caught Kyrgios’ eye.

For the past 18 months, the eight-year-old has been recovering from a bone marrow transplant that was performed to treat leukemia. Gandhi was forced to stop playing tennis once diagnosed with leukemia in order to focus on her recovery. So for Kyrgios, it was an honour just to be able to hit some balls with her.

“For her to come out to have a hit, she felt up to it and that was pretty special,” Kyrgios told the Canberra Times. “She found out about [her illness] when she started playing tennis, so she couldn’t continue. I put a whole bag of stuff — clothes, tennis racquets and everything — and gave it to her. To hit with her was great, I got pretty emotional. It was heartwarming, but it breaks me as well.”

The NK Foundation is continuing to raise funds in order to open a facility in Dandenong, Australia, where underprivileged youth can visit for a safe haven. There will be tennis courts, basketball courts, a gym and a pool to give kids a chance to participate in various physical activities when they might not have an opportunity to do so elsewhere.

Saturday’s charity event was just another example of what Kyrgios wants to do to help children for years to come. For all the kids who walked away with a smile on their face after taking a picture with this year’s Brisbane International champion or even getting to hit a ball with him, Kyrgios smiled, too.

“I was excited to get out here and to get out with the kids again,” Kyrgios said. “To see the smiles on their faces [is great].”

View Kyrgios’ Charity Profile

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2018 season. In part one of our two-part series, we look at the year’s first seven first-time winners.

Daniil Medvedev – Sydney [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
In the youngest ATP World Tour final since Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2007 BNP Paribas Open, Daniil Medvedev overcame home favourite and first-time tour-level finalist Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the Sydney International.

“It’s amazing,” Medvedev said. “I’m really happy. To make it through the qualies, there were so many circumstances. I wanted to go to Auckland, because my girlfriend had a visa to New Zealand, and not even one guy withdrew from Auckland… now I won here. So [it’s] just amazing.”

One year on from appearing in his first final in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut), Medvedev needed two hours and 13 minutes to capture his maiden tour-level trophy. It proved to be the catalyst for a stellar 2018 season, with the Russian also lifting titles in Winston-Salem and Tokyo.

Mirza Basic – Sofia [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
In a meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Mirza Basic overcame Marius Copil 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-4 to lift his maiden ATP World Tour singles crown at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Basic. “I made the breakthrough to the Top 100 [of the ATP Rankings] and I won my first ATP [World Tour] title, so I’m very happy. Winning the first Best of 2018: First-Time Winners Part 1 from the first [final] is a very good thing.”

The 26-year-old became just the second player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win a tour-level title, following compatriot Damir Dzumhur, who earned his maiden crown at the 2017 St. Petersburg Open. Basic, en route to the trophy, scored his first Top 20 win, upsetting Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.

Roberto Carballes Baena – Quito [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
Entering the tournament seeking his first tour-level match win in almost a year, Roberto Carballes Baena could not have written a more dramatic script to lift his first ATP World Tour trophy at the Ecuador Open.

The Spanish qualifier won six matches in seven days, upsetting fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi and eighth seed Nicolas Jarry en route to the final, before overcoming second-seeded countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes to finish off the dream run.

“Many feelings come to my mind and many years of training to achieve this,” said Carballes Baena. “I thank my family, my parents in particular. They have been with me since I was little and have been behind me for a long time. We will celebrate this in Spain.” 

Frances Tiafoe – Delray Beach [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
After defeating Juan Martin del Potro, Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov en route to the final, wild card Frances Tiafoe coasted to his first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach. The Maryland native beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-1, 6-4 to become the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston.

Before his appearance at the New York Open the previous week, Tiafoe had won nine tour-level matches (9-31) and had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after reaching the last eight in New York (l. to Anderson) and triumphing in Delray Beach, Tiafoe almost doubled his tour-level win count (16) in two weeks.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s obviously a dream to win your first title,” said Tiafoe. “Now I have got that off my back, so that feels pretty good so early in my career. It’s an amazing feeling and I just hope I can get many more as I go along.”

Marco Cecchinato – Budapest [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
After losing in the final round of qualifying in straight sets, Marco Cecchinato was handed a lifeline at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, gaining entry to the main draw as a lucky loser.

Seven days later, the World No. 92, who had never reached a tour-level semi-final before his arrival in Budapest, defeated fellow first-time tour-level finalist John Millman 7-5, 6-4 to claim his maiden trophy.

“I lost Sunday and now I won the tournament. It’s amazing for me,” Cecchinato said. “Maybe it’s a dream.”

The victory proved to be the start of a special run for the Italian, who stunned Novak Djokovic en route to the Roland Garros semi-finals and picked up his second title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag in July.

Taro Daniel – Istanbul [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
In another meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Taro Daniel capped a memorable week in Istanbul with a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Malek Jaziri at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open.

Prior to his arrival in Istanbul, the Japanese had never advanced to an ATP World Tour semi-final. He had owned a 6-15 record at all levels since October 2017. In his quarter-final against Rogerio Dutra Silva, Daniel came within one point of trailing 5-0 in the deciding set, but recovered well and then later found his best tennis against Jaziri in the two-hour, 22-minute championship match.

“Obviously [I am] really happy. I think today was a great match, a lot of long rallies from the beginning until the end,” said Daniel. “I’m obviously pretty surprised that I suddenly won an ATP [World Tour title]. But I guess things like this happen.”

Marton Fucsovics – Geneva [First-Time Winner Spotlight] 
Marton Fucsovics made Hungarian history in front of a packed crowd at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, ousting Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and eight minutes to become the first Hungarian to claim a tour-level crown since 1982. 

Following in the footsteps of countryman Balazs Taroczy, who lifted the last of his 13 titles in Hilversum, Fuscovics also assured himself of a place inside the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings for the first time. Fucsovics rose to No. 45 after his title run, becoming the first player from his country to break into the Top 50 since former World No. 12 Taroczy.

“I really love Switzerland,” Fucsovics exclaimed. “Last year, I played my first ATP quarter-final in Basel and now I won my first title here, so it’s really special for me. We’ve been working a long time for this. The last two years were very hard for me in my life, but hopefully I will have a very long career after this.”