The ATP and Nestlé Skin Health announced today a new global partnership which sees Daylong, one of Nestlé Skin Health’s leading science-based consumer brands, become the official sun care brand of the ATP World Tour for a two-year period beginning in 2016.

“Tennis is a sport which follows the sun and players are increasingly aware of the potential damage to their skin,” said Todd Ellenbecker, Vice President of ATP Medical Services. “Beyond the players, there are approximately 4.5 million fans who attend ATP World Tour events every year, with significant exposure to the sun. We are delighted to initiate such a meaningful partnership with a truly authoritative sun care brand.”

“The Daylong brand perfectly meets the needs of tennis players, who spend a tremendous number of hours on court and absolutely need an effective and reliable way to protect their skin,” said Peter Sonnekus-Williams, Chief Marketing Officer of Nestlé Skin Health Consumer. “Such level of sun exposure can lead not only to sunburn but premature aging as well as an increased risk of skin cancer. I am truly convinced that Daylong is the high performance sun care brand they need. This partnership is also a perfect fit with Nestlé Skin Health’s consumer strategy, which is to bring science-based solutions to the broader skin health market in order to enhance people’s quality of life.”

A number of ATP players, such as Philipp Kohlschreiber, already use the Daylong brand to keep their skin healthy. “I know I really have to get my skin protected from the sun while I spend hours on the court every day,” said Kohlschreiber. “And I need a reliable and convenient product to do so. The Daylong product range is just perfect. It is sweat-and water-resistant, as well as quickly absorbed.”

Already present at ATP World Tour events in Sydney, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai, the Daylong brand will be featured at several more tournaments in 2016, including Geneva the week prior to Roland Garros, as well as the grass-court tournament in Halle.

Rafael Nadal got a confidence boosting victory on Sunday as he opened his campaign at the BNP Paribas Open.

The fourth seed and three-time champion saved 11 of 14 break points to beat fellow left-hander Gilles Muller 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes for a place in the third round. It was their fifth meeting, and their first since the 2011 US Open.

“[I’m] very happy for the victory after my last three matches that I’ve lost have been in three sets or five sets,” said Nadal, after his ninth match win of the season. “So I needed a victory like this. I was very happy about my attitude. [It] was a great victory for me.”

Nadal is now 45-8 in Indian Wells, including titles in 2007, 2009 and 2013.

Nadal, a winner of 27 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, will next face Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco. Although Nadal has a 14-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record, Verdasco won their last match over five sets in this year’s Australian Open first round.

“I need to play better in the next match,” said Nadal. “I play against a tough opponent [Verdasco]. He beat me in Australia this year.”

A LOOK BACK
RC Hotel Open (Jonkoping, Sweden): The ATP Challenger Tour returned to Sweden for the first time in 20 years and the final did not disappoint. Andrey Golubev saved four match points to deny Next Generation star Karen Khachanov 6-7(9), 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in a pulsating two hours and 44 minutes. 19-year-old Khachanov did well to fight back from 2/5 down in the first set tie-break and served for the match at 6-5 in the second. Golubev turned aside a pair of match points at 40/15 and another two points later, before forcing a tie-break and extending the encounter to a decider. In the third set, the Russian teen was once again denied when serving for the championship at 5-3 and he would hold a fourth match point three games later. But this was the Kazakh veteran’s day, taking the deciding tie-break for his seventh Challenger crown and first in two years. Watch Golubev Save 4 MP

It was the longest final on the circuit this year and first to feature three tie-breaks since 2012, when Lukas Rosol edged Bjorn Phau 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-6(6) in Bratislava. Also, the last time at least four match points were saved in a final was in Tiburon (USA) last year, when Tim Smyczek also saved four in beating Denis Kudla.

Read: Challenger Tennis Back In Sweden

ATP Challenger Zhuhai (Zhuhai, China): Another tournament made its ATP Challenger Tour debut last week, as the sparkling state of the art Hengqin International Tennis Centre in Zhuhai, China, hosted a $50,000 event. Almost 2,500 people filed in to see fourth seed Thomas Fabbiano lift the trophy, downing home hope Zhang Ze 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and one minute on Sunday. The Italian claimed six of 17 break points for his second Challenger title, having earned his maiden victory in 2013 on home soil in Recanati. Zhang, meanwhile, was appearing in his second final in three weeks following a runner-up finish in Kyoto, Japan. He was the third Chinese finalist on the Challenger circuit already this year, with Wu Di notching its first title in Maui.

Read: Zhuhai Venue Feature | Wu Di’s Coach Shaves Head After Title

Cachantun Cup (Santiago, Chile): Top seed Facundo Bagnis solidified his return to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, notching his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the year and eighth overall. The Argentine overcame Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 in Sunday’s Santiago final, joining Gerald Melzer and Mikhail Youzhny as three-time Challenger champions in 2016. Bagnis also prevailed on the South American clay courts of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro earlier in the year. The champion in Santiago in 2013 and 2015 as well, he is the first player to successfully defend a title this year. Only two players had retained a crown last year – Jiri Vesely (Prostejov) and Somdev Devvarman (New Delhi).

Abierto de Puebla (Puebla, Mexico): The inaugural edition of the Abierto de Puebla featured a battle of unseeded finalists vying for the title. Colombia’s Eduardo Struvay topped Pedja Krstin of Serbia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 for his second ATP Challenger Tour crown. Struvay had won his first title in November with victory on home soil in Bogota. For Krstin, it was his breakout tournament, having entered with the week with a 1-8 Challenger win-loss record since July. He had previously never reached the semis on the circuit, but on this occasion the Serb stunned top seed Benjamin Becker in a deciding tie-break.

What The Players Said
Golubev: “I’m happy to win, but a little bit tired. The match was strange. The first set I should have won, then in the second I had more chances in the beginning and then he had much more chances. He was serving for the match, had match points in the second set and in the third set again. It was up and down. I’m happy that I won.

“Just play in that moment (on the four match points saved). I had some bad luck with the net on break point and I was going a little bit crazy. But in tennis that can happen, so it’s an unbelievable sport for that. Maybe he got tense.”

Fabbiano: “I am very happy to win the title here in Zhuhai, especially in this beautiful venue. I felt some pressure today, because there are so many fans on site and they are all cheering for Zhang, but I still managed to win the match after I lost the first set. I am very happy about my performance today.”

Bagnis: “I’d like to thank my team and all my friends and family in Argentina. They gave me strength. This week was great. I won again here, it feels like a second home for me.”

WHAT’S AHEAD
There are five tournaments on three continents this week, with premier $125,000 events in Irving (USA) and Guadalajara (Mexico) set to commence on Tuesday. In Drummondville (Canada), Felix Auger Aliassime returns to the site of his historic run through qualifying a year ago, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to earn a point in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Yuichi Sugita is the top seed, with Austin Krajicek seeded second. American teen Tommy Paul is also in the draw.

In Guangzhou (China), another Japanese is a top seed with Taro Daniel leading the charge. Second seed Dudi Sela is bidding for a 20th title, while eighth seed Kimmer Coppejans looks to retain his crown. Finally, in Kazan (Russia), Ricardas Berankis is the No. 1 seed with home hope Aslan Karatsev returning as the defending champion.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

Novak Djokovic withstood an upset bid from a feisty American and kept his run at history alive at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday night. Djokovic, who’s looking to become the first player to win the tournament five times, took care of Bjorn Fratangelo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance into the third round.

The second-round match was Djokovic’s first ATP World Tour contest since he retired against Feliciano Lopez last month in Dubai because of an infection in both eyes. The Serbian showed a bit of rust.

Djokovic sprayed 18 unforced errors in the first set, and won only 12 of the 23 points he served. Fratangelo, a qualifier who was seeking his second ATP World Tour win, arrived ready to play against the No. 1 seed. The 22-year-old American took care of his serve in the opening stanza and erased all three break points he faced. He, not Djokovic, also was dictating play and keeping his opponent behind the baseline.

“He came out with a good game plan,” Djokovic said. “I started awful.”

But in the second set, it was a new match. Djokovic earned his first and second breaks. He also won 16 of the 17 points he served and dropped his unforced error count to a more customary four. In 25 minutes, he had evened the match.

“I managed to regroup in the second,” Djokovic said.

During the third set, Fratangelo fought back. Djokovic broke him in the first game, but the American played an inspiring game, matching Djokovic’s rallies and breaking the Serb back. But Djokovic earned another break at 2-all, a lead he would not relinquish.

“I think the fifth game in the third was the deciding one,” Djokovic said. “That break obviously meant that I can start to feel a bit more comfortable.”

Djokovic will next meet German Philipp Kohlschreiber, a ruthless 6-0, 6-1 winner over American Denis Kudla. The 27^th seed won 86 per cent of first-serve points in the 45-minute rout. Djokovic will carry a 7-1 FedEx Head2Head record into his match with the German.

In an all-Spanish clash, 18^th seed Lopez landed a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in one hour and six minutes. Lopez struck eight aces and saved both break points he faced.

He will meet another of his countryman in the third round, Roberto Bautista Agut. The No. 14 seed progressed with a walkover after Russian Mikhail Youzhny withdrew due to illness.

Juan Martin del Potro’s week in Indian Wells is not over yet. The Argentine teamed up with compatriot Leonardo Mayer to upset No. 2 seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.

The Tower Of Tandil last played doubles at an ATP World Tour event two years ago, when he and Marin Cilic lost in the first round of Indian Wells to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. This time, del Potro found instant chemistry with Mayer, moving in sync with his partner from the baseline to undo Dodig/Melo. The winners did not face a break point and secured victory in 57 minutes.

Watch Live Matches At TennisTV.com

Meanwhile, top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau crashed out in the first round. The Dutch-Romanian pairing fell 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-6 to Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski. The Polish duo won 75 per cent of first-serve points and broke twice to spring the upset in just under two hours.

Eighth seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Zimonjic ground out a 6-3, 6-7(6) 17-15 win over Czechs Marek Michalicka and Ivo Minar in one hour and 42 minutes. The French-Serbian pair saved four match points in the match tie-break and needed five match points of their own to get the job done.

David Goffin and Joao Sousa posted a 6-1, 4-6, 10-6 win over David Marrero and Bernard Tomic, while veteran pairing Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek had a routine 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram.

Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt advanced when opponents Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah retired down 6-3, 3-1.

No player has won more tie-breaks in 2016 than Dominic Thiem and the top Austrian continued his run of dominance in pressure situations Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Thiem improved to 12-3 in tie-breaks this year, surviving a close encounter against qualifier Jozef Kovalik 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in the second round in Indian Wells. The 11th seed fired 34 winners, including 10 aces, while claiming 84 per cent of first serve points. He prevailed after one hour and 47 minutes despite converting just one of 11 break chances. Making his third appearance in the Southern California desert, Thiem notched a tour-leading 21st match win of the year. He will face either 21st seed Jack Sock or another qualifier, Michael Berrer.

Kovalik earned his first ATP World Tour match win on Friday, defeating Pierre-Hugues Herbert, having emerged from qualifying at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

In other action, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame a slow start to dismiss countryman Vincent Millot 7-5, 6-1. Tsonga saw his streak of seven consecutive appearances in Indian Wells snapped due to injury last year, but the 30 year old is back in the desert. He fell behind an early break at 3-1, but the seventh seed would reel off 12 of the next 15 games to close out the victory in just 70 minutes.

Millot was victimised by 22 unforced errors, while his fellow Frenchman converted four of seven break opportunities and won nine of 10 net points. Tsonga dominated points under five shots, claiming 41 of 69. He will square off against either California native Sam Querrey or Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker next. 

Next Generation player Sascha Zverev scored a character-building 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win against No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. The 18 year old, the youngest player still in contention at the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, saved nine of 11 break points faced in the two-hour, 20-minute encounter.

“I tried to stay as calm as I could,” Zverev said. “Grigor played well for an hour or so, from the middle of the second set until the middle of the third. He didn’t give me many chances, but I knew I would get my opportunities. And I used them well.

“Grigor is such a good player. He has so much potential to really do well,” Zverev said. “We will see [this matchup] a lot in the future.”

Zverev made a fast start in claiming the only break of serve in the first set, but Dimitrov saved all five break points faced in the second stanza and bullied the Zverev second serve (9/13 points won) to even the match. In a moment of frustration, the youngster smashed his frame against the court and received a warning from the chair umpire for racquet abuse.

In the third set, Dimitrov appeared to have momentum on his side, breaking in the opening game and racing to a 3-1 lead. But Zverev, who had regained his composure, would not let his first trip to the California desert be cut short. The German used heavy cross-court groundstrokes to neutralize the Bulgarian’s all-court attack and broke through with Dimitrov serving to force a deciding tie-break.

Zverev, No. 58 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, finished with 13 aces in his first win over Dimitrov in two FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings (2014 Basel). He will face Gilles Simon, against whom he scored a gutsy 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) win earlier this year in Rotterdam, in the third round.

Simon overcame a convincing first-set loss to defeat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 1-6, 6-0, 6-1. The Frenchman dropped serve twice in the first set, but stormed back to win 12 of the next 13 games to advance. In the second set, Simon only dropped one point when returning the Pospisil serve (12/13).

With the win, Simon improved to 3-1 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Pospisil.