After Jannik Sinner won his opening match last week in Toronto against Matteo Berrettini, he was happy with more than just his performance in the match. The Italian was pleased with his form overall.

“My confidence level from last year has increased,” Sinner told ATPTour.com at the time. “I feel much better on the court, more comfortable.”

That became clear when the 21-year-old ended the week by lifting his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy. Sinner lost just one set en route to the biggest title of his career.

It was a week in which nearly everything went well. As top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev suffered quarter-final upsets, Sinner weathered a Gael Monfils storm in the last eight and did not find himself in trouble the rest of the week.

“When you go through tough moments throughout the whole week and you’re able to manage them in the best possible way,” Sinner said. “I think that’s the best feeling.”

Watch Toronto Final Highlights:

Sinner has been one of the best ball-strikers in the world since he first began his journey on the ATP Tour. Said Alex de Minaur, his opponent in the Toronto final: “He’s got some of the hardest groundstrokes I’ve probably ever dealt with, to be honest.”

Now in fourth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, Sinner is in good position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he competed as an alternate in 2021. But there have been tough moments this year for the former junior skiing sensation, too.

At Roland Garros, Sinner lost a gruelling five-hour, 26-minute clash to Daniel Altmaier in the second round. Having entered the tournament with high hopes, the upset was a stunner.

It was not that Sinner did not have the game to win the match that day. It was more about the mental side of his game.

“[I realised it] a little bit during the match, but during I didn’t have the strength to change it,” Sinner said. “After the match we talked, me and my team together, and I feel like we found a good solution, how to find the right way. And as I said, in Toronto, I think I had a very good attitude throughout the whole week and hopefully I can show this also here.”

To Sinner, his mentality is just as important if not more of a key than his strokes on court. Although that was a blip in the season, he attributes his overall confidence in work during the offseason with coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi to execute both physically and mentally.

“We made a lot of good work during the offseason, which is for me very, very important,” Sinner said. “I felt like I was getting stronger also physically. Mentally I was ready to compete also when I was not feeling at 100 per cent. And I think that made me feel like I was ready to compete.”

Flying higher than ever, Sinner will try to capitalise on his momentum this week in Cincinnati and in the future.

“For sure you have to be happy because it’s a good achievement,” Sinner said. “But in the other way I also know that I can still improve my tennis and just look forward to the work. And so hopefully I can keep going, keep practising in the way we do and then we’ll see.”

Andy Murray withdrew from the Western & Southern Open late Monday night due to an abdominal strain.

The former World No. 1, who last week withdrew ahead of his third-round match in Toronto against Jannik Sinner because of the same injury, will not take the court against 11th seed Karen Khachanov. He will be replaced in the draw by a lucky loser on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old showed his fighting spirit in Canada when he won a two-hour, 47-minute battle in the second round against Max Purcell. After withdrawing at that event, he travelled to Cincinnati, but is not ready to compete.

Murray is the No. 36 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and owns a 12-11 record this season.

Khachanov has not competed since losing in the Roland Garros quarter-finals to Novak Djokovic. The 27-year-old, who will now play a lucky loser instead of Murray, has been out because of a groin injury.

American singles stars Christopher Eubanks and Ben Shelton joined forces on the doubles court Monday in Cincinnati and found immediate success against Belgian duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-5, 6-4.

Eubanks and Shelton fired six aces and saved the lone break point they faced as they defeated the Roland Garros finalists, who are on track to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Nikola Mektic and John Peers rallied from a set down to defeat American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 3-6, 7-6(6), 10-3.

Stan Wawrinka is spotting Brandon Nakashima 16 years in age but is just one game away from victory over the former Next Gen ATP Finals champion in the first round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The 38-year-old former three-time major champion was leading the 22-year-old American 6-3, 6-7(5), 5-2 when play was suspended due to rain around 7.50pm. Wawrinka, who received on-court treatment to his lower left leg, is making his first appearance of the North American hard-court swing.

Defending champion Borna Coric was leading American Sebastian Korda 7-6(5), 4-3 in their first-round match when rain returned to the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.

It has been a frustrating day for players and fans in Cincinnati, with rain delaying the start of play by more than 2 1/2 hours. Play has now been halted twice since the late start to Day 2.

Five matches have been completed today, including Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Matteo Berrettini. Chilean Nicolas Jarry also rallied from a set down to defeat Wimbledon quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Australian qualifier Jordan Thompson defeated American wild card John Isner 7-6(5), 7-6(2).

9.15 pm update: All matches that had not commenced before the rain delay have been cancelled for tonight. Weather permitting, the Wawrinka-Nakashima and Coric-Korda matches will resume tonight. 

Every tournament has a home favourite who receives an extra push from the local fans. Last week, Canadians came out in large numbers to support former World No. 3 Milos Raonic in Toronto. This week, the player who is receiving similar treatment is Ohio’s own J.J. Wolf.

“I think any other tournament I’m on and I’m focussed,” Wolf told ATPTour.com. “In Cincy, I think I’ll let myself look up at the crowd and see family and friends and really appreciate it.”

Ten Americans began the ATP Masters 1000 singles event, but none are closer to the heart of the Cincinnati faithful than Wolf. The 24-year-old, who will play Toronto finalist Alex de Minaur in the first round, grew up at the Western & Southern Open.

“My grandpa, one day each tournament, every year, would take all of the cousins to go watch the matches,” Wolf said. “So it would be however many, 20 of us, or whoever was in town, and we would get to go and walk around for the whole day. We’d get Graeter’s ice cream in between matches, and it was just a treat.”

Wolf fondly remembers eating black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream, which he calls the “best flavour in the country”. One day, he hoped to be in the same position as the players he watched. This year the American will compete in the main draw for the third time and pursue his first win at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.

“It feels like the first time every time I walk in here. It’s almost surreal,” Wolf said. “I’ve always wanted to be kind of given this opportunity and to know that I’ve worked for it and earned it, it’s a great feeling.”

J.J.’s father, former tennis player Jeff Wolf, was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame at the tournament. His family is full of athletes. But he believes his grandfather, Charley Wolf, who passed away last November aged 96, was the best athlete from the Wolf Family.

“He played baseball, basketball, football at Notre Dame. [He played in the Cincinnati] Reds organisation, coached in the NBA. He did it all,” J.J. said. “He started tennis at like 50 and played until he was 93.”

Wolf, a former star at Ohio State University, has played the best tennis of his career in 2023. The American reached a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in February, shortly after making the fourth round at the Australian Open. What has he learned through his journey?

“It’s just a lot of getting more comfortable,” Wolf said. “Going places that you know and just being professional and figuring out places to eat and kind of just knowing that it’s a job at the same time and to have fun.”

That was even the case in Australia, where despite being across the world from Cincinnati, he had his eyes on his hometown Cincinnati Bengals heading into the NFL playoffs. According to the American, the people of Cincinnati always support their own, which he will feel this week at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.

“It’s just the culture here. I feel like a lot of people, they might move away, but everyone comes back and raises kids. It’s kind of this community that just keeps you here and it’s so special,” Wolf said. “People know that and I think they think if you’re from here that’s the only way you’ll feel that as well. So I think that it’s almost like they adopt all of us that are from here.”

Will a return to Cincinnati be the catalyst for a Felix Auger-Aliassime resurgence in 2023?

The 12th-seeded Canadian dug deep Monday for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph against Matteo Berrettini in a tense first-round encounter at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. Auger-Aliassime recovered impressively from dropping the opening set on Grandstand to notch his second win in six Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with the Italian.

Arriving in Ohio on a five-match losing streak, Auger-Aliassime was handed one of the toughest first-round draws possible in seven-time tour-level champion Berrettini. Yet he outhit the Italian by 25 winners to 13 en route to a two-hour, 25-minute confidence-boosting triumph.

“It’s a big win. It’s been a tough year, dealing with new things,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Every win that I get, I’m happy, from now on. Of course the tournament has just started and I want to go further. I still have high ambitions. I never doubted myself.

“There’s comments right and left, but at the end of the day I know my tennis didn’t leave me. I know I can still play great tennis and I’ve proved it today again. So I’m going to try to keep going that way and it’s a positive start. Let’s try to keep this rolling.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime snaps a five-match losing streak to reach the second round in Cincinnati.” />

Auger-Aliassime let slip two break-back points in the final game of the first set before Berrettini moved ahead in their first meeting of 2023. He later acknowledged that disappointment had spurred him on as he converted three of the four break points he earned across the second and third sets for a hard-fought victory between two players striving to rediscover their top level.

“I think I was able to turn my frustration from the first set and from the missed opportunities and errors into something positive,” said the 23-year-old. “I think I had that fire inside that I didn’t want to quit on anything during this match and it’s great that it turned out my way. I’ve been training well, trying my best, and when the results [come] it is a great feeling. I’m very relieved, it’s a good win, and the effort has to keep going now.”

That winning feeling 🙌@felixtennis defeats Matteo Berrettini 4-6 6-2 6-3 to advance to R2 in Cincinnati!@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/SfBK2TXZC0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 14, 2023

The four-time tour-level titlist Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati in both 2021 and 2022. His second-round opponent at the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be Adrian Mannarino, who prevailed 6-4, 6-3 in an all-French encounter with Richard Gasquet on Sunday.

“Every match is different. I can’t take anything for granted,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It was a tough first round, but it’s not going to get any easier. The lesson is just to take that type of energy that I had today and just bring it day after day and see how far that leads me.”

Two #NextGenATP players made a splash on the ATP Challenger Tour this past week.

Dino Prizmic, 18, continued his rapid rise by winning the Banja Luka Open on Sunday while Italian Matteo Gigante collected his second Challenger trophy of the season, claiming the Serena Wines 1881 – Acqua Maniva Tennis Cup on home soil. All five of this week’s Challenger champions rose to career-high rankings on Monday.

Prizmic downed fifth seed and Belgian Kimmer Coppejans 6-2, 6-3 in the final to become the youngest Croatian champion since a 17-year-old Borna Coric in 2014. Prizmic, who won this year’s Roland Garros boys’ singles title, is the first player to win a Grand Slam junior crown and a Challenger title in the same season since Wu Yibing in 2017.

“It’s an amazing feeling because this is my first Challenger win,” said Prizmic, who is at No. 175 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “I hope I will continue like this. I’m very happy because this year’s work is showing up.”

A quarter-finalist at last month’s ATP 250 event in Umag, Prizmic is the second-youngest Challenger winner of 2023, only behind 17-year-old Jakub Mensik, who won in Prague in May.

In an all-#NextGenATP final, Gigante cruised past Austrian Lukas Neumayer 6-0, 6-2 in Cordenons, where the third-longest active Italian Challenger was celebrating their 20th anniversary.

The Rome native, who won his maiden Challenger title in Tenerife in February, joins Luca van Assche and Dominic Stricker as #NextGenATP players with titles on both hard and clay this season (Challenger level). Following his triumph in Cordenons, Gigante climbed to World No. 162.

Matteo Gigante wins his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Cordenons, Italy.” />
^{Matteo Gigante wins the Challenger 75 event in Cordenons, Italy. Credit: Antonio Ros}

Australian Adam Walton secured his maiden Challenger title in Cary, North Carolina, where the 24-year-old saved two championship points to down Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at the Atlantic Tire Championships I.

“I haven’t been playing Challengers for that long, so I haven’t played many of these guys before so it’s all very new to me, but I’m excited for what the future holds,” Walton said. “It’s my first Challenger title so I’m very happy to get that one.”

Walton is the seventh different singles winner from the University of Tennessee in Challenger history (since 1978). At a career-high No. 206 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Walton is the 11th Challenger champion of 2023 to have competed collegiately in the United States.

Adam Walton wins the Challenger 75 event in Cary, North Carolina.” />
^{Adam Walton wins the Challenger 75 event in Cary, North Carolina. Credit: Atlantic Tire Championships}

Briton Jan Choinski earned his second career Challenger trophy by winning the M.A.R.A Open in Meerbusch, Germany. The 27-year-old ousted Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-0 in the final.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have finally clinched the victory at this remarkable tournament,” said Choinski, who rose to World No. 129 on Monday. “I had reached the finals here in Meerbusch back in 2018, so to be able to carry it through to the end now is truly gratifying.”

Jan Choinski celebrates winning the Meerbusch Challenger.” />
^{Jan Choinski celebrates winning the Meerbusch Challenger. Credit: M.A.R.A Open}

Last month, Choinski made his major main-draw debut at Wimbledon, where he advanced to the second round. The German-born player has reached at least the semi-finals in four Challenger tournaments this year.

Argentine Genaro Alberto Olivieri survived more than four hours on court Sunday to win the RD Open in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where rain forced the 25-year-old to play his semi-final and final matches on the same day.

Oliveri escaped countryman Marco Trungelliti 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the championship match to lift his second Challenger crown and first of this season. Oliveri made his Grand Slam main draw debut this year at Roland Garros and has since ascended to World No. 145.

“I have been growing a lot, more than anything I have been encouraging myself to play better, to pick up rhythms, to serve better, to return [better], I think we are seeing those results,” Oliveri said in Spanish. “I feel like I’m in the best moment of my career and I feel like I’m playing the best tennis of my life too.”

In ATP Challenger Tour doubles action, American duo Evan King and Reese Stalder (Cary champions) and French pair Manuel Guinard and Gregoire Jacq (Meerbusch champions) both won their tour-leading fourth team titles of 2023. They join Ivan Liutarevich and Vladyslav Manafov atop the doubles title leaderboard.

“Always embrace it. I think that’s the beauty of it, in the sport that we’re playing. And you can transfer that to life.”

The 32-year-old Grigor Dimitrov knows that life on the ATP Tour can feel like an incredible privilege or an extremely frustrating endeavour. But the hard times only serve to “make a stronger steel”, according to the Bulgarian.

That pearl of wisdom is among the messages Dimitrov shared with his younger self as part of ATP Uncovered’s ‘Note To Self’ Series.

Dimitrov also touched on the constant comparisons to Roger Federer that have followed him throughout his career, explaining how he finally learned to accept it as he became more comfortable with his own path.

“Being compared to Roger Federer for, I don’t know, 20 years already. How about like drop it, let it go,” he said in part. “I just handled it. I made a name for myself.”

Watch the full video to see how Dimitrov would coach his younger self to deal with that challenge and the many other obstacles that are part and parcel of a career on the ATP Tour.

From Novak Djokovic’s record seven year-end No. 1 presented by Pepperstone finishes to Roger Federer’s 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1, several ATP Tour stars have smashed the record books at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

ATPTour.com continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by providing a lens on some of the most historic World No. 1 achievements.

Novak Djokovic” style=”width:;” />
_{^{Photo Credit: Getty Images/ATP Tour}}
Year-End ATP No. 1 Presented By Pepperstone
Novak Djokovic made history on 6 November 2021 when he secured the year-end No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a record seventh time, eclipsing the mark he previously shared with Pete Sampras. Djokovic, who ended the season atop of tennis’ mountain for the first time in 2011, lifted at least one major every year that he secured the year-end No. 1 (also 2011-12, ’14-15, ’18 and 20).

“Just proud and extremely happy. Obviously that was one of the biggest goals and it’s always one of the biggest goals, to try to be No. 1 and end the season as No. 1,” Djokovic said at the time. “To do it for the record seventh time and surpass my childhood idol and role model, Pete, is incredible. Very grateful, very blessed to be in this position.”

The lowest he fell since first rising to No. 1 came in May 2018 when he dropped to No. 22, spending a total of six weeks outside the Top 20. The Serbian, who missed the second half of the 2017 season with an elbow injury, held a 6-6 record across the first five months of the 2018 season. He ended the year strongly, though, clinching four tour-level titles, including Grand Slam crowns at Wimbledon and the US Open, resulting in him ending the year ranked No. 1 for the fifth time. 

Djokovic’s most successful season came in 2015 when he tallied a 82-6 record. The Serbian lifted trophies at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open that year and reached the Roland Garros final. He also won six ATP Masters 1000 crowns and the Nitto ATP Finals title in 2015.

While Djokovic holds the ATP record of seven year-end No. 1 finishes, Sampras remains the only player in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to own six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes.

After Sampras secured the year-end No. 1 for the first time in 1993, Jimmy Connors’ five straight year-end No. 1 finishes between 1974 and 1978 kept the American hungry in the 1990s. Aiming for a record sixth consecutive year-end No. 1 finish in 1998, Sampras was seriously challenged for the top spot. He added six tournaments — Basel, Vienna, Lyon, Stuttgart, Paris and Stockholm — to his schedule between the US Open and ATP Tour World Championships [now named Nitto ATP Finals] in a bid to finish year-end No. 1. Marcelo Rios, his nearest challenger, who’d spent six weeks at the summit earlier in the year, did likewise, travelling from Munich, Singapore and Santiago, before flying back to Europe in search of rankings points.

Come the season finale in Hanover, Rios’ chances were scuppered by a back injury and on 26 November 1998, Sampras, aged 27, found out that he’d secured year-end No. 1 for the sixth straight year while eating pasta back at the hotel.

Overall, 18 players have secured the year-end No. 1 presented by Pepperstone.

Pete Sampras” style=”width: 100%;” />
_{^{Pete Sampras, who holds the record for six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes, spent a total of 286 weeks at No.1, trailing Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Photo Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images}}
Most Weeks At No. 1
In July 2011, Djokovic downed Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final to capture his first title at the grass-court major. The Serbian’s run lifted him to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on 4 July 2011. Twelve years on and the 36-year-old has spent a record 389 weeks at No. 1, 79 weeks more than second-placed Roger Federer (310). In February 2023, the Serbian achieved another historic milestone, overtaking Stefanie Graf’s (377 weeks) record for most weeks by a men’s or women’s tennis player as World No. 1. 

Djokovic broke Federer’s record for most weeks at No. 1 on 8 March 2021, holding top spot in the rankings across nine different stints. Since first rising to No. 1, Djokovic has captured 20 majors and 29 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Half of the players in the Top 10 when Djokovic first rose to No. 1 have since retired: Roger Federer, Robin Soderling, David Ferrer, Mardy Fish, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick.

Djokovic spent 122 consecutive weeks at the summit of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings between 7 July 2014 and 6 November 2016. This was his longest streak at No. 1. 

Roger Federer” style=”width: 100%;” />
^{Roger Federer celebrates winning the Australian Open in 2018. The Swiss star spent 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Most Consecutive Weeks At No. 1
While Djokovic has spent the most weeks at No. 1, Federer holds the record for the number of consecutive weeks in top spot with 237. The longest uninterrupted No. 1 reign in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history began on 2 February 2004, when Federer dethroned Andy Roddick from No. 1 with his triumph at the Australian Open. He then embarked on an unprecedented period of dominance on the ATP Tour, remaining at No. 1 until 17 August 2008, when he was usurped by Nadal.

In the 237 consecutive weeks Federer spent at No. 1, he lifted 43 tour-level trophies, including 10 majors and three Nitto ATP Finals crowns.

Prior to Federer’s historic run, Jimmy Connors held the record for the most consecutive weeks. The American climbed to No. 1 for the first time on 29 June 1974 and was not displaced until 23 August 1977, spending 160 consecutive weeks at No. 1.

But it could have been so much longer.
Connors lost the five-set 1977 Wimbledon final to Bjorn Borg, with the Swede at the time calling himself the unofficial No. 1 “for the moment”. Borg officially rose to No. 1 almost two months after the Wimbledon final, but stayed there for just one week before Connors wrestled back the mantle and held it for another 84 weeks. Had the American not been displaced for one week, his reign would have been 245 weeks, a record that would still be standing today.

The American enjoyed a total of nine stints at the top, with his final one coming in June 1983, when he enjoyed a three-week period at No. 1. Connors’ record streak of 160 weeks stood for 29 years, with Federer beginning his 161st consecutive week at No. 1 on 26 February 2007.

Connors was ranked in the world’s year-end Top 10 on 16 occasions between 1973 and 1988, and his five year-end No. 1 equals those of Federer and Nadal.

“There is only one No. 1,” Connors said. “It’s a lonely spot, but it has got the best view of all… Being No. 2 is like being No. 200.”

Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width: 100%;” />
_{^{Carlos Alcaraz with the year-end ATP No. 1 Trophy presented by Pepperstone in 2022. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}
Youngest No. 1s
Aged 19 years and 131 days, Alcaraz became the youngest No. 1 in Peppertone ATP Rankings history last September after winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. With his victory against Casper Ruud in New York, Alcaraz became the first teenage World No. 1 and fourth man from Spain to achieve the feat, joining coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya and Nadal.

The then-19-year-old arrived at Flushing Meadows as the No. 4 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. His leap to World No. 1 was tied for the biggest in history. Three other players have surged from No. 4 to No. 1 between one Pepperstone ATP Rankings release: Moya (15 March 1999), Andre Agassi (5 July 1999) and Sampras (11 September 2000).

Alcaraz made more history at the end of the 2022 season when he became the 18th and youngest year-end No. 1. He rose from No. 32 at the start of the season, marking the biggest jump to No. 1 in 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“It means a lot to me,” Alcaraz said in Turin. “To get this trophy, the World No. 1, to be part of tennis history along with a lot of legends, for me [it] is an amazing feeling.”

Before Alcaraz, the youngest year-end No. 1 was Lleyton Hewitt. With three players in contention for No. 1 coming into the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2001, including Gustavo Kuerten and Andre Agassi, Hewitt came out on top, beating his great mate Rafter (round-robin stage), in the quest for the coveted top spot. Aged 20 years, 275 days, the Australian rose to the top for the first time after defeating Sebastien Grosjean to clinch the first of his two Nitto ATP Finals crowns (also 2002).

View all 28 No. 1s in the 50-year history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Notable No. 1s In 50 Years Of Pepperstone ATP Rankings (Part 1)
Notable No. 1s In 50 Years Of Pepperstone ATP Rankings (Part 2)
Biggest Rises & Revivals In Pepperstone ATP Rankings History