Felix Auger-Aliassime didn’t have things all his own way on debut at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Wednesday, but he stepped up when needed to reach the quarter-finals in Doha.

Competing at the ATP 250 event, the second-seeded Canadian recovered from a slow start to overcome Australian Jason Kubler, advancing 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 after two hours and 16 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime struggled on return in the first set, winning just 20 per cent (5/25) of his points behind Kubler’s first and second serve. However, he found his range as the match went on, hitting with greater depth and aggression on return in the second and third sets to break the 29-year-old three times.

The 22-year-old, who is up one spot to No. 8 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, has levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Kubler at 1-1.

Auger-Aliasime will face seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Soonwoo Kwon in his second tour-level quarter-final of the season. The four-time tour-level titlist reached the last eight in Rotterdam last week.

Having defeated then-World No. 9 Auger-Aliassime in Newport last year, Kubler was aiming to earn his second victory against the Canadian and the second Top 10 win of his career. The Australian is up three places to No. 71 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after beating Aslan Karatsev in the first round in Doha.

Frances Tiafoe was a natural fit for Netflix’s Break Point. Both the man and the docuseries share two major goals: entertain tennis fans and attract new fans to the sport.

Tiafoe is especially excited to see more diversity among tennis spectators.

“It’s cool to see more people of colour in the stands watching and becoming tennis fans,” he told the ATP Tour in a recent interview. “They don’t even know how to keep score but they’re just so into it because I’m playing. 

“That’s cool… you’re changing the game. That’s what I want, non-tennis fans to watch the game because Frances Tiafoe’s playing, to show young kids anything is possible.”

There’s no alternative. Hard work pays off 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yTboGkFfbM

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 21, 2023

The 25-year-old hit his first tennis balls as a young kid, famously playing at the Maryland tennis club where his father — who helped build the facility — worked as a janitor.

“I was about three years old when I started playing tennis. Three, four years old,” he said. “Both my parents being very hard workers, very dedicated, very passionate… that kind of instilled a certain drive in me to pursue the game of tennis once that opportunity was given.

“From a young age I knew this is what I really wanted to do, and it’s scary… but you’ve got to dream big. My parents always told me your dreams have got to be so big you’re afraid of them.”

Tiafoe’s rise to his career-high No. 15 Pepperstone ATP Ranking has included a run to the 2022 US Open semi-finals and a title triumph with Team United States at the inaugural United Cup in January. Such heady moments are a reward for his drive to push through the difficult times.

In his toughest moments, Tiafoe centres himself with a very simple question: “What I always go back to is, ‘Well, what would be the alternative?’ 

“You’ve got to go through some type of adversity to do anything successful.”

Fourth seeds Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop made amends for an early exit last week in Rotterdam with a dominant win on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The Dutch duo defeated Malek Jaziri and Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals at the ATP 250.

Haase/Middelkoop did not face a break point in the contest, winning more than 80 per cent of points on both first and second serve. They generated 12 break opportunities on return, converting on three of them. 

The five-time tour-level champions, whose most recent trophy came earlier this month in Montpellier, will continue their bid for a sixth team title against Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp in Wednesday’s quarter-finals. The French-Dutch duo defeated Raven Klaasen and Hunter Reese 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 on Tuesday.

Doha third seeds Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna also advanced with a 5-7, 6-1, 10-3 win against Liam Broady and Alexander Zverev.

Third Seeds Upset In Marseille
The Indian team of N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan knocked off third-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-5, 5-7, 10-7 on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals at the Open 13 Provence.

They will next meet Dustin Brown and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who edged Philipp Oswald and Szymon Walkow 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Rounding out Tuesday’s doubles action in Marseille, Frenchman Jonathan Eysseric and Ukrainian Denys Molchanov defeated the French team of Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche 3-6, 7-5, 10-4.

Cabral/Zeballos Advance In Rainy Rio
Only one doubles match was completed on Tuesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, as fourth seeds Francisco Cabral and Horacio Zeballos beat Pedro Martinez and Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4.

Brazilians Felipe Meligeni Alves and Felipe Meligeni Alves won a 6-1 opening set against Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar before rain ended the day’s play.

When the Rio Open presented by Claro was hit with heavy rain on Tuesday evening, Carlos Alcaraz quickly saved a ball kid from a soaking.

With the top-seeded Spaniard leading Brazilian Mateus Alves 6-4, 5-3, play was suspended due to rain. After taking shelter under cover, Alcaraz called over a stranded ball kid, who quickly took the opportunity to join him.

It is not the first time Alcaraz has helped the ball kids stay dry at the ATP 500 event, having ushered them under cover during his match against Federico Delbonis last year. The 19-year-old will be hoping his rain heroics is a sign of history repeating itself in Rio, after he went on to win the title at the clay-court event in 2022.

Following the suspension of play, Alcaraz will return to court on Wednesday when he will aim to seal victory against Alves and book a second-round meeting against Fabio Fognini or Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera.

Phoenix, Arizona is known to be scorching hot. And next month, the ATP Challenger Tour will bring the heat to the Arizona Tennis Classic, the first event of the newly created Challenger 175 category.

Six Top-50 players are set to play the Phoenix Challenger, which begins March 13. Main-draw action will kick off following the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells. Several high-ranked players who lose early at the ATP Masters 1000 event are expected to play in Phoenix before continuing onto Miami to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’.

Players who will compete in Phoenix unless they are still alive in the Indian Wells draw, include Botic Van de Zandschulp, Sebastian Baez, Richard Gasquet, Jack Draper, Marc-Andrea Huesler, and Alexander Bublik.

Van de Zandschulp, World No. 34, is the highest-ranked player in the Phoenix field. In 2022, the Dutchman earned a career-best 38 tour-level wins, including victories over Cameron Norrie, Taylor Fritz, and Bublik to help his home country qualify for the Davis Cup Finals knock-out stage. 

Nobody finished 2022 with a better winning percentage on the Challenger Tour this past season than Great Britain’s Draper. The 21-year-old boasted a 24-4 Challenger match-winning record in and collected a season-leading four Challenger titles (tied w/ Pedro Cachin, who will also be in Phoenix): Forli-2, Forli-4, Forli-5, and Saint-Brieuc. The lefty, who has since reached the semi-finals of two ATP 250 events (Eastbourne & Adelaide-2), will return to the Challenger circuit in Arizona.

Jiri Lehecka, who was a quarter-finalist at the 2023 Australian Open, will also compete in Arizona. A three-time Challenger titlist, the Czech was a finalist at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, which showcases the world’s best 21-and-under players.

Chinese star and World No. 61 Wu Yibing, who won the 2023 Dallas Open, will also be in action at the outdoor hard-court event. The 23-year-old won a trio of Challenger titles in 2022 before becoming the first tour-level titlist from China.

Did You Know?
Phoenix Challenger entrants Benjamin Bonzi and Sebastian Baez each claimed six Challenger titles in 2021. Only Tallon Griekspoor has collected more Challenger titles in a single season (eight, 2021).

Full main-draw entry list 👇#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/rA9Pktf1qV

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 21, 2023

Two days after he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the Buenos Aires final, Cameron Norrie found his way back into the win column on Tuesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The second seed overcame a strong start from Argentine lucky loser Juan Manuel Cerundolo to run away with a 7-5, 6-1 victory.

From 3-5 down in the opening set, Norrie won 10 of the match’s final 11 games to reach the Rio de Janeiro second round for the second time.

“He was playing well and had some matches here in qualies, so I knew he was going to start well,” Norrie said. “But I was able to find my range and find my legs and really use my backhand pretty effectively towards the end.”

Norrie’s ability to make the match physical and attack the net also keyed his comeback against Cerundolo, according to the Briton. He will next face Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, who beat Dominic Thiem 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2) on Monday.

Cerundolo’s older brother, fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo, had better luck on Tuesday with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Roberto Carballes Baena.

In the evening slate, Carlos Alcaraz led Brazilian tour-level debutant Mateus Alves 6-4, 5-3 before heavy rain ended the day’s play. The 22-year-old Alves thrilled his home fans with a battling performance, breaking twice while saving five of nine break points.

But Alcaraz braved the vocal crowd — and wet, windy conditions — to move to the brink of victory, with play suspended just before Alves stepped up to serve to stay in the match.

Fabio Fognini was also closing in on a win before the rain, the Italian leading Tomas Barrios Vera 6-2, 5-2. Fifth seed Diego Schwartzman and Dusan Lajovic never took the court for their match, nor did Sebastian Baez and Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who were set to close the day’s play on Court Guga Kuerten.

Taylor Fritz is not competing this week on the ATP Tour after compiling a 6-1 record over the past two weeks on home soil. Fritz followed a Dallas semi-final run with a title triumph in Delray Beach last week, claiming his fifth tour-level trophy and his fourth in the past 12 months.

While he is not in action on the court, Fritz is winning big this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The American is up two places to No. 5 after Andrey Rublev and Rafael Nadal each dropped 500 points at the start of the week. The best part for Fritz: He is guaranteed to remain at No. 5 for next Monday’s edition of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, when he will officially join that elite group for the first time and achieve a new career high.

Fritz will become the first American to be ranked inside the Top 5 since Andy Roddick in September 2009.

Fritz spoke of keeping a “Top 10 mentality” after he reached that milestone last October behind his Tokyo title run. Now the 25-year-old has hit even greater heights.

The American’s 2022 Indian Wells triumph in his native Southern California is the biggest factor in his year-long rise, with 1,000 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points added to his tally for his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Fritz’s milestone moment was chronicled in Netflix’s Break Point.

His Tokyo triumph earned him 500 of his 3,660 total points, while four United Cup singles wins added 350 additional points, his efforts helping lead Team United States to the title at the inaugural mixed-gender event.

Fritz is one of 11 Americans in the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with World No. 15 and United Cup teammate Frances Tiafoe joining him in the Top 20. It is the first time since May 1995 that the United States has that many men inside the Top 50.

Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul is the No. 3 American at World No. 21, while AO quarter-finalist Sebastian Korda stands at No. 26. All four of the Top 30 Americans are idle this week.

Fritz will next take the court in Acapulco, where he made the last 16 last year. Following that, he will return to Indian Wells as the reigning champion with 1,000 points to defend.

Maxime Cressy walked a tight rope Tuesday in Marseille, but ultimately found a way to win.

The American, who was up a set and a break, defeated French wild card Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) after two hours and 50 minutes to reach the second round of the Open 13 Provence.

“Amazing fight. He fought all the way up until the end,” Cressy said. “I had to stay extremely focussed on what I can control and I think I did that very successfully.”

Cressy hit 22 aces and won 83 per cent of his first-serve points. But the critical moment came on return in the final-set tie-break. With Blancaneaux serving at 4/5, Cressy cracked a forehand return to win the point and that proved the decisive advantage he needed.

“In the tie-break I just told myself to, ‘Let go and just win all your serve points and don’t worry about how to return,’” Cressy, who will next play Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, said. “That’s how I work, unfortunately. I have to just let go and not think and then it works. Very difficult one.”

In other action, Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer rallied past Swede Elias Ymer 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to earn a clash with 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov. The 26-year-old is at a career-high No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and last week advanced to the quarter-finals in Rotterdam, where he upset Top 10 star Holger Rune in the second round.

Frenchman Gregoire Barrere also moved into the second round in Marseille with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Swiss lefty Marc-Andrea Hustler. Barrere will face Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-finals.

Emil Ruusuvuori deployed his powerful forehand to great effect on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, where the Finn took out sixth seed Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-4 with a clean-hitting display at the hard-court ATP 250.

Ruusuvuori and Evans each broke to love in their opening return games of the first-round clash, setting the tone for an entertaining encounter packed with all-court exchanges. However, the Finn used his forehand to frequently dictate the longer rallies throughout his one-hour, 53-minute victory, which he clinched with the only break of the second set in the 10th game.

“I’m very happy,” said Ruusuvuori post-match. “I really enjoyed being on court, I thought I was improving every game and just playing better and better tennis. He was giving me a tough time, he’s a great player, and I’m just very, very happy to get through this match.”

Ruusuvuori entered the match having won just one of his previous eight matches against Top 30 opponents, but he struck 26 winners, including seven aces, to move past the No. 29-ranked Evans in style and seal a second-round clash with Jiri Lehecka or qualifier Damir Dzumhur.

“He’s a tricky player,” said Ruusuvuori of Evans, who he was playing for the first time. “He plays a little bit different than most of the guys in the Top 50 or Top 100. He has a great slice and great tactics. I just needed to figure out the way and serve well, and put the pressure on him, and in the end, I was able to.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Dutchmen Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor also advanced to the second round.

The eighth-seeded Van de Zandschulp converted five of nine break points en route to a 6-2, 7-5 win against Ilya Ivashka. The 27-year-old is now 4-0 in opening rounds in 2023 and will look to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the season in his next match against 2021 Doha champion Nikoloz Basilashvili or qualifier Alexandre Muller.

The World No. 40 Griekspoor, who reached the semi-finals on home soil at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam last week, held off Quentin Halys for a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5) victory. Griekspoor crashed 51 winners in his two-hour, 17-minute triumph, which earned him a second-round meeting with top seed Andrey Rublev.