“Ready, play.”

For two years, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted New Zealand. With international borders closed, the opportunity for the country to host major sporting events, including the ASB Classic, was taken away.

However, good news arrived in July last year when the borders reopened to all visitors, sparking ‘go time’ for ASB Classic Tournament Director Nicolas Lamperin. Having seen most of the tournament staff depart in the previous two years, Lamperin knew that getting the ATP Tour back to Auckland by the second week of January would be no small feat.

“As soon as we got the green light that the borders would reopen in the middle of last year, we then put a plan together to restart the tournament,” Lamperin told ATPTour.com.

“A lot of work had to be done because most of the people who were working at the tournament back in 2020 have left. It was all about building a new team, reconnecting with the sponsors, all of our stakeholders, and putting a plan together. Also speaking to the players and making sure they knew that the tournament was back and that we will be up to the standards that they were used to.”

Having not held the ATP 250 event since 2020, a lot of work has gone into making the ASB Tennis Arena ready again. Lamperin is delighted with the progress in recent months, stressing the importance of the event for New Zealand.

“I think the ASB Classic is probably considered the biggest sporting event in New Zealand,” Lamperin said. “There’s a lot of excitement. In all the discussions that we’ve had with corporate, fans and sponsors, they couldn’t wait for the tournament to be back. The setup is also pretty unique here. You can have hospitality courtside while watching the top players in the world.

“We are very excited to be here and to able to start the tournament on Monday.”

_{^{Photo Credit: Andrew Cornaga / @photosportnz}}
After a successful weekend of qualifying, the main draw kicks off Monday. Fans will get the opportunity to watch World No. 3 Casper Ruud and second seed Cameron Norrie play, with experienced stars Fabio Fognini, Richard Gasquet, John Isner and Diego Schwartzman also in action.

“We are very honoured to welcome the World No. 3 Casper Ruud,” Lamperin said. “Cam Norrie is the second seed. Cam grew up in New Zealand from the age of three before departing for the UK when he was 17, so I think that the crowd is really looking forward to him. Then we have Diego Schwartzman, Richard Gasquet, Fabio Fognini and John Isner. We call John Mr. Loyal because he has been here many, many times and won the tournament twice.”

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World No. 14 Norrie reached the final in Auckland in 2019, while 15-time tour-level titlist Richard Gasquet is making his debut in New Zealand. Both are impressed with the setup at the ATP 250 and are looking forward to competing.

“I’ve played well here before. I made the final in 2019, my first ever final, so it’s pretty special to be back here,” Norrie said. “Especially kind of playing a bit better, playing at the level I am.”

“It is my first time here. I have played many tournaments in my life but I have never played here,” Gasquet said. “I am excited to discover Auckland and New Zealand and it is a really nice tournament and I am really happy to be here.”

With excitement building, fans will fill the stands to watch the players battle it out over the next week for the honour to lift the trophy on Saturday.

_{^{Photo Credit: Andrew Cornaga / @photosportnz}}

Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara capped an impressive first week to their 2023 season on Sunday at the Adelaide International 1, where the British-Finnish duo downed Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim its third ATP Tour title together.

The third-seeded team had dropped just one set en route to the final at the ATP 250 event and took control of the championship match by reeling off four games in a row from 2-3 in the opening set.

A tighter second set featured no break points, but Glasspool and Heliovaara again found a hot streak to claim four points in a row from 3/3 in the tie-break. Strong serving was key to the third seeds’ 79-minute victory — they won 83 per cent (30/36) of points behind their first delivery, compared to 68 per cent (34/50) for the fourth-seeded Murray and Venus.

”It was a very solid week from us,” said Heliovaara after the match. “Even that set that we lost [in the semi-finals], we had three set points. We were a little bit disappointed that we didn’t actually cross the whole week [without losing a set], but it was just so enjoyable playing… I think we had a good feeling after every match that we did what we are supposed to do, nothing special.

”If this is our level going forward, I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Glasspool and Heliovarra enjoyed a stellar first season playing together on the ATP Tour in 2022. They reached seven tour-level finals and claimed their maiden ATP 500 title at the Hamburg European Open. That consistency helped the pair qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where it reached the semi-finals on tournament debut.

“Obviously last year was an amazing year,” said Glasspool. “This is a completely new year, everyone’s coming to beat us this year. I was a little nervous starting out, it had been a month and a half and we hadn’t played a match… But all the practice paid off and we came out and played really well. I’m really happy with where we are at to start the year.”

The victory is set to lift 33-year-old Heliovaara into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time on Monday. The Finn could rise as high as No. 9, while his partner Glasspool maintains his position at No. 12.

Jessica Pegula kicked off the United Cup final by giving the United States a 1-0 lead over Italy with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Martina Trevisan.

Despite the straight-sets scoreline, the contest was far from straightforward for the WTA World No. 3. Trevisan came out firing with an ultra-aggressive strategy, and remained committed to front-foot tennis throughout.

Pegula, normally an excellent proponent of these tactics herself, was forced onto the back foot more than usual. Though the American led 3-0 and then 4-2 in the first set, Trevisan managed to level at 4-4 after coming up with a series of fizzing forehands.

Ironically after this pattern, the set turned on a rare shot that Trevisan backed off. Serving at 4-5, 30/30, a tentative drive volley allowed Pegula to crunch a forehand of her own to reach set point. The American promptly converted it with a superb backhand winner down the line.

Pegula settled in the second set, reducing her unforced error tally from 17 to seven while eliciting mistakes from Trevisan with canny court craft. Trevisan’s do-or-die approach ultimately didn’t pay off as the WTA World No. 27 racked up 31 unforced errors against 14 winners.

Trevisan went down swinging, finding another sequence of crowd-pleasing winners to cut Pegula’s 5-0 lead to 5-2. But Pegula remained solid to close out the second set in an identical manner to the first: with a pinpoint backhand down the line.

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Tallon Griekspoor started the new year in the best way possible. The 26-year-old dropped just one set all week en route to claiming his maiden Tour-level title at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune, India. In the championship match, the Dutchman rallied from a set down to defeat Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

ATPTour.com caught up with the World No. 61 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings to discuss his family’s sports background, his standout finals record on the Challenger Tour, and how he will celebrate his big breakthrough.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means everything to me. It’s something you dream of and work for. There’s so many people involved, my family, my brothers, that mean the world to me. To do this also for them, means the world to me, I couldn’t be more happy.

Entering this event after the offseason, your first event of 2023, how did you feel about your chances of finishing as the champion and lifting the trophy?
You never know after the offseason how you will play. I worked my ass off at home during the offseason. I was playing well in practices but you never know how you’re going to be in the matches. I came to Pune early, had five or six good practice days and I think that helped me a lot.

This was your first ATP final, but you were 8-0 in finals at the ATP Challenger Tour level last year. Did this feel much different to those previous title matches?
I had a good record on the Challenger Tour in finals, so I would say I know I how to play to finals. It’s tough, it’s a fight for every point, there’s more pressure than normal, especially my first ATP Tour final. It wasn’t easy but I think I handled it pretty well. Maybe those Challenger finals helped me as well to stay calm and know what to do in the final.

Even before reaching the final, you made history here along with Botic van de Zandschulp as the first two Dutchmen to reach the semis at the same ATP Tour event since 2004. What does it mean to you to be represent the Netherlands with success like that?
It means a lot to do well for Dutch tennis. Botic and I are doing well and then Tim [Van Rijthoven] won the ATP event in Holland [in 2022], so we have a good group of guys. We did really well in the Davis Cup last year. We support each other and make each other better, that’s important to us. Hopefully there’s a lot more trophies coming.

How did growing up in a big sports family help you to get to the level you are at now on the ATP Tour?
That helped a lot to have a sports family, especially having two older brothers who played tennis as well. I’ve always had them to look up to, they are five years older, they were always better than me until a certain age. I would always practise with them, travel with them, having that sports background means a lot. My family is probably as happy as I am at the moment.

Your father is a former motocross driver and you are a big Formula 1 fan… you’ve even said that if you weren’t a tennis player you’d like to be an F1 driver. What similarities do you see between the two sports?
I’m a big fan of Formula 1 but I think at this point I’m happy that I’m a tennis player. I love the competition the guys have, especially at this point when we have Max Verstappen in Holland, he’s probably the biggest sports hero we have. I think pushing yourself to the limit is what it takes in both sports.

You have been very focussed on the court this week. How does your off-court personality compare to what we see in between the lines?
The focus and attitude was really well this week. I pushed myself and put a lot of time in during the offseason, it looks like it paid off. Outside the court, I’m more of a joker guy and not so calm. I like to talk and I’m basically good with everyone. I’m probably a different person between the lines on the court and off-court, but I’m enjoying both parts.

Who are some of your best friends or players you enjoy spending time with on the Tour?
The Dutch guys. There are not too many of them but we spend a lot of time together. We practise basically every day together at home when we’re there. Having those guys around, doing well, especially the past year-and-a-half, helps us a lot. It’s a good feeling.

When did you first start to dream of winning titles on the ATP Tour?
You always have this dream of winning [titles]. But in 2021, when I had this Challenger run of eight titles, at that point I thought it became realistic to start dreaming of winning an ATP title. It was my goal for this year, but I never would’ve thought I’d get it on 7 January, that’s crazy. I’m happy that dream came true today.

How will you celebrate this milestone moment in your career?
Well, I have a long flight in front of me to Melbourne. With my coach, we will definitely have a drink, have a nice dinner, maybe at the airport. At this moment, I really don’t care, I’m really happy. Probably have a nice dinner in Melbourne and celebration there.

Despite enduring a fourth consecutive defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Adelaide International 1 semi-finals, Daniil Medvedev remains confident that he can turn the tables on the Serbian if he gets a shot at revenge at this month’s Australian Open. And that’s despite Saturday’s 6-3, 6-4 loss being the most lopsided of their four most recent battles.

The 26-year-old admitted that the match was “completely on Novak’s side,” but said that his confidence would not be shaken the next time he meets Djokovic or, for that matter, Rafael Nadal, against whom he has just a modest 1-5 ATP Head2Head record. Medvedev led the Spaniard two sets to love in last year’s Australian Open final before the lefty rallied to take the title in five sets.

As he leaves Adelaide, Medvedev now sets his sights on a strong run at the season’s first Slam and perhaps another crack at Djokovic or Nadal, the only two men to beat him at the Australian Open the past two years.

“I think with the feeling I had this week, I could be back at winning [against] these guys, winning tournaments,” Medvedev said. “Again, Novak is in a different league, 21 slams. But generally [I’m] positive. Need to stay positive because the first Slam is coming. Want to show my best. Want to feel a great atmosphere like it was here in Adelaide. Looking forward.”

Some of Medvedev’s career-best wins have come against Djokovic and Nadal. In 2020, Medvedev won the Nitto ATP Finals, where he downed Nadal in the semi-finals. The following year, Medvedev earned his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open, where he denied Djokovic’s quest for the coveted calendar Slam. He will draw upon those victories to boost his confidence should he play either one of them this month in Melbourne.

“Every time I play them, before the match the only thought is I have to win,” Medvedev said. “I have to try my best to win. I managed to do it. Rafa, I think I beat only once, but still I managed to do it. I had some tough matches against him, against Novak. Against Novak I won a slam. I believe in myself.

“But sometimes on the court it gets tough. Sometimes you don’t manage to make the challenge. Tonight is a case. I didn’t manage to pass the test. Next time I face him, I’m going to try to do it again.”

While Djokovic remained strong in the critical moments of Saturday’s match, saving all three break points faced, Medvedev double faulted on break point in both sets. Despite being known as one of the game’s strongest returners, Medvedev only won four points off Djokovic’s first delivery and failed to convert on all three break points.

Djokovic, a 91-time tour-level titlist, extended his ATP Head2Head series lead to 9-4 over Medvedev. While they split sets in their three previous meetings, Medvedev gave a straightforward answer as he conceded that Saturday’s one hour and 30 minute contest was one-way traffic.

“Sometimes tennis is about the small, small margins,” Medvedev said. “Some matches I managed to win against him. This one was completely on his side.”

Even though Medvedev won’t be crowned champion in Adelaide, he’s still drawing positives from the three wins he earned this week at the ATP 250 event. With one week until the first Grand Slam of the year, the 15-time tour-level titlist believes he is still in a strong position to claim his second major crown. After finishing runner-up in Melbourne the past two seasons, Medvedev will be satisfied with nothing less than leaving the Australian Open with the trophy.

As the ATP Tour season builds toward the Australian Open, two events Down Under provide players their last chance to compete ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam.

A pair of ATP 250s — the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Adelaide International 2 — are next on the schedule, with World No. 3 Casper Ruud leading the field as the ATP Tour returns to Auckland for the first time since 2020. Former champion Andrey Rublev is the top seed in Adelaide, where hometown hero Thanasi Kokkinakis is back to defend his title.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch this week.

View Draws: Auckland | Adelaide

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN AUCKLAND
1) Ruud With Eye On World No. 1: After a breakthrough 2022 season in which he reached the final at Miami, Roland Garros, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals, Ruud began the new year at No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings — one spot off his career-high. After going 1-1 at the United Cup with a win against Thiago Monteiro and a loss to Matteo Berrettini, the Norwegian prepares for his first ATP Tour tournament of the season. He will be the top seed in his third Auckland appearance, with eighth seed John Isner a potential quarter-final opponent.

Ruud is currently 1,100 points behind World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, and — having missed out on the 2022 Australian Open through injury — is in prime position to make up ground in the coming weeks.

2) Norrie Aims To Stay Perfect: After producing a perfect 3-0 record as he led Great Britain to the United Cup semis — including wins against Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz — Cameron Norrie is seeded second in Auckland and will open against a qualifier. Norrie broke into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time last season, reaching a high of World No. 8, and currently sits at No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Though he was born in South Africa and plays under the British flag, Norrie will feel right at home in New Zealand, having been raised in Auckland. 

3) Three Argentine Seeds: Third seed Diego Schwartzman, fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo and seventh seed Sebastian Baez are joined by Pedro Cachin in the singles draw. While Schwartzman is the Argentine No. 1 at World No. 25, Cerundolo will have a chance to overtake him for that honour in Auckland as he enters the week less than 200 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points behind his countryman.

Argentina currently has seven men inside the Top 100, six of whom are competing in Auckland, with Federico Coria and Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the qualifying draw.

4) Big Servers Bublik, Isner In Top Half: Fifth seed Alexander Bublik and American Isner will add some pop to the top half of the draw. Kazakhstan’s Bublik’s opening match against David Goffin is the pick of the first-round contests.

Isner is one of five Americans in the main draw, joining Jenson Brooksby, wild card Ben Shelton, J.J. Wolf and Marcos Giron. Christopher Eubanks hopes to qualify to make it six. 

5) Mektic/Pavic Lead Doubles Draw: Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will play their first match since defeat in the Nitto ATP Finals title match, facing the Australian duo of Ajeet Rai and Finn Reynolds. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are seeded second in the doubles draw.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ADELAIDE
1) Can Rublev Roar Back?: After a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut last week in Adelaide, Rublev returns with a fresh slate as he looks to get his 2023 season up and running. Following an opening-round bye, the top seed and 2022 Nitto ATP Finals semi-finalist will meet an Australian wild card: either defending champion and Adelaide native Kokkinakis or Alexei Popyrin.

2) Spanish Seeds: Second seed Pablo Carreno Busta joins fourth seed Bautisa Agut and seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Adelaide, with Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas also in the draw. We could see an all-Spanish matchup as early as the second round, if Davidovich Fokina can beat Brandon Nakashima and Ramos-Vinolas gets past a qualifier. 

Carreno Busta is set for his first action of 2023, while Bautista Agut finds himself in the last 16 thanks to a first-round bye, one week after he upset Rublev to reach that stage at the Adelaide International 1.

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3) Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Three Australian wild cards occupy consecutive lines in the top half of the draw. While Kokkinakis begins his title defence against Popyrin — Rublev awaiting the winner — Jason Kubler will open against a qualifier, with sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic a potential second-round opponent. Five more Aussies are in the qualifying draw, including John Millman.

Popyrin seeks a second strong showing in Adelaide after qualifying and upsetting second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to the quarter-finals last week. Kubler will hope to back up his two United Cup No. 2 singles wins against Daniel Evans and Ramos-Vinolas.

4) Early Showdowns: Other popcorn first-round matchups include Kyle Edmund (who entered with a protected ranking) vs. Kecmanovic; Pune finalst Benjamin Bonzi vs. Maxime Cressy; eighth seed Tommy Paul vs. Yoshihito Nishioka; Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jack Draper; and Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Sebastian Korda, who will contest the Adelaide International 1 final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

5) Doubles No. 1s Back For More: Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, who share the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, are eager to replicate the red-hot start to their partnership from this time last year. The Dutch-British duo won seven tour-level titles in its first season, but stumbled out of the gate in 2023 with an opening-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald and Marcelo Melo last week in Adelaide.

In the course of 11 drama-filled days at the United Cup, across three Australian cities, 18 teams have been reduced to just two: the third-seeded United States and fifth seeds Italy.

Sunday’s final takes place at 1 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) in Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.

The U.S. clinched its spot in the title round first, uncertain if it would be facing Italy or Greece.

“I don’t really think it matters,” captain David Witt said. “I think our players are pretty confident and excited to be in the final. We will just have to wait to see who we play, and then go out there and do it up.”

Both squads have been “doing it up” with remarkable consistency.

The United States — leading 2-0 after the first day of semi-final play — swept its three Saturday matches to defeat Poland 5-0. Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys won their singles matches over Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette, respectively, before Fritz and Jessica Pegula won their mixed doubles match.

Later, Lucia Bronzetti clinched a 4-1 victory for Italy over Greece with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Valentini Grammatikopoulou. While Italy opened play Saturday with a Matteo Berrettini loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Italians finished strong, first with Bronzetti and then a mixed doubles win by Camilla Rosatello and Andrea Vavassori.

There is little history between these players on the U.S. and Italy. The two women’s matches are both first-time affairs. Meanwhile, Fritz holds a 2-0 advantage over Berrettini, at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals and 2021 Indian Wells. Lorenzo Musetti defeated Frances Tiafoe in their only ATP Head2Head meeting, two years ago in Acapulco, but it was decided by a third-set tiebreak.

Both teams have benefitted from elite singles play at the United Cup. The United States is 14-2, while Italy is 12-4.

Breaking it down individually, the Americans all have winning records: Tiafoe 4-0, Keys 4-0, Pegula 3-1 and Fritz 3-1.

The Italians are not far behind: Musetti 4-0, Berrettini 3-1, Bronzetti 3-1 and Martina Trevisan 2-2.

If it comes down to the final match, mixed doubles, the United States has a clear advantage, as Pegula and Fritz are a tidy 3-0. Italian Captain Vincenzo Santopadre has scheduled Berrettini and Trevisan. Berretini lost his only mixed doubles match and Trevisan has yet to play.

According to Berrettini, Team Italy is feeling the spirit of those vintage championship Billie Jean King Cup teams that featured Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani. From 2006-13, they won four titles.

“They were great inspirations for all of us,” Berrettini said. “I believe they were great. I think when you play team competitions, it’s important to create a group off court and then you can perform better on court. That’s what we did from the very first moment.

“We immediately created this group chat and started talking about when we will get here and we kind of celebrated Christmas on the flights together. We started to hang out together and create this bond that is really important.”

The Americans, too, have bonded.

“I didn’t know how locked everybody was,” Tiafoe said. “It’s just crazy.”

Sunday, Jan. 8
Ken Rosewall Arena, 1 p.m.
Jessica Pegula (USA) vs. Martina Trevisan (ITA) / Head-to-head: 0-0
Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs. Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) / Head-to-head: Musetti, 1-0

5:30 p.m.
Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) / Head-to-head: Fritz, 2-0
Madison Keys (USA) vs. Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) / Head-to-head: 0-0
Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Martina Trevisan (ITA) and Matteo Berrettini (ITA)

Tallon Griekspoor overcame his first lost set of the week at the Tata Open Maharashtra to claim his first ATP Tour title Saturday in an entertaining and high-quality final against Benjamin Bonzi. The Dutchman served to stay in the match in the second set but ultimately outlasted his French opponent 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 before collapsing to the court in celebration of his milestone moment.

“[It was the] first final for both, some pressure,” Griekspoor said after clinching the trophy with a dominant serving display that included 17 aces. “All I did was keep fighting every point, trying to get my best tennis, and in the end it came, so I’m really happy with that.

“I think even in the first set I played well. I just played one really bad game at 4-5 which made it tough for myself. Bonzi was playing really well.”

After getting broken to surrender the first set, the 26-year-old showed great resilience in the same situation in set two. From 4-5 in the second, he won three straight games to force a decider, then continued his momentum by building a 3-1 lead in the final set.

Bonzi created two break points in a four-deuce game at 3-2, but Griekspoor stood firm to hold and ultimately sealed victory with his third break of the match when his opponent’s forehand sailed long.

𝗘.𝗟.𝗔.𝗧.𝗜.𝗢.𝗡.🙌

A dream come true moment for Griekspoor 🥇#TOM2023 #AdvantagePune #Tennis #ATPTour #TataOpenMaharashtra | @Griekii @atptour @AITA__Tennis @msltatennis @IndTennisDaily pic.twitter.com/mHo9UQ6lL5

— Tata Open Maharashtra (@MaharashtraOpen) January 7, 2023

The two-hour, 16-minute final was played at a high level throughout despite it being the first tour-level title match for both men.

“Of course a little bit more nerves than normal, but it wasn’t too bad actually,” said Griekspoor, who dropped serve just twice on the week. “I think we both played really well, our service games… Nerves are always there, today a little bit more, but I’m happy with how I handled it.”

The Dutchman rocketed 34 places up the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to No. 61 as he closes in on his career high of World No. 44, achieved in August. He knocked off two seeded opponents in Pune — seventh seed Jaume Munar in the opening round and eighth seed Aslan Karatsev in the semis — and was the beneficiary of a withdrawal from top seed Marin Cilic ahead of their scheduled quarter-final matchup.

The 26-year-old Bonzi jumped 10 spots in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to enter the Top 50 but missed out on an opportunity to break into the Top 40 for the first time and become the French No. 1.

The final was the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, though Bonzi defeated Griekspoor in a third-set tie-break on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017.