Jannik Sinner continued his attempted quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday, when he defeated Aleksandar Vukic at the Sofia Open.

In a dominant display, the Italian crushed 21 winners and demonstrated good touch around the net to overcome the Australian 6-2, 6-3 and seal his 45th tour-level win of the season. The top seed is up one place to 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin following his quarter-final win and will rise to 10th if he wins his third straight Sofia title.

Sinner competed on home soil in Turin as an alternate last season and is looking to finish the season strongly as he aims to qualify for the prestigious end-of-year event, held from 13-20 November.

The 21-year-old now holds a standout 11-0 record in Sofia. He captured the crown on debut at the ATP 250 event in 2020, before he successfully retained his title last year. Sinner is just two wins away from triumphing again after he overpowered the Australian Vukic to book his spot in the semi-finals after 81 minutes. The 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion will next face fifth-seeded Dane Holger Rune or Ilya Ivashka.

In other action, #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti moved past German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(3), 6-1 to reach his second tour-level semi-final of the season.

The 20-year-old showcased a combination of quality and grit, rallying from a break down in the first set before firing an array of winners in the second set to seal his victory after 77 minutes.

Musetti, who lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Hamburg in July, will next meet Marc-Andrea Huesler after the Swiss edged Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3. Huesler saved two match points in the second-set tie-break before he won 93 per cent (13/14) of his first-serve points in the third set to advance.

History has been made this week at the Sofia Open.

For the first time, an all-female chair umpire team was assigned to an ATP Tour event. In addition, the ATP supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires in Sofia are also female. Tournament Director Kay Godkhindi explained why it is an exciting aspect of the event.

“To be honest we didn’t realise as it all happened organically for us. The tournament team was built with people who just love what they do,” Godkhindi said. “I’ve been involved with organising both men’s and women’s events and while they both have their special requirements, at the end of the day it’s the same thing — making sure to keep all the balls in the air, ensuring everyone is happy and that we continue to strive and deliver the best tournament.

“We are a small part of a greater movement that your gender doesn’t define your capabilities, but it’s great to have equal opportunity in both the ATP and the WTA and empowering women whenever possible is always a step in the right direction. It’s fantastic that the ATP are championing this by hiring ATP supervisors and chair umpires.”

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As many male-dominated sports begin to add female officials to their rosters, tennis already has several prominent female officials — including those overseeing men’s matches — dating back several decades.

One of those officials is Anne Lasserre, who is the ATP Supervisor for the ATP 250 in Sofia. Lasserre is the first female to serve in the particular role.

“I think it’s an honour as well to be the first female. I worked as a chair umpire for the ATP a long time ago,” Lasserre said. “I think things and the situation are evolving, which I think is a good thing. It’s an honour, I’m proud of it…

“It’s good to think about the future and being able to break this glass ceiling and give this opportunity to other females to do the same job like we do in every sport.”

One of the chair umpires in Sofia, Aurelie Tourte, added that it is “a great feeling” to have a tournament led by female officials.

“I think it’s a great idea from the ATP. It just shows that gender doesn’t matter at the end of the day,” Tourte said. “If you are a female or a male, what matters is you are a good official, a chair umpire, and that is what we are trying to show this week. On another hand, I would say that it feels even better when this will be unnoticed, that at some point it will be common to have females in the ATP tournaments.”

Tourte became the first full-time chair umpire employed by the ATP in 2019. She feels an event with a female officiating team is important not just for the officials involved, but future generations.

“I think it’s good for the young officials to find motivation, to see that it’s possible,” Tourte said. “If you go back a few years, you would not see any female chair umpires on the ATP Tour. Now you see more and more, so as a young official when you watch TV and you see a female in the chair, you might feel, ‘Well, I could be there, I could make it.’”

For the first time in ATP history, all four of Thursday’s centre court matches were officiated by female umpires, while officiating for the remainder of the event from quarterfinals onwards will be overseen exclusively by female umpires.

ATP Senior Director of Officiating Administration Ali Nili said: “The ATP Officiating Department prioritises high performance and a diverse officiating team. The tournament in Sofia is an example of our successful efforts in that direction. While the road to progress is long, we are proud of the direction we are heading and the future seems bright.”

Novak Djokovic overcame a tough test from Vasek Pospisil on Friday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open to maintain his perfect record against the Canadian.

In an entertaining quarter-final clash in Israel, the Serbian fended off an attacking bombardment from the lucky loser to advance 7-6(5), 6-3. With his victory, Djokovic has improved to 6-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, having won all 13 sets they have played.

“It was a great, positive win,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “Vasek is one of my best friends on the Tour. We have known each other for many years. It is never easy playing someone you respect so much and like so much, but we are both professionals and wanted to win the match and you can see that.

“I think the level of tennis was really high. Especially towards the end of the first set and the second set. Credit to him for fighting. Great to see him back.”

The top seed, who is competing in just his second tour-level event since he triumphed at Wimbledon in July, showcased great athleticism to hang in points during the first set. He then hit with consistency in the second set to force the 32-year-old into errors and advance after one hour and 53 minutes.

The 35-year-old is seeking his third tour-level title of the season this week after winning trophies in Rome and Wimbledon. Djokovic will next play Roman Safiullin after the 25-year-old downed Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-1 in 69 minutes.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Djokovic is 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and, as a current-year Grand Slam champion, will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals (13-20 November) provided he remains in the Top 20.

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Earlier, Frenchman Constant Lestienne edged fourth-seeded American Maxime Cressy 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(3) to advance to his first tour-level semi-final. The 30-year-old, who is up seven spots to No. 61 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will next meet Marin Cilic. The Croatian is into his fifth tour-level semi-final of the season after receiving a walkover from Liam Broady at the ATP 250 hard-court event.

Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer are the third doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, joining Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski and Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury. The season finale will be played in Turin from 13-20 November.

Arevalo and Rojer clinched their spot at the Pala Alpitour following Friday’s loss at the ATP 250 in Sofia by Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, who are 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Rankings.

Rojer will make his seventh appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals with his third different partner. In 2015, Rojer and Horia Tecau captured the Nitto ATP Finals crown. The Dutchman most recently competed in the event in 2019 at The O2 in London alongside Tecau. This will be Arevalo’s first appearance in the year-end championships.

The first-year duo made a quick start to their partnership with hard-court triumphs in Dallas and Delray Beach in February. They won 10 consecutive matches during the month, following their trophy runs by advancing to the final in Acapulco.

Arevalo and Rojer’s biggest triumph came during the clay-court season, when they earned Grand Slam glory at Roland Garros. They made another deep run at a major in New York, where they reached the semi-finals of the US Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the fourth player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, joining Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud. The Greek star will make his fourth consecutive appearance at the season finale, which will be held for the second consecutive year at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

The 24-year-old clinched his spot Friday as a result of other matches. Four spots remain in the singles field of the year-end championships.

Tsitsipas captured the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in 2019, when he triumphed at The O2 in London. In that edition, he defeated Dominic Thiem for the trophy.

The Greek has enjoyed a consistent 2022 season. Tsitsipas made a quick start in Australia, where he advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Athens native then reached the final in Rotterdam just two weeks later.

Tsitsipas made his biggest splash of the year at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he successfully defended his title to claim his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy. He continued to excel at that level by reaching the championship match in Rome and Cincinnati, while also lifting an ATP 250 trophy in Mallorca.

The 24-year-old has won 49 matches this season, second on the ATP Tour behind only World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz (52).

Yoshihito Nishioka earned just the second Top 5 win of his career on Friday, when he upset World No. 2 Casper Ruud 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships.

Competing in Seoul, the Japanese star looked in control throughout the one-hour, 57-minute clash as he outmanoeuvred the Norwegian with his variety, striking 32 winners and committing just 14 unforced errors to earn the biggest win of his season.

“I feel great. My motivation is very high,” Nishioka said. “I am playing very well, very smart… He is a great player. I know he came from Europe and played at the Laver Cup, which is not easy matches. He wasn’t settled on this court or this country yet, maybe. I was ready. I was focused on playing against him and I had a plan and it worked.”

The 27-year-old, who downed Daniel Evans and Taro Daniel in straight sets earlier this week, will next play Aleksandar Kovacevic after the American lucky loser defeated countryman Mackenzie McDonald 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to continue his dream run.

The top seed Ruud defeated Nicolas Jarry in his opening match at the ATP 250 event, with his victory earning him qualification for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. He was unable to match Nishioka’s consistency, though, in their second ATP Head2Head meeting. Nishioka is into his second tour-level semi-final of the season, having enjoyed a run to the championship match in Washington last month.

Earlier, fourth seed Denis Shapovalov soared past Moldovan Radu Albot 6-2, 6-2 in 73 minutes. The 23-year-old Canadian did not face a break point and has now improved his quarter-final record this season to 2-3.

Shapovalov, who reached the semi-finals in Dubai in February, will next meet Jenson Brooksby after the eighth-seeded American received a walkover from second seed Cameron Norrie.

With his back against the wall, Arthur Rinderknech survived on Thursday at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 event. The Frenchman saved one match point en route to a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(7) win against third seed Diego Schwartzman in Israel.

In a tight first meeting between the pair, the 27-year-old held his nerve in the third-set tie-break. The World No. 58 saved one match point on Schwartzman’s serve at 6/7, before eventually converting his second match point to advance after two hours and 38 minutes.

Rinderknech, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Metz last week, will next play Roman Safiullin.

British qualifier Liam Broady continued his strong run, upsetting fifth seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to set a meeting with second seed Marin Cilic. The 28-year-old is up 25 spots to No. 149 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after advancing to his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Constant Lestienne also advanced, eliminating Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-2. The Frenchman is into his second quarter-final in as many weeks after enjoying a run to the last eight on home soil in Metz.

#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune showed his fighting qualities at the Sofia Open Thursday, earning a comeback win against Lorenzo Sonego to reach his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

In a hard-fought clash, the 19-year-old rallied past the Italian 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes at the ATP 250 hard-court event.

“I feel very good,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “Today was a tough match… Lorenzo won a title last week, so he had a lot of confidence. I took my chances, played well and stayed in the moment, so I am proud.”

The fifth seed struck 38 winners and won 85 per cent (44/52) of his first-serve points against Sonego, who won the his third tour-level title in Metz last week. Rune will continue his quest for a second tour-level title when plays Ilya Ivashka in the last eight.

The Dane is fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan as he looks to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for a second consecutive year. Rune has enjoyed a breakthrough season, highlighted by his maiden tour-level trophy in Munich in May.

German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff also booked his spot in the last eight, dispatching French qualifier Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-1. Struff, who is making his third appearance in Sofia, will next play Lorenzo Musetti as he seeks to reach his first tour-level semi-final of the season.

Pole Kamil Majchrzak upset eighth seed Oscar Otte 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to his third tour-level quarter-final of the year. The 26-year-old will next take on second-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta or Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler.