Stefanos Tsitsipas settled in at the Erste Bank Open as he improved throughout his opening win on Wednesday at the ATP 500 in Vienna.

In a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory against home favourite Dennis Novak, the second-seeded Greek instantly recovered a mid-set break in the opening set. After two straight love holds, Tsitsipas was broken to love as he fell behind 3-4. He then let slip a 0/40 opening in the ensuing game before converting on his fourth break chance and never looked back, dominating the second set to advance to the second round for the third straight year in the Austrian capital.

The victory sets up a rematch of the Cincinnati final, which he lost in Borna Coric. The Croatian earned a three-set win against France’s Quentin Halys on Monday.

Tsitsipas leads the ATP Tour with 57 match wins this season and is also co-leader (with Carlos Alcaraz) with seven finals, including runs to the title match each of the past two weeks in Astana and Stockholm.

Sitting third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, the 24-year-old has already secured his fourth straight trip to the Nitto ATP Finals, an event he won in his 2019 debut.

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Sixth seed Jannik Sinner also advanced on Wednesday, easing to a 6-3, 6-2 win against Cristian Garin. The Italian improved to 27-8 on hard courts this season, including quarter-final runs at the Australian Open and US Open. 

Seeking to better his run to the 2021 Vienna semis, Sinner will next met Francisco Cerundolo. At 15th in the Race, trailing the seventh-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime by nearly 900 points, Sinner will likely need to sweep the titles in both Vienna and Turin to have a chance of qualifying for Turin.

Holger Rune’s late-season surge showed no sign of abating Wednesday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where the 19-year-old fired his way to a 6-2, 7-5 first-round win against Alex de Minaur.

After lifting his second ATP Tour title on Sunday in Stockholm, Rune picked up where he left off in Basel, hitting 26 winners to seventh-seeded De Minaur’s nine in an 89-minute triumph. It was the Dane’s second victory against De Minaur in the space of five days after he overcame the Australian in three sets in the Stockholm semi-finals on Saturday.

Having also reached the final in Sofia at the beginning of the month, Rune now holds an 11-2 record on European indoor hard courts this Autumn. The Dane, who will hope to maintain his form when he competes at November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, is chasing his third tour-level title of the season (Munich, Stockholm) but his first at ATP 500 level.

Rune began the week at a career-high World No. 25 and today’s win elevates him to No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. A deep run in Basel could see him break into the Top 20 for the first time. His next opponent in Switzerland will be Ugo Humbert, after the French qualifier downed Jenson Brooksby 6-1, 6-4.

Rune’s fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti, who also lifted his second ATP Tour title on Sunday with victory in Naples, was unable to join the Dane in the second round. Albert Ramos-Vinolas held firm after a fast start from Musetti to record a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph against the Italian. The Spaniard next faces Alexander Bublik.

Chun-Hsin Tseng is the sixth player to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, which will be played at the Allianz Cloud in Milan from 8-12 November. He joins Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Brandon Nakashima and Jiri Lehecka in the eight-player field.

The 21-year-old from Chinese Taipei has enjoyed a breakthrough season, cracking the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in June and climbing as high as World No. 83.

The former junior World No. 1 won two ATP Challenger Tour titles and reached the final at another by mid-April. He also earned his first three ATP Tour match victories in Los Cabos, Winston-Salem and Seoul.

The Milan qualifier gained experience by playing in the main draw at all four Grand Slams for the first time. At Roland Garros, he clawed through qualifying to earn his place in the field.

Tseng will be the first Asian player to compete in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals since South Korean Hyeon Chung lifted the trophy in 2017. Two places remain at the 21-and-under season finale.

Did You Know?
In 2018, Tseng won the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros and Wimbledon en route to becoming the world’s No. 1 junior.

When Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Jesper de Jong arrived at the Lima-2 Challenger this week, they traded in their tennis racquets for kitchen utensils.

Dutchman de Jong and Argentine Ugo Carabelli embraced the culture of Peru’s capital city as they took part in a local cooking class, a few blocks from the host venue (Club Terrazas de Miraflores) of the Lima-2 Challenger. Both Challenger Tour stars were up for the task.

“I really like to cook,” Ugo Carabelli said. “This past month I cooked my favourite dish, Argentinian barbecue.”

Although it wasn’t his home-cooked asado, the 23-year-old, who holds two Challenger titles this season, jumped right in as he teamed with de Jong to make causa limeña and lomo saltado.

Camilo Ugo Carabelli prepares the lomo saltado at a cooking class in Lima. Credit: Adam Roberts

Causa limeña, a Peruvian entrée, is layered with potatoes and vegetables, topped with avocado, olives, and a hard boiled egg. Lomo saltado, which de Jong said was his favourite of the two, is beef sirloin cooked over fire with onions, tomato, and peppers.

“My first reaction to this cooking class was, ‘Okay, this is going to be tough,” de Jong said. “But I need to learn and it’s good to do something outside of tennis. I like to cook pasta but it’s a little simple, I need to make more special dishes.”

De Jong, 22, claimed he hadn’t cooked since May, when he went on his first date with his girlfriend. The Haarlem native, who won his maiden Challenger title in 2021 (Almaty-2), handled the new experience as if it was like riding a bike.

The chef guided de Jong and Ugo Carabelli step-by-step as they cut the vegetables for the causa limeña. The aroma of onions and peppers filled the room. Along the way, de Jong and Ugo Carabelli paused to taste test the yellow chili paste and yellow potatoes, both featured in the entrée.

“I need to eat healthy,” Ugo Carabelli said. “I can’t eat too much because I gain weight very fast [laughs].”

When it was time to prepare the main dish, lomo saltado, both players tried their hand at stirring the beef over the flame. Not long after, the meal was all set. Served with a side of rice and french fries, de Jong and Ugo Carabelli sat at the table and enjoyed their freshly cooked Peruvian cuisine.

Jesper de Jong (left) and Camilo Ugo Carabelli pose with the chef after cooking lomo saltado. Credit: Grant Thompson

“I wasn’t sure what to expect but Camilo and I made some really nice dishes,” de Jong said. “What I tasted of Peruivian food was pretty good and I made it myself, so that’s even better!”

“It went better than I expected,” Ugo Carabelli said. “It was very fun and I honestly learned a lot from the chef.”

Any fears of failure were suddenly removed as they realised it was a successful afternoon in the kitchen.

Dominic Thiem found himself on the brink Thursday at the Erste Bank Open, but he showcased his fighting qualities to survive on home soil in Vienna.

The former World No. 3 saved two match points en route to a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) win against American Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 event.

In front of a packed home crowd, Thiem recovered from a slow start as he grew into the match. He fired his fierce groundstrokes through the court and held his nerve under pressure, saving two match points at 4/6 and 5/6 in the third-set tie-break to eventually triumph after two hours and 58 minutes.

Thiem is making his 11th appearance in Vienna, with his best result a run to the title in 2019. The 29-year-old will look to continue his journey at this week’s event when he plays top seed Daniil Medvedev or Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.

Thiem arrives in Vienna in strong form, having advanced to consecutive tour-level semi-finals in Gijon and Antwerp earlier this month. The 2020 US Open champion is up six spots to No. 107 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his win against Paul.

In other action, Cameron Norrie kept his slim Nitto ATP Finals chances alive when he defeated Argentine Pedro Cachin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(1). The 27-year-old is 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on 2,400 points. Norrie, who competed in Turin as an alternate last season, is 825 points behind seventh-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The prestigious end-of-year event will take place in Turin from 8-12 November. Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic have already qualified.

Competing at the Swiss Indoors Basel for the 15th time, Stan Wawrinka thrilled his home fans by recording his biggest win since defeating Novak Djokovic at the 2019 US Open.

The 37-year-old from Lausanne used a crisp and efficient performance to upset second seed Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting. Wawrinka converted on each of his two break points — one late in each set — and saved all three against him to close out the victory in one hour and 18 minutes.

“It’s super special. A lot of emotion being back here in Basel with the Swiss fans,” he said post-match. “It’s always been amazing for me to play here [but] it’s always been difficult because I am always nervous when I enter this court. I always want to show my best. It took me a little bit of time to adapt to the court but the level was great and I’m really happy with that.

“This is one of the main reasons why I keep on playing,” added Wawrinka, who entered the event with a protected ranking. “I’m getting old, that’s for sure. I had to fight the last two years with the injury, surgery. Coming back was not easy. I was struggling really to get back in shape physically and tennis-wise. So to be able to produce that tonight here in Switzerland is of course something really special and hopefully I can keep playing well.”

Ruud committed just four unforced errors in the match, but one handed Wawrinka the decisive break in the second set as the Norwegian surrendered serve at love with an untimely loose game. Wawrinka, who won 93 per cent (26/28) of his first-serve points and hit 28 winners, served out the victory with ease to advance to the Basel second round for the seventh time.

The Swiss scored his first break to lead 4-3 in the opening set, then fought off three break points in the ensuing game to consolidate. He would not face another break point in the match as both men dominated on serve, save four Ruud’s late slip in the second set. Both men held to love three times in a speedy second set that saw just four points go against serve outside of Wawrinka’s break.

Wawrinka has reached 30 tour-level finals in his career, winning 16 titles, but has never reached the title match in Basel. Now 14-13 overall at the ATP 500, he seeks to improve on semi-final runs in 2006 and 2011.

He will next face #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, who beat David Goffin 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Monday.

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Ruud has now lost his past three matches, including defeats to eventual champion Yoshihito Nishioka in Seoul and Jaume Munar in Tokyo.Though he beat Jack Sock in a Match Tie-break at the Laver Cup, he is still searching for his first ATP Tour tournament win since his US Open final run, which lifted him to a career-high of No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Despite the loss, the Norwegian’s place in next month’s Nitto ATP Finals is already secured. He sits fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and cannot be passed this week.

Another day, another epic Andy Murray match on the ATP Tour.

With his back against the wall, the former World No. 1 rallied past Roman Safiullin 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

In a hard-fought clash, Murray showcased an abundance of grit as he rallied from 1-4 in the third set to eventually triumph after two hours and 37 minutes at the ATP 500 event.

“He was serving huge and any opportunity he was hitting the ball huge from the back of the court,” Murray said. “As the match went on, I started to dictate a few more points and served better. I changed the way I was returning a little bit and when I did that I was able to create a few more opportunities and frustrate him a little bit.”

The Scot was pushed from side to side against the big-hitting qualifier for large periods of the clash. However, he hung in and cut down on errors in the crucial moments to earn his 26th tour-level win of the season. It is the most match wins Murray has had in a season since 2016 when he recorded 78.

Murray, who is making his first appearance in Basel since 2005, will next play sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere. The World No. 49 has now spent 11 hours and 23 minutes on court in his past five matches, with four of the five going to a deciding set.

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#NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker moved past American Maxime Cressy 7-6(4), 6-3 to boost his Milan chances. The 10th-placed Stricker is currently in the final qualification spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan on 467 points, 66 points clear of 11th-placed Italian Matteo Arnaldi. The Race ends at the conclusion of this week.

Stricker is aiming to make his debut at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held from 8-12 November at the Allianz Cloud. The lefty, who is making his first appearance in Basel, will next face Pablo Carreno Busta.

Earlier, the Spaniard dispatched Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1 in just 61 minutes. Carreno Busta hit 20 winners and committed just seven unforced errors to advance.

Alex Molcan also booked his spot in the second round, eliminating Mackenzie McDonald 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 31 minutes. The Slovakian will next play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

Tennis is largely an individual sport. But Argentine players on the ATP Challenger Tour have been playing with a sense of team spirit in the second half of the season, chasing history for their proud sporting nation.

The South American country, which boasts great sportsmen such as Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Manu Ginóbili, Juan Martin del Potro, and Guillermo Vilas, has a crop of Challenger Tour players who have proven to be unstoppable.

“We have a nice group of players at the moment,” Facundo Bagnis told ATPTour.com. “We have young players, those that entered the Top 100 for the first time this year, those that qualified for Grand Slams for the first time, and even the older guys like me [laughs].”

Players from Argentina have combined to make Challenger Tour history this year, collecting 21 Challenger titles, marking the most titles by a single country in a season.

Juan Manuel Cerundolo (left) and Camilo Ugo Carabelli at the 2022 Buenos Aires-2 Challenger in October. Credit: Manuel Cortina

Heading into this past weekend, Argentina was tied with France at 19 Challenger titles this year. The previous record for most Challengers by a single country in a season, 20, has been reached four times. (France in 2005, Argentina in 2007, 2016, 2021). After tying the record for a third time in 2021, Argentine players set their sights on attempting to stand alone at the top of the Challenger Tour record books.

On Sunday, Juan Manuel Cerundolo was crowned champion at the Coquimbo Challenge while Bagnis secured the record-breaking 21st title by winning the Ambato Challenger.

“When the match finished and they told me the record, it was an amazing feeling,” Bagnis said. “Argentina will always be at the top levels of global tennis and today, with even more tournaments close to home in South America, we are grateful for this and have taken advantage of all the opportunities.”

Pedro Cachin, 27, holds a season-leading four Challenger titles (tied w/ Jack Draper) and is the only Argentine with more than two titles this season. Cachin, World No. 55, won titles in Madrid, Prague, Todi, and Santo Domingo.

“Most Challenger titles in a year is incredible.” Cachin said. “It’s amazing to have such an opportunity for all the players to be a part of something special like that. It is not easy for our players to travel the world, going very far from home, but to have this achievement makes it all worth it.

“Especially for the younger guys, to see that Argentina has the ability and potential to win many titles. Hopefully this will increase the enthusiasm of players from Argentina to play this great sport. For us, it is a privilege to be a part of this great moment. The guys have worked hard and their talent is now showing.”

Buenos Aires native Camilo Ugo Carabelli is one of five Argentines to win multiple Challenger titles this season. Bagnis, Cachin, Cerundolo, and Francisco Comesana have also claimed at least two Challenger titles each. Ugo Carabelli, 23, broke the Top 100 for the first time in August and claimed the title at the Buenos Aires-1 and Lima-1 Challengers.

“I’m very happy for our country,” Ugo Carabelli said. “We put in a lot of effort and it’s a great award. There are many Argentines playing Challengers, new players appear all the time, they all play at a high level. The fact that players continue to emerge speaks well for us.”

#NextGenATP star Cerundolo has won 12 of his past 13 matches, including collecting the titles at the Buenos Aires-2 and Coquimbo-2 Challengers. When ‘Juanma’ won on home soil earlier this month, the 20-year-old became the 14th Argentine champion this year, tying a Challenger Tour record for the most different winners from a single country in a season (USA in 2006, France in 2011).

“To win 21 titles is incredible for Argentina,” Cerundolo said. “It means a lot. It shows that everything we have done to grow tennis in Argentina is working.”

La Plata native Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who reached a career-high No. 72 in July, is a three-time Challenger finalist this year. At the Concepcion-2 Challenger in March, the 23-year-old was crowned champion to add his name in the mix of Argentine champions in 2022.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry in action at the 2022 Parma Challenger. Credit: Daniele Combi

“I give thanks to ‘el Pulga’ [Horacio de La Peña] for giving us a lot of tournaments in South America,” Etcheverry said. “We have chances to play a lot of tournaments close to home. We are very happy about this achievement [21 Challenger titles].”

De La Peña, former World No. 31 from Buenos Aires, serves as director of the Circuito Dove Men+Care Legión Sudamericana, which is a series of Challenger tournaments held in South America. De La Peña’s aim in directing the series, which began in 2021, has been to give South American players more opportunities to develop their game.

With six weeks left in the Challenger Tour season, Argentine players will attempt to strengthen their lead in the record books before setting their sights on surpassing their own record for a second straight year in 2023.

Did You Know?
In the 45-year-history of the ATP Challenger Tour, Argentina has had a total of 366 Challenger champions, second-most behind USA (472).