Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have met Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares on some of the game’s biggest stages. Their three previous meetings, all victories for Ram/Salisbury, came in 2021 at the Australian Open, US Open and Nitto ATP Finals.

The American-British pairing improved to 4-0 in the matchup on Wednesday with a 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory at the Cinch Championships. The teams traded opening-set breaks at The Queen’s Club in London before Ram/Salisbury dominated the first tie-break. After the pair saved a set point to hold for 5-5 in the second, they closed out the match with another strong performance in the tie-break, winning the final three points, including two on return.

The victory marked a milestone for doubles World No. 1 Salisbury, who picked up his 150th match win.

Ram and Salisbury advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face Tuesday winners Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

Second-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory against the British pairing of Ken Skupski and Jonny O’Mara on Wednesday, booking their place in the quarter-finals. Denis Shapovalov and Rohan Bopanna are through to the semis after defeating Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, 6-3, 6-4.

Seeds Advance In Halle
Third seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus joined fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the semi-finals at the Terra Wortmann Open. Puetz/Venus defeated Matwe Middelkoop and Simone Bolelli, 7-6(3), 6-4, in the lone match of the day that did not require a Match Tie-break in Halle.

Dodig and Krajicek were 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 winners over Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, the 2022 Australian Open finalists. Each team broke once in the match before the Croatian-American duo took the Match Tie-break.

In an all-German encounter, two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies edged Oscare Otte and Daniel Altmaier, 6-7(8), 6-3, 10-8.

Nick Kyrgios is finding his range on the grass at the Terra Wortmann Open.

The Australian battled back from first-set disappointment to oust second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory at the ATP 500 event in Halle on Wednesday afternoon.

After a strong second-set showing to level the match, the World No. 65 clinched a crucial break late in the deciding set to seal a quarter-final spot on tournament debut. The Australian struck 32 winners (including 9 aces), fewer than Tsitsipas’ 39 winners (including 18 aces), but stayed resolute to clinch victory in the two-hour, five-minute encounter and complete his biggest win by Pepperstone ATP Ranking since he defeated the same opponent at the 2020 ATP Cup.

“Stef is one of the best players in the world at the moment and he’s going to have some amazing results and I’m sure many, many Grand Slams,” said Kyrgios after the match. “I don’t know if I can say the same for me, but I’m happy to still be able to produce this level with the tournaments I play. It is a testament to how hard I do work when I’m not playing.

“I’m just super excited to move on as well, I want to keep having these big wins on the best courts in the world.”

The win lifts Kyrgios to No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. With one more victory in Halle, he will be projected to return to the world’s Top 50 for the first time since March 2021.

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Kyrgios followed his semi-final run in Stuttgart last week with an impressive opening-round win against home favourite Daniel Altmaier in Halle. He continued to look sharp on the grass against Tsitsipas on Wednesday, but only after the Greek had prevailed in a high-quality first set to test Kyrgios’ resolve.

A tight start saw just five points won against serve in the first nine games, before Tsitsipas raised his level to exert some pressure on the Kyrgios delivery. The Greek let slip two break points as Kyrgios rallied to level at 5-5, but Tsitsipas’ perseverance paid off in the 12th game as he converted his sixth set point to move ahead.

Kyrgios bounced back immediately from falling behind, frequently showcasing his unique shotmaking ability. A couple of rasping flat forehands had the crowd on its feet as Kyrgios broke twice to send an intriguing battle into a deciding set.

Both players continued to strike the ball cleanly as neither Tsitsipas in the fifth game nor Kyrgios in the sixth bowed to the pressure when faced with two break points. It was Kyrgios who capitalised on a lapse in the Tsitsipas game, however, his ability to find winners from anywhere all court helping him to a crucial break for 5-4 before he served out to love.

Kyrgios next faces Pablo Carreno Busta, after he defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 earlier on Wednesday.

“I’m excited,” said Kyrgios when asked about facing the No. 19-ranked Spaniard. “He’s a hell of a player and he can play on all surfaces. So I’m going to try and see what I can do, bump a couple of returns and serve big, and see how it goes.”

Five years ago, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won the Wimbledon Boys’ Singles title. Although the Spaniard arrived at The Queen’s Club this week with a 1-3 tour-level record on grass, he has shown this week he is plenty capable on the surface.

Davidovich Fokina battled past Australian Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 16 minutes to reach the quarter-finals at the Cinch Championships.

“When you play the first match, it’s always tough, because the grass is slippery and you have to be physically so strong,” Davidovich Fokina said in his on-court interview. “When you are winning matches, you have more confidence with yourself and this match against Alex brought me a lot more.”

The 23-year-old thrilled the London crowd with his entertaining tennis. “Foki” slipped and slid here and there, but crucially was locked in on break points — both for and against him — and that made the difference. Davidovich Fokina saved eight of the 10 break points he faced and converted all three he earned to secure his second win of the week.

“To play on grass, you have to be focussed on every point because it can escape, the games, so quickly. And Alex is a very good player here on grass,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I had to be [focussed] every point, because I knew I had my chances. I’m so happy for the win.”

Davidovich Fokina will next play Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5), 6-3. Like the Spaniard, van de Zandschulp began the tournament with one tour-level victory on grass. Now he has three, having also eliminated Briton Paul Jubb in the first round.

On Monday, Daniil Medvedev reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Two days later, he wasted no time in backing up that status on court at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.

The top seed was imperious in completing a 6-3, 6-2 win over David Goffin on Wednesday to reach the second round at the ATP 500 event in Germany for the first time.

“It was a great match,” said Medvedev after his victory. “David is a tricky player. I think that’s why I went to play last week. It’s always an advantage when you played some matches and your opponent didn’t.

“[The] first set was really tight, like always on a grass court. I feel like he was missing his rhythm a little bit, I was trying to serve fast, it was not easy for him. I managed to keep this momentum until the end and that was enough today.”

Goffin had won the pair’s only previous tour-level meeting on grass, a five-set victory in the third round at Wimbledon in 2019, and the Belgian was by no means below-par in the first-round clash. Yet Medvedev found a consistently high level from the start on OWL Arena, giving the 2019 finalist few opportunities to counter in a 64-minute victory.

Medvedev appeared in control of a high-quality first set thanks to a break in the fourth game, but as he served for it at 5-3 Goffin’s clean-hitting carved out a break-back opportunity. The World No. 1’s ability to find big serves at important moments had defined his run to the final at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week, however, and his delivery was precise once again as he fended off the break point at 30/40 before going on to convert his second set point.

An all-around performance from Medvedev in the second set made it increasingly difficult for World No. 39 Goffin to stick with his opponent. Medvedev raced to a 4-0 lead, and although he again needed to find a big serve to fend off break point and hold for 5-1, the top seed was comfortable in serving out for victory having fired 17 winners, including six aces.

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Medvedev missed much of the 2022 European clay season due to a hernia procedure, and he acknowledged the break was a contributing factor to his bright start on the grass this year.

“The clay seems like a long season for me, especially I struggle mentally a lot on it, so I always feel like I am a little bit worn out after Roland Garros,” said Medvedev. “[This year] I just played two tournaments [on clay], and still Roland Garros, even though I played good there, it is tough for me to play on clay. So it’s not that easy, but definitely I am more fresh than [earlier] years.”

A second-round meeting with Ilya Ivashka now awaits Medvedev in north-west Germany, where the 26-year-old is chasing his maiden title of the 2022 season.

Chun-hsin Tseng’s rapid rise up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings continued this week with his latest major milestone. The #NextGenATP star from Chinese Taipei entered the Top 100 for the first time on 13 June on the heels of a stellar start to the 2022 season.

Both Tseng and fellow 20-year-old Jack Draper broke into the Top 100 on Monday, and the two sit at seventh and fifth, respectively, in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan.

While Great Britain’s Draper has earned recent headlines with big wins over Lorenzo Sonego and Taylor Fritz, Tseng has competed in both the Australian Open and Roland Garros main draws this season in addition to his excellent record on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Tseng first entered the Top 200 last December after winning his first Challenger title in Maia, Portugal. He credits that triumph with sparking his game heading into the new year.

“After my first title in a Challenger in Maia, I believed that I could do something on the Tour and I started to know my game better and use my weapons better,” he told ATPTour.com. “I found my rhythm and I knew that I could break through. This Challenger I will remember the most, because it helped my confidence when I was really down, and that was very important mentally.”

Tseng has added to his trophy count this season, winning two more Challengers (in Bengaluru, India, and Murcia, Spain) in addition to reaching a third final. He then qualified for Roland Garros last month without dropping a set, but fell in five sets to Joao Sousa in the first round. 

Tseng began playing tennis around the age of five, when his father, Ed — whom he calls his “biggest influence” — took him to play on clay courts in Chinese Taipei. His parents owned a food stand at the Lehua night market in Taipei, where they sold a dessert made of fruit and sugar. Tseng and his younger brother often helped out until he began travelling for tennis.

“In the beginning, it was tough, because we didn’t know anybody to play with,” he explained. “I learned to play in school. But the Federation helped me to meet coaches and visit academies and clubs and I began to travel more and more.”

After he won the Les Petit As junior tournament at age 13, he began training at the Mouratoglou Academy, where he stayed for four years.

“If you want to play professionally, you have to go outside the country and many people can’t afford to do it and also bring a coach,” Tseng continued. “If I get better and better and keep going up the rankings, my father wants to start a tournament in Taiwan and help them. We want to give the Taiwanese players the chance to play at home, so they don’t have to travel a lot.”

Now coached by Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, with whom he had worked at the Mouratoglou Academy, Tseng is competing this week in Parma as he seeks his third Challenger title of the season, and the fourth of his young career.

Stan Wawrinka and Frances Tiafoe played the match of the day Tuesday at the Cinch Championships, with the Swiss advancing at The Queen’s Club after three tie-break sets.

Wawrinka’s 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 7-6(5) victory against his London doubles partner marked a winning return to the grass in his first match on the surface since Wimbledon 2019.

“That was a long time ago,” he said with a laugh. “It’s never been my best surface but today was great. Great match. [Tiafoe] is a great friend, we played doubles yesterday. We always play some big battles, so I’m really happy to get through that one.”

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Wawrinka had a match point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but the American erased it with an ace before sending the contest to a decider. Both men displayed brilliant shotmaking at key moments in the match, with Wawrinka playing some of his best tennis to stop Tiafoe from serving out the match at 5-4 in the third.

The American rode the momentum from the second-set tie-break to an instant break in the decider, but could not close out the match as Wawrinka raised his level late. After getting back on serve at 5-5 with his first break of the match, Wawrinka saved three break points in a five-deuce game to edge in front 6-5. 

After jumping out to a 6/3 lead in the tie-break, he closed out the match on serve on his third chance of the tie-break — his fourth match point overall.

“I was fighting well. I think the level was not bad and I’m happy with the win,” Wawrinka said post-match. He improves his tour-level record this season to 3-3, playing in his fourth event after returning from a foot injury.

“It’s part of the process,” he said of his progress so far. “It takes time to be back at my age after more than a year off of the Tour. I’m enjoying the atmosphere. I’m enjoying playing in front of fans like today.”

Wawrinka will next face sixth seed Denis Shapovalov or Tommy Paul, who were knotted at one-set all when play was suspended due to darkness. Paul took the opener, 6-4, before the Canadian claimed the second, 6-2.

A smile beams across the face of a tired but ecstatic Ryan Peniston as he takes a seat at The Queen’s Club on Tuesday.

An hour earlier, the British wild card had earned the win of his life, upsetting World No. 5 Casper Ruud to reach the second round at the Cinch Championships on his ATP Tour debut.

The victory is reward for the hard work the 26-year-old has given to the sport since he first started playing as a child and for all players on Tour, a moment like this would feel special. However, it feels extra sweet for the World No. 180 due to the difficulties he has faced in his life.

When he was one, Peniston was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer found in children. The Briton had surgery to remove a tumour before he underwent an extensive period of chemotherapy in London. It was a period of his life Peniston become more aware of when he grew older.

“It is a difficult period to look at. I don’t remember anything when I was younger and even when I was a kid I didn’t know that much about the situation. It is only in the past 10 years that I have become more interested and asked my parents to tell me,” Peniston told ATPTour.com when discussing his illness.

“I am sure my parents didn’t really want to talk about that time in their life as it must have been so hard for them, like everyone around me. But it gives me a lot of strength when I look back to it,” Peniston added. “I think any other kids or families that are going through such a tough time, if they can have any kind of glimpse of hope or see what is possible, that would be a great.”

The 26-year-old was declared cancer-free a year after he started receiving treatment. Despite not being able to recall that difficult period, Peniston feels it has hugely shaped him into the individual he has become.

“It has hugely changed my perspective [on life],” Peniston said. “When I am having a tough day about something or getting annoyed about something little, I kind of remind myself that I literally might not have been here 25 years ago. When I think about stuff [that has annoyed me], It makes me relax and I try and enjoy everything. It definitely makes these kinds of days a little bit sweeter.”

The Briton successfully made a full recovery, but he has suffered long-term challenges from the treatment. Peniston remains fairly upbeat when sharing the difficulties he faced, further solidifying the positive outlook he has on life.

“The chemotherapy affected my growth. I was really small up until I was 14 or 15,” the 6’0″ Peniston said. “I was almost a foot smaller than some of my friends. In that aspect, it almost helped me in terms of tennis because I was able to work on some skills maybe other players weren’t working on. For example my movement, using my hands and tactics.

“Other people were serving big at 14. It has helped me a lot and when I started growing a bit it made me appreciate it as I was so small when I was younger. The biggest long-term aspect of it has been my mentality, though.”

Peniston’s movement, touch and determination were on show for all to see against Ruud as he transferred his off-court character onto court in his match against the Roland Garros finalist.

The 26-year-old, who attended the University of Memphis before turning professional in 2018, beamed as he reflected on the clash with Ruud, while he analysed his journey to this moment.

“During the match and when I managed to win the emotions were running really high,” the World No. 180 said. “It is indescribable really when the crowd were getting involved and cheering. It is just a surreal feeling.

“Ever since I started playing on the Tour in 2018 I haven’t been swayed away too much. I have had a vision and a dream of what I wanted to achieve and kept pushing towards that even when I lost.”

For Peniston, victory in front of a packed home crowd will live long in his memory. The wild card will next face Miami semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo in the second round. However, before that, he will allow himself to celebrate his standout win, which has propelled him to No. 156 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“I am going to celebrate with my team and family and enjoy the moment as much as I can,” Peniston said. “I think I will sleep a lot better tonight than I did last night. Then as a tennis player, you get to enjoy the win and then a couple of hours later you have to think about the next match.”