Tennis News

Hanfmann reaches first ATP final in six years in Santiago

Yannick Hanfmann is into his first ATP Tour final in six years and now stands one win away from his maiden title.

The German advanced to the championship match at the BCI Seguros Chile Open Saturday, when he upset top seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals. Prior to this week, Hanfmann had not reached a final since September 2020, when he lost to Miomir Kecmanovic in Kitzbuhel.

“I think from the first point to the last, I played such a good match,” said Hanfmann. “I have to [do that] against him. He’s a great player and I knew that I had to bring my ‘A game’ today. I’m really, really happy.”

Cerundolo claimed the Buenos Aires crown two weeks ago and did not drop a set en route to the semi-finals in Santiago. However, he was unable to cope with the German, who struck cleanly and dominated the clash behind his serve.

Hanfmann won 79 per cent (27/34) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and capitalised on Cerundolo’s 27 unforced errors. He also fended off both break points he faced, including a crucial save at 5-4 in the second set while serving for the match.

“It is normal to have some nerves to get into a final,” the German said. “But ultimately, I believed, and even on the break point, I believed in my shots and in my ability to stay in the rally.”

The 34-year-old will try to capture his first ATP Tour title when he faces second seed Luciano Darderi in Sunday’s title tilt.

In the second semi-final of the day, Darderi delivered a commanding performance to defeat 2024 champion Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 29 minutes. The Italian has now claimed all three of the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings in 2026.

“Sebastian is a tough opponent,” Darderi said. “We have already played three times this year. He’s an amazing player on clay. He has won more than six or seven titles. So it’s always a tough match against him.”

Darderi, who reached the championship match in Buenos Aires, will compete in his second final of the season and his sixth overall on Sunday. The Italian leads Hanfmann 1-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Their sole meeting came in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event in Cordoba where Darderi won in straight sets.

Watch extended highlights from Saturday’s semi-final clash in Santiago:

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Medvedev wins Dubai title as Griekspoor withdraws

Daniil Medvedev says it it “not how I wanted to win” the Dubai Tennis Championships title after Tallon Griekspoor withdraws because of injury.

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Alcaraz set to defend Tokyo title in 2026

Carlos Alcaraz will be back to defend his title at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in 2026, the tournament has confirmed.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings triumphed on his debut at the ATP 500 event last year, when he dropped just one set en route to the title and defeated Taylor Fritz in the final. It was one of a Tour-leading eight trophies Alcaraz won in 2025.

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The 22-year-old Alcaraz has begun his 2026 season in emphatic fashion, winning consecutive titles at the Australian Open and at the ATP 500 in Doha. With his first title in Melbourne, the Spaniard became the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

With his win in Tokyo last year, Alcaraz joined fellow ATP No. 1 Club members Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic as winners of the ATP 500 event.

Alcaraz owns a 12-0 record in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and is more than 3,000 points clear of rival and World No. 2 Jannik Sinner atop the PIF ATP Rankings.

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Heliovaara & Patten win third title of 2026 in Dubai: 'It's a dream start to the year'

Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten reinforced their dominance in the Middle East on Saturday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where they captured the title.

The third seeds defeated Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-5, 7-5 in the ATP 500 final, stretching their winning streak to seven matches following last week’s triumph in Doha. Last year, Heliovaara and Patten squandered four match points in the Dubai final to Yuki Bhambri and Alexei Popyrin, but made up for it with a clinical display in their 2026 redemption bid.

Having also lifted the trophy in Adelaide in January, Heliovaara and Patten now own three titles in 2026 and have climbed to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. Arevalo and Pavic, who were contesting their first final of the season, jumped three places to No. 6.

“As always in doubles, the margins are so fine,” Patten said. “There’s no room to get complacent. You go on highs and then very quickly, you [can] find yourself in a low. We’ll try to ride this one and extend it for as long as possible.”

Heliovaara and Patten closed the 2025 campaign in style with maiden titles at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris and the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals. Carrying that momentum into 2026, they have now won 21 of their past 23 matches, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

“It’s a dream start to the year,” Heliovaara said. “It’s very nice to play with this guy, Henry. We’re great friends off court and everything seems to work well on the court, so I want to thank him and obviously our opponents, Marcelo and Mate. They were World No. 1s last year and they can play some really good tennis.”

They became the second team to secure three tour-level trophies this year, joining Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti, champions in Auckland, Montpellier and Dallas.

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Medvedev claims Dubai title after Griekspoor withdraws

Daniil Medvedev claimed the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday after Tallon Griekspoor withdrew ahead of their final due to a left hamstring injury.

Griekspoor sustained the injury during his semi-final victory over Andrey Rublev on Friday. He landed awkwardly after a serve and, although he went on to complete a straight-sets win, he was unable to recover in time for the championship match, resulting in a walkover.

“I have been better, that’s for sure,” Griekspoor said during the trophy ceremony. “Unfortunately, I hurt myself during the semi-finals. I went to the hospital this morning and had a couple of scans, which showed something serious. It kept me from coming on court tonight and will keep me from the court in the coming weeks.”

The title is Medvedev’s 23rd tour-level crown and second of the 2026 season after winning in Brisbane in January. It is also the first time the 30-year-old has won the same event twice, having previously triumphed in Dubai in 2023.

At No. 11 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Medvedev is just 45 points behind No. 10 Alexander Bublik as he bids to return to the Top 10 for the first time since June last year.

“That’s what is crazy about it,” Medvedev said when asked about winning the same event twice for the first time. “I never did it in any city in the world, and the first time I do it, it’s [via] a walkover… We knew before the start of the week, the way I was practising, I couldn’t miss a ball. We knew it was going to be a great week. It was a great week and I’m looking forward to the next tournaments to come.”

With his 21st tour-level trophy on hard courts, Medvedev tied World No. 2 Jannik Sinner for the second-most on the surface among active players, behind Novak Djokovic (72).

Most hard-court titles (active players)

Griekspoor was seeking the fourth and biggest ATP Tour title of his career in Dubai, where he recorded wins over Top 20 players Bublik, Jakub Mensik and Rublev this week. The Dutchman’s only prior Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Medvedev came in Dubai last year, when he memorably saved four match points en route to the semi-finals.

Medvedev will next compete at the ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, where he is a two-time finalist. He owns a 13-3 record in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

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Paolini ends Boulter's winning run at Merida Open

British number three Katie Boulter fails to build on a brilliant start against Jasmine Paolini in the Merida Open quarter-finals.

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Monfils, #NextGenATP star Jodar headline Indian Wells wild cards

Gael Monfils and #NextGenATP star Rafael Jodar are among the players who received wild cards into the BNP Paribas Open, the tournament announced Friday.

Monfils, who is playing his final ATP Tour season, holds a 22-15 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 39-year-old made his Indian Wells debut in 2005 and reached the quarter-finals in 2016 and 2019. This will be the 17th time the Frenchman competes in Indian Wells. Last year, he lost in three sets in the third round to Grigor Dimitrov.

Jodar is set to feature in the main draw at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in Indian Wells. In the past six months, the 19-year-old has won three ATP Challenger titles, which helped him qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. He has also earned three tour-level wins this year, including an upset win over Cameron Norrie in the first round at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco.

Americans Michael Zheng, Martin Damm and Zachary Svajda each also received a wild card into the main draw. Zheng will compete in the main draw of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. The 22-year-old, who posted a 24-7 record and won three titles at the ATP Challenger level in 2025, played in his maiden major main draw at this year’s Australian Open, where he shocked Sebastian Korda in the opening round.

Damm recently enjoyed a dream run at the ATP 250 event in Montpellier, where he upset Hubert Hurkacz and Roberto Bautista Agut en route to advancing to his first tour-level semi-final. California-native Svajda recently won the trophy at the ATP Challenger event in San Diego, where he defeated Korda in the final.

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Cobolli survives late drama for Acapulco final berth

Flavio Cobolli earned a hard-fought win Friday to reach his fourth ATP Tour final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The 23-year-old dispatched Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 in a two-hour, 26-minute clash, during which Cobolli trailed 1-3 in the decider before tallying five of the next six games to advance.

Facing two break points at 3-3 in the decider, Cobolli crushed serve plus-one forehand winners on back-to-back points to escape danger. The fifth seed again held his nerve after failing to serve out the match at 5-3, quickly rebounding to earn a 0/40 lead the following game. He converted his second match point and raised his arms in relief.

“We played an incredible match,” said Cobolli. “I’m really happy to be in the final for the first time here in Mexico. I think we both played an amazing match. I was a little bit lucky at the end, because at the crucial points sometimes you need luck. I’m really proud of myself because it wasn’t easy to come back.”

Cobolli is the third Italian to reach three ATP 500 finals since the series began in 2009, joining Jannik Sinner (9) and Fabio Fognini (3). He will next meet an American in the final, either eighth seed Frances Tiafoe or Brandon Nakashima. Should Cobolli win the Acapulco crown, he could surpass his career-high No. 17.

Kecmanovic was aiming to reach his first ATP 500 final. The Belgrade native upset World No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the second round for the best win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking.

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Cerundolo claims 150th win in Santiago: ‘Super happy with that milestone’

Francisco Cerundolo continued his chase for a second title during this season’s ‘Golden Swing’ on Friday at the BCI Seguros Chile Open in Santiago, where he dispatched American Emilio Nava 6-1, 6-1 in just 66 minutes.

The top seed captured the title in Buenos Aires earlier this month and has now won seven of his past eight matches on South American clay, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Cerundolo’s lone defeat came in the second round in Rio de Janeiro. The No. 19 player in the PIF ATP Rankings dominated against Nava, who was the first American to reach the quarter-finals at a tour-level event on South American clay since Rajeev Ram in 2017 in Quito.

“I didn’t expect this,” Cerundolo said of his 66-minute win. “I have seen Emilio play really good tennis the past couple of days, so I started super concentrated on my game because I knew it was going to be a really tough match. But I thought I played really well. I rarely missed any shots today. I am really happy with my performance.”

Cerundolo has now earned 150 tour-level wins and is the first active Argentine to hit that mark. He will chase victory 151 when he meets Yannick Hanfmann in his 18th ATP Tour semi-final.

“It is a lot. Not many players can achieve 150 wins, so I am super happy with that milestone,” Cerundolo said. “I will try to achieve more, set more records and try to keep winning.”

Hanfmann battled past Lithuanian lucky loser Vilius Gaubas 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes to become the first German to advance to an ATP Tour semi-final on clay in South America since Tommy Haas in Sao Paulo in 2014.

Cerundolo leads Hanfmann 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having defeated him in the second round in Santiago last year.

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Medvedev dispatches Auger-Aliassime, reaches Dubai final

Is this the week Daniil Medvedev finally repeats a title win for the first time in his career? The third seed powered past third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Medvedev owns 22 tour-level titles and has earned every one at a different event. On Saturday, he will have the chance to change that. The 2023 Dubai champion will face Andrey Rublev or Tallon Griekspoor with the trophy on the line.

Medvedev arrived in his 10th career meeting with Auger-Aliassime in top form after beating Shang Juncheng, Stan Wawrinka and Jenson Brooksby in straight sets earlier in the week. He controlled the baseline exchanges against Auger-Aliassime, striking with depth and precision to blunt the Canadian and improve to 8-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“It has been an amazing four matches, probably playing better and better each match, today being the best performance,” Medvedev said. “If I can put an even better performance tomorrow, I will have my chances to win and that is what I am going to try to do.”

In a controlled performance, Medvedev seized the key moments. At 4-5, 30/40 in the first set, Auger-Aliassime missed a forehand wide to hand Medvedev the opener. At 1-2 in the second set, the Canadian sent another forehand long, giving Medvedev the break of serve. The No. 11 player in the PIF ATP Rankings closed the match in 82 minutes with a clean backhand winner.

Auger-Aliassime was aiming to reach the title match in Dubai for the second consecutive season. Earlier this month, the Canadian lifted the trophy in Montpellier. He now turns his focus to the BNP Paribas Open, the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event.

Medvedev is into his second final of the season after winning his 20th hard-court tour-level title in Brisbane in January. He is now 13-3 on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

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