Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut moved one step away from a second ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament trophy as a team on Saturday, recovering from a set down to beat Raven Klaasen and Oliver Marach 6-7(6), 7-6(6), 10-7.

The 2018 champions recorded their sixth consecutive win at the opening ATP 500 event of the year in one hour and 58 minutes, saving all three break points they faced en route to victory. Herbert and Mahut won six straight points from 2/5 down in the Match Tie-break and converted their first match point to reach their maiden final of the 2020 ATP Tour season.

The second seeds are through to their 22nd tour-level final as a team. Herbert and Mahut have lifted 15 trophies from 21 championship matches and won each of their three finals last year.

Herbert and Mahut will face Henri Kontinen and Jan-Lennard Struff or Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov for the trophy. Australian Open quarter-finalists Kontinen and Struff are making their second appearance as a team this year, while Bopanna and Shapovalov are aiming to reach their second ATP Tour final as a pairing. Bopanna and Shapovalov reached their maiden final at last year’s MercedesCup in Stuttgart.

Diego Schwartzman is determined to capture his first ATP Tour title on home soil at the Argentina Open and his resilience was on full display against Pablo Cuevas. The top seed thrilled the crowd on Friday in Buenos Aires by saving four match points to defeat the Uruguayan 5-7, 7-6(11), 7-5 in an epic quarter-final battle.

Schwartzman has endured a grueling 24 hours in his hometown. He completed his opening-round win against Federico Delbonis just before 2:30am on Thursday before wrapping up his latest thrilling performance after three hours and 42 minutes.

Last year’s runner-up (l. to Cecchinato) will look to recover quickly as he next meets Portuguese lucky loser Pedro Sousa, who defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 7-6(5), 6-4. The 31-year-old, No. 145 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, is through to his first ATP Tour semi-final after 13 years on Tour.

Cuevas let slip a chance to serve out the first set at 5-3, but with Schwartzman serving at 5-6, the Uruguayan regrouped with a crushing forehand winner on set point to take the early lead. The top seed broke Cuevas at 5-5 in the second set, but couldn’t convert his opportunity to close out the set in the next game.

That feeling when you absolutely NAIL your forehand on set point ?

That was huge, @PabloCuevas22 ?

?: @TennisTV | @ArgentinaOpen pic.twitter.com/2HJRyQlFKj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

Cuevas held his first match point at 6/5 in the tie-break, but with the home crowd urging him on, Schwartzman erased it with aggressive play. Three more match points came and went at 9/8, 10/9 and 11/10, as the Uruguayan began to tighten up. The top seed earned his third set point at 12/11 and brought the crowd to its feet after Cuevas sent a forehand well wide to bring the match into a decider.

It appeared that Schwartzman would race through the final set after building a 3-0 lead, but Cuevas found his footing once more. The 34-year-old brought the match back on serve at 4-2, coaxing a backhand error out of the top seed to break. Cuevas held another pair of break points at 4-4, but came up short in lengthy baseline rallies and Schwartzman held serve to the delight of the crowd.

The top seed earned his first match point with Cuevas serving at 4-5, but the Uruguayan erased it with a huge forehand winner. Schwartzman injured a left groin muscle during the rally and received an immediate medical timeout, but the brief break didn’t prevent Cuevas from holding serve to tie the score.

With Schwartzman’s movement visibly hampered, he went for broke on his forehand in a bid to end points quickly. The strategy worked as the top seed’s resilience and a vocal crowd broke Cuevas’ spirit. Schwartzman didn’t need to hit a ball on his third match point as Cuevas double faulted to end their clash.

Can you believe that?!

Local hero ?? @dieschwartzman survives FOUR (!!) match points, before coming through an injury to defeat Cuevas 5-7 7-6 7-5 at the @ArgentinaOpen!

?: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/m0qYF3ni1h

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 15, 2020

Eighth seed Casper Ruud continued his blistering form this week at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, charging into the semi-finals on Friday with a convincing 7-5, 6-1 win over third-seeded Serbian Dusan Lajovic.

Both players remained even throughout much of the first set, but the 21-year-old Norwegian found a new gear and won eight of the last nine games. Ruud has dropped just 12 games across his first three rounds to move into his fifth ATP Tour semi-final, all of which have come on clay.

Awaiting him in the last four is Juan Ignacio Londero, who upset second seed Guido Pella 6-4, 7-6(4) in an all-Argentine battle. Londero saved two set points on his serve at 4-5 in the second set with clean forehand winners, then grabbed the last three points of the tie-break to advance in one hour and 55 minutes. He moves to 2-0 against Pella in their ATP Head2Head series, having defeated him in last year’s championship match in Cordoba. 

Top seed and home favourite Diego Schwartzman headlines the night session against Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas, followed by Brazilian Thiago Monteiro taking on Portuguese lucky loser Pedro Sousa.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are set to make their final appearance at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. The 41-year-old American twins, who will retire from professional tennis at this year’s US Open, made their Delray Beach debut in 1999 and have since won a tournament-record five titles. Their triumph last year marked their first tour-level title together since Bob’s comeback from hip surgery. 

Australian Nick Kyrgios returns for a second straight year, and is the top seed in the singles draw. Should Kyrgios get through his first-round match against American Tommy Paul, he will face the winner between Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren or 2018 champion Frances Tiafoe. Sixth seed Ugo Humbert, who won his maiden title in January at the ASB Classic, is also in the top quarter of the draw. 

In the bottom quarter, Radu Albot opens his title defence against 2017 champion Jack Sock, while No. 2 seed Milos Raonic meets Andreas Seppi. Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka lead the American charge, as the third and fourth seeds, respectively.

Here’s all you need to know about Delray Beach tennis tournament, including when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 1993

Tournament Dates: 17-23 February 2019 

Tournament Director: Mark Baron

Draw Ceremony: Friday, 15 February at 3pm

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday and Sunday at 11:00am
* Main draw: Monday – Friday at 11:00am and 6:00pm, Saturday at 12:30pm and 6:00pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 24 February at 12:30pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 24 February not before 3:00pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center 
Main Court Seating: 3,521

Prize Money: US $602,935 (Total Financial Commitment: US $673,655) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Jason Stoltenberg, Jan-Michael Gambill, Xavier Malisse, Ernests Gulbis (2)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (5)
Oldest Champion: Ivo Karlovic, 35, in 2015
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 20 Mardy Fish in 2009
Youngest Champion: Kei Nishikori, 18, in 2008
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 244 Kei Nishikori in 2008
Most Match Wins: Xavier Malisse (26) 

2019 Finals
Singles: Radu Albot (MDA) d [Q] Daniel Evans (GBR) 36 63 76(7)   Read & Watch
Doubles: [1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) d [2] Ken Skupski (GBR) / Neal Skupski (GBR) 76(5) 64  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #dbopen

Facebook: @DelrayBeachOpen
Twitter: @DelrayBeachOpen
Instagram: @delraybeachopen

Did You Know… The tournament was held in Coral Springs, Florida, from 1993-98. Todd Martin won the inaugural edition of the tournament with victory over David Wheaton in an all-American final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will be looking to find his spark once again at the Open 13 Provence. Last year, following early exits in Sofia and Rotterdam, the Greek found his best level to win the Marseille title without dropping a set. “I can say I am really happy because I felt this hunger back again,” he said at that time. Thus far in 2020, Tsitsipas has a 3-4 record, including a second-round loss this past week at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, who is set to be the top seed at the ATP 250, is also attempting to rebound from an upset in Rotterdam — a loss to recent Montpellier finalist Vasek Pospisil in his opening match. Medvedev reached the quarter-finals in his previous Marseille main draw appearance in 2017 (l. to Pouille).

The Open 13 Provence field includes a third Top 10 player, Belgian David Goffin, in addition to #NextGenATP Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Russian Karen Khachanov, former World No. 3 Marin Cilic and reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner. Benoit Paire and two-time champion Gilles Simon will lead the French charge. 

Here’s all you need to know about Marseille tennis tournament, including when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 1993

Tournament Dates: 17-23 February 2020

Tournament Director: Jean-Francois Caujolle

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 15 February at 11:00am on-site

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Sunday at 10:00am and Monday at 12:00pm.
* Main draw: Monday – Thursday from 12:00pm and 7:00pm, Friday from 1:00pm and 7:00pm, Saturday at 12:30pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 23 February at 11:45am
* Singles final: Sunday, 24 February not before 2:00pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Palais de Sports de Marseille
Main Court Seating: 6,000

Prize Money: €679,015 (Total Financial Commitment: €744,010) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Marc Rosset, Thomas Enqvist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3)
Most Titles, Doubles: Martin Damm, Arnaud Clement, Michael Llodra, Julien Benneteau (3)
Oldest Champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 31, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, in 2019
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 3 Boris Becker in 1995
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 79 Michael Llodra in 2010
Most Match Wins: Gilles Simon (26) 

2019 Finals
Singles: [1] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) d Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 75 76(5)   Read & Watch
Doubles: Jeremy Chardy (FRA) / Fabrice Martin (FRA) d [3] Ben McLachlan (JPN) / Matwe Middelkoop (NED) 63 67(4) 10-3  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #O13Provence

Facebook: @Open13
Twitter: @Open13
Instagram: @open13marseille

Did You Know… The Open 13 Provence, held on the Mediterranean coast in the city of Marseille, is one of five French tournaments on the ATP Tour calendar. Since the inaugural event in 1993, six Frenchmen have lifted the Marseille trophy: Guy Forget, Fabrice Santoro, Arnaud Clement, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra. 

World No. 4 Dominic Thiem returns to action for the first time since his run to the Australian Open final (l. to Djokovic) at the Rio Open presented by Claro. In 2017, Thiem did not drop a set en route to the title at this ATP 500 clay-court tournament (d. Carreno Busta). Last year, he fell to eventual champion Laslo Djere in the first round. 

Djere completed his dream week in Rio with victory over 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. The Serbian, who soared 53 spots to No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings with his triumph, dedicated the title to his late parents. “I don’t know many tennis players who went through these things. I want to be that guy who inspires others and shows that you can still be successful,” Djere said.

“I lost my mom seven years ago and I want to dedicate this one to her. And also to my dad, I lost him two months ago.”

❤️??#RioOpen pic.twitter.com/yP2qcVNJyd

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2019

In addition to Thiem and Djere, the 2020 Rio field includes two other former champions: Diego Schwartzman (2018) and Pablo Cuevas (2016). Croatian Borna Coric, Argentine Guido Pella and recent Cordoba Open champion Cristian Garin of Chile also feature.

Here’s all you need to know about Rio de Janeiro tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more. 

Established: 2014

Tournament Dates: 17-23 February 2020

Tournament Director: Luiz Procopio Carvalho

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 15 February

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday and Sunday at 4:00pm
* Main draw: Monday – Thursday at 4:30pm and 7:00pm, Friday at 3:00pm
* Doubles final: Saturday, 22 February, third match from 5:00pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 23 February at 5:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Jockey Club Brasileiro
Main Court Seating: 6,200

Prize Money: US $1,759,905 (Total Financial Commitment: US $1,915,485) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

;

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: 6 players with 1 (Schwartzman, Thiem, Cuevas, Ferrer, Nadal, Djere)
Most Titles, Doubles: Juan Sebastian Cabal, Robert Farah (2)
Oldest Champion: David Ferrer, 32, in 2015
Youngest Champion: Dominic Thiem, 23, in 2017
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 2014
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 90 Laslo Djere in 2019
Most Match Wins: Pablo Cuevas (13) 

2019 Finals
Singles: Laslo Djere (SRB) d [WC] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 63 75   Read & Watch
Doubles: Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Nicolas Jarry (CHI) d [WC] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) / Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA) 67(3) 63 10-7  Read More 

Social
Hashtag: #RioOpen

Facebook: @rioopenoficial
Twitter: @RioOpenOficial
Instagram: @rioopenoficial
YouTube: @RioOpenOficial

Did You Know…. A trial of Electronic Review will take place at a select number of clay court events on the ATP Tour for the first time, beginning with the Rio Open presented by Claro. The use of Electronic Review on clay is designed to elevate the accuracy of officiating. During the trial, there will be no limit to the number of challenges players are able to make during matches, ensuring consistency within the tournament for players competing on show courts with the review technology as well as on outside courts where standard ball mark inspection protocols will apply.

Sixth seed and #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic continued to impress with his all-court play on Friday at the New York Open, rallying to defeat fourth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the semi-finals.

Kecmanovic regrouped strongly after dropping the first set, upping his first-serve percentage from 58 per cent to 72 per cent and reducing his unforced error count. He broke Humbert three times in the last two sets to prevail after one hour and 49 minutes. The 20-year-old moves to 6-2 this season and is through to his second semi-final of the year, having also accomplished the feat last month in Doha.

Standing between him and Sunday’s final is eighth-seeded Brit Kyle Edmund, who won a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) thriller against South Korean Soonwoo Kwon. Little separated both players throughout the match, but with the chance at a maiden ATP Tour semi-final on the line, Kwon conceded defeat with a nervy double fault after two hours and seven minutes. Edmund seeks his first tour-level final since taking the title at 2018 Antwerp (d. Monfils).

Qualifier Jason Jung continued his dream week with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 upset over third-seeded American and defending champion Reilly Opelka for his first ATP Tour semi-final. The 30-year-old from Chinese Taipei, who defeated 2018 champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the first round, continues to thrive in New York. Five of his seven ATP Tour main draw wins have come at this event.

”I’ve been on Tour for awhile and this is my biggest accomplishment,” Jung said. “I’m just really happy to have that hard work pay off.”

Jung, No. 131 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, turned pro at age 22 after completing his college tennis career at the University of Michigan. He’s competed primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour since then and picked up four singles titles in the past four years.

The qualifier will now face Andreas Seppi after the Italian fought back to defeat Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-1. Seppi is seeking his first ATP Tour final since 2019 Sydney (l. to De Minaur).

It’s break time for The Big Three.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic converting break points against first and second serves when winning and losing matches uncovers some revealing statistics into their stranglehold at the top of the tennis tree. The data set covers five seasons from 2015-2019.

Break Points Won vs. 1st Serves
The interesting first take here is how close the three players are for all the matches they played. Rafael Nadal slightly edged the other two, winning 38.02 per cent (576/1515) of break points against first serves, with both Djokovic and Federer close behind within one percentage point.

Surprisingly, it was Federer who led the trio with the highest percentage of break points won against first serves with all matches that he won, at 39.27 per cent (377/960). The commonly held view point is that both Nadal and Djokovic should eclipse the Swiss in all return categories, but it’s simply not so.

Nadal was the best performing player winning break points against first serves in the matches he lost, at 29.44 per cent (53/180). Overall, Nadal also had the least drop off between matches he won and matches he lost, at 9.74 percentage points (39.18% to 29.44%).

Break Points Won vs. 1st Serve (bold = leader)

Break Points Won vs. 2nd Serves
Nadal was also the best performer of the Big Three winning break points against second serves, at 58.35 per cent (573/982). Nadal also collected the honours with Matches Won, at 60.55 per cent (528/972), while Djokovic had the highest metrics when losing the match, at 47.37 per cent (36/76).

Djokovic also had the least drop off between the win percentages against first and second serves at break point, falling just 11.42 percentage points (58.79% to 47.37%).

Break Points Won vs. 2nd Serve (bold = leader)

There are many ways to compare the performance of the Big Three to find out where they craft their small advantages as they constantly chase the biggest prizes in our sport. Performance around break points is as important as any stat they produce to determine if they are continuing to hold the silverware on any given Sunday.

Gael Monfils extended his winning streak to seven matches on Friday night at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament with a place in the semi-finals. The third seed and defending champion had to work hard to beat Briton Daniel Evans 7-6(5), 6-2 in one hour and 52 minutes at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

Evans gained the first break with a forehand drive volley winner for a 5-4 lead, but then struggled to make a first serve. Monfils immediately bounced back and led 4/1 in the tie-break, before Evans won four straight points. The match swung in Monfils’ favour at 5/5, when a net-rushing Evans left a backhand return that dropped in.

Monfils, No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, who came within one point of a 5-0 lead in the second set, closed out play with his eighth ace. It was his 11th victory in 13 matches this year, with the Frenchman winning his third Open Sud de France trophy last week (d. Pospisil).

Don’t try this at home!

Vintage, @Gael_Monfils ?

?: @TennisTV | @abnamrowtt pic.twitter.com/CVXPoiJenJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

He will next play Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who upset seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev 7-6(2), 6-4. Krajinovic hasn’t dropped a set this week and continues to excel indoors, having won 14 of his past 18 indoor matches dating back to last October. Monfils leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and defeated the Serbian last week in the Montpellier semi-finals.

Krajinovic and Rublev traded service holds throughout the first set to force a tie-break, which saw the Serbian raise his level and win six consecutive points to take the early lead. He then broke Rublev in the opening game of the second set, but the Russian eventually evened the score to 4-4 by breaking his opponent with an aggressive forehand winner.

Krajinovic remained calm and broke right back in the next game with a forehand passing shot on the stretch. He served out the match on his first try to advance in one hour and 31 minutes, finishing the day with 27 winner to 25 unforced errors.

That reaction ?

?? @filipkrajinovic is into the @abnamrowtt semi-finals, upsetting Rublev 7-6 6-4 in Rotterdam!

?: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/eVN18VXa5W

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2020

Rublev dropped to 13-2 in 2020. The 22-year-old opened his season with back-to-back titles last month in Doha (d. Moutet) and Adelaide (d. Harris).