British number one Johanna Konta reached the last 16 of the Dubai Duty Free Championships with a straight-set win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Konta, the world number 12 and seventh seed, beat the Russian 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to become the first British woman to win a main-draw match at the tournament.
The 26-year-old will play Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the next round.
“I’m very happy to have come through that,” said Konta, who reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals last week.
ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, as of Monday, 19 February 2018
No. 1 Roger Federer, +1 Five years and 106 days since his last reign at the top of the ATP Rankings, Roger Federer is back at No. 1 after winning his 97th tour-level title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (d. Dimitrov). Read & Watch Final Highlights
The 36-year-old Swiss starts his 303rd week at No. 1, more than 14 years after first rising to the top spot on 2 February, 2004. He is guaranteed to remain atop the ATP Rankings until at least 18 March. He and Rafael Nadal will resume their tussle for the top spot at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year, which begins on 8 March.
You May Also Like: Roger Federer: The Timeless Champion
Federer’s return to No. 1 means Nadal slips to No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, while Rotterdam runner-up, Grigor Dimitrov, bumps Alexander Zverev out of the Top 4. Marin Cilic remains at No. 3.
No. 9 Kevin Anderson, +2 Kevin Anderson captured his fourth ATP World Tour title at the inaugural New York Open – beating Kei Nishikori and Sam Querrey in third set tie-breaks in the semi-finals and final – and is rewarded with a return to the Top 10 at No. 9. Read Final Report
READ: Anderson Focuses On Continuing His Climb
No. 31 Andrey Rublev, +3 Next Gen ATP star Andrey Rublev inched towards a Top 30 breakthrough, rising to No. 31 after reaching the Rotterdam quarter-finals (l. to Dimitrov). The 20-year-old Russian, who was runner-up at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (l. to Chung), has made a strong start to the 2018 season. He reached the quarter-finals in Montpellier one week earlier (l. to Tsonga).
No. 43 Aljaz Bedene, +8 Aljaz Bedene is celebrating a new career-high of No. 43 after rising eight places in the ATP Rankings following his runner-up showing in Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem). It was the 28-year-old Slovenian’s third final appearance on the ATP World Tour.
READ: Ruthless Thiem Streaks To Buenos Aires Title
No. 50 Daniil Medvedev, +7; No. 59 Andreas Seppi, +22 Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev returned to the Top 50 after a quarter-final run in Rotterdam, while former Top 20 star, Andreas Seppi, surged 22 spots to reclaim a place in the Top 60 (No. 59) after upsetting Zverev en route to the Rotterdam semi-finals (l. to Federer). The Italian is on the rise in the ATP Rankings this season, winning the Canberra Challenger title and making the fourth round of the Australian Open to claw his way back up from a position of No. 86 at the start of the season.
Players enjoy festive atmosphere before start of Rio Open
The third event of South America’s “Golden Swing” gets underway this week, and while Carnival might be coming to a close, the party was just beginning for the players in action at the Rio Open presented by Claro in Brazil.
Before they took to the court, some of the ATP World Tour’s top players took in the sights and sounds of Brazil’s “Marvelous City.”
The top-seeded Cilic, who will be playing for the first time in Rio, climbed to the top of the 30-meter tall “Christ the Redeemer” statue that overlooks Rio. The world No. 3 found the experience both enthralling and spiritual.
“Just getting to the feet of ‘Christ the Redeemer’ wasn’t easy,” Cilic said. “It was windy and the machine that took us up there was swaying. Even when we were inside the statue it wasn’t easy to climb; the stairway was narrow and quite steep. But up there at the top, it was an incredible feeling. It’s an overcast day; the few moments it wasn’t cloudy, I enjoyed it. My legs are still shaking and my heart is beating faster than usual. I’m also quite religious so that’s just one more thing that made this so special.”
Later that day, Cilic joined Fabio Fognini and doubles duo Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the Carnival Champions parade, a public procession that celebrates the city’s samba schools and the music’s roots.
Fognini, the tournament’s fifth seed, had a good time, even if he had trouble keeping with the rhythm. “I ‘tried’ to dance,” Fognini said. “I was sweating a lot. It’s tough to describe because it was so unique.”
Melo, a quarter-finalist at last year’s event and a finalist at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals alongside Kubot, was still thankful to take part in the parade. “It was fantastic, so amazing,” the Brazilian said. “I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to do this.”
Kubot, his teammate, agreed: “This is unbelievable, unreal. This is a great atmosphere, and I’m so thankful to be here.”
We use technology such as cookies on our website, to provide functions and analysis of our visitor data. Click Accept to confirm that you agree to its use.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
