Dominic Thiem recorded the 250th match win of his career on Tuesday at the Hamburg European Open by beating 2016 runner-up Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour and 41 minutes. The top-seeded Austrian, who came within one point of taking a 4-0 lead in the first set, has now beaten Cuevas on three occasions this year — including at the Argentina Open and at Roland Garros. He next faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the second round.

Thiem is now 24-10 on the season, having bounced back from a Wimbledon first round exit (l. to Querrey). The 25-year-old lifted his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer) in March and at the 500-level Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Medvedev) in April. Last month, he finished as runner-up to Rafael Nadal for the second consecutive year in the Roland Garros final.

“I wish that the grass court season would have been longer,” said Thiem. “I also love this surface, but it was only one match unfortunately. So, I hope that I can do it better next year. I’m back on clay for two weeks and the two last weeks of the year, so I’ll try to enjoy them as much as possible.”

Fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili began his quest to retain the Hamburg crown with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien in 67 minutes. He will now prepare to challenge Cordoba Open champion Juan Ignacio Londero, last week’s Swedish Open finalist, who won 82 per cent of his first service points to beat Spanish lucky loser Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes.

Richard Gasquet, the 2005 runner-up, set up a clash against fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy after beating Sumit Nagal, an Indian qualifier, 6-2, 7-6(3) in 90 minutes.

If any retired player knows that it’s like to compete against the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, it’s Andy Roddick. And as he nears the seven-year anniversary of his retirement at the 2012 US Open, the former World No. 1 marvels at how some of his greatest rivals are still going strong.

“I think there’s such an appetite with the news cycle that’s out there and the availability of content, I think the natural shift is to what’s next. Everyone always wants to know what’s next. A story sits for two hours and then something happens the next day and it’s gone. Tennis is no different,” Roddick said before playing Robby Ginepri in an exhibition at the BB&T Atlanta Open on Monday evening. “I hope people sit back and enjoy, take a moment with these guys and the way they’re playing and what they’re doing to the record books. I hope people appreciate every last shot that these guys hit.”

At Wimbledon, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated eight-time champion Roger Federer in a thrilling five-set final that went to a fifth-set tie-break at 12-12. Djokovic saved two championship points in the classic, becoming the first titlist at The Championships to save match points in the final since Robert Falkenburg in 1948.

“I was yelling at the TV, I was in the drama, I felt like a total fan. It’s hard to think that 10 years ago I was kind of having that same afternoon, but I just sit back and try to appreciate it,” Roddick said. “I’m watching and trying to figure out what they’re doing, what their strategies are, the adjustments that are being made and all the while I wish it was just talked about more in real time as far as what adjustments are being made, what’s different in the fifth set than what was going on in the second set, so it was interesting. I thought it was great.”

Roddick, who won five of his nine FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Djokovic, pointed out that the Serbian’s accomplishments have perhaps flown under the radar given Federer and Nadal’s success, when they should be recognised as well. Djokovic claimed his 16th Grand Slam title earlier this month.

“For Novak to go through Roger and Rafa [in] some of their prime years to get to where he is in the game [is impressive]. It’s been the Roger-Rafa show for a long time and now, oh, by the way, Novak’s sitting at 16 Grand Slams. So I don’t want people to undersell what he’s done,” Roddick said. “You start reeling off some of the names like McEnroe, Connors and Andre, they had seven, eight and eight Slams. Novak has 16. Then they go okay, and then the weight of those names and what he’s accomplished settles in.

“I hope people, one, appreciate what Novak has done and two, I think there’s certainly an appetite for what Roger and Rafa have accomplished.”

Although Ginepri defeated Roddick 1-6, 6-2, 10-7 at Atlantic Station, Roddick has plenty of special memories in this city. Both the first and last of the American’s 32 tour-level titles came in Atlanta. His first triumph here was when he was only 18, and his last came just about a month before announcing his retirement at Flushing Meadows.

“As far as pivotal moments early on, these seemed like the biggest events that had ever happened. So a lot of the history was right here in Atlanta,” Roddick said. “In 2012 when I was playing here, I didn’t know it was going to be my last run through the American summer. In the moment, it was very significant because I was trying to regain form after a tough start to the year. So it was significant in the present, but then in retrospect, having it be the last time I won, which I didn’t know at the time was being a possibility based on whether I was going to retire or not [was special]. So it’s always been a very special place.”

#NextGenATP Aussie Alexei Popyrin won nearly 70 per cent of his service points and beat American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-4 on Monday at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

Popyrin, behind nine aces, improved to 7-11 on the season and will next meet fourth seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France. Popyrin, No. 95 in the ATP Rankings, broke into the Top 100 and reached a career-high of No. 91 on 15 July.

Brit Cameron Norrie fought past seventh seed Jordan Thompson of Australia 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 and will next meet the winner between South Korean qualifier Soonwoo Kwon and Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran. American Bradley Klahn will face third seed Alex de Minaur after his 7-6(3), 7-5 win against Romanian Marius Copil.

Did You Know?
Popyrin, 19, is the third-youngest player in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings. Fellow #NextGenATP 19-year-old Miomir Kecmanovic, the second-youngest competitor in the Top 100, is also in the Atlanta draw. He opens his tournament against American Jack Sock on Tuesday.

After qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in singles in 2017, Jack Sock finished the 2018 season at No. 106 in the ATP Rankings with a 9-22 tour-level record. This January, things went from bad to worse. During a practise at the Australian Open, the American tore two ligaments in his thumb. 

Positive things don’t always come the way you expect, but, in a way, the six months Sock missed before returning at this week’s BB&T Atlanta Open have rejuvenated him.

“2018 was a year to forget. January was a month to forget here. It’s never great to get injured. It’s very unfortunate to get injured obviously, but I think it was potentially the biggest blessing in disguise for my career,” Sock told ATPTour.com. “So to be able to take those months and get a new mentality, enjoy playing the sport again and get excited about playing and come back out, I’ll be ready to fire.”

From the 2014 Australian Open through his trip to Melbourne this year, Sock missed just one Grand Slam. He travelled the world week-in and week-out, capturing four ATP Tour singles trophies and climbing as high as No. 8 in the ATP Rankings. But for six months, he was back to ‘normal’ life.

“Obviously the biggest difference was just not being on the road every week. It was weird and amazing being home for months at a time. It’s weird being at home for that long and being in the United States for that long,” Sock said. “We’re usually out and about, so that was probably the biggest difference. I was able to spend time with family and friends, so it’s been amazing.”

As far as recovering, Sock’s thumb was so impaired that there were times when he couldn’t use a Q-Tip or brush his teeth with his right hand. The injury wasn’t just keeping him off the court, but it was interfering with his daily life.

“If there’s a really tight bottle cap, I still can’t open it normally,” Sock said. “It definitely gets in the way sometimes, but now I’m able to do pretty much everything.”

Sock’s biggest weapon is his forehand, which he torques with heavy topspin to either hit winners past his opponents or at least open up the court. Part of producing that stroke involves putting pressure on the grip with his thumb, which took time for him to be able to do.

“It’s still a little stiff. I was hoping to maybe start a little bit earlier than this and maybe have played a couple tournaments leading into the [US Open Series], but you don’t realise how much you need your thumb in daily life and in tennis and how I hold it, the forehand was the last thing I was able to do,” Sock said. “It’s still a little stiff. It’ll be stiff for maybe a year to 18 months they said, but I’m able to manage it and play.”

More than anything, Sock is happy to be back on the court. In the first round in Atlanta, he will face Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

“Overall I feel very refreshed. I’m excited to play again, which I haven’t been able to say that in a long time,” Sock said. “I’m definitely excited to get out there and compete again.”

Sock is currently World No. 180. But to him, his ranking is of little consequence at the moment. In reality, the American is starting fresh.

“I’m just going to go play tennis for the first time in a while. I’m just going to go be happy on the court and enjoy playing and I’ll be the underdog now, which will be nice. I’ll be the ranking underdog and be able to go out and play free and have a smile on my face,” Sock said. “If I win, amazing. If I don’t win, I’m out there playing again. It’s not going to bother me.”

Spaniards Pablo Andujar and Roberto Carballes Baena, both former ATP Tour titlists, fought through three-setters on Monday to advance at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad.

Andujar, 2014 champion and seventh seed, rallied after a mid-match dip to beat Austrian Dennis Novak 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, and sixth seed Carballes Baena needed two hours, 33 minutes to beat Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2.

Andujar will meet the winner between Italian qualifier Filippo Baldi and Japan’s Taro Daniel. Carballes Baena, the 2018 Ecuador Open champion, will face another Italian in Stefano Travaglia, who beat Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 7-6(7), 6-3.

Seven Spaniards are in the Gstaad singles draw, including the top two seeds, Roberto Bautista Agut and Fernando Verdasco, along with Tommy Robredo, 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist Jaume Munar and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Elsewhere, Italian Thomas Fabbiano set up a second-round meeting with countryman and Antalya champion Lorenzo Sonego, the fourth seed. Fabbiano saved 10 of 12 break points against Swiss wild card Sandro Ehrat and advanced 6-4, 7-5. Czech Jiri Vesely broke four times and beat Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 7-5. The left-hander will next meet German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, a 6-4, 6-4 winner against #NextGenATP Frenchman and eighth seed Corentin Moutet.

Nick Kyrgios has hit some thrilling trick shots, and his campaign in the BB&T Atlanta Open has not begun yet.

On Monday, the Aussie met with Torch George of the Harlem Globetrotters, a basketball team known for its high-flying acrobatics and tricks. The pair shared their love for basketball before heading out to a couple of hoops on the grounds to compete against one another and challenge a ball boy and a fan. It was a long time coming for Kyrgios, who watched the Globetrotters at home in Canberra when he was a kid.

“It was a lot of fun. Obviously, basketball is a sport that I probably can’t live without. I’m always following it,” Kyrgios told ATPTour.com. “So to have someone like Torch come down, someone who has played in the WNBA, she’s amazing. She taught me some new tricks, which was really fun. It was awesome.”

.@Globies: 1@NickKyrgios: 0

You put up a good fight though, Nick ??@BBTatlantaopen | #AtlantaOpen pic.twitter.com/opw5x0CZwk

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) July 22, 2019

Before heading out to play, George presented Kyrgios with a Globetrotters jersey. There was also a jersey for the Washington Generals, the team that battles the Globetrotters in all their games.

“The Generals? I want to be on your team!” Kyrgios joked.

A crowd quickly gathered as Kyrgios and George began shooting various shots — from the normal variety to behind the back and between-the-legs shots. After playing each other in a game of ‘HORSE’, the stars then invited a fan and a ball boy to a challenge before signing autographs for the fans who gathered.

“It was awesome, I’m so excited. He was so cool and down to Earth. One of the biggest tennis stars in the world, the fact that he’s so down to Earth is so cool,” George said. “His love for the game of basketball, he’s so passionate about it, so we instantly clicked. It was so natural. We had a good time playing HORSE and meeting the fans out there, so it was cool, a great day.”

Kyrgios is partnering American Tommy Paul on Monday evening against fourth seeds Radu Albot and Artem Sitak. Kyrgios, who is not competing in singles in Atlanta, claimed his lone ATP Tour doubles title last year in Lyon alongside Jack Sock.

George will return to Atlantic Station Monday evening to watch her first professional tennis match with Kyrgios in action. “Have you seen his highlights? Oh my God!”

Kyrgios is excited to perform in front of his new friend.

“I’m going to try to put on a show for you, and at the end of the day we’ll hopefully get a win as well.”

You are hitting a first serve to any of the Big Three with the goal of avoiding a deep return. Where is it best to serve: wide or T?

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s return depth against first serves identifies that serving down the T will draw more short returns than serving out wide. The data set comes from ATP Masters 1000 events and Nitto ATP Finals from 2011 to 2019.

When you combine both the Deuce and Ad Court data, serving down the T brings more short returns back into the service box and fewer returns deep near the baseline from the Big Three.

The three depths of return:
Short = in the service box
Mid-Court = service line to halfway back to the baseline
Deep = Halfway between the service line and baseline, back to the baseline

An initial guesstimate that serving wide would elicit fewer returns deep in the court because of a greater distance the ball has to come back is unfounded.

A counter-argument may have more weight, that there is more “runway” to land the ball crosscourt, therefore the players are going for more with their return from a wider position. A tennis court is 78′ long straight down the middle, but 82’6” from corner to corner.

Djokovic, Federer & Nadal Combined: Return Depth from Wide and T

Novak Djokovic
The World No. 1 hits his deepest returns against a first serve from out wide in the Ad Court with his backhand return, at 29 per cent. Overall, Djokovic’s backhand return from wide in the Ad Court was able to get the ball deeper than any location compared to Federer or Nadal.

Djokovic’s First-Serve Returns

Rafael Nadal
Nadal stands the deepest in the court to return first serves, and correspondingly hits his return the shortest in the court compared to Djokovic and Federer. The location where Nadal was able to get the return the deepest was from wide in the Deuce Court with a backhand return.

Nadal’s First-Serve Returns

Roger Federer
Federer’s forehand return from wide in the Deuce Court got the ball the deepest, at 28 per cent. The other three locations were all very even, within a percentage point.

Federer’s First-Serve Returns

Returning the ball deep is not always possible against an accurate serve to the corners in the service box, but this insight provides a new layer of understanding as to how the Big Three are able to get their returns deep against the biggest shot in our sport.

There’s something about playing at the Hamburg European Open for #NextGenATP German Rudolf Molleker. For the second year in a row, the teenager spurred an upset to begin the ATP 500 clay-court tournament.

Molleker, 18, knocked out two-time champion Leonardo Mayer of Argentina on Monday 7-6(8), 6-4, saving all three break points against the 2014 and 2017 champion. Molleker beat Mayer in 2017 Hamburg qualifying before the veteran right-hander took advantage of his lucky-loser entry and raced to the title.

On Monday, Molleker saved two set points in the opener, broke in the first game of the second set and never faced a break point the rest of the way. It’s his fourth tour-level win (4-8) and best by ATP Ranking (No. 51). Molleker beat No. 62 David Ferrer last year in Hamburg.

The win against Mayer will only propel the 18-year-old in the ATP Race To Milan standings. Molleker is currently in 15^th place in the Race (250 points), which will determine seven of the eight 21-and-under players who compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 5-9 November at the Palalido Allianz Cloud in Milan.

The eighth place will go to an Italian wild card. Molleker is 388 points behind seventh-placed Ugo Humbert of France.

More On #NextGenATP Molleker
See Who Molleker Is Chasing In The ATP Race To Milan
Flashback: Molleker Stuns Ferrer In Hamburg
Molleker Joins Exclusive Club With Maiden Challenger Title

Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics rushed past German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-0 in only 65 minutes to pick up his first victory in Hamburg.

The 27-year-old Fucsovics, who won his maiden ATP Tour title last year on clay in Geneva, broke five times against the 35-year-old Kohlschreiber, a two-time semi-finalist in Hamburg, and will next meet top seed Dominic Thiem or Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, who are scheduled to play on Tuesday.

Russian Andrey Rublev, a two-time Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist (2017 finalist, l. to Chung; 2018 l. to Tsitsipas) upset eighth seed Cristian Garin, a two-time clay-court titlist this year (Houston, Munich), 6-4, 7-6(5). Rublev improved to 10-9 on the season and will face the winner of #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud and Dutchman Robin Haase in the second round.

In other action, France’s Jeremy Chardy outlasted fifth seed Benoit Paire 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3, and 2016 titlist Martin Klizan converted all five break points to rout German wild card Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 6-2. Chardy will play countryman Richard Gasquet or Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal, and Klizan will face a Serbian, either sixth seed Laslo Djere or Filip Krajinovic.