After eight games, Marco Cecchinato was still aiming to get on the scoreboard against Stan Wawrinka at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

But the 26-year-old Cecchinato, who had to break serve at 0-6, 4-5, to stay in the match, pulled off a remarkable comeback to stun 2014 champion Wawrinka 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 44 minutes. Cecchinato was clinical in important moments, converting all three break points he earned to reach the third round in the Principality for the first time.

The 11th seed, who is currently competing at a career-high 16th in the ATP Rankings, continues to add to his growing reputation on clay courts. The Italian has lifted three ATP Tour titles on clay in the past 12 months and also upset Novak Djokovic en route to the Roland Garros semi-finals last year.

Cecchinato will meet Guido Pella for a spot in the last eight. The Palermo native owns a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Pella, which includes a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory in last year’s Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag final.

Did You Know?
Cecchinato won just five service points in the first set, managing to capture only nine per cent (1/11) of his second-serve points against Wawrinka. In the second and third sets, the Italian won 65 per cent (13/20) of his second-serve points.

Eleven-time champion Rafael Nadal leads the way on a busy Wednesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which also features Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and 2018 runner-up Kei Nishikori in second-round matches on Court Rainier III. 

Nadal opens up his campaign for a fourth straight Monte-Carlo title against fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. The second seed leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and dropped just 12 games in the five sets they’ve played. Nadal is a perfect 15-0 in his opening-round matches in Monte-Carlo and hasn’t lost before the quarter-finals in his past 14 appearances. 

World No. 3 Zverev, a winner of three ATP Masters 1000 titles, faces fast-rising Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head clash. The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime became the first player born in the 2000s to break into the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings following his recent semi-final run at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Zverev has enjoyed past Monte-Carlo success by reaching the semi-finals last year. The German seeks another big run at this event after a disappointing second-round exit last week at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Who will win the maiden @FedEx ATP Head2Head clash between these players?

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) April 16, 2019

Fourth seed Thiem opens his clay-court season with a tricky match against veteran Martin Klizan of Slovakia. Klizan leads their FedEx ATP HeadHead rivalry 3-1 and has won both of their previous meetings on clay, but the Austrian won their most recent match last September in St. Petersburg. Thiem is riding high on confidence after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title last month at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer).

Fifth seed Nishikori kicks off play on Court Rainier III against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France. The Japanese star used his runner-up finish last year in Monte-Carlo as a springboard back into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. Nishikori leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Herbert 2-0, but the Frenchman is playing some of his best tennis and reached his career-high ATP Ranking of No. 36 just two months ago.

Other notable matches on Wednesday include sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, 10th seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia squaring off with Radu Albot of Moldova, and 13th seed Fabio Fognini of Italy taking on Gilles Simon of France.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Rafa’s Monte-Carlo History?
Read: Zverev On Felix & Shapovalov: ‘They Will Be On Top’ 

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2019

COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 am
[5] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) 
[WC] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) 
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
[4] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Martin Klizan (SVK) 

COURT DES PRINCES start 11:00 am
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs [6] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 
Not Before 12:00 noon
[13] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Gilles Simon (FRA) 
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs [16] David Goffin (BEL) 

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
[10] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs Radu Albot (MDA) 
Not Before 12:00 pm
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) vs Cameron Norrie (GBR) 
After Suitable Rest – Robin Haase (NED) / Wesley Koolhof (NED) vs Alexander Zverev (GER) / Mischa Zverev (GER) 

COURT 9 start 11:00 am
[3] Jamie Murray (GBR) / Bruno Soares (BRA) vs Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 
Taylor Fritz (USA) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 
[7] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Franko Skugor (CRO) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS) / Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 

COURT 11 start 12:00 noon
Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Marc Lopez (ESP) vs [2] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 
[5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) 

When Rafael Nadal was asked to name some of the players to watch during this European clay-court swing, he immediately referenced the #NextGenATP. And from that group, the first player he named was 18-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“That’s a good sign, of course, if he’s talking good about me. It’s great,” said Auger-Aliassime Tuesday after his first-round win at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. “To start with, that he knows me, that he talks about me, it’s just amazing, because I used to watch him playing on TV, and the distance between he and me was so huge that it was just impossible to be able to play or to be around him at a certain point. So this is really amazing.”

Felix has rapidly ascended the ATP Rankings in 2019, reaching the final in Rio de Janeiro and the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami to help him climb from 108th to his career-high of 33rd. But the teenager is not taking any of this for granted.

“I have to work hard, to keep on working hard, as I suppose he did when he was my age,” Auger-Aliassime said. “He worked hard. He won titles. Now it’s up to me to keep on working.”

Felix’s popularity has continued to increase with every big win he earns. But this is nothing new for the teenager, who broke onto the scene by winning an ATP Challenger Tour match at 14.

“This is not a recent phenomenon, but it is true that this is of a higher scale. I had to adapt to it,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But it’s not a big deal. I mean, you just have to remain the same. I just be the same, follow my routine, so this is not really a problem for me.”

Auger-Aliassime will have a chance to earn his biggest victory yet by ATP Ranking on Wednesday when he faces 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev. Felix claimed his first Top 10 win last month in Indian Wells by defeating reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“I think this is a good opportunity. He’s the one who’s more or less the leader of the new generation of tennis players. It’s been a while since he’s been around, so he’s got lots of experience already,” Auger-Aliassime said of Zverev. “So for me, this is going to be a great opportunity to play against him and to see how I do against him. I believe in my tennis. I am going to try to do my best, and I’m very hopeful that I will adjust my play to his. I’m going to try to dictate the game.”

Zverev is well aware of Felix’s rise, despite being three years older than the Canadian. The World No. 3 expects a tough test in his Monte-Carlo opener.

“He’s been one of the best young guys on Tour this year. He made the semis in Miami, made the final in Rio,” Zverev said. “I’m very happy for him because he’s one of the most humble and nicest guys that I know… he’s still young but when he was just starting and the first few times that everybody saw him on the Tour he was always very polite and always very positive.”

This might be the first FedEx ATP Head2Head match between Auger-Aliassime and Zverev, but it certainly won’t be the last. Felix looks forward to competing against Zverev as well as #NextGenATP stars for years to come.

“Of course this is motivating for one another. It would be stupid to think that we don’t need any opponent, because otherwise there is no rivalry, there is no matches. We all need the other one to play high-level tennis,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Each one of us is playing good and we of course want to be winning. At least personally I find this is very motivating. And I will be able to play against Zverev tomorrow, and that’s going to be good.”

Novak Djokovic is no stranger to milestone wins, but the World No. 1 secured another landmark victory on Tuesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The two-time former champion was made to work hard for his 850th tour-level win on Court Rainier III, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 36 minutes. Keen to avoid a second loss to the German at ATP Masters 1000 level this year, Djokovic saved 12 of 16 break points to improve to 9-2 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Kohlschreiber.

“I had ups and downs and in a way felt a bit rusty on the court. I had a tough opponent, of course. Philipp beat me in Indian Wells. It was a match that happened less than a month ago, so of course it was in the back of my mind a bit,” said Djokovic. “I thought I should have maybe stepped in and played a bit more aggressive in the second set, but credit to him for mixing up the pace and playing well.

“I’ll take this win. Hopefully I can play slightly better in the next round, because if I want to go deep in the tournament, I definitely have to up my game.”

At the BNP Paribas Open last month, Kohlschreiber overcame Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 in the third round. Djokovic entered the match on an eight-match winning streak, following his record-breaking seventh Australian Open triumph in January.

Djokovic is attempting to claim his third title at the Monte-Carlo Country Club this week. The 31-year-old has reached four championship matches at this event, lifting the trophy in 2013 (d. Nadal) and 2015 (d. Berdych). If Djokovic captures his third Monaco crown, he will match Rafael Nadal’s record haul of 33 Masters 1000 titles.

The top seed was put under pressure early in the opening set, but found the corners and benefitted from a mid-court Kohlschreiber forehand error to escape from 15/40 down at 2-2 and 3-3. Djokovic claimed the only break of the set at 4-3 with consistent depth from the baseline, extracting errors from his opponent before serving out the opener to love after 45 minutes.

Neither man was able to find comfort on serve in the second set, with seven consecutive games being won by the returning player. Djokovic recovered from a break down on three occasions to serve at 4-5, but was broken for the fourth time in a row after a series of forehand errors.

The two-time champion extended the streak of service breaks to eight games with depth and heavy topspin on his forehand in the opening game of the decider. Djokovic maintained his advantage through to 5-4, where he claimed victory after Kohlschreiber fired a backhand return long.

“In a way it’s good I got to spend two-and-a-half hours on the court in my first opening match in the clay court season,” said Djokovic. “This surface is very demanding physically. 

“Tactically, as well, you have to construct the point, be more patient [and] put more spin into the ball… I think from the positive side, it’s actually good that I got to have that much match play, because I did play a lot of practice sets and so forth, but it’s just completely different [to] when you are nervous and playing an official match.”

In the third round, Djokovic will await the winner between Argentine Diego Schwartzman and American Taylor Fritz. The 21-year-old Fritz was leading Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 2-0 on Court Rainier III when the Frenchman was forced to retire.

Kei is so very clutch. Kei Nishikori has found himself in a winner-take-all deciding set tie-break three times so far in 2019. Three times he has triumphed, including twice at the Australian Open in 10-point Match Tie-breaks. The tie-breaks, which are first to 10, win by two, were implemented for the first time this year to settle five-set matches that reach 6-6 in the fifth.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the best performers in tie-breaks from the past 52 weeks identifies that the Japanese star leads the ATP Tour with tie-breaks won at 77.8 per cent.

Nishikori’s Deciding Set Tie-breaks Won In 2019

Nishikori’s tie-break record in 2018 from Roland Garros to the end of the season was a jaw-dropping 14-2. From Roland Garros to the Round of 16 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, he was a perfect 12-0 in tie-breaks, including going five-for-five in his first four matches at Wimbledon.

Past 52 Weeks: Tie-Breaks Won / Win Percentage

Jumping up the list into a tie for fifth place after the Miami Open presented by Itau is 18-year-old Canadian sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime. He was 4-3 with tie-breaks won in 2019 coming into Miami, then won a tie-break in four matches leading to the semi-finals, where he lost to John Isner 7-6(3), 7-6(4).

Isner actually played nine tie-breaks in Miami, winning them all. Four of his matches were decided only with tie-breaks. Despite that streak, he owns the 29th best tie-break record in the past 52 weeks with a win percentage at 57.7 per cent.

Milos Raonic is second on the list, having played 11 tie-breaks to begin the year at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open, and winning nine, including five in a row.

Daniil Medvedev is third, and is currently enjoying a career-high ATP ranking at No. 14. He is 7-3 in 2018 with tie-breaks won, including defeating Reilly Opelka 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-6(0) in Miami. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic sits fourth on the list, winning both recent tie-breaks he played in Indian Wells and Miami.

Four players are tied for fifth with a win percentage of 66.7 per cent. They are Taylor Fritz, Auger-Aliassime, Juan Martin del Potro and Fabio Fognini.

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev is ninth on the list, winning 65 per cent of his tie-breaks in the past 52 weeks. Zverev won the Nitto ATP Finals in London in November, winning four tie-breaks against Marin Cilic, Isner and Roger Federer en route to the title.

Jumping into the 10th spot with 64.7 per cent is 29-year-old Moldovan Radu Albot. He has impressively won his last nine tie-breaks in a row, including defeating Daniel Evans 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) in the Delray Beach final in February.

Triumphing in tie-breaks seems like a 50-50 proposition after such a close set, but these players manage to find another gear and dominate their opponents right at the finish line.

On his debut at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Lorenzo Sonego is through to the third round after upsetting eighth seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(4), 6-4 on Tuesday.

Sonego had only played one match against an opponent inside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings (Isner, 2019 Miami) before taking the court against Khachanov. But the 23-year-old battled past the World No. 12 after one hour and 52 minutes.

The Italian qualifier, who defeated countryman Andreas Seppi in the first round, saved seven of eight break points en route to victory. Sonego owns an 8-6 tour-level record this season and reached his second ATP Tour quarter-final last week at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech (l. to Tsonga).

The 23-year-old will face Brit Cameron Norrie or Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the third round. Earlier in the day, Norrie booked his spot in the second round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

“We had a lot of long rallies. I think I was just able to defend a little bit better than him,” said Norrie. “When I found my first serve, I hit my spots well and had a high percentage winning on first points as opposed to him. I returned a lot better off the first serve against him.”

Gilles Simon twice recovered from a break down in the first set before claiming a 7-5, 6-1 win against #NextGenATP Australian Alexei Popyrin. The Frenchman will meet 13th seed Fabio Fognini in the third round.

Did You Know?
Sonego defeated Gilles Muller at last year’s US Open. That was the final match of the Luxembourg star’s career.

Stan Wawrinka has reached some of the highest highs in tennis, ascending to No. 3 in the ATP Rankings, winning three Grand Slam titles, and an ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the 2014 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But two left knee surgeries in August 2017 sent the Swiss star as low as 263rd in the world last year, and he’s been battling to find his best form ever since.

“When I had the surgery, we didn’t know if I was going to be able to play again because it was a tough surgery,” Wawrinka said. “But now it’s been a long time, I worked really hard to be back where I am. Right now, I’m really happy since the beginning of the year the way I’m playing. I’m happy to be back on the clay.”

Monte-Carlo has long been a special place for Wawrinka, and not just because it’s where he resides. Five years ago, he defeated three Top 10 opponents at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, finishing his run with a thrilling 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 against Roger Federer to lift the trophy.

“That was special, my only Masters 1000 Wawrinka: 'We Didn't Know If I Was Going To Be Able To Play Again',” Wawrinka said. “To play the final here, one of my favourite tournaments during the year, amazing atmosphere to play here, [it was] a special day against Roger. I remember we warmed up together before the final. It was something really, really special that year to win it here.”

Perhaps those happy memories will serve Wawrinka well this week. Clay is the 34-year-old’s most successful surface, having won more than 67 per cent (176-86) of his matches on the red dirt.

“I always feel good and comfortable to come back on this surface. I think the sliding helps my game to play my powerful game. I’ve been feeling great on the court physically, tennis-wise also,” Wawrinka said. “I’ve had some good results [during my comeback], also some tough losses that could have changed a lot in my [ATP] Ranking. But I’m really patient with that and I’m always looking in the present.”

The Swiss, World No. 36, is at his highest ATP Ranking since last May. And with only 65 points to defend through Roland Garros, he will be looking to take advantage. His win against Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Monday was worth 45 points.

But this is not about one match. Wawrinka feels that the number next to his name is not the key. The Swiss knows his level is back near where it once was, and that on any day, he can compete with the best players in the world.

“I feel good on the court. I feel that I can beat a lot of players here so we will see,” Wawrinka said. “We will see how it’s going to go the next few months but I’m convinced that if I keep pushing myself, keep doing the right things, keep playing at that level I’m going to have a chance to do some big results.”

In a rematch of their epic five-set Wimbledon encounter last year, Guido Pella defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 on Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The 28-year-old, who rallied from two sets down to beat Cilic at SW19 last year, broke Cilic’s serve on eight occasions in Monaco to improve to 13-3 on clay this year. Earlier this season, Pella enjoyed great success on this surface in South America. The Argentine did not drop a set en route to his first ATP Tour title at the Brasil Open (d. Garin) and also reached the championship match at the inaugural Cordoba Open (l. to Londero).

In his next match, Pella will try to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. The World No. 35 will meet last year’s Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato, who beat 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in three sets despite losing the first eight games of the match.

Did You Know?
Pella reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 32 on 18 March. The lefty had not won a match in two prior appearances in Monte-Carlo.

Melzer/Thiem Lead Doubles Winners
Austrians Jurgen Melzer and Dominic Thiem had lost their only two doubles matches as a team heading into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But the countrymen prevailed on Tuesday, defeating German Philipp Kohlschreiber and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-5.

Melzer, who triumphed alongside Franko Skugor last week in Marrakech, and Thiem won 83 per cent of their first-serve points, while Kohlschreiber and Verdasco captured just 63 per cent of those points. Melzer and Thiem will next play second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo or Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.

Moldovan Radu Albot and Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili ousted eighth seeds Raven Klaasen and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-7. Klaasen typically plays with Michael Venus and Salisbury competes alongside Rajeev Ram. Albot and Basilashvili will try to reach the quarter-finals when they face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics and Argentine Guido Pella, who defeated Italians Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3.

Nikola Mektic, who won the BNP Paribas Open with Horacio Zeballos, and Skugor moved past Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5. The seventh seeds will play Russian Karen Khachanov and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez next.

The other teams that advanced on Tuesday are Argentine Diego Schwartzman/Portuguese Joao Sousa and Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner/Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Mark your calendars! #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime will face World No. 3 Alexander Zverev at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters after battling past Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5, 7-6(5) on Tuesday.

“It was a tough match. He already won a title this year. I played against him in South America, and he had victory after victory, so I knew it was going to be difficult. And it was,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But I’m very happy to win my first match after Miami, because I didn’t know what to expect after Miami. But I felt from the beginning I was having a good feeling.”

Auger-Aliassime recorded his 15th tour-level victory of 2019 (15-7) after one hour and 58 minutes, winning 88 per cent of first-serve points (38/43). Despite failing to convert three match points heading into the second-set tie-break, the Canadian claimed victory on his fourth opportunity as Londero fired a backhand return into the tramline.

“It wasn’t easy, because he was fighting until the end, and he raised his level of tennis at the end of the match,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But I just had to keep on working, keep on looking for any chance, and I managed to win. That was very important.”

The World No. 33 has already risen 75 spots in the ATP Rankings this year, following a semi-final run at the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Isner) and a runner-up finish at the Rio Open presented by Claro (l. to Djere).

Auger-Aliassime will be aiming to defeat a Top 10 player for the second time at an ATP Masters 1000 event this season. The 18-year-old stunned reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas at the BNP Paribas Open last month.

“I think this is a good opportunity [to play Zverev]. He’s the one who is more or less the leader of the new generation of tennis players,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It’s been a while since he’s been around, so he has got lots of experience already.”

“So for me, this is going to be a great opportunity to play against him and to see how I do against him. I believe in my tennis. I am going to try to do my best, and I’m very hopeful that I will adjust my play to his. I’m going to try to dictate the game.”

In the longest ATP Tour match this season, Borna Coric saved one match point to outlast Jaume Munar 6-7(3), 7-6(7), 6-4 after three hours and 29 minutes.

Shortly after saving three break points at 5-5 (0/40) in the second set, the ninth seed moved up the court and fired a backhand down the line to avoid defeat at 5/6 in the tie-break. Bidding to reach back-to-back Masters 1000 quarter-finals, following his run to the last eight in Miami (l. to Auger-Aliassime), Coric will meet last year’s finalist Kei Nishikori or Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the third round.

Herbert recorded his first victory in four FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Fernando Verdasco, defeating the 2010 finalist 6-4, 6-4.

“I’m very happy for the result today,” said Herbert. “This is my fifth match on this surface [at all levels] this season, and probably this match was the most accomplished one, the best I have played so far… I’m really happy because I have never won against [Verdasco].”