Benoit Paire, the 2015 ATP Comeback Player Of The Year, kicked off his 2016 campaign with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Lukas Rosol at the Aircel Chennai Open on Thursday. The third seed secured the victory in one hour, 24 minutes and improved to 2-1 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the hard-hitting Czech.

“I was moving well, which is very important because Rosol hits the ball very flat and I have to cover the court against him,” said Paire, who made the semi-finals in 2013. “My backhand is one of my best shots and I did a good job of varying it today.”

Though Paire and Rosol combined for 12 aces, the match was decided by the return of serve. The Czech broke three times on eight occasions, but the Frenchman went five for 13 to find the winning margin in both sets. He moved on despite only landing 50 per cent of first serves and winning 44 per cent of second serve points.

Next up for Paire, No. 19 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is No. 157 Thomas Fabbiano, who survived 14 aces to upset sixth seed Gilles Muller 6-4, 7-5 in 77 minutes. The 26-year-old Italian now has consecutive ATP World Tour match wins after an eight-year drought and will take part in his first tour-level quarter-final.

Also in second round action, Indian wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan was slated to meet second seed Kevin Anderson, but saw the latter pull out with a left knee injury before their match. Anderson was replaced by lucky loser Alexander Kudryavtsev, ranked No. 164.

Ramanathan made the most of his opportunity, moving into the quarter-finals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in just under two hours. His next opponent will be Britain’s Aljaz Bedene, who needed over two hours to complete a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 comeback against Luca Vanni.

Roger Federer began his 2016 ATP World Tour season on Thursday night by beating qualifier Tobias Kamke 6-2, 6-1 in just 55 minutes at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

Top seed Federer, who beat Milos Raonic in last year’s final, is attempting to capture his 89th tour-level title this week. He is also bidding to lift his ninth trophy in the month of January (also 2002 Sydney, 2005-06, ’11 Doha, 2006-07, ’10 Australian Open and 2015 Brisbane).

Federer has a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against his quarter-final opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Viktor Troicki earlier in the day. Federer beat Dimitrov in last year’s semi-finals.

More to follow…

The ATP has announced the Tournaments of the Year in the 2015 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon, with the BNP Paribas Open and Aegon Championships joined by the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and St. Petersburg Open as the most favoured ATP World Tour events in their respective tournament categories.

The Tournament of the Year awards, voted annually by ATP players, recognise the leading standards set across the three tournament categories on the Tour. Indian Wells repeats at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level, while The Queen’s Club in London wins in its first year as a 500 tournament. In the 250 category, first-time winners Doha and St. Petersburg share honours.

Visit the official ATP World Tour Awards section on ATPWorldTour.com

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “Many congratulations to these four tournaments for setting the standard in their respective categories in 2015. They are each outstanding events in their own right, and this is a fitting recognition, as voted by the players, for all the hard work and dedication that goes into putting on these world class tournaments.”

The BNP Paribas Open retains its title as the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year. The tournament received the distinction for the first time in 2014, following the debut of its state-of-the-art Stadium 2, additional practice courts and a new shade structure.

In 2015, the BNP Paribas Open continued its on-site improvements, unveiling a newly renovated player restaurant with expanded dining options and free Wi-Fi throughout the site. The tournament welcomed more than 450,000 fans through the gates over the fortnight.

“It is very rewarding for the BNP Paribas Open to be recognised as the 2015 Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year,” said Tournament Director Raymond Moore. “Our event is focused on improving each and every year in all areas and aspects, and receiving this award for the second year in a row is another validation that our actions – such as providing Hawk-Eye electronic line calling technology on every match court – are being appreciated by the players. It only intensifies our desire to reach new heights in 2016 and ensure that the experience at the tournament is nothing short of exceptional.”

The Aegon Championships receives a Tournament of the Year award for a third straight season. It won at the 250 level in 2013-14 before its re-categorisation as an ATP World Tour 500 event for 2015. The Aegon Championships ends Dubai’s seven-year reign at this level.

“To win ATP World Tour 500 tournament of the year in our first year in the category is a huge thrill, a magnificent achievement, and a credit to our tournament team, The Queen’s Club, our sponsors – particularly Aegon, and our broadcast partners,” said Tournament Director Stephen Farrow. “We were up against some of the finest and most popular tournaments on the ATP World Tour, and I am immensely proud that our efforts have been recognised by the players in this way.”

South Korea’s Hyeon Chung was Thursday honoured as the Most Improved Player of 2015 in the ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon. The 19 year old received his award during a centre-court presentation at the Brisbane International, where he reached the second round.

Chung climbed more than 120 places from No. 173 in the Emirates ATP Rankings at the start of the year, winning four titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2015. He also reached the Shenzhen quarter-finals and is currently at a career-high of No. 51.

“I’m very proud of this award,” Chung said. “It meant more to me as a professional athlete to be recognised by my fellow players. Getting the award was a surprise for sure. I didn’t begin the year with a specific rankings goal in mind. But I had some good opportunities, like getting a wild card in Miami, and qualifying for some other ATP tournaments. They were all great experiences and I’ll continue to try to keep jumping up the rankings.”

Visit the official ATP World Tour Awards section on ATPWorldTour.com

Lucas Pouille may be young, but the 21-year-old Frenchman played with veteran poise on Thursday at the Brisbane International, upsetting No. 6 seed David Goffin 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Pouille, the youngest of 10 Frenchmen in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, raced out to a 3-0 lead in the topsy-turvy opening set. But Goffin would level the score at 4-all, save a set point serving at 4-5 and force a tie-break. But Pouille held on to take the stanza.

Goffin wasn’t finished just yet. With Pouille serving to stay in the second set at 4-5, the Belgian Davis Cup hero scored a timely break of his own to even things at a set apiece.

But Pouille took control with a service break in the seventh game of the deciding set, and later added his third break to close it out in just over two hours.

This was their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Pouille, who out-aced his opponent 13-9 and saved nine of 11 break points, now awaits the winner of the Milos Raonic vs. Ivan Dodig match-up.

Doubles Dispatch: Inglot/Lindstedt Into Brisbane Semis

With the last remaining spot in the Brisbane semi-finals on the line, No. 4 seeds Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt downed the all-Aussie duo of Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(0), 6-2 in one hour and five minutes.

It was the all-Aussie duo of Reid/Smith that jumped out to a 2-0 first-set lead, but Inglot/Lindstedt stormed back to victory. They will next face No. 2 seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers.