Top seed Rafael Nadal has had his first hit out ahead of his Argentina Open title defence, practising with compatriot David Ferrer in Buenos Aires on Monday.

It was the first look at Nadal in action since his first-round exit to another of his countrymen, Fernando Verdasco, at this year’s Australian Open. The Spaniard downed his good friend Juan Monaco to claim last year’s title in the Argentine capital and the pair could be set for a rematch in the second round provided Tandil native Monaco wins his first match.

“I didn’t like at all the defeat in Australia, but that I cannot solve,” Nadal said. “It was a bad tournament. [It] just did not work out despite having prepared very well. So I’m in Buenos Aires to give my best and try to make a better presentation.

“Every season is different, but with the same purpose to fight in every tournament and finish as high as possible in the ranking. I’m happy to return to Argentina, because every time I left this country I did it with a lot of positive energy. They treat me very well here, like few places in the world.”

World No. 5 Nadal has a first-round bye, while Monaco can set up an eighth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with his occasional doubles partner should he get past Italian qualifier, Marco Cecchinato. The pair won the 2015 Doha doubles title together, and finished runners-up at Vina Del Mar in 2013.

“Monaco was injured a long time, so we have to wait if he can eliminate Cecchinato,” Nadal said. “I hope that Juan can win because he is my friend and a victory would benefit him after many days without playing. Anyway, it will be a difficult match for me.”

A tournament record five American teenagers are competing in this year’s Memphis Open presented by ServiceMaster. Overall there are 13 Americans in the 28-player draw, the most in Memphis since 2010 when there were 14.

Taylor Fritz (18), Tommy Paul (18), Frances Tiafoe (18), Michael Mmoh (18) and Jared Donaldson (19) posed together in front of the Racquet Club’s Memphis Open 40^th anniversary  tournament sign. Mmoh and Donaldson qualified on Sunday into the main draw. The other three players are wild cards.

The five American teenagers in the draw surpassed the previous tournament record of four in 1989. That foursome featured future Grand Slam tournament champions Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras.

The last time an ATP World Tour tournament featured at least five American teenagers in the main draw was in Stratton Mountain in August 1989 when there were six teenagers: Agassi, Steve Bryan, Chang, Courier, Jared Palmer and Sampras.

Teenager Alexander Zverev was presented with a special award on Monday in Rotterdam, recognising his first year-end Top 100 finish in the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2015.

Receiving his award from ATP Tour Manager, Fernando Sanchez, 18-year-old Zverev said, “It’s a big milestone. To get this award at only 18 years of age is big for me. It’s a really big stepping stone for any tennis player, finishing the year in the Top 100. I feel good. I’ve been playing well the past couple of weeks. Coming into this big tournament, I feel comfortable. I can do well here as well.”

Zverev was named the 2015 Emirates ATP Star of Tomorrow after finishing last season as the youngest player inside the Top 100. The German comes into the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament at a career-high World No. 70 after reaching the semi-finals in Montpellier last week (l. to Mathieu).

Zverev will open his campaign at this ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tournament against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

Former champion Nicolas Almagro made a strong start to his Argentina Open campaign Monday, beating qualifier Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round in Buenos Aires.

In the first meeting between the Spaniards since 2011, Almagro claimed just his second match win of the year after firing 11 aces and saving all four break points faced. He dropped just five points on his first serve (25/30).

The 30-year-old Spaniard, who also finished runner-up to David Ferrer in 2012, improved to 26-9 at the event. He has reached the semi-finals the past three years – 2013 (l. to Wawrinka), 2014 (l. to Ferrer), and 2015 (l. to Monaco).

The former World No. 9, who levelled his FedEx ATP Head2Head record with Montanes at 3-3, is playing his first event since falling in second round of the Australian Open (l. to Thiem). He fell in the first round of Chennai (l. to Pavic) in his only other appearance of 2016.

Buenos Aires local Diego Schwartzman got his campaign off to a winning start with an upset of No.7 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The 23 year old needed two hours and 10 minutes to defeat the Ukrainian and did so on the back of 11 aces, winning 63 per cent of points on his first serve and 65 per cent on his second serve.

Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo posted a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Spaniard Inigo Cervantes in one hour and 27 minutes. Giraldo converted five of 12 break points on his way to the second round.

Marin Cilic, the 2014 runner-up, fired down 10 aces and won 90 per cent of his first service points to beat Denis Istomin on Monday for a spot in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament second round.

“It was a very close match,” said Cilic. “Denis is the kind of player that can play really, really well, especially indoors. He’s got really good shots from the back of the court. I think it was a strange match today. Both of us were serving extremely well. There were no breaks of serve in the match until the last game. I was threatening a lot in the second set and was close to converting some break opportunities. I had to hang in there mentally. I was moving well and serving well and that was key for me.”

Watch Cilic Pre-Tournament Interview

Ivan Dodig saved all four break points he faced to knock out seventh seed Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-6(4) in 90 minutes, while Jiri Vesely hit 11 aces to win an all-Czech clash against Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes.

Watch Dodig Hot Shot

Borna Coric made it three from three for the Croats when he made a winning debut against local wild card Thiemo de Bakker. The 19 year old saved 10 set points to secure the opening tiebreak and went on to break in the eighth game of the third set, converting his seventh break point of the match.

“It was a very close match. In the end I was a little bit lucky, but also brave,” Coric said. “I didn’t play very well in my last three tournaments. I didn’t feel very well [on the court]. This was my fresh start. I focused on this match a lot and I did play well in the end. I just knew if I broke at that stage in the third that more or less that would be it. I was really digging in there.”

French qualifier Nicolas Mahut continued his run of form to down Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 7-6(4). The 34 year old hit six aces and won 77 per cent of first serve points to progress in one hour and 51 minutes.

A LOOK BACK
RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas (Dallas, U.S.A.): Coming off an upset defeat to Wu Di in the Maui final, the question for Kyle Edmund in Dallas was whether the Brit would use it as motivation or suffer an immediate letdown. By the end of the week, the answer was clear. Edmund turned in a dominant display on the indoor hard courts of the T Bar M Racquet Club, not dropping a set en route to the title. He would defeat countryman Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday in just 64 minutes, capturing his fourth ATP Challenger Tour crown. It was just the second ATP Challenger Tour final between two Brits in the past 20 years, with the most recent coming in Nottingham 2005, when Alex Bogdanovic defeated Mark Hilton.

“I haven’t played Dan in a match and whenever you play a new opponent it’s about figuring them out from the start,” Edmund told broadcaster Mike Cation following the match. “I had played a really good match against Tim [Smyczek] and found a good rhythm, so I knew if I could implement that today I’d have a chance. It was played at a different speed, as Dan hits a lot of slices and I knew I had to be patient… As I got into it, I started playing more freely and in the end I was playing some really good tennis.

“Last week was so frustrating because it was a low standard for me. He (Wu Di) was actually playing pretty well in the (windy) conditions and I think I deservedly lost. To come here, from outdoors to indoors, it’s not easy, and everyone was telling me that the courts are quick. But I found I had time to rally here and get my forehand and every match got more comfortable.”

Edmund’s title ended a run of 10 straight years with a home grown champion in Dallas. He beat defending champion Tim Smyczek in the semi-finals. In addition, Great Britain now has nine Challenger titles in the past 13 months after winning just two from 2010 to 2014.

“From last year to this year, I’ve really improved my movement and being more efficient. My serve has gotten better and my forehand has always been a weapon, but now I’m being smarter with it. I’m not hitting winners with every shot and I don’t need to. Those are the big things.

“The good thing about playing Challengers is they are all on live stream, so everyone can watch back at home. My parents and sister have been up at four in the morning and it’s nice that they are so supportive. I want to be playing in the [ATP World Tour] events, but it’s a tough spot now because I have to decide between playing qualies and Challengers where there are big points on offer. It’s getting that balance. Hopefully I can get to that stage where I’m picking a schedule of Tour event and Tour event. That is the ultimate goal.”

Watch Frances Tiafoe Hot Shot

Neville-Smith Forest Products Launceston International  (Launceston, Australia): Aussie wild card Blake Mott turned in one of the more improbable title runs in ATP Challenger Tour history, rallying for his first crown 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2 over Andrey Golubev on Sunday. The 19 year old was at No. 721 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, becoming just the fifth player (since 2000) outside the Top 700 to win a title.

Watch Match Point & Post-Match Interview

Mott, who will vault nearly 400 spots to a career-high No. 365, had won just three matches at the Challenger level entering the week. He is the second teen titlist this year, joining Happy Valley winner Taylor Fritz, and is the 10th different teenage champion in the past 13 months.

CHALLENGER WINNERS OUTSIDE THE TOP 700 (since 2000)

WHAT’S AHEAD
The inaugural Milex Open in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was held last year and had a notable absentee. Top Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos was forced to withdraw due to injury after clinching his maiden ATP World Tour title the week prior in Quito. This week, Estrella Burgos will make his tournament debut as the top seed and is joined by Gerald Melzer, Nicolas Jarry and Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

Meanwhile, on the hard courts of Bergamo, India’s Yuki Bhambri leads the field, with Ruben Bemelmans and Dustin Brown. Bemelmans is coming off a run to the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Montpellier, while Brown reached his first tour-level semi in the French city.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

Three Continents Host Tournaments – There are three tournaments on three different continents, including the first ATP World Tour 500 level event of the season. World No. 10 Richard Gasquet is the top seed in Rotterdam. In the first North American tournament of the season in Memphis, World No. 7 and three-time reigning champion Kei Nishikori is the top seed and in Buenos Aires, wild card and defending champion Rafael Nadal is the No. 1 seed.

ABN AMRO WORLD TENNIS TOURNAMENT (Rotterdam) – The top seed of the first ATP World Tour 500 level tournament of the season is Gasquet, who is making his fifth appearance in Rotterdam (4-4 record). His best result was the quarter-finals in 2012. Overall eight of the Top 25 are in the field. The other seeds are: No. 2 Marin Cilic, No. 3 Gilles Simon, No. 4 David Goffin, No. 5 Gael Monfils, No. 6 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 7 Benoit Paire and No. 8 Victor Troicki..

Gasquet Top Seed – Gasquet, who returned this past week from a back injury in his first tournament of the season in Montpellier, is the top seed for the 13^th time in his career (second in a row). The 29-year-old Frenchman enters Rotterdam in the Top 10 for the third straight time. His best result was the quarter-finals in 2012 (l. to Davydenko). Last year he finished in the Top 10  of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the fourth time in his career at No. 9 with a 43-17 match record. He also advanced to his second (’07) semi-final at Wimbledon. Going into Sunday’s final in Montpellier, Gasquet has won titles as the top seed in 2007 Mumbai and 2013 Moscow. Gasquet opens against countrymen Jeremy Chardy.

Bautista Agut on a Roll – No. 6 seed Bautista joined No. 1 Novak Djokovic as the first two-time winners on the ATP World Tour this season by prevailing in Sofia (d. Troicki). He is off to a career-best start. (12-2). The Spaniard won his third career ATP World Tour title last month in Auckland (d. Sock).

Teenage Trio – Three of the four teenagers to finish in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings last season are in the draw: Borna Coric and Hyeon Chung, both making their Rotterdam debut, along with wild card Alexander Zverev, who lost in the first round last year.

Finalists in the Draw – There are no former champions in the draw but there are two former finalists: Julien Benneteau, who reached the final in 2013 (l. to del Potro)   and Marin Cilic, who was runner-up in 2014 (l. to Berdych).             

Local Wild Cards – Two of the three wild cards are the top two Dutchmen in the Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 65 Robin Haase, who reached the quarter-finals in 2008 (d. No. 10 Murray) and No. 94 Thiemo de Bakker, who lost in the second round three times. Both players have 3-7 career records in Rotterdam. The other wild card is German teenager Alexander Zverev, who is coming off a semi-final in Montpellier.

ARGENTINA OPEN (Buenos Aires) – Latin America’s “Golden Swing” continues on the clay of Buenos Aires, as the Argentine capital welcomes back World No. 5 Rafael Nadal, who is defending champion. Six of the Top 25 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw, including No. 6/three-time champion David Ferrer, No. 9 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and No. 11 John Isner, who all have first round byes. Rounding out the rest of the seeds are: No. 5 Dominic Thiem, No. 6/wild card Fabio Fognini, No. 7 Alexandr Dolgopolov and No. 8 Pablo Cuevas. Other former champions in the field are: Nicolas Almagro (2011), Robredo (2009) and Juan Monaco (2007). Tsonga, Isner and Thiem are making their debut in Buenos Aires.

Rafa Golden Swing Champ – Top seed Nadal is making his third tournament appearance (2005, ’15-16). In last year’s final he defeated Juan Monaco 64 61. The King of Clay has won titles at four different Golden Swing tournaments: Acapulco (2005, ’13), Sao Paulo (2005, ’13), Rio de Janeiro (2014) and last year in Buenos Aires. Last season, Nadal compiled a 26-6 match record on clay and won clay titles in Buenos Aires and Hamburg. He also won in Stuttgart on grass.

Monaco Returns to Action – No. 3 Argentine Monaco is making his return to the ATP World Tour for the first time since last August in Kitzbuehel. The 31-year-old Argentine underwent right wrist surgery shortly thereafter and has been sidelined since. The eight-time winner on the ATP World Tour won the Buenos Aires title in 2007 (d. Di Mauro). He has a 22-10 career record in his home country event.

Clay Court Title Leaders – Nadal is two clay-court titles away from equaling Guillermo Vilas’ all-time record of 49 crowns on the surface. Here are the top five Open Era title leaders on clay: Vilas (49), Nadal (47), Thomas Muster (40), Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes (both 30).

Spanish Title Streak – Spaniards have called Buenos Aires home since 2009, with five different players from the country winning titles. Here is the Spanish streak:

Note: Since 2003, a Spaniard or Argentine has won the title

Argentine Title Hopes – Five of the six Argentines (except No. 99 Bagnis) in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings are in the field, led by No. 37 Leonardo Mayer. The last player to win the title on home soil in Buenos Aires was David Nalbandian in 2008. Here are the Argentines in the draw (w/best result), not including qualifiers:

MEMPHIS OPEN (Memphis) – The first North American tournament of the season is led by three-time reigning champion Kei Nishikori, who the top seed for the third straight year. This is the 40^th anniversary of the tournament at the Racquet Club of Memphis. The other seeds are No. 2 Steve Johnson, No. 3 Donald Young, No. 4 Sam Querrey, No. 5 Denis Kudla, No. 6 Sam Groth, No. 7 John Millman and No. 8 Damir Dzumhur. Querrey is the other former champion (2010) in the field.

Back-to-Back Champions  – Last year Nishikori became the first player in tournament history to win the title three years in a row. The 26-year-old Japanese star is one of four players to win back-to-back titles in Memphis. He is also trying to become the second player to win four titles in Memphis. Jimmy Connors won four in 1978-79 and in 1983-84.

Youth is Served  – There are three teenage wild cards in the main draw for the first time in tournament history: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, all 18 years old. Fritz is playing in his third career ATP World Tour level tournament, first in the U.S., Paul is making his second Tour level appearance (’15 US Open) and Tiafoe his sixth Tour level showing. He won his first career ATP World Tour match in Winston-Salem last summer.

Bryans 15^th Anniversary – Bob and Mike Bryan won their first of a record 109 doubles titles on the ATP World Tour in Memphis in 2001 (d. O’Brien-Stark). They also captured titles in 2004 and ’13. They have a 27-6 career record in Memphis in 10 previous appearances (W/O in ’06). The Bryans are looking to win their first ATP World Tour title since last August at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal. They have finished No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings in 10 of the last 13 years.

In Case You Missed It

Richard Gasquet won his 13^th ATP World Tour title in Montpellier. Read 

Roberto Bautista Agut won the inaugural Sofia title over Viktor Troicki. Read 

Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop fought back from the brink of elimination to claim the Sofia doubles title. Read

Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Duran needed no time at all to capture their first team title in Quito. Read 

Birthdays

February 9 – James Ward (29)

February 10 – Viktor Troicki (30)

February 12 – Jeremy Chardy (29)