Casper Ruud on Thursday qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, joining Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the eight-player field. The season finale will be played from 13-20 November in Turin.

“I just got the news that I qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin again this year and I’m so much looking forward to coming back to Italy,” Ruud said. “I had such a great time last year, it’s a great country for tennis.”

Ruud guaranteed his spot in the year-end championships by winning his second-round match in Seoul against Nicolas Jarry. After making his breakthrough in 2021, Ruud has elevated his game to new heights this season.

The 23-year-old has tallied 47 tour-level wins, third on the ATP Tour behind only Alcaraz (52) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (49). He is at a career-high No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the highest standing of any Norwegian in history (since 1973).

Ruud advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami and his maiden major championship match at Roland Garros. He also claimed ATP 250 trophies in Buenos Aires, Geneva and Gstaad. The 23-year-old then reached his second major final at the US Open.

Ruud made his Nitto ATP Finals debut last year at the Pala Alpitour. The Norwegian advanced to the semi-finals with victories against Cameron Norrie and Andrey Rublev before falling to 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev.

Second seed Cameron Norrie made a winning start at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Thursday, cruising past Japanese wild card Kaichi Uchida 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Seoul.

In a strong serving display, the Briton fired eight aces and did not face a break point en route to his 63-minute victory. Norrie has now advanced to 11 tour-level quarter-finals this season, holding a 46-23 record on the year.

“It feels great. Especially to wake up early this morning as I was a bit let lagged. It was nice to get up early and get it done in straight sets,” Norrie said. “I felt that the conditions suited me well. It was pretty hot, so I like that. It was a tough match but I was able to win some close games and get a couple of breaks each set, so it was a good day for me overall.”

The 27-year-old is currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The four-time tour-level titlist will be aiming for a deep run at the ATP 250 hard-court event as he looks to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 13-20 November.

Norrie will next face eighth seed Jenson Brooksby after the American downed South Korean Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes.

Brooksby is seeking his maiden tour-level title this week in Seoul, having enjoyed runs to the final in Dallas and Atlanta earlier this season. The 21-year-old is up four places to No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his 24th tour-level win of the year.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP WTA Live
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

In other action, American lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic continued his dream run, eliminating #NextGenATP star Chun-Hsin Tseng 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-2.

The 24-year-old Kovacevic, who is making his tour-level debut this week, will play countryman Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-finals. McDonald cruised past Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 6-4 in 90 minutes.

Maxime Cressy’s serve-and-volley game got the job done Wednesday on the indoor hard courts of the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, where the American delivered a strong first-round showing to defeat countryman Sebastian Korda at the ATP 250 event in Israel.

The fourth-seeded Cressy won 82 per cent (23/28) of points at the net and saved both break points he faced in his 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Korda. One break of Korda’s serve in each set was enough for Cressy to complete an 85-minute victory in his first tour-level meeting against the World No. 44 and clinch his seventh ATP Tour quarter-final berth of the season.

Cressy has enjoyed a rapid rise in 2022, reaching his career-high of No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in August, having started the year outside the Top 100. The 25-year-old, who lifted his maiden tour-level trophy on the grass in Newport in July, will meet Emil Ruusuvuori or Constant Lestienne in the quarter-finals in Israel.

Lestienne had earlier set his clash against Ruusuvuori by upsetting seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-4. The one-hour, 55-minute first-round victory against his No. 51-ranked fellow Frenchman was the biggest of Lestienne’s career.

Also on Wednesday, Roman Safiullin secured his second tour-level quarter-final appearance with a 6-1, 6-4 second-round win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Tel Aviv. The No. 104-ranked Safiullin’s previous quarter-final also came on indoor hard courts, in February in Marseille, where he ultimately fell in the semi-finals. His next opponent in Israel will be third seed Diego Schwartzman or Arthur Rinderknech.

Four-time tour-level titlist Pablo Andujar earned his place in the second round when he defeated Thiago Monteiro 7-6(3), 6-1 to set a clash against top seed Novak Djokovic. Andujar trails Djokovic 0-2 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, having last faced the Serbian at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in 2012.

Carlos Alcaraz earned a big honour on Wednesday when he was selected as part of the 2022 TIME100 Next, which recognises rising stars throughout various professions around the world.

Alcaraz was one of five athletes on the list, joining NBA player Ja Morant, soccer stars Sam Kerr and Trinity Rodman, and sprinter Erriyon Knighton.

It has been a dream season for Alcaraz, who became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his maiden Grand Slam triumph at the US Open. The Spaniard has also lifted ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Miami and Madrid.

Alcaraz was the second player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played in Turin from 13-20 November.

Visit TIME’s website to read about the rest of the 2022 TIME 100 Next.

In his only previous Sofia Open appearance five years ago, Grigor Dimitrov thrilled his home fans by lifting the trophy for the loss of just one set. Ilya Ivashka would not allow the Bulgarian to experience that joy again this year.

The 28-year-old upset the third seed 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals in Sofia. Ivashka saved all seven break points he faced to triumph after one hour and 52 minutes.

“It was a very tough match and I’m very happy that I got the victory at the end,” Ivashka said in his on-court interview. “It is very hard to play against Grigor, especially here at his home.”

The fans tried to urge their home hero into a deciding set, chanting “Grigor! Grigor! Grigor!” after nearly every point he won. But Ivashka held his nerve in the critical moments to move into the last eight.

“I think [holding my nerves] was the key of the match, because the tension was high,” Ivashka said. “Obviously all the fans were supporting him, so it was tough mentally, but I managed well.”

^{Photo Credit: Ivo Pinev/LAP.bg}
Lorenzo Sonego sent an early statement to the rest of the field earlier in the day when he raced to his sixth consecutive straight-sets victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the indoor ATP 250 event.

Having charged to his third ATP Tour title last week without dropping a set in Metz, Sonego backed up that run with a stunning first-round serving performance against Zapata Miralles in Bulgaria. The Italian won 86 per cent (32/37) of points behind his first delivery en route to a 79-minute victory that set an intriguing second-round matchup against fifth seed Holger Rune.

“I am really happy because today I was really aggressive on court,” said Sonego, who was making his main-draw debut in Sofia. “I played so well. I did my best thing today, I am really happy for that.”

Sonego making it look easy 😎#SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/XirVXJ1cei

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 28, 2022

The World No. 45 Sonego has so far brought his best level to the indoor hard-court season. Despite the challenge of taking on the ever-resilient Zapata Miralles, the 27-year-old broke the Spaniard once in each set to improve his season record to 24-24.

“Zapata is a wall, a big wall,” said Sonego, who now leads the World No. 78 2-0 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. “He served really good, [but] I started so good today, with good variation. The key I think was [my performance] on serve, and to be aggressive on return.” 

Marc-Andrea Huesler and Fernando Verdasco were also straight-sets winners on Wednesday. The Swiss World No. 95 Huesler downed French qualifier Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-4, 6-4 to set a meeting with second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, while former World No. 7 Verdasco took out sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(1), 7-5. The Spanish lefty, a seven-time tour-level titlist, will face Aleksandar Vukic in the second round as he bids for his third ATP Tour quarter-final appearance of the year.

Jan-Lennard Struff’s powerful serving helped the former World No. 29 complete a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win against Dusan Lajovic. The German won 90 per cent (43/48) of points behind his first serve against Lajovic on the way to extending his ATP Head2Head series lead against the Serbian to 3-0. Struff next faces fellow qualifier Ugo Humbert, with both players chasing their maiden tour-level quarter-final of 2022. 

Denis Shapovalov made a fast start on the fast courts of the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday, when the fourth seed prevailed 7-5, 6-4 against Jaume Munar in his opening match at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to Munar’s 11 in his one-hour, 49-minute second-round victory, breaking the Spaniard twice in each set to reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final of 2022, and his first since May.

“Definitely super happy to get the win today,” said Shapovalov after opening a 1-0 lead in his ATP Head2Head series against Munar. “Obviously I had a very difficult opponent, he was playing some great tennis, so super happy to get the win.”

Say hello to my ‘lil friend 💥@denis_shapo #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/E8GpqJGYJu

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 28, 2022

The World No. 24 fired 31 winners to the Spaniard’s 11 in a one-hour, 49-minute victory, and Shapovalov believes the outdoor hard courts in Seoul suit his game style as he seeks his first ATP Tour title since his 2019 triumph in Stockholm.

“[It is] definitely pretty quick,” said the Canadian. “I feel like the courts are skidding a lot, the ball is skidding a lot through the shot, and I feel like if I can maintain my aggressive game style and serve well, and overall try to dictate, I think I can definitely do some damage here.”

After starting his year by helping Team Canada to ATP Cup glory and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, the 23-year-old Shapovalov has struggled for consistency this season. Yet he is feeling positive about his prospects in Seoul, where he will meet Radu Albot in the last eight after the Moldovan defeated Steve Johnson 7-6(3), 7-6(3).

“I have [no specific plans] in particular [to prepare],” said Shapovalov. “[I am] just trying to focus on myself this week, focus on my game… I feel like the courts suit me well here and I’ve been playing great in practice, so hopefully I can continue.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Taro Daniel secured the remaining second-round spot in Seoul with a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 win against Emilio Gomez. The Japanese World No. 92 will next bid for his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the season when he faces countryman Yoshihito Nishioka on Thursday.

There are three ATP Tour events this week with many of the world’s biggest stars in action. One player in the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships doubles draw sticks out: Hyeon Chung.

The South Korean, who won the 2017 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals and advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals less than three months later, has not competed since September 2020 due to a back injury. Chung is making his return on the doubles court alongside countryman Soonwoo Kwon.

“Due to my injuries, I needed to [stay on the] sideline over the [past] few years and then finally I made it back on court again,” Chung said. “I’m feeling just so happy to play tennis again.”

According to Chung, his lower back injury required constant treatment and rehab, which is why he was unable to compete since Roland Garros qualifying in 2020. He only played six matches at all levels that year.

“I had to treat it and rehab, treat and rehab all the time,” Chung said. “Then [it was] training, training, training and rehab for like [the whole] two years.”

Although Chung is only playing doubles this week, he is soon making his singles return. The South Korean plans to play on the ATP Challenger Tour in his home country in the coming weeks and see how that goes.

“[My] first goal for sure is [to suffer] no injuries, so staying healthy,” Chung said. “This is my first competition after two years, so I don’t want to rush, I don’t want to push too hard.”

It is not long ago Chung was one of the fastest-rising players on the ATP Tour. After his run to the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018, he soon reached a career-high No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now he does not have a ranking at all.

But Chung, who has missed the competition the most during his time away, is remaining patient and enjoying this moment as he begins his journey back towards the sop of the sport.

“[There are] many feelings coming together, like happiness and a little bit nervousness because I didn’t play for two years,” Chung said. “But I’m just happy to play again, especially at home where I live in Seoul.”