After proving once again in Australia that he can excel on any surface, Dominic Thiem is ready to return to his surface of choice at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Thiem is the top seed this week at the ATP 500 clay-court event in Rio de Janeiro and will start against local wild card Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves. The 2017 champion (d. Carreno Busta) is participating in the Latin Swing for the fifth consecutive year and proved that playing on clay won’t disturb his preparation for hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events next month in Indian Wells and Miami.

“For me, it’s no problem to [play] on clay for one or two weeks and then switch back to hard courts. Coming on clay is like coming home,” Thiem said. “I like the surface and also really like South America. It’s a completely different atmosphere… I’ve had great experiences, won here, won Buenos Aires twice, so it’s very easy for me to come back here.“

The Austrian, No. 4 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, is competing in his first event since finishing runner-up earlier this month at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic). Although Thiem understandably experienced heartbreak after his five-set defeat in Melbourne, he’s moved forward and is taking the positives from reaching his first hard-court Grand Slam final.

“I feel great about the performance in Melbourne. It was a hell of a two weeks, beating three Top 10 guys and then losing to Novak Djokovic 6-4 in the fifth,” Thiem said. “Of course, it was a huge disappointment… But after some time to reflect, it was a great tournament and start to the season. I hope to keep that good form going.” 

Main draw action in Rio de Janeiro begins on Monday.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on 22 March 2019. Kyle Edmund won the 2020 New York Open.

Kyle Edmund, having achieved his ATP Rankings goal in 2018 by finishing inside the Top 20, has set his target even higher in 2019 as the 24-year-old looks to improve upon his career-high of No. 14. Edmund, who beat Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-3, 6-2 on Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, talked with ATPTour.com late last season for this edition of ‘The Last Time’.

I missed a flight?
I would have missed a flight through connections being delayed but I’ve never – touched wood – missed one because I’ve woken up late or got to the airport late through my own fault.

You just always allow good time, two hours, hour and a half… I tend to be on time… if I need to be there on time. But if it’s pretty relaxed, I can be a couple minutes late.

I paid money to rent a tennis court or buy tennis balls?
Balls… sometimes if you turn up very early to the tournament, you’re there on the Tuesday before and it’s the first tournament in Asia or in the States, you have to pop down to Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy a set of balls… But I can’t remember the last time I paid to rent a court.

Being famous helped me?
Wimbledon, getting a table at a restaurant. They said they were full but then the owner recognised me, and said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get you one.’… I was going to leave but he said, ‘Oh, I’ll get you one.’

Watch: Edmund Enjoying His Rise

I cooked for myself and others?
[Last] summer at Wimbledon, because I was at home, but I have not cooked since then. During Wimbledon, I always stay with a mate from Yorkshire, where I grew up. So he always comes down during Queens and Wimbledon, and I cooked one day.

I made this chicken orzo dish, chopped some chicken breasts, some vegetables. It’s a soupy chicken orzo. It’s pretty healthy. I put as much vegetables in it as I can. It’s very easy to make. You just put it in and let it cook, simmer. I like to cook it because it’s the easiest one. People give me compliments, but who knows?

I don’t cook much but I have two or three dishes that I know. And when I do cook, I just cook them.

When I’m back home training, [I cook] probably two or three times a week, definitely not more than that. My other go-to recipes are just simple stuff, what’s easy to make… I try to make a chicken sweet potato dish, vegetable balinese is obviously easy. Those three dishes.

I’ve got like four or five books in the cupboard that people have bought for me, like “Dishes To Make Under 10 or 15 minutes” but I’ve never opened them. I should, though.

I asked someone famous for an autograph or selfie?
I was at the British Grand Prix, and I got a picture with Ian Poulter. I’m a big fan. I like him. I like golf anyways, but I like him because he’s a character. He’s pretty funny and a bit of a maverick. Always got his own agenda.

Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian to win an ATP Tour singles title on Sunday, defeating Portuguese Pedro Sousa to triumph at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.

ATPTour.com caught up with the 2019 Next Gen ATP finals competitor after his victory to talk about his maiden tour-level crown, his rivalry with his father and coach, former World No. 39 Christian Ruud, and how he plans to celebrate.

What does winning your first ATP Tour title mean to you?
It’s a great feeling. I’m enjoying the moment, of course. It’s something very special when you get your first [ATP Tour] title and the biggest title of your career so far. I’m enjoying it a lot, but I also have to recharge and think forward, think of the next tournament.

I’m already playing in the next tournament again on Tuesday in Rio, so I have a big task ahead of me. But I will try as good as I can to be ready.

The Latin Swing has always been one of your strongest parts of the year. What about playing in South America suits you so well?
I think the most important [thing] is that it’s on clay. It’s a place where I enjoy coming. It was the first clay-court tournament for me this year. I want to develop my hard-court game also and I think that it’s going in the right way, but clay is the more natural surface for me.

I also enjoy the people, the crowd. They are very passionate down here about tennis and this tournament is really nice. Rio is also an amazing tournament, so there are many things to enjoy with this South American trip.

How much did having the experience of playing a final last year in Houston help you in this match?
I think it helped. Being in your first final is something very special. Last year, I lost the final in Houston against Cristian Garin and this year, I really wanted to try to get a win. It tasted really well when I won the match point and I could take my arms in the air to be a champion for the first time. It was very special.

Talk about how your move to Mallorca to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy has helped your game.
It’s a great place. I think it’s so good down there at his academy. It’s a great place if you want to be a professional tennis player. The academy has helped me so much with the coaches and everything down there, and also Rafa himself. He’s involved in my tennis and my career, so I owe them a lot of thanks and I will keep going down there for as long as I can.

You’re the first Norwegian player to win an ATP Tour title and you have a cool and funny rivalry with your father, former World No. 39 Christian Ruud. Is that over now?
I guess so. Now I’ve beaten his [FedEx ATP] Ranking and won an ATP Tour title, something he wasn’t able to do… I beat him in two different ways now, so I think now I don’t need to hear the question anymore, will I beat my father? Now I’ve done it, so I have to try to think even better and that I can reach even further.

You started the year with your first two Top 20 wins at the ATP Cup. How important was the way you played there?
It was a great start for me, beating two very good players. John Isner and Fabio Fognini are different types of players, so I think that gave me good confidence to start the year. In the Australian Open, I was a little, I’m not going to say unlucky, but it was a very close match that I lost, which is always a pity when you lose a five-setter and 7-6 in the fifth.

It’s a tough match to lose, but I still felt like I was playing well and I wanted to keep building on that for these tournaments down here. This is a great way to start the Latin Swing for me.

How will you celebrate tonight?
I don’t know. Maybe I will have a Coca-Cola and a good Argentine steak.

A LOOK BACK
Bengaluru Open (Bangalore, India): James Duckworth picked up where he left off in 2019, adding yet another ATP Challenger Tour crown to his ledger. The Aussie stole the headlines last year with a tour-leading 49 match wins and four titles, and he would secure another piece of silverware on Sunday in Bengaluru.

Duckworth vaulted to a career-high No. 71 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, dropping just one set en route to his fifth title in less than a year. He defeated Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 in the championship.

The 28-year-old Aussie has found a second home on Indian soil, having swept both Challengers in the country in recent months. Duckworth was also the champion in Pune in November and just last week he reached his first ATP Tour semi-final at the Tata Maharashtra Open.

“I have had a good run on Indian soil these two weeks. I may think of applying for citizenship,” Duckworth joked. “I am very happy to win here. It was a quality field and organised very efficiently. This win has given me the confidence to try and get to the Top 50.”

Just two years ago, Duckworth was sitting outside the Top 1,000 as he bid to return from a litany of surgeries, including foot, shoulder and elbow operations. Now healthy, he is showing no signs of slowing down. It was his 11th Challenger title in total.

The Bengaluru Open returned to the calendar after a one year hiatus, having moved from November to February. The crown jewel of Indian tennis on the ATP Challenger Tour, the tournament is the first Challenger 125 event on Asian soil in 2020.

Cleveland Open presented by Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio, USA): It’s safe to say Mikael Torpegaard enjoys playing in Ohio. The Dane, who was a five-time All-American at Ohio State University, lifted his third Challenger trophy on Sunday in Cleveland. He capped a strong week at the Cleveland Racquet Club with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Yosuke Watanuki.

Torpegaard adds a third Challenger title in total, with all victories coming in Ohio. He prevailed in nearby Columbus in both 2016 (indoor) and 2019 (outdoor), before triumphing this week. The 25-year-old rises to No. 177 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, sitting just 11 spots off his career-high.

For Watanuki, meanwhile, the surging Japanese star is closing in on a Top 200 return. Champion on home soil in Kobe to close the 2019 season, the runner-up finish in Cleveland marked his first professional final outside of Asia.

Challenger La Manche (Cherbourg, France): In its 27th edition, the ATP Challenger Tour stop in Cherbourg celebrated a first. Roman Safiullin clinched his maiden title, becoming the first Russian winner at the storied tournament. The 22-year-old routed Roberto Marcora 6-4, 6-2 for the trophy on the indoor hard courts of the Complexe Sportif Chantereyne.

Safiullin is the youngest winner from Russia on the Challenger circuit since a 20-year-old Daniil Medvedev captured his lone title in 2016. The former junior No. 2 and 2015 Australian Open boys’ champion, he rises 57 spots to a career-high No. 174 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

It was a hard-earned title for Safiullin, who won six matches in six days to lift the trophy. That included four straight victories in deciding sets, all over home favourites. He edged both Mathias Bourgue and Maxime Janvier 7-5 in the third, before clipping fifth seed Quentin Halys and top seed Antoine Hoang to reach the final.

A LOOK AHEAD
Four tournaments highlight next week’s slate, including Challenger 80 stops in Bergamo, Drummondville, Koblenz and Morelos.

One year ago, Jannik Sinner announced his arrival in Bergamo, Italy, claiming his maiden title. This year, countryman Lorenzo Giustino is the top seed and another emerging teen – Leo Borg – is making his pro debut. The son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg, Leo will open against a qualifier on Tuesday.

In Drummondville, Canada, Dominik Koepfer, Go Soeda, Christopher O’Connell and Brayden Schnur lead a strong field, while Matias Franco Descotte returns as defending champion in Morelos, Mexico. Coming off a title in Dallas, #NextGenATP star Jurij Rodionov is seeded 10th at the Morelos Open.

At the Koblenz Open, a pair of Germans lead the way on home soil, with Yannick Maden and Yannick Hanfmann seeded first and second. Emerging Dutch talent Tallon Griekspoor is seeded third.

Eighth-seeded Brit Kyle Edmund saved his best tennis for last on Sunday at the New York Open, winning eight of the last nine games in a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi to take the title.

Edmund picked up his second ATP Tour crown, with his maiden trophy coming 16 months ago in Antwerp (d. Monfils). The 25-year-old improved to 7-3 this year and now leads Seppi 5-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a straight-sets victory last month in Auckland.

”There’s a lot hard work throughout the year, a lot of ups and downs that you don’t see behind the scenes. To win this title means a lot to me,” Edmund said.

Seppi put in an outstanding effort to reach the final after saving a match point in his opening-round win against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 35-year-old is still seeking his first ATP Tour crown since 2012 Moscow (d. Bellucci) and dropped to 3-7 in tour-level finals.

”He played a good match today and he deserved to win,” Seppi said. “I enjoyed my time on this court and played some good matches this week. I’ll take the positives from here and move forward.”

Both players traded comfortable service holds throughout most of the opening set. But with Seppi serving at 5-6, Edmund raised his level and added even more velocity to his groundstrokes. Using his forehand to push Seppi around the baseline, he earned a pair of set points and let out a roar after converting his first chance with a down-the-line backhand winner.

The grueling baseline rallies took their toll on Seppi in the second set and Edmund capitalised, grabbing 12 of the first 15 points for a 3-0 lead. The Brit continued to apply pressure in return games while remaining flawless on serve. The Brit dropped just eight service points throughout the day and won 94 per cent (31/33) of his first-serve points.

Edmund prevailed in another lengthy rally at 1-4 and earned an insurance break after the Italian pushed a slice backhand long. The Brit then closed out the match on his first try after one hour and 22 minutes.

Edmund earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and a cheque for $120,635. Seppi picked up 150 points and $66,770.

Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos battled through a wild Argentina Open final on Sunday, saving three championship points before defeating home favourites Guillermo Duran and Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 5-7, 18-16 to lift the trophy.

“It was crazy, it was a spectacular battle,” Zeballos said. “They raised their level and it ended up being a high-level match.”

Granollers and Zeballos, who won last year’s Coupe Rogers title in their tournament debut, saved championship points at 9/10, 11/12 and 15/16 before ultimately triumphing after one hour and 47 minutes. The Spanish-Argentine duo is now 17-6 as a team, also reaching last year’s US Open final.

“The match points are played with tremendous nerves,” Zeballos said. “In the Match Tie-break we started very down, but we also had to think that the rivals play too, and they can dip the same way.”

Granollers and Zeballos struck nine aces and won 75 per cent of their first-serve points. They also won 71 per cent of their second-serve points, which was better than Duran and Londero’s first-serve winning percentage of 69 per cent. Granollers and Zeballos only lost one set en route to the trophy.

“We played a set and a half very well and won the game at the end,” Granollers said. “In doubles that happens, it is a format that is a lottery. We have endured well, fighting every point until the end.” 

The champions earn 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points each and share $34,580. It is Granollers’ 19th tour-level doubles trophy and Zeballos’ 14th trophy.

This was Duran and Londero’s fourth tournament together, and they had not won a match as a team before this event. Duran and Londero, who did not lose a set before the final, split $17,720 and they add 150 points each.

After winning nine consecutive matches to capture multiple titles in a single season for the first time, Gael Monfils made one thing clear at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament: he is just getting started.

“[In the FedEx ATP Rankings, I want] to reach the fifth spot. I have been sixth,” said Monfils.

The World No. 9, who reached a career-high No. 6 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in November 2016, defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Sunday to add to the record-tying third Montpellier title he lifted last week. Monfils has won 13 of 15 matches this year, with his only losses coming against Australian Open finalists Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem in the opening month of the 2020 ATP Tour season.

A Top 5 position is not the only goal on Monfils’ checklist. The Frenchman also targeted a return to an ATP Masters 1000 final. Monfils has finished as a runner-up on three occasions at a Masters 1000 event, most recently at the 2016 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

“[I would like] to reach the final at another Masters 1000,” said Monfils. “Why not try to win one?”

Monfils’ long-term goal is to put himself in a position to win a Grand Slam title and end France’s 37-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion. Yannick Noah, the 1983 Roland Garros titlist, is the only French man to win a Grand Slam singles trophy in the Open Era (since 1968).

“The dream is to win a Grand Slam and that is what I am playing for and training for,” said Monfils. “It is tough, but I believe that maybe one day I will be lucky enough to win one.”

Whether Monfils will be able to achieve these goals is a question that only time can answer, but the Frenchman knows the foundation he will need to give himself a chance of success.

“I need to keep healthy, to keep being 100 per cent and definitely to keep the belief that I can make it.”

Dominic Inglot/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi took their partnership to new heights at the New York Open, clinching the doubles title on Sunday with a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(6) win over Steve Johnson/Reilly Opelka.

Inglot/Qureshi picked up their first ATP Tour doubles title as a team. The British-Pakistani duo began playing at the start of this year and finished runner-up last week in Montpellier (l. to Cacic/Pavic). This is the 14th tour-level doubles title for Inglot and the 18th for Qureshi.

”They put up an absolute fight and it’s never over until it’s over. We were panicking when they kept breaking us, so pulling this out means a lot,” Inglot said. “Aisam and I had a tough week losing in the final last week, so I’m glad we were able to make it one step further here.”

Johnson dropped to 1-2 in tour-level doubles finals and Opelka still seeks his first doubles crown. The American pair were competing as a team for just the second time, having lost in the opening round last year at this event.

”Reilly let me down. My back is still hurting from trying to carry you,” joked Johnson. “This was a fun week and I always enjoy coming back here.”

Inglot/Qureshi started out strongly, breaking Opelka in the second game of the match and taking 12 of the first 13 points. The American pair found their footing and earned the break back after Inglot let slip a 40/0 lead on his serve at 3/1.

A double fault from Opelka at 1/1 in the first-set tie-break gave Inglot/Qureshi a mini-break advantage and they quickly built a 6/2 lead. The American pair saved the first three set points, but Johnson missed a routine backhand volley at 6/5 to wrap up the opening set.

Inglot/Qureshi grabbed the momentum at 3-3 in the second set by breaking Johnson after Qureshi knocked off a volley winner. Qureshi couldn’t convert his opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 and Johnson/Opelka broke back to the delight of the home crowd.

The British-Pakistani team earned their first championship point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but Johnson erased it with a forehand volley winner. With the score tied at 6/6, Johnson sent a forehand passing shot just wide and a big serve from Inglot wrapped up play after one hour and 34 minutes.

Inglot/Qureshi picked up 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $40,690. Johnson/Opelka walked away with 150 FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $20,860.