Andrey Rublev recorded his 12th win in 13 matches this year, racing past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2, 6-3 at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Tuesday.

The four-time ATP Tour titlist needed just 55 minutes to advance to the second round, dropping only two points behind his first serve (20/22). Rublev levels his ATP Head2Head series against Basilashvili at 2-2, adding to his previous victory against the Georgian at last year’s Western & Southern Open.

Rublev is bidding to capture his maiden ATP 500 trophy this week. The 22-year-old, competing at a career-high No. 15 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has already lifted trophies at ATP 250-level in Doha and Adelaide this year. Rublev currently sits in fifth position in the ATP Race To London, only trailing the four men to reach this year’s Australian Open semi-finals: Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev.

Attempting to reach his second quarter-final at the opening ATP 500 event of the season (2018), Rublev will face Alexander Bublik in the second round. The Kazakh saved both break points he faced in a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 victory against French qualifier Gregoire Barrere.

Aljaz Bedene also reached the second round in Rotterdam, beating Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-4 in 63 minutes. The 30-year-old awaits the winner of this evening’s match between second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz.

His name is Christopher Rungkat, but everybody calls him The Bandit.

For Rungkat, it must have felt like he was on Redemption Road when he and partner Andre Goransson lifted the trophy at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune. The very long and endless doubt-filled journey was finally over. The promise of a doubles prodigy finally redeemed. Rungkat’s doubles skills and ability to get the best out of any player he partners have for years often been compared to those of Leander Paes. Yet, despite all the ITF Futures titles, Davis Cup wins, Asian Games and SEA Games gold medals, Rungkat had yet to make his mark on the ATP Tour.

“I remember back in 2007 at the ATP event at Queen’s Club when Mahesh Bhupathi told me that talent means nothing until you back it up with ATP trophies,” said Rungkat. “I was still a junior then and a hitting partner for Tour players. His words hurt my feelings a bit as I had just won the French Open Junior Doubles. I never forgot what Mahesh said either.”

I first met Indonesia’s Christopher Rungkat when he was a 17-year-old promising junior player ranked in the ITF Top 10 of singles. At the time, I was on the ATP Tour with the Ratiwatana brothers of Thailand. It was agreed by the Indonesian Tennis Association that Rungkat would travel with us full-time as a hitting partner for the twins and at the same time he would play select ITF Junior events and the Grand Slams.

That year, he practised and warmed up many top players at ATP Tour events while also winning the French Open Junior Doubles with Henri Kontinen. It was during that time that he earned his nickname: The Bandit.

Players that Rungkat played with and against started commenting on how at least once or twice a match he was able to snatch a point away from his opponent just as all looked lost. Rungkat had the uncanny ability to come up with some incredible pick-up or cheeky poach at the most crucial times in a match. For this unique talent, his peers gave him his nickname. The name has stuck.

Since he was a 17-year-old junior, Rungkat has been his country’s No. 1 singles and doubles player. That was both a blessing and a curse. Being No. 1 in a country of nearly 300 million people has certain benefits when it comes to media and support. However, on the developmental side, not having an active older player to show the road ahead — where the dangers and pitfalls are located — is a detriment.

“I give so much credit to Sonchat Ratiwatana and Sanchai Ratiwatana for teaching me not only how to play doubles, but also how to be a professional,” said Rungkat. “It was like having two big brothers who were also my coaches.”

Throughout the past 13 years, he has watched many of his former partners go on to have success on the ATP Tour while he seemed to be stuck at the lower levels. It hurt and after bouts with injuries and lost sponsorships, he considered quitting tennis more than once. But he was able to channel the pain and frustration into a greater commitment to his craft.

The hard work started to pay off in 2018 and 2019 with ATP Challenger titles alongside Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Sanchai Ratiwatana and Cheng Peng Hsieh. Despite reaching a career-high ATP Tour doubles ranking of No. 68 in June last year, the second half of 2019 was cruel as Rungkat and partner Cheng-Peng Hsieh lost nine consecutive first-round matches. He failed to defend his FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings points from 2018 and fell outside the Top 100.

“I made some life changes,” said Rungkat. “The emotional rollercoaster was taking a toll on me. I could not sleep and the frustration was maddening. I decided to change my priorities. I put God first, starting a family second and tennis third. Before, it was tennis first, second and third.

”Since I made those changes, I have discovered an inner-peace that allows me to rest better and accept that there are some things I cannot control. I got married in January which gave my life balance and meaning. And tennis is fun again, even when I don’t win.”

For Rungkat, the long wait for an ATP Tour title is finally over. It is also validation for those select people who never waivered over the many years in their faith that one day, The Bandit’s achievements would equal his abilities.

Milos Raonic’s serve may be even better than we thought.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into first- and second-serve performance only when players win their matches over the past two seasons identifies Raonic at the top of the tree in both categories. The data set is comprised of all players who had a minimum of 20 wins on Tour in the past two seasons combined.

Raonic has won 51 tour-level matches the past two seasons and accumulated win percentages behind first and second serves that simply have no peer.

2018/19: First-Serve Win Percentage When Winning The Match

The average first-serve win percentage when players won their match was 76.39 per cent (172,615/225,974). That metric is eight percentage points higher than the average when they lose their match.

Average First-Serve Points Won/Lost
Winning the match = 76.9%
Losing the match = 68.9%
Gap = 8 percentage points

Raonic’s tour-leading numbers also extend to second-serve points when winning the match, where he sits at 61.78 per cent (826/1337).

2018/19: Second-Serve Win Percentage When Winning The Match

The average second-serve win percentage when players won their match was 55.61 per cent (75,097/135,032). That metric is 8.7 percentage points higher than the average when they lose their match.

Average Second-Serve Points Won/Lost
Winning the match = 55.6%
Losing the match = 46.9%
Gap = 8.7 percentage points

Raonic had a strong run to the quarter-finals of the 2020 Australian Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Marin Cilic along the way. He is currently No. 32 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and most importantly, is healthy once again.

Where will he end 2020? With a serve like his, anything is possible.

Cristian Garin is here to stay.

The 23-year-old Chilean is on the rise on the ATP Tour and last week at the Cordoba Open, he left no room for doubt. He continues to write his own success-filled story after beating Diego Schwartzman to lift his third title in four ATP Tour finals.

Garin’s performance in Cordoba was epic for many reasons. Not only did he have to dig deep to finish off a close match that he trailed early on, he was also facing a home player and the tournament’s top seed, which undoubtedly make his latest crown even more valuable. Earlier in the week, after winning his opener, he came back from a set down in three consecutive matches to take the title.

“I won’t rest on my laurels, I have a lot to improve on, and that’s the good thing. I can’t see it any other way. Regardless of whether the results are good, I have thousands of things to improve,” said Garin.

“Cristian is a streaky player… there aren’t many like him, he is hugely aggressive and he can look for the lines all the time,” said Schwartzman. “He can always recover from a bad situation to end up finding his moment in matches. He has the capacity to pick himself up and in Cordoba he did that to perfection.”

“Winning in Argentina is special… I always have good things to say about this country”, said Garin. “Whatever the circumstance, I think I can win and that gives me a confidence boost.”

Meanwhile, Garin’s path continues onwards and upwards and it seems to know no limits. Just a year ago, before his victory in the first round of the Argentina Open against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Garin had just one ATP victory. After earning his first tour-level win at the age of 16, it took Garin six years to win on the ATP Tour again. Plenty happened in the lead-up to this change in fortunes, but in the past eleven months, the Chilean has picked up three tour-level crowns and dozens of victories. But what changed?

“I was working well two years ago, in tennis and fitness, above all on court,” said Garin. “But maybe the difference was starting to dedicate myself 100 per cent to my career and to tennis, which I didn’t do before. The changes were significant and the results amazing.”

Encouraged by his success, Garin is keen to push for more.

“Personally, I really like working, learning and dedicating myself to this and now I’m focused… I’ve only just got started,” said Garin.

New and better chapters are yet to be written as Garin continues on his path to success. Keep an eye out for him.

Felix Auger-Aliassime fought hard to reach the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament second round on Tuesday when he beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in just under two hours. The Canadian hit 16 aces, but did well to bounce back from losing five straight games in the second set. He broke serve at 2-1 in the deciding set and will next challenge 2018 Rotterdam runner-up Grigor Dimitrov, who overcame eighth seed Denis Shapovalov on Monday.

“It was really tough, there was so many emotions running through my head,” World No. 21 Auger-Aliassime told ATPTour.com. “I felt I had chances in the first game of the second set, with the overheard, and so many chances to make the break. It was really frustrating.

“It led me to lose focus in the second set and get broken twice, which isn’t ideal for me or normal. In the third set, it was about forgetting and moving forward. I’m really happy, it’s a really good lesson and a great win to come back after losing the set so badly.”

Last year, the 19-year-old advanced to three ATP Tour finals and moved from No. 108 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 17 on 14 October.

In his fourth appearance at the ATP 500 event, Karen Khachanov eliminated fifth seed Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3 to record his first win in Rotterdam. The World No. 17, who opened his 2020 ATP Tour season with four wins from five matches at the inaugural ATP Cup, improves to 7-3 this year.

“I think I was one out from being seeded, and we’re not so far away in the [FedEx ATP] Rankings, so it’s always tough to play against guys like that, especially in the first round,” said Khachanov. “Everything was under control and I trained well after Melbourne, worked hard and now I am waiting to get [as many] matches as possible to get rhythm.”

Khachanov landed seven aces and converted four of seven break points throughout the 79-minute contest. The 23-year-old moves into a 2-1 lead in his ATP Head2Head series against Fognini, having also beaten the Italian in three sets at last year’s China Open.

Khachanov will face Daniel Evans of Great Britain for a place in the quarter-finals. Evans advanced to the second round on Monday after a straight-sets victory against Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who has an 11-1 record in 2020, meets Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final day-session match on Centre Court. Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas looks for his first match win in Rotterdam against Hubert Hurkacz during the evening session.

Steve Johnson carried his early-season ATP Challenger Tour success to the New York Open on Monday. The 30-year-old American earned his first tour-level win of the season, upsetting fifth-seeded countryman Tennys Sandgren 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(3) at the ATP 250.

Johnson scraped past the Australian Open quarter-finalist (l. to Federer), saving three break points at 3-4 in the deciding set and twice holding as he served to stay in the match at 4-5 and 5-6.

The right-hander played his best in the deciding-set tie-break, belting a backhand winner to give himself four match points at 6/2. Johnson improved to 2-0 against Sandgren in their ATP Head2Head series (2018 Houston final). He will next meet Italy’s Andreas Seppi, who edged Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6).

“I just thought I played a couple good points, down break point at 4-3, and then started off the tie-break with a great return. A couple free points are always key in a tie-break,” Johnson said. “Wins are wins, you take them when you get them and hopefully you string a bunch in a row. That’s my goal.”

Johnson won the Bendigo Challenger last month and fell in the semi-finals of the Newport Beach Challenger on 2 February.

Sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic beat American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 and will next face a qualifier, either 38-year-old Italian Paolo Lorenzi or Serbian Danilo Petrovic. Kecmanovic is looking to reach his second ATP Tour semi-final after advancing to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open semi-finals in Doha during week one.

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist converted four break points from 11 chances to win his first ATP Head2Head matchup with Paul, who reached the third round of the Australian Open (l. to Fucsovics).

John Isner enters the New York Open in a unique position, at least as far as recent history goes. From 2011 to 2019, the American never played more than six matches by this point in the calendar. After beginning the season at the ATP Cup, Isner has played nine matches, and he is ready to roll in New York.

“I think it will help. I certainly hope so. I played nine matches down in Australia, and that’s the beauty of the ATP Cup,” Isner told ATPTour.com. “I was very lucky to be part of that great event, even though I didn’t play that well. I was able to, I think, shake the rust off and maybe get my bad matches out of the way and that helped me in Auckland and it served me well in the Australian Open, also.”

Isner made the semi-finals in Auckland, and then he reached the third round of the Australian Open before retiring during his match against former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka. But the 6’10” right-hander is now set to compete at home in the United States, where he has captured 13 of his 15 ATP Tour titles.

“Very excited. I love playing in the States, I love this time of year in particular, starting off in New York and then you leave the States, but barely, going to Acapulco, and of course you have the two very big [ATP] Masters 1000 events that I’ve done well at in the past,” said Isner, who will face Ivo Karlovic or Jordan Thompson in New York. “So it’s a very important part of the year for me.”

This stretch of the year has often been kind to Isner, as he won the Miami Open presented by Itau in 2018, and reached the final last year.

“It’s a focus, but it’s not a bigger focus than it has been in the past. I’m just going to try to do what I’ve done in years past and just take care of myself as best as I can and hope it serves me well this year,” Isner said. “One thing I noticed now that I’m almost 35, it takes a lot more energy to keep myself fit and healthy. I left Australia with a bit of an injury and haven’t actually been able to practise much. The focus has been more on rehab, which kind of stinks. But I think I’m lucky that I feel like I’m over that right now.”

This is the third straight year in which Isner has competed in the New York Open. Last year, he made the semi-finals. This time, he’ll try to lift his 16th ATP Tour trophy.

“For one just being in New York is fantastic. We’re not in the city, we’re close to the city if you want to take in some of that energy. You’re only about 20 to 30 minutes away,” Isner said. “But I think the best part about this tournament is the facility here. This arena is amazing. The locker rooms are amazing. The court is fantastic. All the players really enjoy their time here. The hotel is super close, you walk across the street. It’s got everything a player can ask for in a tournament.”

Isner gets a special treat by being one of the top two seeds. He has a private locker room with his own bathroom, shower, couches and television.

“It’s very special. It’s very cool. Last year I was one of the top seeds as well and if you’re a top two seed you get your own little private locker room,” Isner said. “I think it’s very cool, very unique, and it’s something to keep striving for. So next year of course I hope I’m a top two seed and I can spend some time here again.”

Last season was a “wild year” according to Isner. He broke his left foot in the Miami final, and he’d miss three months. His second child, John Hobbs, was born in October. Then the American finished inside the Top 20 of the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings for the 10th straight year. Now, Isner is ready to settle down and move forward.

“It’s very nice to get back to business. We had our second kid last year and of course [we’re] so lucky and blessed to have two beautiful kids and healthy most importantly. They’re actually here with me this week with my wife and we’re enjoying our time here,” Isner said. “[We have] a great room, a great set-up. They haven’t been to the site yet, but they’ll be taking advantage of this locker room as well. Hopefully my kids can maybe take a nap in here. It’s a lot of fun to travel with them. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

When Jurij Rodionov entered the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, he had no expectations. In fact, the Austrian was merely hoping to win just one or two matches as he sought to rebound from a disappointing 2019 season.

Rodionov never imagined he would be lifting the trophy at the end of the tournament, but that’s exactly where he found himself on Championship Sunday. The 20-year-old became the first #NextGenATP titlist of 2020, claiming six wins in seven days to triumph at the T Bar M Racquet Club.

It was an impressive display all week from Rodionov, who upset second seed Andreas Seppi, as well as an in-form Michael Mmoh, Joao Menezes and Dominik Koepfer to reach the final. There, he won a thrilling encounter against fifth seed Denis Kudla, 7-5, 7-6(10). The 22-point tie-break was as epic as they come.

Rodionov is two years removed from his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on the clay of Almaty, Kazakhstan. At the time, the 20-year-old was first embarking on his professional journey and one of just a handful of teens to triumph in the 2018 season. But 2019 proved to be a reality check for the young Austrian, reaching just one semi-final and going from inside the Top 200 to No. 362 entering Dallas. His latest victory has him soaring 130 spots to No. 232 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

When the net is your best friend and your worst enemy in a matter of minutes.

Sometimes you just have to hug it out. pic.twitter.com/YJ0aEKEIol

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 9, 2020

Rodionov posted the following on his Facebook page after lifting the trophy:

Unbelievable, I have done it! I really cannot describe my feeling after the fourth match point. The win is a reward for the hard times I and especially my team had. This is for you!
The match was high level and epic till the end, but finally I managed to defeat Denis Kudla (USA / ATP 106) with the score 7:5 and 7:6(10). I have played like I have done the whole week so far, so simple that might sound. Being patient, aggressive if appropriate and sticking to the match plan were and are the keys for me.
This is the beginning for me and I will continue the hard work with this intensity.

Now, with a renewed attitude and approach, Rodionov is hoping his latest victory is a harbinger of what’s to come for the rest of 2020. He spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation after prevailing in Dallas…

You won six matches in seven days. That’s a lot of tennis. You have to be super pleased with the result and you only dropped one set in those matches.
First of all, it’s a great tournament and I really enjoyed playing here. The courts are very good, the whole facility and the food too. The organization made it easy to play here. I really enjoyed it. It was very comfortable and that’s why I could play my tennis. From round to round it got better and better.

Jurij, you have such a unique style of play. It felt like there were times where you were moving side-to-side, then luring your opponents in and then attacking and taking rips. Where did all that come from?
Honestly I don’t know. I basically created my own style. In the beginning of my career, I was a player like Dustin Brown. A trickster playing a lot of drop shots. I was playing for fun, because I liked it. But later, when I became a professional and started playing Challengers, that style didn’t work. I had to be more consistent and win from the baseline. So it all came together and I had to use different game styles. I don’t play just one way. This week, I played my best tennis and it worked.

Earlier this week, Jurij Rodionov admitted he was lost in 2019. What a difference a new season can make.

Refreshed and refocused, the 20-year-old ?? found his way back to the winners’ circle in Dallas. The champion @TennisChampsDTX, needing four MP to survive Kudla 75 76(10). pic.twitter.com/9CbohyxpSG

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 9, 2020

Your game style doesn’t seem to play well on a fast hard court. How did you think you incorporated it this week?
It’s tough to explain, because at the start of the tournament, if someone told me I’d make the quarters, I would have been completely happy with that. Now I’m sitting here after a big win. I just played match to match and I knew what I can do. I know what my strengths are and how to overshadow my weaknesses. With those strengths, I stayed very consistent and made the life of my opponents very hard.

You obviously had a tough 2019, suffering a big ranking loss. What were the expectations going into the week?
This is the first week coached by Javier Frana. He’s an ex-Top 30 player. I was really looking forward to it. He knows what he’s doing and while I didn’t expect a lot, I just wanted to get confidence back and maybe win some matches. Javier told me after I reached the quarter-finals, that I should be happy. He said to play match to match and just enjoy it. He told me not to make it complicated. If I lose, there’s always another tournament next week. He explained to me that tennis doesn’t have to be that hard. You just have to give 100 per cent and work on the right things. The results will come.

How do you celebrate? You go right to Cleveland from here, but how do you make sure you enjoy such a monumental moment?
After I finish all these autographs and selfies, I’ll probably go to my room and call my mom, my brother, my coaches and my friends. It’s always nice to see their reactions. It’s just a joy for me. Maybe in the evening I’ll have a Diet Coke. Keep it low key.