World No. 8 Kevin Anderson made a successful return to action on Monday, rallying past home favourite Cameron Norrie 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes to reach the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships.

This is the second seed’s first tournament since Miami three months ago, and just his second event since the Australian Open, as he has been recovering from an elbow injury. The South African won his sixth ATP Tour title to start the season in Pune.

Anderson struck 19 aces and won all but four of his first-serve points (56/60) to get by World No. 49 Norrie, who was looking for his first main draw win at The Queen’s Club on his third attempt. Anderson reached the final at this ATP 500 tournament in 2015.

Early on, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier appeared to be understandably rusty, getting broken in his first service game. But Anderson was not broken the rest of the way. The 33-year-old increasingly worked his way into the Brit’s service games, showing good movement and groundstroke play to back up his booming serve, withstanding Norrie’s 12 aces.

Anderson will next play Frenchman Gilles Simon, who battled past British qualifier James Ward 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2). He will be looking to build form on the grass, a surface on which he has enjoyed plenty of success. Last year, Anderson made his second Grand Slam final by reaching the championship match at Wimbledon.

Did You Know?
Anderson said before competing this week that his elbow injury has not completely prohibited him from training. The South African has had no limitations with his groundstrokes, only his serve.

No. 22 (Career High) Matteo Berrettini, +8
The Italian held each of his 50 service games throughout the week at the MercedesCup en route to the trophy. Berrettini, who has captured each of his three ATP Tour titles in the past 11 months, defeated Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov in his opening two matches. After beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the championship match, the 23-year-old jumps eight places to a career-high No. 22 in the ATP Rankings. Read More.

No. 34 Adrian Mannarino, +10
The 30-year-old ended his losing streak in ATP Tour championship matches in style at the Libema Open, lifting his first trophy in seven finals after a straight-sets victory against Jordan Thompson. Mannarino overcame three consecutive seeded opponents, Fernando Verdasco, David Goffin and Borna Coric, to reach the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The Frenchman leaps 10 spots to No. 34 in the ATP Rankings. Read More.

No. 46 (Career High) Jordan Thompson, +16
Despite falling short of his first ATP Tour crown, Thompson enjoyed a breakthrough week in the Netherlands. The 25-year-old Australian arrived at the Libema Open, without an ATP Tour semi-final appearance to his name, but defeated sixth seed Frances Tiafoe and third seed Alex de Minaur en route to the championship match. Thompson soars 16 positions to a career-high No. 46 in the ATP Rankings.

Other Notable Movers
No. 54 Richard Gasquet, -12
No. 63 Daniel Evans, +7
No. 65 Jeremy Chardy, -16
No. 80 Matthew Ebden, -14
No. 86 (Career High) Corentin Moutet, +16
No. 88 Jaume Munar, -14

The switch from clay to grass can provide players with a difficult challenge in a crucial part of the ATP Tour season, but Juan Martin del Potro is relishing the opportunity to adapt his game and achieve success ahead of the Fever-Tree Championships.

“I like the surface because my game can adapt really well,” said Del Potro. “I love the faster points, the aggressive game and I like to move on grass as well. The chance to play well is very big.”

Del Potro will need to find his feet on grass quickly if he is to advance beyond the first round at the ATP 500 event. The third seed will meet #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (1-1) in his opening match.

The 6’6″ right-hander is making his first appearance at the grass-court tournament since 2016, following his fourth-round exit against Karen Khachanov at Roland Garros. Del Potro owns a 5-4 record at The Queen’s Club, highlighted by his run to the quarter-finals in 2013 (l. to Hewitt).

“I love this tournament,” said Del Potro. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t play these past few years but this time is a different moment for me. I want to be ready for Wimbledon and this tournament is a special one, so I am very excited to be here.”

Del Potro also shared a positive update on his recovery from the right knee injury which forced him to make only one appearance on the ATP Tour between the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October 2018 and the Mutua Madrid Open last month.

“I think I am getting better after my knee injury,” said Del Potro. “I played well in Paris and now we move to a different surface, which I like. This tournament is also a good preparation to see how my body is, and my tennis level, also, and I think I will be fine.”

Mother Nature has played a role in many professional tournaments over the years, but few have been as chaotic as the 2019 Nature Valley Open.

What transpired in Nottingham could only be described as unprecedented for the region, as northern England endured a deluge of rain throughout the week. Not only did Daniel Evans survive a stacked draw, but the unpredictable weather as well.

On Sunday, the Brit celebrated his second title in as many weeks, extending his win streak to 10 straight with an impressive victory at the prestigious tournament. Evans defeated Evgeny Donskoy 7-6(3), 6-3 in what was their first encounter in six years, after ousting Go Soeda earlier in the day.

“It’s been a good week, carrying on strongly from last week,” Evans said. “I played very well in the first match [today]. The second match, I was a bit frustrated and I was very tired. But I didn’t lose a set today, so I can’t be too unhappy. I played well out there, despite the wind.”

Watch Evans Interview…

“I think it’s the best place in the world”

Hear from the new #NatureValleyOpen Champion Dan Evans ? pic.twitter.com/6x5WHQqhXY

— LTA (@the_LTA) June 16, 2019

The win gave the 29-year-old a historic grass-court double, having also triumphed in Surbiton a week ago. He joins Yen-Hsun Lu as the only players to win consecutive Challenger titles on grass in the past 20 years. Lu went back-to-back in Surbiton and Ilkley in 2016.

The unrelenting rain interrupted play every day of the week, including a total washout on Monday and a move indoors from Tuesday through Friday. And with a WTA Tour event also taking place at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, it was a mad scramble throughout the week.

In the end, Evans would win his quarter-final on the grass on Saturday, before defeating Soeda and Donskoy on Sunday. He moves up seven spots to No. 63 in the ATP Rankings.

Evans is proving to be quite a force on the grass, using his flat groundstrokes and cutting backhand slice to find his top form on the surface. One year after finishing runner-up to Alex de Minaur in Nottingham, he has gone one step further on home soil. The Birmingham native is the first British winner here since Greg Rusedski in 2003, when the tournament was on the ATP Tour.

On Sunday, Evans lifted the Paul Hutchins Trophy, named after the longtime Nottingham tournament director and British Davis Cup captain, who recently passed away.

“It’s amazing to be the first winner of the Paul Hutchins Trophy – he was a massive part of me growing up. He was here last year and it feels a bit empty without him this year. It was really good to win, and hopefully he watched down on that.”

Evans will next head to Queen’s Club in London for the Fever-Tree Championships, an ATP 500 event. He opens against Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday.

It was the coronation of Corentin on Sunday. #NextGenATP star Corentin Moutet has been fighting for this moment since he turned pro three years ago, and it was finally realized.

The 20-year-old from Neuilly-Sur-Seine, France, capped his Top 100 breakthrough with a title on home soil in Lyon. Moutet had his moment in the spotlight in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Open Sopra Steria, defeating Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.

Moutet was made to work for his fourth ATP Challenger Tour trophy and second of the year, battling for a pair of three-set wins before avenging a 2017 defeat to Ymer. He needed one hour and 50 minutes to prevail, sealing the title on his third match point.

“It’s a big satisfaction to win today,” said Moutet. “My opponent is a good player. I lost against him two years ago, here in Lyon. I was expecting a big fight today. I did my best all week and while it was hard sometimes, my level was quite high. I won and that’s the most important thing. Now I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

Lyon has its first ?? champion… @moutet99!

The #NextGenATP star cracks the Top 100 in grand fashion, claiming his fourth title and second of the year. pic.twitter.com/i6Pdw9atJS

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 16, 2019

One week after enjoying a tour-level breakthrough at Roland Garros, stunning Guido Pella for his first appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam, he is reveling in a breakthrough of another kind. His victory in Lyon vaulted him to the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, soaring to a career-high No. 86. In addition, he is up to seventh in the ATP Race To Milan, with the Top 7 automatically qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

The youth movement in France has now kicked into high gear. Canada is no longer the only nation with multiple #NextGenATP stars in the Top 100, with Moutet joining countryman Ugo Humbert in the elite club.  

“There are not a lot of ways to progress [up the ATP Rankings]. It happens by working constantly every day, not only sometimes. I know that if I want to progress, I have more to do. That’s why I’m going back to work tomorrow, to continue on this way and go a little bit more every day.”

#NextGenATP Top 100 Debuts In 2019

Earlier in the year, Moutet etched his name in the history books with a title on the hard courts of Chennai, India. He became the first teenager to triumph in three consecutive seasons since Evgeny Korolev achieved the feat from 2005-07. Now, aged 20, Moutet is close to putting his Challenger days behind him.

“We all make mistakes, but what we have to keep in mind is that we learn from our mistakes. I haven’t been perfect during this tournament, but I’m still learning. Improving each day on the court but also outside is really important. I’m learning and growing.”

Reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas likes to explore the cities he visits during his travels on the ATP Tour. But when a reporter asked him on Sunday ahead of the Fever-Tree Championships where he would like to visit in London, the World No. 6 did not mention a tourist attraction.

“I would love to see myself playing in The O2 Arena in November,” Tsitsipas said.

The Greek star is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, and he is off to a good start. Tsitsipas is in fifth place in the ATP Race To London, and he holds a 1,230-point lead over sixth-placed Kei Nishikori. The Top 8 players in the Race qualify for the season finale, to be held at The O2 from 10-17 November.

But for now, Tsitsipas will focus on the present, as he is the top seed at Queen’s Club. The three-time ATP Tour titlist is pursuing his first tour-level grass-court trophy.

“I haven’t really showed anything yet on grass in my opinion,” said Tsitsipas, who faces home favourite Kyle Edmund in the first round. “It can always be tricky when there are so many different surfaces that you need to adjust and adapt to throughout the year. I only had one match last week [in ‘s-Hertogenbosch]. I haven’t really felt everything that I have to feel here on grass, so I might say it’s going to take quite a while to adjust to those new conditions on which I haven’t played for a year now.”

It will be Tsitsipas’ first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Edmund. The Greek will be looking to get back on track after being upset in his first match at the Libema Open by Chilean Nicolas Jarry.

“I think we’re pretty equal,” Tsitsipas said of facing Edmund. “He hasn’t played a match as well, so it’s all going to be a matter of right decisions and concentration levels because everything’s happening very fast on grass.”

Tsitsipas has fond memories of this surface from his junior career, when he made the boys’ singles semi-finals at Wimbledon and won the boys’ doubles title. As a professional, he reached the fourth round at the grass-court Grand Slam last year.

That leaves him confident that he is capable of performing well during this swing. However, he knows it will take an adjustment from how he played on clay, where he made the final in Madrid, semi-final in Rome and captured the trophy in Estoril.

“There’re a lot of differences between clay and grass. You have to stay lower, you have to have faster anticipation and not necessarily play extreme tennis. You have to play clean, you have to come to the net,” Tsitsipas said. “Instead of trying to spin the ball a lot, or trying to open the court, that doesn’t really work on grass. You have to stay low, come to the net, serve well.”

This is the first time that Tsitsipas has been the top seed at an ATP 500 tournament. It’s been a rapid ascent for the 20-year-old, who began the 2018 season at No. 91 in the ATP Rankings. But he does not feel the weight of the expectations that may come with his accomplishments.

“I don’t even watch the draws to be honest. I don’t know who is in my part of the draw. I don’t know who is No. 2,” Tsitsipas said. “I just play. I have to play. I don’t have to think if I’m No. 1 or No. 2. That probably means some players would think about it when they play against you, but if you think of it too much when you play like, ‘I’m the No. 1, I’m the one who is the favourite. I’m the one who everybody expects me to win,’ then you become kind of lazy. You expect everything to come easier to you just because you’re No. 1 or 2 or 3 or 4. I have to play the way I’ve been playing all this time, without thinking of all those small details.”

Tsitsipas may well be the hunted now rather than the hunter. But if nothing else the Greek knows he has to continue his evolution to improve even more. 

“Players know me, players know what to expect,” Tsitsipas said. “So I really hope I do well and leave from the grass-court season with great memories and great moments from that surface.”