Only two of the four singles matches scheduled for Thursday were completed at the Rio Open presented by Claro, with both Miomir Kecmanovic and Francisco Cerundolo advancing in straight sets before rain halted play in Brazil.

The two early winners will face off in the quarter-finals on Friday in the draw’s bottom section.

Qualifier Kecmanovic took out sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego, 7-5, 6-4. The Serb continues to build on a strong start to 2022 that includes a fourth-round run at the Australian Open.

Argentina’s Cerundolo, who qualified and reached the quarter-finals last week in Buenos Aires, was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Roberto Carballes Baena. The Spaniard was a late replacement for Casper Ruud, who was slated to be the tournament’s second seed.

Seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz was two points away from taking the opening set against Federico Delbonis when rain interrupted play. After two forehand winners earned an early break, the Spaniard led 5/4, 30-15 when play was halted.

Top seed Matteo Berrettini was set to take on home favourite Thiago Monteiro in the Rio nightcap. Both matches will be pushed to Friday, with the winners set for double duty on quarter-final day. Should Alcaraz and Berrettini both advance, they would set up a rematch of their Australian Open third-round epic, won by the Italian in fifth-set tie-break.

Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies battled into the semi-finals at the Open 13 Provence on Thursday, edging Frenchmen Ugo Blanchet and Timo Legout, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.

The third seeds are teaming for the first time this year at the ATP 250 event, after competing together in Stockholm last year. Mies’ full-time partner is Kevin Krawietz, with whom he has won two Roland Garros titles. Following their 75-minute victory in Marseille, the Dutch-German tandem will next play second seeds Ben McLachlan and Raven Klaasen.

Denys Molchanov and Andrey Rublev also moved through on Thursday, defeating Benjamin Bonzi and Albano Olivetti, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8, in 89 minutes.

Koolhof/Skupski Continue Momentum In Doha

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski continued their strong start to the season on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin, 6-4, 7-6(3) to advance into the final in Doha.

Koolhof and Skupski are now 16-2 on the season, having triumphed at the Melbourne Summer Set and Adelaide International 2 in January.

The Dutch-British team will play Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov in the championship match after the Indian-Canadian tandem downed Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-4, 7-6(2), in 75 minutes.

Delray Seeds Downed In Match Tie-Breaks
There were upsets in each of the two doubles matches at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, with each coming by the slimmest of margins.

Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson reached the semi-finals with a 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 win over second seeds Austin Krajicek and Hugo Nys. With a very similar scoreline, Hans Hach Verdugo and Marcos Giron eliminated second-seeded Aussies Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Fognini/Bolelli Beat Rio Rain

In the lone doubles match to finish before the rain at the Rio Open presented by Claro, Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini dismissed Spain’s Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the semi-finals.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares led Benoit Paire and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-3, 0-1, before rain suspended play. Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are still to play Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Jannik Sinner over the past two days has announced he has split with longtime coach Riccardo Piatti and hired Simone Vagnozzi.

“Happy to announce I’ll be working with Simone Vagnozzi as my coach moving forward and he will be heading up my team,” Sinner wrote Thursday. “Currently we have no plans to add any more team members at this time but we will review the situation as we go. Excited to get started on this new chapter, forza.”

Vagnozzi has previously worked with Italians Marco Cecchinato — who in 2018 reached the Roland Garros semi-finals — and Stefano Travaglia.

Sinner had worked with Piatti since his early teens. He moved from San Candido, near the Austrian border, to train at Piatti’s academy. Since then he has climbed as high as No. 9 in the ATP Rankings.

“After many successful years together, my coaching team and I have decided to part ways. I’d like to thank Riccardo, Dalibor, Claudio, Andrea, Cristian, and Gaia for everything they have done for me from the beginning of my career until now,” Sinner wrote Wednesday. “Riccardo especially, he taught me many things that will forever remain a part of my tennis.

“Many special memories were made and I’ll always look back on the time we spent together fondly.”

Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva played the final match of his 19-year career on Wednesday, when the 38-year-old and countryman Orlando Luz lost against doubles stars Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the first round of the Rio Open presented by Claro.

“I feel great. It was a perfect way to end my ATP career, with the crowd full,” Dutra Silva said. “Everybody is here, family, friends and [I was able] to play against one of my best friends on Tour, so it was the best scenario to end my career.”

^{Photo Credit: fotojump}
Dutra Silva reached a career-high No. 63 in the ATP Rankings in 2017 and a career-best No. 84 in the ATP Doubles Rankings in 2018. He is a four-time ATP Tour singles quarter-finalist.

The Brazilian found some of his best tennis later in his career, winning his only tour-level title in doubles in 2017, when he lifted the Sao Paulo trophy alongside Andre Sa. Dutra Silva also made the 2012 Hamburg championship match with Daniel Munoz de la Nava and the 2019 Rio de Janeiro final with Thomaz Bellucci.

“I’m such a lucky guy to have a lot of really good moments,” Dutra Silva said. “I think the Olympic games here in Rio were really awesome. When I made the final here as well a few years ago was very good.”

The 38-year-old was always a fighter on court, earning two of his five major main draw singles wins from two sets down. The Brazilian said this might not be the last he sees of the ATP Tour.

“Now it’s some time off, but I want to be a coach on the ATP Tour,” Dutra Silva said. “Let’s see in a few years if I can come back and still work at ATP tournaments.”

Rafael Nadal welcomed a new addition to his Mallorca academy this week. After his peers selected him for the 2021 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award in December, the newly crowned Australian Open champion has now received the hardware in Spain.

The 2021 trophy has been given pride of place in the academy’s Rafa Nadal Museum, alongside his four previous sportsmanship awards. First receiving the accolade in 2010, the 21-time Grand Slam champion has now been selected for the honour in four consecutive years.

“I can’t be happier to receive one more time the Sportsmanship Award from my colleagues on the Tour,” Nadal said when the 2021 ATP Awards were announced. “It means a lot to me, so thanks a lot to every player that thinks that I am the right one to receive this award.”

The Melbourne ATP 250 title Nadal won in January has also gone on display in the museum.

Traditionally one of the most hectic months on the ATP Tour, there has never been a shortage of hot shots in February to delight fans. Join us as we look back on 10 of the very best February hot shots from the past five years.

Among the highlights are a lasered forehand pass from Rafael Nadal on the run in Acapulco (2017), a sumptuous Roger Federer pass on the half-volley in Rotterdam (2018) and a magnificent display of court coverage as Novak Djokovic turns defense to offense in Doha (2019).

The full list of players making the cut includes (in order of appearance): Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Jannik Sinner, Diego Schwartzman, Djokovic, Radu Albot, Borna Coric, Fabio Fognini, Federer and Nadal.

Video not available in U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Argentina.

The common perception is that Rafael Nadal engages in significantly longer points in his matches than the rest of the Tour.

Not so Down Under.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of rally length from the 2022 Australian Open uncovered that Nadal – who won the tournament – averaged a rally length of 4.4 shots through seven matches. The tournament average was 4.2 shots per rally.

Imperceptible.

Nadal averaged right at 4.2 shots per rally to the final, but a bruising five-set epic against Daniil Medvedev yielded an average rally length of 5.6 shots in the final. Nadal’s match with the shortest average rally length was 3.1 shots per point against Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals. Average rally length data is only collected on the main show courts at the Australian Open, with 78 men’s matches and 84 women’s matches included in the data set.

Nadal has consistently averaged 4.4 shots per rally in Melbourne for the last three seasons and was below that at 3.9 shots in 2018 and 2019.

Australian Open – Average Rally Length
• 2022 = 4.4 shots
• 2021 = 4.4 shots
• 2020 = 4.4 shots
• 2019 = 3.9 shots
• 2018 = 3.9 shots

Nadal played two matches at the 2022 Australian Open in the three-shot rally range, four in the four-shot range, and just one averaging five shots or longer.

2022 Australian Open: Rafael Nadal Average Rally Length

• Rd 1 vs. M. Giron = 4.75 shots
• Rd 2 vs. Y. Hanfmann = 4.87 shots
• Rd 3 vs. K. Khachanov = 4.16 shots
• Rd 4 vs. A. Mannarino = 3.53 shots
• Q vs. D. Shapovalov = 3.11 shots
• S vs. M. Berrettini = 4.51 shots
• F vs. D. Medvedev = 5.56 shots
• Average = 4.36 shots

Nadal’s forehand was the prime-mover from the back of the court in Melbourne this year, producing more winners, and also more errors than his backhand wing. When you factor in winners minus errors, the forehand side shined the brightest.

• Nadal Forehands: 127 winners / 225 errors = -98
• Nadal Backhands: 50 winners / 173 errors = -123

What’s fascinating is that the women’s average rally length at the 2022 Australian Open was slightly shorter than the men this year.

• Women’s Average Rally Length = 4.09 shots
• Men’s Average Rally Length = 4.12 shots

Ash Barty won her first home Slam title, averaging a brisk 3.44 shots through her seven matches.

2022 Australian Open: Ash Barty Average Rally Length
• Rd 1 vs. L. Tsurenko = 4.40 shots
• Rd 2 vs. L. Bronzetti = 4.08 shots
• Rd 3 vs. C. Giorgi = 2.78 shots
• Rd 4 vs. A. Anisimova = 3.07 shots
• Qtr’s vs. J. Pegula = 4.17 shots
• Semi’s vs. M. Keys = 3.41 shots
• Final vs. D. Collins = 3.44 shots
• Average = 3.62 shots

There is no “ideal” average rally length for players on tour, as we see victory and defeat existing at both ends of the rally length spectrum. Variables such as temperature, weather conditions, court speed, type of ball, and even day versus evening matches are all factors to consider to develop the right game style and average rally length.

But this specific metric does serve as a solid guide to pinpoint if players are being patient or aggressive or employing the right strategy against an opponent who you already know thrives at a specific rally length.

Felix Auger-Aliassime extended his winning streak to six matches on Thursday at the Open 13 Provence, moving past French wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(2), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Marseille.

The Canadian captured his maiden tour-level title in Rotterdam last week and backed up that impressive run with a solid display against the former World No. 5. Auger-Aliassime fired seven aces and won 83 per cent (33/40) of his first-serve points to triumph after one hour and 45 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“I had three days to rest and recover and is a situation we are used to,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “I am confident, so I can not complain. It is better to play more matches than less but it was definitely [important] to refocus and I try and get this first win today.”

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The third seed, currently at a career-high No. 9 in the ATP Rankings, is now 13-3 on the season, after also advancing to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in January. The 21-year-old helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title and has earned Top 10 wins against Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022.

Auger-Aliassime reached the final in Marseille in 2020 (l. to Tsitsipas) and will next face World No. 49 Ilya Ivashka.

In other action, Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who clinched six ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2021, advanced to the last eight at a tour-level event for the first time. The 25-year-old downed Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-3 in 87 minutes. Fourth seed Aslan Karatsev awaits next.

Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin also booked his spot in the quarter-finals, clawing past Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(4) after two hours and 45 minutes. Safiullin clinched ATP Cup victories over Arthur Rinderknech and James Duckworth at the start of the season.