Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic took a step closer to returning to the Top 100 on Monday with a first-round win against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver at the Ecuador Open. The Serbian wild card advanced when Gimeno-Traver retired down 1-4. The 32-year-old Tipsarevic started the year at No. 144 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but has climbed to No. 101 after winning back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles in Bangkok last month. He hasn't been inside the Top 100 since April 2014 when he was No. 94. [ALSO LIKE] Tipsarevic, who's playing in his first ATP World Tour tournament since Moscow last October, will meet 2016 finalist Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the second round. Austrian Gerald Melzer hit 14 aces...
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy upset seventh seed Marcel Granollers 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 on Monday to start the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. The 29-year-old Chardy saved seven of nine break points against Granollers and now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-2.
Chardy is assured of meeting a fellow Frenchman in the second round, either Paul-Henri Mathieu or lucky loser Vincent Millot.
Dustin Brown, a semi-finalist a year ago, improved to 5-3 lifetime in Montpellier with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The German's win booked a second-round showdown with top seed Marin Cilic.
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Rafael Nadal will join Andy Murray in the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club in June. The Spaniard – winner of 69 ATP World Tour singles titles, including two Wimbledon crowns – can’t wait to return to the prestigious grass-court tournament he won in 2008. “I am very happy to be coming back to Queen’s in June,” said Nadal, who went on to win Wimbledon for the first time nine years ago, just three weeks after his triumph at The Queen’s Club. “Winning the title in 2008 is a great memory for me, the people that organise the event at Queen’s and the British crowds are fantastic, and it is the best way for me to be ready for Wimbledon.”...
Moldovan Radu Albot kicked off main draw play at the 2017 Garanti Koza Sofia Open on Monday with a 7-6(0), 6-2 win against 19-year-old Alexandar Lazarov of Bulgaria. Albot, No. 92 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, converted all four break points against Lazarov, who received a wild card into the main draw. The 27-year-old Albot will meet second seed David Goffin in the second round. Goffin, No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is one of four Top 20 players at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open, along with World No. 8 Dominic Thiem, top Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut. [ALSO LIKE] Bulgarian wild cards were more fortunate in doubles. Dimitar Kuzmanov and Alexandar Lazov battled past...