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Hubert Hurkacz reflect on the first Top 10 win of his career over Kei Nishikori on Wednesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live.

Hubert Hurkacz caused a major upset on Wednesday afternoon at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships when he recorded the first Top 10 victory of his career (1-2 overall) for a place in his first ATP Tour quarter-final.

The big-serving Pole grew in confidence against top-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori, winner of the Brisbane International title last month, and triumphed 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 in two hours and three minutes at the Aviation Club in Dubai.

“It's [a] huge win for me because it's the first Top 10 win,” said Hurkacz. "Maybe I was better prepared mentally for this battle today. It gives me huge confidence. I'm going to try to keep going forward.

“I was trying to fight for every point. Kei is an unbelievable player. I had to serve well. That gave me some opportunities to attack after the serve [and] also win [a] couple of easy points. Against such a great player, it's very important to have some free points. I also think I was returning quite well… I'm very happy with the win today.”

Hurkacz, who hit 31 winners and converted six of his seven break point opportunities, will next play fifth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who cruised past Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 6-3, 6-1 in 57 minutes. Tsitsipas leads Hurkacz 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head, including a 6-4, 6-2 win last week in Marseille and en route to the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Nishikori served for the first set 5-4, but Hurkacz broke and won eight of the next nine points to take the 41-minute opener — with Nishikori hitting a forehand approach into the net. Nishikori took a 4-0 lead in the second set, but missed out on four set point chances when serving at 5-2. At 5-5, Hurkacz led 30/0, but proceeded to lose the next seven points and Nishikori wrapped up the set with a smash winner.

The 22-year-old Hurkacz powered his way through the decider, breaking for a 3-1 lead with a big backhand down the line that Nishikori could not scramble back. The Pole broke for the sixth time overall, when Nishikori over-hit a forehand long of the baseline (his 32nd error). Nishikori drops to 12-3 on the season, which includes a title run at the Brisbane (d. Medvedev) and a semi-final exit at the recent ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (l. to Wawrinka).

“He played well today,” said Nishikori. “I didn't serve well when I wanted to… It happens. That cost me some important points. I think he really played well in the important games.”

In the second match of the day on Centre Court, Gael Monfils recorded his 11th match win of the season by knocking out Cypriot wild card Marcos Baghdatis, the 2016 finalist, 6-3, 6-2 in 65 minutes. Monfils captured the Rotterdam crown (d. Wawrinka) less than two weeks ago. He next meets Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis, who advanced to his first ATP Tour quarter-final since October 2018 at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow (l. to Medvedev) after a 6-4, 6-1 win over Denis Kudla of the United States.

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Stan Wawrinka makes a statement with this backhand against Steve Johnson at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Watch live matches at http://www.tennistv.com. Photo: Abierto Mexicano Telcel

Watch as the Sao Paulo faithful go wild when Brazilians Thomaz Bellucci and Rogerio Dutra Silva win their doubles match on Wednesday at the Brasil Open.

Watch highlights as Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas advance on Wednesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Watch Tuesday hightlights of wins for Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, John Isner and David Ferrer at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Photo: Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live.

Four-time former champion David Ferrer reflects on beating Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday night in Acapulco. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live.

At the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, recent Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas talks about maintaining his momentum following a fantastic 2018 campaign. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live.

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Top seed Rafael Nadal has reached the championship match in all three previous appearances at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. If he continues to produce the level of tennis he did on Tuesday against Mischa Zverev of Germany, the Spaniard has a strong chance of reaching a fourth final in Acapulco.

Competing in his first match since finishing runner-up last month at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic), the Spaniard showed no sign of match rust in defeating Zverev 6-3, 6-3. He improves to 15-1 at this event and finished the night with 25 winners to just 14 unforced errors.

"I'm happy for the victory. It's never easy against Mischa, especially without competing for awhile," said Nadal. "I'll try to enjoy this moment for the next few hours and then be ready for tomorrow."

Nadal wasted no time getting down to business on Cancha Central and struck a gorgeous backhand lob winner to grab a 3-1 lead in the first set. He held the advantage for the rest of the set and carved a forehand drop volley winner on set point to take the early lead.

Playing with the confidence of a man who comfortably won both of his previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Zverev, Nadal continued to apply pressure in his return games. The German eventually succumbed to the relentless offence and began leaking errors from the baseline. Nadal won the last four games of the match and struck a backhand passing shot winner on match point to end the contest after 80 minutes.

Awaiting Nadal in the second round is a blockbuster match against Nick Kyrgios, who defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 7-5. Although the Aussie arrived in Acapulco with a 3-3 record this season, he consistently brings his best in prime-time matches against the world's top players. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-2, but they're even at 1-1 on hard courts.

"This tournament is hard and there's a lot of great players, so these kinds of matches can happen in the early stages," said Nadal. "Nick is one of the most talented players on tour. It's a big challenge for me and I hope to be ready for it."

The Zverev family went 1-1 on Tuesday as second seed Alexander Zverev encountered few problems in dismissing #NextGenATP Aussie Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3. The German was untouchable on serve throughout the contest and lost only one point on his first serve (26/27). He was equally dominant in return games, winning 65 per cent of second-serve return points and accumulating nine break points throughout the night.

The World No. 3 will now face Spaniard David Ferrer, who continued his love affair with Acapulco by battling past American Tennys Sandgren 7-6(5), 7-6(3). The four-time champion (2010-2012, 2015) fed off the vocal crowd support and fired a forehand winner on his first match point to wrap up play after two hours. Ferrer is competing in Acapulco for the last time and will end his 19-year ATP Tour career this May at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I feel very happy. It was very emotional for me,” said Ferrer. “The crowd helped me a lot because I know these are going to be my last matches here, so I’m just trying to do my best on every point.”

Third seed John Isner broke his Acapulco curse by scoring his first win in five tries, holding off a determined Adrian Mannarino of France to prevail 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The American fired 18 aces and broke Mannarino twice in the final set to advance after one hour and 45 minutes.

Isner will play fellow American and good friend Sam Querrey in the next round after Querrey comfortably dispatched Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-2. Querrey leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Isner 5-2.

Fourth seed Diego Schwartzman showed no sign of the right leg injury that forced him to retire in his first-round match last week at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The Argentine finished strongly after more than two hours of tennis to dispatch Marius Copil of Romania 6-3 4-6, 6-1. Next up for Schwartzman is Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, who survived a wild match featuring 12 service breaks in 24 games to defeat Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

Other first-round match results on Tuesday saw fifth seed and #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur hold his nerve to fight through Nicolas Jarry of Chile 7-6(5), 7-6(2). Feliciano Lopez of Spain survived a marathon tussle to move past Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5, while Mackenzie McDonald required just 52 minutes to win an all-American battle against teenage wild card Emilio Nava 6-1, 6-3.

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The average height of the Top 10 at the end of the 2018 season was 6'3”. While our sport is undeniably getting taller at the top of the tree, last year, there were two Top 20 standouts under 6' who led the way in the crucible of converting break points when returning.

Hello Fabio and Diego. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 20 in the year-end 2018 ATP Rankings focused on break point conversion against first and second serves. The analysis uncovered that Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman stood tallest on tour when the biggest moments in a match arrived.

Break Points Won vs. First Serve
Fognini (5’10”) led the Top 20 in 2018 with break points won against first serves, converting 34.7 per cent (123/329) of the time. The 31-year-old Italian finished the 2018 season ranked No. 13, which equaled a career-high he first reached in 2014.

The leading five players from the Top 20 in the 2018 season:
F. Fognini = 37.4% (123/329)
B. Coric = 36.7% (80/218)
N. Djokovic = 36.3% (143/394)
R. Nadal = 35.8% (102/285)
R. Federer = 35.4% (86/243)

Break Points Won vs. Second Serve
Schwartzman (170cm / 5’7”) was only 17th best of the Top 20 winning break points against first serves in 2018, but he vaulted all the way up to the the top when he got a look at a second serve.

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The 26-year-old Argentine posted a career-best ranking of No. 11 midway through 2018 after reaching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in four sets.

The leading five players converting break points against second serves in 2018:
D. Schwartzman = 62.1% (123/198)
R. Nadal = 60.1% (113/188)
F. Fognini = 56.5% (113/200)
A. Zverev = 54.7% (135/247)
K. Khachanov = 53.9% (103/191)

Alexander Zverev saw the most break points against second serves in 2018 with 247 and had the second highest total against first serves, at 352. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had the most break points against first serves, at 394.

There was almost a 20 percentage-point gap between the average win percentage of the Top 20 converting break points against first serves versus second serves in 2018.

Top 20 Average: Converting Break Points
Against First Serves = 31.6%
Against Second Serves = 51.1%

Taller players universally reign supreme on serve leaderboards in our sport, but players under 6' are still thriving and competing at the highest level by dominating on the return side of the equation.

A hidden gem of our sport is that John Isner, at 6’10”, and Schwartzman, 5'7”, can equally be superstars on the global stage. Diversity of player height and game styles in tennis continues to offer a pathway to the top for anyone who has the burning ambition to reach for the stars.

Will Andy Murray return to tennis after hip surgery? Judy Murray, prominent tennis coach and mother of the former World No. 1, recently provided an injury update and said we may not have seen the last of Andy on court.

“I think he will [return], [but] I think he’s aware it might not possible,” she said to the Associated Press. “He’s a smart guy. He has a lot of interest in different things [and] he has a lot of options in life after tennis.”

The former World No. 1 announced last month that a lingering right hip injury could make the Australian Open the final stop of his 14-year ATP Tour career. Andy underwent a successful surgery that same month to remove damaged bone and cartilage in his right hip socket and replace it with a metal shell. The procedure was similar to the one Bob Bryan underwent last August.

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But while Bob returned to the ATP Tour five months after his surgery and claimed his 117th ATP Tour doubles title last week with Mike Bryan at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, Judy said there are no guarantees that Andy’s progress will be as rapid.

“Doubles is a very different physical proposition to singles,” she added to the Associated Press. “I don’t think we know anything for sure… but I know that he would do everything that he possibly can to give himself a chance to play again.”

Although it’s unclear whether Andy will be able to fulfill his wish of ending his legendary career at Wimbledon, Judy did provide positive news that his quality of life has already improved.

“The most important thing is that he’s free from the pain he’s had for the past 20 months,” she said. “He has a young family [and] you have to think about the quality of your life for the rest of your life." 

Frenchman Gael Monfils was at his acrobatic and entertaining best on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. He and Marin Cilic had split the first two sets, and Monfils wanted to set the tone of the third set early.

Serving at 30/0, the Frenchman delivered a near service winner down the T that Cilic barely got a racquet on. The ball hung in the air before Monfils took control of the point, rocketing a forehand to Cilic's backhand corner. Then the real fireworks began.

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Cilic replied with a soft backhand lob, and Monfils leaped into the air for the tomahawk. “Ahhh, the slam dunk!” the announcer shouted.

His fellow commentator added, “That's worth the entrance money, isn't it?”

Monfils held to love and won 83 per cent of the points in the decider (24/29) to cruise to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win. He will next meet Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

Read More & Watch Highlights: Monfils Extends Perfect Record Against Cilic

ATP Uncovered presented by Peugeot goes behind the scenes at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Gael Monfils, the in-form Frenchman who is staking a claim for a return to his peak-performance days, extended his perfect winning streak to 4-0 over Marin Cilic on Tuesday evening at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The athletic Monfils, a winner of his eighth ATP Tour title two weeks ago at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, recorded his 10th win in 12 matches this year with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory over the third-seeded Croatian in one hour and 45 minutes.

"I have new goals, [a] new team, [a] new routine," said Monfils. "Obviously, wins under my belt. Everything is going fine. I am just trying to keep doing what I'm doing. Every day a little more, a little more to improve. [I'm] definitely trying to reach my goal [of returning to the Top 10] this year."

The 32-year-old Monfils will now meet Cypriot 2015 finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who got the better of fellow wild card Mohamed Safwat of Egypt 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes.

Monfils got off to a fine start by breaking serve in the first game, when Cilic hooked a forehand wide, and completed the set when his Croatian opponent committed another forehand error.

Cilic, a two-time quarter-finalist at the Aviation Club (2009-10), broke Monfils to love for a 3-2 advantage in the second set. He needed three chances to wrap up the set, which ended with a backhand error from Monfils. But Monfils regrouped and won 24 of 29 total points in the decider to improve to 10-2 on the season.

“The first game was key because I knew he's a player who plays with a lot of confidence,” said Monfils. “If you can get early in his mind, it's always a good thing. It was a tough first game for him. [He] shanked two forehands, missed a volley. I had straightaway my plan set. [It] was just a matter of me [trying] to keep doing it the whole match.

“I was a little bit, a fraction, [I was] too defensive on the break point in the second set. [I] shanked my forehand… Then I think I played the only poor service game in this match. I think I was focused, but I just played poor this game. Then credit to him, because I pushed him to get back into the second set. He made incredible shots to close the set. “[In the third set] I had this momentum going on his service game. For me, [it] was just about putting him under pressure. Obviously it worked.”

Two days after lifting his second ATP Tour title in Marseille, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Matthew Ebden 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to record his 12th win in 16 tour-level encounters this season. The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals winner won 92 per cent of first-serve points (34/37) to claim victory after one hour and 43 minutes. Aiming to reach the quarter-finals in Dubai for the second straight year, Tsitsipas will meet Egor Gerasimov in the second round. The Belarusian qualifier edged Robin Haase 7-6(2), 7-6(5).

"[After winning in Marseille] I had to take the flight next day knowing that I'm going to have to play the day after. [I spent] six hours on the plane. I arrived here at 2 a.m. in the morning, then had to play the same day. I don't know if [my level was] because of that, but I was expecting a little bit better today," Tsitsipas said.

Borna Coric withstood 12 aces to edge lucky loser Jiri Vesely 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4). The 2015 semi-finalist improves to 7-3 at the event and will meet Tomas Berdych for a quarter-final spot. The in-form Czech also required a final-set tie-break to advance, beating another lucky loser, Ilya Ivaskha, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) in two and a half hours.

On his debut at the Brasil Open, Jaume Munar needed just 66 minutes to defeat Pedro Sakamoto 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday.

The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist, who is bidding to reach his fifth ATP Tour quarter-final of the season this week, converted each of his four break points to reach the second round. Brazilian qualifier Sakamoto was making his ATP Tour debut after defeating former World No. 37 Carlos Berlocq en route to the main draw.

Munar will be aiming to earn his 10th tour-level victory of the season when he meets Christian Garin of Chile in the second round. Garin claimed a first-round win for the third straight week on the ATP Tour on Monday, beating Pedro Sousa of Portugal 7-6(3), 6-2.

Cordoba Open champion Juan Ignacio Londero joined Munar in the second round. The seventh-seeded Argentine dropped only three points behind his first serve (35/38) to defeat Paolo Lorenzi 7-6(3), 6-1. Londero will meet Hugo Dellien of Bolivia for a place in the quarter-finals. Dellien cruised past Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-2 in 61 minutes.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas saved both break points he faced en route to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Facundo Bagnis. The former finalist could next meet Pablo Cuevas in a repeat of the 2017 championship match. Three-time former champion Cuevas will meet Rio Open presented by Claro finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime in his first-round match on Wednesday.

Brazilian teenager Thiago Seyboth Wild recorded the first ATP Tour main draw win of his career with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 upset against Elias Ymer of Sweden. The 18-year-old, currently No. 449 in the ATP Rankings, made his ATP Tour main draw debut at this event last year. Seyboth Wild concluded his junior career last year after winning the boys’ singles title at the US Open. He’ll play Marco Trungelliti of Argentina in the next round.

#NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud continued his top form with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over home favourite Thiago Monteiro. Ruud came through qualifying and reached the quarter-finals last week at the Rio Open presented by Claro. He will now take on top seed Joao Sousa of Portugal for a place in the last eight.

Did You Know?
Londero entered the Cordoba Open earlier this month without a tour-level victory. The Argentine has won seven of his nine matches on the ATP Tour since arriving in Cordoba.

Watch Hot Shot as Jordan Thompson anticipates a volley on break point against Frances Tiafoe at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on Monday. Plus Frances Tiafoe, Steven Johnson and John Millman. Photo: Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Watch live tennis streams at http://www.tennistv.com.

Watch as Gael Monfils goes airborne for a smash at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com.

Watch Hot Shot as Gael Monfils defends from deep behind the baseline before coming up with something special against Marin Cilic on Tuesday in Dubai. Watch live tennis streams at http://www.tennistv.com. Photo: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2019

View the latest ATP Rankings as of 26 February 2019, following the conclusion of the Rio Open presented by Claro, the Open 13 Provrove in Marseille and the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Rafael Nadal talks about facing Nick Kyrgios in the second round in Acapulco. Watch live tennis at https://www.tennistv.com/live.