Two Top 10 players and dangerous floaters such as Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka and Denis Shapovalov make the Japan Open a tournament to watch next week.

RAKUTEN JAPAN OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018
TOKYO, Japan; surface: hard

Seeds: Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, Kei Nishikori, Diego Schwartzman, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Milos Raonic, Chung Hyeon, Richard Gasquet

Floaters: Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, Denis Shapovalov, Gilles Simon, Akex de Minaur

Notes:

Cilic and Anderson two Top 10ers in the field, with …

What started out as a star-studded Wuhan field featuring 9 of the Top 10 players, has widdled down to two unseeded finalists, Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit.

Sabalenka continued to build off of her summer run, moving past Ash Barty in the semifinals 7-6(2), 6-4 to reach her biggest final.

“I didn’t expect this level from me,” Sabalenka said, during her post-match press conference. “I’m so happy that I am on this …

The Top 7 players in the world will be in action tonight at the final Premier 5 event on the WTA calendar in Wuhan.

As the 2018 season winds down with just a month to go, World No. 1 Simon Halep bids to put further distance this week on No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki.

Halep meets Dominika Cibulkova. Cibulkova leads 4-2 over the Romanian. Wozniacki opens against Rebecca Peterson.

“I feel good,” …

Andy Murray continues his comeback this week in Shenzhen. The former No. 1 has stated he will play this week and then next week in Beijing before ending his season, bypassing the European fall indoor season.

“I’m looking forward to playing in Shenzhen and Beijing,” Murray said on Facebook. “After that, I’ve decided to end my season to give me the preparation time I need to get ready for a strong …

The second Laver Cup went once again to a powerful Team Europe squad who turned away Team World 13-8 Sunday in Chicago.

With the score 10-8 heading into the 11th match (of 12), Team Europe needed a win from Alexander Zverev over Kevin Anderson, and he didn’t disappoint winning 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-7 to secure the win.

“It was such a close match all around, not only this one but all weekend, a …

The second installment of the Laver Cup gets underway Friday in Chicago. In this “Europe v The World” format, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic lead the European team.

Juan Martin del Potro was the World headliner but he withdrew. That leaves the World with just three players in the Top 15 – Kevin Anderson, John Isner and Diego Schwartzman against a much stronger European team with five players in the Top …

Former No. 1 and 5-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova has shut down her 2018 season, withdrawing from Beijing, Tianjin and Moscow.

“Unfortunately as I recover from my right shoulder injury, I am withdrawing from Beijing, Tianjin and Moscow,” Sharapova said.

“I will miss competing at each of these tournaments, but it is important that I allow for proper rest and recovery in the upcoming weeks.

“I was looking forward to coming back …

For giving Nick Kyrgios a pep talk at the US Open, the ATP has suspended chummy chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani for two events without pay.

The USTA, which had jurisdiction over Lahyani, moved him off singles matches to lower profile doubles contests. The ATP took it a step further.

“Despite the incident taking place at the U.S. Open, under the jurisdiction of the United States Tennis Association, the incident was still subject …

Rafael Nadal made it official withdrawing from both Beijing and Shanghai events due to his right knee.

“Hi all, as you know I had to retire from my semifinal match at the US Open and this past Monday I visited my doctor in Barcelona, Spain checking my knee condition,” Nadal posted on Facebook.

“Although this knee pain is nothing new to me, we have decided together my medical and technical team that …

France will host Croatia in the 2018 Davis Cup final after the French pounded Spain over the weekend and Croatia scraped by the U.S.

In World Group Playoffs action past powerhouses Australia and Switzerland were upset, leaving their status in limbo as the ITF prepares to announce which teams will participate in next year’s restructured Davis Cup.

World Group Semifinals:

Croatia d. USA 3-2

The U.S. lost a heartbreaker in the fifth …

Stan Wawrinka takes a wildcard into St. Pete where as an unseeded player he is looking at a meeting with No. 4 Karen Khachanov in the second round.

Dominic Thiem headlines the field where Damir Dzumhur will try and duplicate the magic that brought him to the 2017 final.

ST. PETERSBURG OPEN
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: surface: hard

Seeds: Dominic Thiem, Fabio Fognini, Marco Cecchinato, Karen Khachanov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Damir Dzumhur, Denis Shapovalov, Daniil …

US Open semifinalist Kei Nishikori headlines the Moselle Open where he is seeking a first title in his first appearance.

Rising youngsters Stefanos Tsitsipas and former champ Lucas Pouille will contend, along with a few unseeded floaters giving the seeds some early challenges.

MOSELLE OPEN
METZ, France; surface: hard

Seeds: Kei Nishikori, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Lucas Pouille, Richard Gasquet, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Adrian Mannarino, Filip Krajinovic, Philipp Kohlschreiber

Floaters: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Benoit Paire, Mischa Zverev

Notes:

No Top 10 …

Two WTA tournaments this week produced two 30+ winners as Pauline Parmentier beat American qualifier Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 for the title on Sunday at the Coupe Banque Nationale presentee par IGA in Quebec City, Canada.

The 32-year-old No. 8-seeded Frenchwoman won her second WTA title of the year after Istanbul, the first time she has won multiple titles in a season.

It was her fourth career title and she improved to …

32-year-old Hsieh Su-Wei stopped 17-year-old qualifier Amanda Anisimova from lifted her first career WTA title on Sunday in Japan, beating the American 6-2, 6-2 for her third career title at the Hana-Cupid Japan Women’s Open.

It was the Chinese Taipei No. 1’s first final in six years, and she improved to 3-0 in career championship matches.

It has been a resurgent season for Hsieh, who will return to the Top 30 for …

A previous proposal to move back to 16 seeds at Grand Slams was squashed during the US Open. After much feedback from players and officials, the Grand Slam Board decided to stay at 32 seeds, a statement read yesterday.

“As always, various 2019 Grand Slam Rule amendments and proposals were considered. Specifically, the GSB re-visited its earlier-stated intention to revert to 16 Seeds in 2019. Following a full year of …