Marin Cilic produced the opening upset at the Dallas Open, defeating No. 6 seed Learner Tien in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (4), in the first round of the ATP 500 indoor event. The result marked a major career milestone for the 2014 US Open champion: his 600th tour-level match win.

That total places Cilic in an exclusive tier of the game. He is the first man born in 1988 or later to reach 600 wins and the second active men’s player to do so, after Novak Djokovic, who was born in 1987. Cilic also becomes the first Croatian man in the Open Era to reach the mark. Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion, finished his career with 599 tour-level victories.

The milestone also has broader historical context: Cilic is the 29th man in the Open Era to win 600 matches and the 10th man born in 1980 or later to achieve that total. The win in Dallas extended a long and consistent career for the 2014 Grand Slam winner, reinforcing his status among the sport’s longstanding competitors.

On the day, Cilic’s victory saw him close out the second set in a tiebreak and avoid a deciding set, moving safely through the opening round while collecting the landmark win. The match combined the immediate significance of an upset at the ATP 500 level with the personal importance of a rare career achievement.

© Sophia Lavrov

At 28, Michael Mmoh has chosen the Tenerife Challenger as the next stop in a return to form. The American is competing at the event for the first time, which is staged across two tournaments at the Abama Tennis Academy in Guía de Isora. With mild temperatures, sunshine and outdoor hard courts while much of Europe and North America remain in winter, Tenerife offers a useful early-season environment on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Mmoh turned professional in 2016 and is currently world No. 238 after reaching a career-high of No. 81 in September of 2023. He is a seven-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, with all his titles won on hard courts in the United States. His most recent title came in 2022, and his best season was 2023 when he reached the fourth round at both the Australian Open and the US Open.

He opened 2026 with a quarterfinal showing at the ATP 250 Hong Kong Tennis Open, a run that included a victory over No. 4 seed Karen Khachanov, noted as one of the biggest wins of his career.

His first impressions of the island were uniformly positive. “It’s a beautiful place,” Mmoh said. “It’s my first time here in Tenerife. Honestly, I heard it was a nice place and a nice tournament but coming here exceeded all my expectations. To see it in person, the views from the tennis courts are just amazing. It is a spectacular place and it’s going to be a great place to call [the] office for the next two weeks.”

Born into a tennis family, he started playing at age 3 with his father Tony, a former ATP player, and moved to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, at 13. Growing up, his idol was Andy Roddick.

After recurring injuries, Mmoh is focused on consistency and recovery. “I had a couple of injuries the last two years, which was tough,” he said. “But that’s part of being a professional tennis player. There’re ups and downs. At the end of the day, I did everything to stay healthy. I was happy to start the year the way I did, beating Khachanov and other great players. That gives me confidence that this is going to be great year for me.

“I’ve got what it takes, and I feel like staying healthy. There’s no reason I can’t do that.” Asked about objectives he added: “The biggest target for sure is to stay healthy and play a full calendar year,” he said. “I haven’t done that in some time. Ranking-wise, I want to see myself back in the Top 100, and then go from there. I can definitely go for more, but I want to do one step at a time.”

On the courts here, he noted: “The courts here are unique. They are on the slower end for sure, but it suits me. I am a good athlete. I can play physical tennis. The rallies are going to be a bit longer here. I have the ability to play well on these courts,” Mmoh said. He also praised recent Grand Slam matches: “Both matches, [Carlos] Alcaraz vs. [Alexander] Zverev and [Jannik] Sinner vs. [Novak] Djokovic, were incredible level. It was great for the fans to have these two matches on the same day. It was a treat for tennis.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime left Montpellier with new milestones after a composed straight-sets victory over Adrian Mannarino in the Open Occitanie final.

The top seed secured his second consecutive Montpellier title, beating Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4) on Sunday to claim his ninth career trophy. The 25-year-old’s win also moved him past Milos Raonic for the most singles titles won by a Canadian man in the Open Era.

Auger-Aliassime began the match in dominant fashion, winning eight straight points to open play. Neither player faced a break point until the 10th game of the match, when Mannarino erased a championship point with an unreturned serve. The title was decided in a tight tiebreak, where Auger-Aliassime won five consecutive points from 4-2 down to seal the match.

The victory continued a striking turnaround in finals for Auger-Aliassime. After an 0-7 start in ATP singles finals, his record now stands at 9-12. Eight of those nine titles have come on indoor hard courts.

The repeat places Auger-Aliassime alongside Richard Gasquet as the only players in recent years to win back-to-back at the tournament; Gasquet accomplished that in 2015-16. Mannarino, the 37-year-old home hope, received praise from his opponent for his resilience on court.

After the match Auger-Aliassime reflected on the week, saying, “It’s amazing emotions to win again here,” “I’m thrilled with my whole week and especially today.”

The title at the Open Occitanie adds to Auger-Aliassime’s growing list of accomplishments and reinforces his strength on indoor surfaces as he continues through the season.