The 26-year-old, who reached the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event in 2023, is expected to be overtaken by Ben Shelton on April 15.

Andrey Rublev is the defending champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Before each day’s play at the BNP Paribas Open, we’ll preview three must-see matches.

Also: Ugo Humbert breaks into the Top 15, Sebastian Baez and Alexander Bublik crack the Top 20 and Katie Boulter soars into the Top 30 after winning her first WTA 500 title.

According to the tournament referee, the No. 2 seed was defaulted for "verbal abuse"—an accusation the player has emphatically denied. So why not rewind the tape?

Ugo Humbert continued his masterful week at the ATP 500 tournament.

Rublev was trailing Alexander Bublik 6-5 in the final set of their match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and denied the obscenities he was accused of saying by a translator.

The Pole helped surprise a dedicated volunteer from the Krajicek Foundation with a behind-the-scenes look at the 500-level event.

The No. 2 seed dropped the first set in all four of his wins for the week but took home his fourth career title.

The No. 2 seed has dropped the first set in all three of his victories this week to reach his 10th career final.