Sports
ATP roundup: Taylor Fritz struggles to win Dallas opener
Jan 26, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Taylor Fritz of United States in action against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the fourth round of the menís singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Top-seeded Taylor Fritz fought off a stiff test from U.S. countryman Marcos Giron to earn a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (1) win in the first round of the Nexo Dallas Open on Tuesday.
Fritz posted a 21-9 edge in aces and won 81% of his first-serve points. However, he managed to break Giron’s serve in just two of his 10 opportunities.
Second-seeded Ben Shelton of the United States bested Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-4, but two other seeded players fell. Great Britain’s Jack Pinnington Jones trounced fourth-seeded Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-2, 6-2, and Croatia’s Marin Cilic edged sixth-seeded Learner Tien of the U.S. 7-5, 7-6 (4).
It was the 600th career ATP Tour win for Cilic, 37, who joined Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (1,168) as the only active players to reach that milestone. He also passed Goran Ivanisevic’s total of 599 wins to top the all-time list among Croatians.
Other winners were Aleksandar Kovacevic and Alex Michelsen of the United States and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.
In the last match of the night, defending champion Denis Shapovalov of Canada, the seventh seed, was set to oppose Rafael Jodar of Spain.
ABN Amro Open
Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, a lucky loser from qualifying, took advantage of his late entry into the event at Rotterdam, Netherlands, and defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in the first round.
Medjedovic, who entered the draw when Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan withdrew, trailed 5-2 in the first set and fought off a set point in the next game before capturing the tiebreaker. The players exchanged service breaks in the 11th and 12th games of the second set, and Medjedovic again came through in a tiebreaker.
Top-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia downed France’s Arthur Fils 7-6 (3), 6-2, and the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor beat France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4. France’s Quentin Halys and Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced.
IEB+ Argentina Open
Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo pulled off a first-round upset in his home land, defeating fifth-seeded Daniel Altmaier of Germany 6-2, 6-2 in Buenos Aires.
Altmaier struggled with his serve, putting just 69% of his first serves in play and winning only 35% of his second serves. He also committed 30 unforced errors to Cerundolo’s nine.
Sixth-seeded Camilo Ugo Carabelli won an all-Argentine matchup against Francisco Comesana 6-4, 7-6 (3), and eighth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy ousted Argentina’s Federico Coria 7-5, 7-5. Also moving on were the Czech Republic’s Tomas Barrios Vera, Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga and Peru’s Ignacio Buse.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wake Forest, Georgia Tech face off with ACC tourney hopes on the line
Jan 24, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire reacts after a play against the Clemson Tigers in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have both had disappointing campaigns and both have to start collecting wins if they want to compete in postseason play.
With only 15 of the 18 Atlantic Coast Conference teams qualifying for the ACC tournament next month — and Wake Forest and Georgia Tech in the mix for one of those last spots — Wednesday’s matchup in Atlanta is one of the biggest down the stretch for two programs desperate for a win.
Georgia Tech, 11-13 overall, brings a 2-9 conference record to the game, currently putting them out of an ACC tournament spot. The Yellow Jackets have lost five in a row, including a 95-72 blowout loss Saturday at Stanford.
Leading scorer Kowacie Reeves Jr. (15 points per game) didn’t play against the Cardinal, but reports Tuesday night indicate that Reeves is expected to play against the Demon Deacons.
“It’s one of those things where I can sit up here and talk about what I don’t got, you know? I’m not going to do that,” Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire said. “That’s not the reason we lost. Did we miss the 16 (points)? Of course we did, but he didn’t play on Wednesday as well and we were right there to win.
“The reality of it is that we gotta do a better job because right now, what we’re doing is we’re good enough to stay in good, but just not good enough to lose the game as well and at the end of the day, we got to get over the hump whether Kowacie is available or not.”
Wake Forest is also on a five-game losing streak, which has seen their conference record plummet to 2-8. A loss by either squad will further sink them down in the standings, but a win could go a long way in helping them make the conference tournament with little more than a handful of games remaining in the regular season.
“I’m really disappointed that we lost the game,” Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said following an 88-80 loss to No. 24 Louisville on Saturday. The Demon Deacons fought back from a 15-point, second-half deficit to tie the game before faltering late.
“We fought so hard to get back in it, playing the right way, and then we quit doing things that got us back into the game.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Texas A&M out to regain swagger vs. surging Missouri
Jan 21, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Pop Isaacs (2) defends during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Texas A&M will try to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season when it hosts improving Missouri on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference game in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (17-6, 7-3 SEC) most recently suffered an 86-67 loss at home to then-No. 17 Florida on Saturday. That was the first time in league play that Texas A&M lost by more than five points and the first time since November that it has lost back-to-back games.
Texas A&M’s shooting was the culprit in Saturday’s loss. The Aggies entered the contest averaging 92.0 points per game but shot just 30.6% from the floor and scored less than 70 points for only the second time all year. A&M made just one of its first 27 shots, including a stretch of 23 straight misses.
“We can learn more from this game than a lot of games,” Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said. “Just understand we’ve got to stay the course and not get too antsy. Our destiny is right in front of us.”
Pop Isaacs and Marcus Hill led the Aggies in scoring with 17 points apiece in defeat.
“I believe in this team,” Issacs said. “We did a good job staying together earlier in the year when we went through that adversity. I have no doubt this team will stick together, do this and find our swagger back.”
Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) heads to Texas after a 78-59 romp at South Carolina on Saturday that produced the Tigers’ first two-game winning streak since the first week in January and snapped a three-game road losing skid.
Jayden Stone scored 22 points, Mark Mitchell added 20 points and 11 rebounds and T.O. Barrett hit for 14 points in the win, which improved Missouri’s chances of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
A win over the Aggies on the road would aid those chances even more.
“To be able to go on the road and never have a deficit in a game is tremendous,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said after Saturday’s win. “Hats off to our team.
“We played a collective game from the beginning to the end,” Gates added. “Defensively, to be able to hold a team on their home court to 30% in the first half, 30% in the second and for the game 30%, that’s a remarkable accomplishment.”
The Tigers have five more Quadrant 1 games remaining on their schedule, including Wednesday’s clash in Aggieland. Three of those Quad 1 opportunities will be at home against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Arkansas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DePaul tries to end 23-game skid vs. Creighton
Feb 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; DePaul Blue Demons head coach Chris Holtmann directs his team against the St. John’s Red Storm during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images If DePaul is going to end its longest losing streak of the season, it must beat Creighton for the first time in more than a decade.
Losers of four in a row, the host Blue Demons try to avoid a 24th consecutive defeat to the Bluejays on Wednesday night in Big East action at Chicago.
League play hasn’t been easy for DePaul (12-12, 4-9 Big East), which last defeated Seton Hall at home on Jan. 24. The Blue Demons have averaged only 63.8 points and shot 42.3% in the past four games, and they were outscored by a total of 30 points in their last two.
Providence shot 58.9% overall and went 9 of 21 from 3-point range during Saturday’s 90-72 home win over DePaul.
“You’ve got to learn from every experience,” DePaul coach Chris Holtmann told WGN Radio 720.
DePaul’s CJ Gunn averages a team-leading 14.0 points, but has failed to score at least 10 in three of the last four contests. He posted nine in each of the last two on a combined 8-of-28 shooting.
Gunn averaged 13.0 points while the Blue Demons lost all three 2024-25 meetings with Creighton, which has won 28 of the last 29 matchups in this series. DePaul’s most recent victory over the Bluejays came 70-60 at Omaha on Jan. 7, 2015.
Creighton (13-11, 7-6) should feel more confident after ending its own three-game losing streak with Saturday’s 69-68 home win over Seton Hall. Nik Graves scored just seven points, but the final three came from his shot with 2.5 seconds left in regulation, securing the win.
“I think it can be a change in momentum for us,” Graves said of the last-second victory. “Just coming together, being able to win in that fashion. Coming back, fighting hard, playing together. I think we can build off of that.”
The Bluejays will now try to break a four-game losing streak on the road, where they have won 12 straight against DePaul dating back to a 72-57 loss on Nov. 30, 2005.
Creighton’s Josh Dix averages a team-leading 11.8 points, and scored 16 on Saturday, just days after his mother passed away. He had totaled 13 points in the three games prior.
–Field Level Media
Wake Forest, Georgia Tech face off with ACC tourney hopes on the line
Texas A&M out to regain swagger vs. surging Missouri
