One year ago, Rafael Nadal was dealt a disappointing blow as he was beaten by Fabio Fognini in the Barcelona Open BancSabadell third round. But when the pair met on Friday in the quarter-finals in Barcelona, it was Nadal who came out on top, holding off a second-set revival from Fognini to prevail 6-2, 7-6(1).

The 29-year-old Nadal had also suffered a tough defeat to Fognini last year in the US Open third round, falling in five sets having led by two sets, but the Spaniard ensured there would be no more drama at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, beating Fognini in one hour and 50 minutes.

Fognini almost pushed the match to a deciding set. The Italian led 5-3 in the second set, but failed to serve out in the 10^th game as Nadal broke back. Fognini halted Nadal’s growing momentum in the 12^th game as he rallied from 0/40 and saved three match points to force a tie-break, but Nadal ran away with the breaker, allowing Fognini just one point.

Nadal claimed his 46^th win at this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament. The left-hander is bidding to reclaim the title he won eight times between 2005-09 and 2011-13. Up next will be either Andrey Kuznetsov or Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Nadal is back in full force on the clay and is looking to claim his second title in as many weeks after victory at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo (d. Monfils). 

Competing on the ATP Challenger Tour is a truly international experience: just ask Jason Jung.

The 26-year-old from Taiwan has already competed in six countries across the globe this year. When he’s not traveling and competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, he blogs about these experiences on his WordPress account. Jung has given fans a glimpse of his day exploring downtown Leon, traveling by tuk-tuk in Bangkok and training on-site at tournaments around the world.

“I like to write,” said Jung. “I just write the blogs whenever I can. I started it as a way to update my friends and family on where I am and how things were going, but it’s become a way to look back on everything I’ve done as the years have gone by.”

Life on tour wasn’t always part of the plan for Jung. After completing a standout college tennis career at the University of Michigan in 2012, he took an office job only to find himself laid off after just two weeks. Jung then entered a money tournament for fun in Seattle and ended up winning it, sparking his decision to give playing pro a shot.

The bulk of Jung’s ATP Challenger Tour points this year have come from tournaments in Asia. He kicked off 2016 by reaching the semi-finals of the $50,000 event tournament in Bangkok and advanced to the quarterfinals of this week’s $50,000 event in Nanjing.

“Playing in China is a little bit easier for me than some of the other Asian events because I know Taiwanese. It’s not necessarily perfect in terms of conversation, but I can get around,” said Jung. “The courts here in Nanjing are great, but I also like playing in China because the Challengers here have really good facilities and big stadiums.”

Jung has became a mainstay on the ATP Challenger Tour in his fifth year as a pro, but is now looking to consistently make deep runs in tournaments. Known as one of the hardest-working players on tour, he’s spent countless hours on the court trying to beef up his game and become more aggressive.

“I’ve been working on my serve a lot more to make it bigger and use it as a weapon,” said Jung. “I’ve also been trying to add more of a transition to my game and come to the net when it’s possible to put away balls. You see that much more in Challengers than in the Futures, so I’ve needed to keep developing those parts of my game.”

Ricardas Berankis has normally spent his spring competing on red clay tournaments in Europe, but the Lithuanian has switched it up this year by instead competing in Asia on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The new approach to his schedule his paid dividends for the 25-year-old. He finished as runner-up earlier this month at the $100,000 event in Raanana (Israel), then breezed through the draw at last week’s $50,000 tournament in Gwangju without losing a set. This week at the $50,000 event in Nanjing, his first of the year on clay, Berankis has once again advanced to the semi-finals as the No. 1 seed.

“Clay is not my favourite surface. I usually prefer faster courts,” said Berankis in explaining why he chose to play in Asia this year. “I’ve never played Challengers in Asia before, so it was also interesting to see what was happening with the events here. The tournament in Gwangju was really nice with two big stadiums and a very good hotel, and the facilities this week in Nanjing are great as well.”

Although Berankis is ranked significantly higher than most of the players in Nanjing. that doesn’t mean his matches have been easy. He advanced past Danilo Petrovic in a tight two-set match in the second round, then needed three sets to prevail over Nicolas Barrientos in the quarter-finals.

“Challengers can be difficult because once you get to the seeded players or the later rounds, you’re going up against people with good rankings and who are playing well,” said Berankis. “It’s never easy to win one or even get to the final of one, so I’m happy with the way my form has been in these tournaments.”

Berankis will step off clay for his next two ATP Challenger Tour events in Asia, a $75,000+H event in Taipei and a $100,000+H event in Busan, before trying his luck at Roland Garros. The surplus of matches and confidence under his belt could translate into a good run even on a surface he admits isn’t his best.

“I’m playing really well, so it’s a great feeling,” said Berankis. “I think continuing to go up this year is very possible if I keep playing like this.” 

Benoit Paire reached his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season on Friday as he defeated Malek Jaziri 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell.

The sixth-seeded Frenchman clinched a tight second set with a break of serve in the 12th game, capitalising on his third set point to level the match. From there it was a sprint to the finish, with Paire breaking in the second and sixth games of the decider to prevail in two hours.

After semi-final showings in Chennai (l. to Wawrinka) and Marseille (l. to Cilic), Paire is bidding to reach his fifth ATP World Tour final (1-3 record). The 26 year old won his lone title on clay in Bastad last year (d. Robredo).

Paire goes on to face either second seed and two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori or Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Lucas Pouille is playing the best tennis of his young career. A day after knocking out second seed Ivo Karlovic, Pouille downed seventh seed Paolo Lorenzi 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy on Friday. Only one point (105-104) separated the two men after two hours and 24 minutes.

“He played really well,” Pouille said. “I was broken early in the first set and I wasn’t able to break him back. I started the second set with another break down but I broke him back right away and from there things turned in my favour. I started to play better.

“At 5-2 in the third, I had three match points but he was solid. Then at 5-3 I wasn’t able to finish on my serve. I am glad that I stayed calm at 5-5 and managed to win this match. This is a very important win.

“He is a tough opponent who has been on the tour for a long time and is close to his highest ranking. I have definitely improved my game in the last couple weeks. It is good to have a chance to play another match tomorrow.”

Pouille, No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is coming off consecutive round-of-16 appearances at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Miami and Monte-Carlo, defeating World No. 8 David Ferrer (Miami) and World No. 10 Richard Gasquet (Monte-Carlo).

Next up for the 22 year old is third seed Federico Delbonis, who eased past Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 6-2 in 68 minutes. Delbonis saved all three break points faced and improved to 10-4 on clay in 2016.

Defending champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez saved a match point in defeating Guido Pella 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6). The fourth seed dropped serve three times and only broke his opponent once, but held strong in the deciding set to win in three hours and improve to 1-1 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“When you play a match like this, you have to fight for every point,” Garcia-Lopez said. “There are ups and downs, but in the end you just want to win. He deserved better than losing, but this is tennis. The tie-breaker in the third is like a lottery. I played with a lot of courage and I am happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Guccino/Sa Into Doubles Final

The unseeded duo of Chris Guccione and Andre Sa moved into the doubles final after beating fourth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming 6-4, 6-4. The Australian/Brazilian team saved four of five break points and broke their opponents three times in the 82-minute encounter.

Top-seeded Romanians Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau, and unseeded Dutchmen Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop will play for the other spot in the final. Mergea/Tecau advanced when Federico Delbonis and Paolo Lorenzi withdrew, with Delbonis citing a lower-back injury. Koolhof/Middelkoop defeated Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2 in less than an hour.

World No. 2 Andy Murray today announced that he has set up his own tennis event, Andy Murray Live presented by SSE, to help raise money for charity. The unique event, taking place on Wednesday 21 September at the SSE Hydro Glasgow, was the brainchild of Murray, who wanted to build a legacy tennis event in the UK whilst raising valuable funds for two charities.

Tickets go on sale today, with half of all seats costing £25 or less, making the event very accessible for all.

The City of Glasgow will play host to this new event where the evening will feature a singles and doubles match, with all profits going to local Glasgow charity, ’Young People’s Futures’ and Unicef, the world’s leading children’s organisation, of which Murray is a UK Ambassador.

The former Wimbledon and US Open Champion and current Olympic gold medal holder will play Gael Monfils, the flamboyant Frenchman in the singles. For the doubles, Murray will be joined by his brother, doubles World No. 1 Jamie Murray, to play against Monfils and former World No. 4 Tim Henman.

The evening will mark the first ever tennis event staged at the city’s state-of-the-art SSE Hydro, which topped the Billboard Venue Chart globally earlier this year.

Murray said, “It’s great to be returning home to Scotland and playing in the city of Glasgow. I travel the world playing tennis and unfortunately I don’t spend as much time as I would like to at home. I owe it to my fans who have supported me throughout the years and what better way than to play in front of them at The SSE Hydro whilst raising money for Young People’s Futures and Unicef.

“I’m looking forward to bringing top-level tennis to Glasgow on an annual basis and making this event bigger and better every year.”

Lily Caprani, Unicef UK’s Deputy Executive Director said: “Andy has provided vital support for Unicef’s work for children for a number of years, most recently raising awareness and much-needed funds for children affected by the Syrian conflict through his campaign, Andy’s Aces.

“We are very proud to announce that Andy has been appointed a Unicef UK Ambassador and this latest initiative is an example of his continued commitment to help children in danger. The money raised through ‘Andy Murray Live’ will help us provide life-saving food, clean water, vaccines and health care for children in emergencies, as well as education and protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.”

Unicef, supported by  Murray, was selected among nine recipients in the ATP ACES For Charity grant programme for 2016 and awarded a grant of $/€15,000.

Ann Lawrance, Young People’s Futures, commented: “Young People’s Futures are overwhelmed and so thankful to Andy Murray for choosing our project from many Scottish charities. Our team are so excited to be linked to the UK’s top sportsman and world number two. We are pinching ourselves at the thought of this opportunity. We can’t thank Andy enough for his support and look forward to what could be a life changing prospect for YPF and the Possilpark community.”

Tickets, from only £20 including VAT (plus booking fee) are available to purchase now: online at www.thessehydro.com; by calling the ticket hotline on 0844 395 4000, or in person from the main box office at the SECC. For accessible area tickets, please call 0800 952 0110 or for group bookings, please call 0844 395 4010.

For more information about ‘Andy Murray Live’ presented by SSE and hosted by the City of Glasgow, go to www.andymurraylive.com.