Last year’s finalist Borna Coric earned a confidence boosting 6-3, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Diego Schwartzman on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The #NextGenATP player is appearing at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament on the back of a third-round run at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Thiem, l. to Mannarino).

Coric’s next opponent will be wild card Reda El Amrani. The home hope advanced to the second round when defending champion Federico Delbonis retired due to a left leg injury with the Moroccan leading 7-6(3), 1-0 after 66 minutes of play.

World No. 946 and 19-year-old wild card Amine Ahouda held his nerve to knock out eighth seed Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Granollers, who will turn 31 on Wednesday, lost to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the 2014 final.

“This was a very good match for me,” said Ahouda. “I felt confident after Davis Cup. Granollers is a great player and this victory means a lot to me. I’m living my dream and want to continue playing well. This is a great victory, but I want to keep going match by match. Hopefully I can continue as I love playing in front of the Moroccan crowd.”

Qualifier Gianluigi Quinzi advanced to the second round with an 7-6(8), 6-3 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Italian awaits the winner of the match between fifth seed Paolo Lorenzi and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Top Seed Dimitrov Ready for Robredo Start

Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 1 seed in Marrakech, will face Tommy Robredo in the second round when he begins his campaign in the Moroccan city.

“I’ve been here for a few days and I got a chance to see the dromedaries and go for a walk around the city,” the Bulgarian told media during a press conference on Tuesday. “I’m happy to be back in competition and looking forward to my first match on Thursday. I’m facing a tough opponent and the first match of the clay season is always a tricky one.”

It’s the exciting new showcase of great, young talent on the ATP World Tour and here is your chance to be a part of it. Beginning Monday, you can purchase tickets for the #NextGenATP Finals in Milan.

The tournament, to take place 7-11 November, will feature the world’s top eight 21-and-under singles players. #NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev is currently leading the season-long Emirates ATP Race To Milan, which will track the progress of #NextGenATP players throughout the year. The top seven players in the race will qualify automatically, while the eighth spot will be reserved for a wild card.

See Who’s Pushing Zverev In The Emirates ATP Race To Milan Standings

Zverev has started strong this season. The 6’6” right-hander reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final last month at the Miami Open presented by Itau. En route, the 19-year-old German knocked off World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka to improve to 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

Earlier this season, in February, Zverev beat Richard Gasquet at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier to take his second ATP World Tour title.

Just behind Zverev, at No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan standings, is an exciting new face on the ATP World Tour, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. The 21 year old celebrated his first ATP World Tour final in January at the Aircel Chennai Open before falling to then-No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. The Moscow native then reached back-to-back quarter-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.

At No. 3 in the race is 18-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, who reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final in February at the Rio Open presented by Claro. Russian 19-year-old Andrey Rublev and two Americans, 20-year-old Jared Donaldson and 19-year-old Taylor Fritz, who received the Emirates ATP Star Of Tomorrow last season, round out the top six.

In addition to great tennis, the #NextGenATP Finals will feature an exciting new dimension for fans. The tournament will trial a number of innovations with a view of ensuring continued growth in the popularity of men’s professional tennis.

The event will award US$1.275 million in prize money, and will follow a similar format to the ATP Finals, with a round-robin group stage followed by knock-out semi-finals and a final. While Emirates ATP Rankings points will serve as the criteria for entry, the tournament itself will not carry points.

#NextGenATP Winners
The #NextGenATP contingent picked up where they left off in 2016, boasting strong performances early in 2017. Denis Shapovalov, Alexander Bublik, Hyeon Chung and Noah Rubin all lifted trophies thus far this season, with Shapovalov and Bublik claiming their maiden crowns.

The quartet are currently Nos. 10-13 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan and remain in the hunt to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

Back in March, Shapovalov delighted the home crowd with his first Challenger title at the $75,000 Challenger Banque Nationale Drummondville in Canada, defeating fourth seed Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 6-3, 6-2. He is the youngest Challenger winner this year and the first 17-year-old Challenger titlist since Norwegian Casper Ruud prevailed last year in Seville, Spain. He is also the youngest Canadian to ever win a title.

Drummondville has become a second home on tour for Shapovalov, having won his first Challenger match there in 2016 and then title in 2017. Shapovalov’s Drummondville success pushed him into the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Rubin was champion at the $75,000 Neville Smith Forest Products Launceston International (Launceston, Australia) in February. The American streaked to his second ATP Challenger Tour title, dominating the final 6-0, 6-1 over countryman Mitchell Krueger. It was the fewest games played in a Challenger final since Moscow 2015.

Building off a promising end to 2016, Chung clinched the $75,000 Sportsmaster Tennis Championship of Maui (Maui, Hawaii), rolling through fourth seed Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6(3), 6-1 in the championship match. The 20-year-old didn’t lose a set throughout the week and dropped an average of less than five games per match to secure an eighth Challenger title.

In October 2016 Bublik was ranked outside the Top 300, but a quarter-final result at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow – his first ATP World Tour main draw – and a run to the second round as a qualifier at the Australian Open, set the stage for his biggest professional title on the hard courts of $50,000 Morelos Open.

First Time Champions
In addition to Shapovalov and Bublik, fellow teen Omar Jasika lifted the Caterpillar Burnie International (Burnie, Australia) on home soil. Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama and China’s Ze Zhang also won titles. Zhang notched his maiden crown in San Francisco, overcoming Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, to become the second winner from China, joining Di Wu (Maui 2016). Uchiyama’s title (Kyoto, Japan) is one of a tour-leading four for Japan after Yuichi Sugita has won two (Yokohama and Shenzhen) and Taro Daniel ruled in Buenos Aires.

2017 Title Leaders

Challenger Resurgence For Former Top 10 Stars
The 2017 season has not only provided an opportunity for the Next Generation to shine, but the old guard to stake their claim among the Top 200 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Six players own multiple titles thus far in 2017, including former Top 10 players Janko Tipsarevic and Jurgen Melzer, who are both returning from injury. Tipsarevic (foot surgery) vaulted back to the Top 100 after titles in consecutive weeks in Bangkok I and Bangkok II. Melzer (shoulder surgery) is back in the Top 200 after victories in Budapest and Wroclaw, Poland. His title in Wroclaw at 35 years, 9 months made him the oldest winner this year.

The other four two-time winners this year are Sugita, Adrian Mannarino, Rogerio Dutra Silva and Aljaz Bedene. Mannarino is the only repeat winner thus far, retaining his Noumea title to open the season.

Harrison’s Springboard To Success
Ryan Harrison is closing in on a career-high position in the Emirates ATP Rankings after an impressive start to the season, ignited by a run to the title at the $125,000 event in Dallas. The World No. 50 became the first player to win on the ATP Challenger Tour and ATP World Tour in consecutive tournaments since David Goffin in 2014. He is also the only player to win on both circuits this year as he climbed back into the Top 50 for the first time since peaking at No. 43 in 2012. Harrison’s win in Dallas was his fourth Challenger title and the Memphis Open produced his maiden ATP World Tour title.

Moments In The Spotlight

• Blaz Kavcic leads the Challenger Tour with 19 match wins in 2017, followed by Sugita with 16. Kavcic is a three-time finalist this year on Asian soil in Bangkok I, Kyoto and Shenzhen.
• Sugita is the only player to save match points in a final, turning aside two in beating Soon-woo Kwon in Yokohama.
• Zhang (San Francisco), Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (Leon) and Egor Gerasimov (Saint-Brieuc) are a trio of qualifiers to go onto claim the title. Leon witnessed the first all-qualifier final since 2010, where Menendez-Maceiras ended a decade-long title drought to oust Roberto Quiroz.
• Uladzimir Ignatik became the first Lucky Loser champion of the year in Rennes, France, winning five straight matches after falling in qualifying.
• Evgeny Donskoy won his 10th Challenger title in Zhuhai, China, returning to Top 100, immediately after stunning the rejuvenated Roger Federer in Dubai.

Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas turned back the clock on Monday night at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, defeating a player 20 years younger in #NextGen ATP American Reilly Opelka 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3.

The age disparity between 39-year-old Haas and 19-year-old Opelka is the eighth-biggest in an ATP World Tour or Grand Slam match since 1985. The biggest age gap during this period is an 18-year-old Dominic Thiem defeating 44-year-old Thomas Muster in Vienna in 2011.

“It’s nice to win these matches, especially against the young guys who are going to be around for a long time. The nerves when you’re trying to win a match are something you can’t practise. You can run all day on the treadmill, be in the gym a lot, but you can’t substitute that for match play,” said Haas. “Hopefully I can recover well and be ready for Wednesday.”

Next up for the 2004 Houston champion is top seed Jack Sock, who received a first-round bye. Haas and Sock are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 1-1, but haven’t played since Auckland in January 2014.

Although Haas is competing in his final season on the ATP World Tour, the German said this is not a nostalgia act and that he’s determined to score an upset over Sock.

“I don’t know any other way, to be honest. If I’m not trying to win the match and play to the best of my ability, then I don’t see the point,” said Haas. “I just want to be able to finish on my own terms and play the tournaments that I’ve enjoyed one more time.”

Both players held serve throughout the first set, but Haas rallied from 3/5 in the tie-break and grabbed the early advantage after Opelka missed an overhead smash from the baseline. The American regrouped by grabbing the lone break of serve in the second set at 2-2 and comfortably holding the serve the rest of the way to force a decider.

Haas was unable to convert on three break points in Opelka’s opening service game of the final set, but earned another trio of chances at 1-1 and made good after the American sent a backhand wide. The former World No. 2 comfortably held serve the rest of the way to prevail in two hours and 11 minutes.

More: First Time With #NextGenATP American Escobedo

Dustin Brown defeated defending champion Juan Monaco in the evening session 7-6(7), 6-3. The German saved two set points in the opening set, one on his serve at 5-6 and another in the tie-break at 6/7. Brown improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Monaco to 2-0 and will now play fourth seed Steve Johnson for a place in the last eight. 

“We’ve played each other before, so we both knew what to expect. I knew I’d have to be aggressive and am very happy to get the win,” said Brown.

Nicolas Kicker advanced after qualifier and #NextGenATP American Noah Rubin retired with a right wrist injury. The Argentine led 5-3 in the first set. Next up for Kicker is the winner between fifth seed Fernando Verdasco and Kevin Anderson.

Tennis players are known for being creatures of habit, but Donald Young is having a year of new experiences both on and off the court.

The 27-year-old American is enjoying a rich run of form over the past two months on the ATP World Tour, which he credits to loosening up and being more open to trying new things. His changes in routine have played a part in his rapid rise up the Emirates ATP Rankings, jumping nearly 40 spots since February to his current standing of No. 42.

He’s seeded seventh this week at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston and opens his campaign on Wednesday against Thiago Monteiro.

“I’ve just been more relaxed at tournaments this year. I’m checking out the movies, going to see the different sights, leaving my hotel room a little bit more than I used to. It’s definitely paying off,” said Young. “I’ve been playing awhile, so I just thought let’s try something new. You can’t get anywhere new without trying something different. It’s a big deal for me to eat at different restaurants, get out more, being more relaxed in general. I still keep the same routines at the tournament site, but everything off-site has been a big difference.”

Watch: Brown And Tiafoe Get The Dirt At Houston Player Party

Young scored back-to-back semi-final finishes this February in Memphis and Delray Beach, prevailing over players he had been winless against including John Isner (Memphis) and Ivo Karlovic (Delray Beach). Last month, he recorded fourth-round finishes at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, defeating Top 20 player Lucas Pouille in both events.

“I’ve sporadically had wins over top players throughout my career, but to do it consistently now is great,” said Young. “I want it to continue. This is definitely feeling like high-level tennis.”

Moving into the clay-court season, Young is hoping to keep up his current standard of results. He admitted not having much exposure to clay growing up, with match play limited to one National junior tournament a year on green clay. But not only has he embraced this part of the year, he’s seen the benefits that clay-court tennis can bring to other surfaces.

“We have to do well on clay to get our ranking where we want it. It’s a long, important part of the season,” said Young. “You have a Grand Slam, two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, some 500-level events. If you can do well on it, it can set your whole year up and not put so much pressure on the American summer events. And it helps you with all aspects of your game, different spins, movement. It’s a great building block for the rest of the season.

“I’ve made it to the third round at Roland Garros and know I can play on clay. I start to like it once I’m on it, but need time to get there, so hopefully I can get a lot of matches over the next two months,” he added. “And then also just being in these great cities, hopefully I can enjoy it more this year, get out and do something, make the tournament a little more exciting and productive.”

Young is also excited to share time on the road in Europe with more of his fellow American players. With 12 competing in the singles main draw this week in Houston, he’s optimistic that Americans of all ages will continue pushing each other up the rankings.

“American tennis is doing great. We’re winning tournaments, competing. You have the top guys up there now, but also a lot of really good younger guys coming up who are going to be great players,” said Young. “They’re pushing us and the group I’m in is pushing each other too. We’re all very cool with each other, so it’s enjoyable to have that company and fellowship on the road.”