#NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev showed great maturity in reaching his first ATP World Tour final on Saturday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. He will now meet fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi.

World No. 74 Rublev knocked out wild card Ivan Dodig 7-6(4), 6-1 in one hour and 41 minutes to become the second teenager (after then 19-year-old Alexander Zverev at the Open Sud de France in February) to reach a tour-level final this year.

“I’m happy that I’m in my first final,” Rublev said. “The key was staying strong mentally. I feel that both of us weren’t feeling really well on the court and the conditions were tough. It was more mental.”

The Moscow native is into the final as a Lucky Loser, having fallen to Hungary’s Attila Balazs in straight sets on Monday. He is the first Lucky Loser to reach an ATP World Tour final since Marcel Granollers in Valencia 2010 (l. to Ferrer) and is bidding to become the first to win a title since Rajeev Ram in Newport 2009.

Rublev took a 5-3 lead in the first set, but could not convert a set point opportunity on Dodig’s serve at Ad-Out, when he led 5-4. The 19 year old was then broken in the next game, but regrouped to win the tie-break and broke a further two times – at 2-1 and 4-1 – in the second set.

The Russian teenager will face 35-year-old Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi on Sunday after the Rome native defeated countryman Alessandro Giannessi 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. It will be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter.

Lorenzi, who has a 1-2 record in ATP World Tour trophy matches, needed two hours and 36 minutes to defeat Giannessi. He squandered a 4-2 lead in the second set, as Giannessi reeled off six of seven games to force a decider, where he grabbed an early break. But Lorenzi would right the ship, breaking right back for 2-all, before eventually surging past the finish line with a service winner.

“I’m really happy to be in the final in Umag,” said Lorenzi. “It was a really tough match because I know Alessandro really well and we’re good friends. It was a battle, but I hope to recover and be ready for tomorrow.”

World No. 34 Lorenzi will contest his first ATP World Tour final since February, when he fell to Victor Estrella Burgos in the Quito final. He is bidding to secure a second title, having prevailed on the clay of Kitzbühel exactly one year ago. The Italian is also looking to join Ryan Harrison and Yuichi Sugita as winners on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour this year. He lifted the trophy on home soil in Caltanissetta last month.

Lorenzi is looking to become the second straight Italian winner in Umag, following in the footsteps of reigning champion Fabio Fognini. Rublev, meanwhile, is hoping to join Nikolay Davydenko (2009) as Russian titlists in the Croatian beach resort town.

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As far as attributes go, Andy Roddick, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport on Saturday, has always been world-class. His all-time great serve, which helped him win 32 tour-level titles and finish in the year-end Top 10 nine straight years; his competitive personality, which endeared him to millions of fans; and his leadership – the American carried the U.S. flag for years, hauling the burden of sky-high expectations after the preceding generation of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Jim Courier.

But Roddick, more than anything else, was methodical. He was one of the hardest workers on the ATP World Tour, a relentless professional who did everything to max out his abilities.

“That’s what’s so honourable about the guy… You have to put in that extra mile, especially when you don’t have a huge toolbox, meaning you’re not really, really gifted,” said Larry Stefanki, who coached Roddick the last four-and-a-half years of his career. “I used to call him the ‘Turbo Diesel’ because he always put in that extra effort. All the way through the end, he gave it his all, and that’s why when he walked away from the game, he walked with his head high and he had no regrets.”

Blessed with a thunderbolt serve, a world-class forehand, unmatched dedication and an inquisitive mind, the Nebraska native quickly transitioned to the ATP World Tour, winning five titles before his 20^th birthday.

But before he’d capture any “Big Titles”, Roddick would partner with an established coaching great who would make changes on day one. In 2003, Brad Gilbert was fresh off his eight-year coaching relationship with Agassi. He started working with Roddick in June at The Queen’s Club.

During his first practice with Gilbert, Roddick, as he was wont to do, showed up with gel in his hair and a backwards visor on his head. Gilbert drew the line: Both had to go. A 20-year-old Roddick looked at Gilbert, and capitulated.

“OK, I guess if it means that much to you,” Gilbert remembered Roddick saying.

They quickly clicked. Gilbert adapted to Roddick’s high-energy personality on the court, “He took no time to warm up. The guy could come out and five minutes later be blasting serves”; as well as off the court, noticing how Roddick would speed-eat through meals.

The results followed: Roddick sprinted the North American hard-court swing, winning two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles – Canada and Cincinnati – and his maiden Grand Slam championship crown, the 2003 US Open.

“When he won Canada, it was like, damn, I don’t think I was surprised anymore,” Gilbert exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com. “Obviously you never expect anything but you knew something big was happening. He had a lot of confidence and mojo working.”

The American reached World No. 1 two months after his Grand Slam triumph and stayed there through the turn of the calendar year, adding his name to one of the most exclusive lists in tennis. Only 17 men have finished year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings since 1973.

During the next three years, Roddick’s prime continued, even after he and Gilbert split in December 2004. Roddick would win two more Masters 1000 titles – 2004 Miami and 2006 Cincinnati – and reach three more Grand Slam finals – two at Wimbledon (2005, 2009) and a US Open (2006), falling to Roger Federer in all three.

But as Federer and his friends Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ignited the golden age of the sport, Roddick risked fading away. His power game wasn’t standing up, and he knew it.

“It was less about power and shotmaking, like you saw in the ’90s with Pete and Goran [Ivanisevic] and the tail end of that generation. All of a sudden it moved to, you had to be able to run, you had to be able to move. The incredible athleticism,” Roddick exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com in Newport.

He faced a dilemma: Simply hang around, win a title here and there but largely bask in his money and the Top 20; or go for it all again, change his game during the latter stage of his career and re-dedicate himself.

“You start getting, I’m not going to say complacent, but maybe a little lacking direction, and to keep up with the top cream of any sport you’ve got to make adjustments,” Stefanki said.

At the end of 2008, Roddick hired Stefanki and, for the first time in his career, dropped weight – 15 to 20 pounds. At 26, and eight years after he turned pro, the American transformed his play.

“He started working even harder. He did everything he possibly could in every facet,” Stefanki said. “He always said, ‘Larry, I’m not going to limp out of this deal. I’m not going to coast through. I’m going to go every single time, whether I’m at a practice session or a match’.”

The work paid off. In July 2009, Roddick returned to a Grand Slam final for the first time in three years and battled Federer for four-and-a-half hours in one of the greatest title matches at SW19. Roddick fell 16-14 in the fifth set as shadows began to envelop Centre Court.

“The match against Roger is probably one I think about the most,” Roddick said. “We all want opportunities back, but to be able to execute a game plan close to perfection, as well as I could anyways, for the better part of four-and-a-half hours on the biggest stage is not easy to do, especially when there’s an uphill battle in general skill and talent on the other side of the net. I’m proud of that match.”

The work kept paying off. A year later, Roddick would beat Nadal en route to his fifth and final Masters 1000 crown at Miami in March 2010. He wouldn’t win Wimbledon or another Grand Slam, but Roddick had been courageous again, leaving no stone unturned in order to maintain his place as a contender on the biggest stages of the sport.

“I had gone from Nos. 2 to 4, 6 to 8 and it was trending the wrong direction, so to revamp everything, really commit… and have a look at the basket for Wimbledon, which was the ultimate goal, I’m proud of that,” Roddick said. “I think being able to look at yourself objectively when something might be going in another direction is not easy for an athlete. I was happy that I did it.”

Read More: In Newport, Roddick Talks Federer Dominance, What Happened To His Trophies

The joy was on display all Friday morning as Roddick toured the International Tennis Hall of Fame, with his wife, Brooklyn Decker, their son, Hank, and more than a dozen family members and friends. Roddick’s life is much different now, but Hank and younger tennis fans won’t have to rely on old stories about Roddick’s former career.

They’ll be able to come to Newport, see his name alongside the list of tennis greats and read about the talented player who used his serve, forehand and the will to work to arrive at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

“It’s just insane, and I don’t know that that will ever make sense to me,” Roddick said of the honour. “I’m happy to sit here and spend my tennis forever with these legends in Newport.” 

David Ferrer recorded his 25th match win at the SkiStar Swedish Open on Saturday, where he hopes to claim his third title at the beach resort tournament against Alexandr Dolgopolov. It will be Ferrer’s first ATP World Tour final since October 2015 at the Erste Bank Open 500, one of five titles he won that year.

Former World No. 3 Ferrer, who ranks fifth in the active title-leaders list behind the ‘Big Four’ with 26 career crowns, takes a 9-4 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Dolgopolov into the final. Dolgopolov did, however, win their last clash 6-4, 6-4 at the Rio Open presented by Claro in February.

Eighth seed Ferrer cruised into his fourth Båstad final – and his 52nd overall (26-25 record) – on his 10th tournament appearance, with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4 victory over fellow Spaniard and sixth seed Fernando Verdasco, the 2013 and 2016 runner-up.

Ferrer lost 10 points in the opening set, which saw him sweep to a 4-0 lead in 13 minutes before Verdasco held to 30 for his first game. But it was a different matter in the second set with Verdasco winning eight of the first 10 points and, at one point, holding a 3-1 advantage. Ferrer fought back, breaking in the sixth game, but could not convert two match point at Ad-Out on Verdasco’s serve at 4-5.

Ferrer responded and while Verdasco recovered from 0/40 in the first game of the decider, which included five break points, the pressure mounted. Ferrer broke once to 30 in the third game and held on to complete victory in two hours and 10 minutes. The 35 year old is now 14-14 on the season.

Ferrer beat his compatriot Nicolas Almagro in the 2007 and 2012 finals. He also finished runner-up to Robin Soderling, who has attended the ATP World Tour 250 tournament this week as part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, in 2011.

Ukraine’s Dolgopolov will compete for his fourth ATP World Tour title on Sunday. Dolgopolov defeated Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov, in their first tour-level meeting, 6-3, 6-2 over 64 minutes for a place in his eighth final (3-4 record). The World No. 89 captured the Argentina Open title in Buenos Aires (d. Nishikori) in February.

“We had a lot of tight games and he had a number of chances on my serve, but I kept it tight and ran away with it in the second set,” said Dolgopolov.

The 28-year-old Dolgopolov got off to a perfect start by coming close to taking a 4-0 lead, but could not convert three break point opportunities in the fourth game. He broke twice in the second set at 2-2 and 4-2, before closing out on his third match point chance.

On Friday, Ferrer and Dolgopolov both saved two match points in their quarter-final victories over Henri Laaksonen and fifth seed and #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov, respectively.

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Knowle/Petzschner End Swedes Run
Julian Knowle and Philipp Petzschner knocked out Swedish brothers Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer 6-4, 2-6, 10-3 in 75 minutes for a place in the final. Knowle and Petzschner won nine of 10 points from a 1-2 deficit in the Match tie-break.

Knowle, who sealed the 2007 trophy with Swede Simon Aspelin (d. Garcia-Prieto), will attempt to win his first ATP World Tour doubles crown since June 2014 at the Gerry Weber Open (w/Begemann). The 43-year-old Austrian has an 18-25 record in finals.

Petzschner will attempt to improve upon a 6-7 record in doubles finals. His last trophy came in October 2014 at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna (d. Melzer).

They will meet Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop in Sunday’s championship match.

On the ATP Challenger Tour, some of the most successful tournaments are those that integrate local community and culture into the fabric of the event’s identity. The Hague Open has embraced this concept since the tournament was founded in 1993, evolving into one of the premier Challenger destinations for not only the players, but Dutch fans in the surrounding region.

This week, the tournament is celebrating its 25-year anniversary, having remained a staple on the circuit with a commitment to growing the game and cultivating the talent of its rising stars. With world-class competition including Marat Safin, Marcelo Rios, David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet, some of the game’s greats have walked through its doors.

Located in the coastal town of Scheveningen, Netherlands, the event is a 10-minute walk from a beachfront promenade that includes a boardwalk, ferris wheel and many shops and cafes. But it’s the immediate community surrounding the historic Mets Tennis Club that gives the tournament its charm.

“Since I was a six-year-old kid, you could find me here at this club,” said local resident and 2016 champion Robin Haase. “I know every inch of it, every court and how it plays. It has a great centre court in an environment between the houses. To have a court named after me and one next to Richard Krajicek’s court, is an honour. It feels like you’re at home and this is home for me, because I grew up here. Tennis needs the consistency of getting to know an event and enjoying it and that’s what they do so well here.”

The venue is embedded in the community, with adjacent houses seemingly rooted in the foundation of the club. Local residents can peer outside their windows and step on their patios for a glimpse of the action. As tournament director Ivo Pols explains, the 78-year-old club and vintage clubhouse has never conformed to the tides of change and always maintained its unique and intimate identity.

“The tournament is the site and the site is the tournament,” said Pols. “That goes hand in hand. This small building is built for the event. The passion is still there. It’s part of the rhythm of the season of this club. The tournament is really part of the calendar of this community.

“We had a linesman who was here for 24 years. This was the first time he hasn’t been here. We see families and people who have been here forever, wearing our old merchandise with t-shirts and sweatshirts with the tournament logo on it. Sometimes you see these people with 18-year-old sweatshirts.”

The club, which includes 13 clay courts and six with floodlights, have also hosted Davis Cup ties on 39 occasions as well as the Dutch National Championships for 40 years.

“Looking back at the 25 years, I played here in 1993 and it’s always been a fantastic Challenger,” said former doubles No. 1 Paul Haarhuis. “But before it was a Challenger, this club already had unbelievable heritage and tradition as one of the top clubs in Holland to produce top tennis. All the international big stars, including Laver, Emerson and Rosewall have all played here at some point.

“It’s still one of the few biggest tournaments we have in Holland. It’s our strongest Challenger and for Dutch tennis it’s very important. Ivo and his team are doing a wonderful job to keep it here and keep it at a great level. It’s nice because you can get very close to the players and that makes it a lot of fun.”

One of four big tournaments held in The Netherlands, including the ATP World Tour events in Rotterdam and ‘s-Hertogenbosch and the Challenger in Alphen, The Hague Open has earned a reputation as a premier sporting event in the nation. The tournament earned Challenger of the Year honours in 2006.

“This is actually my favourite tournament,” said #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas. “Scheveningen is one of my favourite Challenger tournaments. The spectators make this tournament so special. They come to support the players. And the organisation is very good. We have a very good hotel and food and I feel like I’m at home here.”

“We were the first Challenger in Holland, so we’re the oldest,” added Pols. “We’ve survived the test of time and change. The level is still really high.”

Andy Roddick has had a busy start to his induction weekend at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. He toured the museum on Friday, checking out his own exhibit as well as the rest of the museum, which is divided into three sections: The Birth of Tennis (1874-1918); The Popular Game (1918-1968); and The Open Era (1968-present).

Roddick also took time to talk with ATPWorldTour.com about a variety of subjects, including what exactly happened to his trophies and Roger Federer’s continued dominance.

Has it started to sink in yet, that you’re inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame?
I don’t know that it will ever be real, walking through here and seeing my superheroes… It’s just insane and I don’t know that that will ever make sense to me. It’s a pretty humbling experience walking through here. As I’ve said a couple times today I’m happy to here and spend my tennis forever with these legends in Newport.

You came so close to beating Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Do those matches look even more impressive now that Federer is still dominating?
No, I don’t think the fact that Roger is dominant at 35 somehow makes me better. I’m amazed at what he’s doing. I think we all, certainly me more than most, are aware of what he’s able to do on a tennis court. I certainly thought that he was in with a shot, maybe at Wimbledon and the US Open, to make a run at another Grand Slam.

To come back and be dominant at 35 is another conversation. I’m awed by that. I’m surprised by that. There’s not many things that Roger Federer could do to surprise me. It’s amazing to watch.

There’s been a lot of talk about your trophies. What exactly happened?
Yeah, this story kind of took on a life of its own. I don’t know that it was as dramatic as people want to make it out to be. We were just really moving houses. And the story gets retold and all of a sudden I have one trophy left.

I have more than one trophy left. I didn’t want someone to walk into our living room and it to be a shrine to a former career. I was there. I played the matches. I have the memories. They’re not going anywhere. So there were some that exited the premises.

It was more about you didn’t need the shrine then?
Honestly, let’s break it down to the simplest moment: Most people who are in my house probably know that I played tennis at some point. So I don’t know that I need shiny objects to try to enforce the fact that I played tennis at some point.

Ivan Dodig used home soil to his advantage, ousting top seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Friday. The 32-year-old Zagreb native fired five aces to advance in 92 minutes. Goffin was making his Umag debut this week after missing the entire grass-court season due to an ankle injury.

“I tried to be aggressive from the first point and tried to play shorter points,” said Dodig. “In the end, today was my day. I really felt good on the court and I was really aggressive.”

Dodig will next face #NextGenATP’s Andrey Rublev, who entered the draw as a Lucky Loser and has now reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final. The Russian advanced Friday with a tight 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(2) win over third seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini. In their third meeting, Rublev fired seven aces and won 70 per cent of his first serve points to claim victory after two hours and 16 minutes.

“I have no words to explain it,” said Rublev. “It’s my first semi-final and I’m really happy. This match was so tough. I had to fight for every point. I had to give my all. This match was one of the toughest I’ve ever played.”

Elsewhere, Alessandro Giannessi beat Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5. The 27-year-old Italian saved eight of the 11 break points he faced to win in a two-hour, 51-minute battle. Giannessi improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head with the Brazilian to 3-0.

Giannessi will next face the winner of the match between Jiri Vesely and Paolo Lorenzi.

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Second seed John Isner continued his bid to reclaim the Newport title, advancing to the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow American Dennis Novikov on Friday afternoon at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open. The top seed fired 20 aces and did not face a break point in the 73-minute victory. 

“Just one of those matches on a surface like this, with two pretty good servers, that’s how it can go – you just get one break and you try to hold onto it. That’s what I did,” he said. “I felt like in the second set I could have extended it to a two-break lead but a lot of times one break is all I need so I’m happy to get off the court in pretty quick fashion so I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

Two-time champion Isner (2011, ’12) will be looking to reach his first final since last November’s Rolex Paris Masters (l. to Murray) when he faces fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo for the first time.

“It’s going to be fun, I know John well and he knows me well,” said Fratangelo. “It’ll obviously be our first meeting but we’ve practised together a bunch and we’re pals… I’m going to have to return well and make sure my serve percentage is high… He’s not going to want to lose to me, so I think he’s going to come out with extra motivation… Hopefully I can put up a good battle.”

Fratangelo reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final after beating fourth seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, capitalising on four of his five break point chances to seal victory on his first match point opportunity after two hours and nine minutes.

“I feel like I’ve been returning well all week,” he said. “That’s one thing – I do have a good return and I feel like this week I’ve really been making sure that if I get a racquet on it I’m putting it in the court, and I’m doing a great job of that.”

Qureshi/Ram Prevail Against Groth/Paes 

In a hard-fought doubles semi-final, top seeds Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rajeev Ram battled past No. 3 seeds Sam Groth and Leander Paes 4-6, 7-6(6),11-9 in just under two hours. They will face Aussies Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith on Saturday evening for the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court title. The Australians defeated compatriots Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington 6-2, 4-6, 10-5.

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