Fabio Fognini will face another mercurial talent Ernests Gulbis on Friday in the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad quarter-finals. Gulbis, who continues his return to consistent form, leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 4-1, but the pair has not met since October 2014.

Fognini, competing in Gstaad for the first time since losing in the first round of qualifying 10 years ago, saved 11 of 15 break points to beat Norbert Gombos 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 for a place in his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) of the year.

World No. 310 Gulbis advanced to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since October 2015 at the Erste Bank Open (l. to Johnson in SFs), with a 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-4 win over fifth seed and last week’s Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag runner-up Paolo Lorenzi in two hours and 39 minutes. Former World No. 10 Gulbis required eight set point opportunities to clinch the first set and saved two set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the tie-break.

Yannick Hanfmann, currently No. 170 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and contesting just his seventh tour-level match, struck 13 aces to knock out third seed and defending champion Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 49 minutes. Hanfmann, who recovered from 15/40 at 5-5 in the first set, also reached the BMW Open by FWU quarter-finals as a qualifier in May (l. to Bautista Agut).

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Qualifier Federico Delbonis, who has a liking for the Rothenbaum, venue of the German Tennis Championships 2017, having reached the 2013 final (d. Federer in SFs, l. to Fognini in final), battled back to knock out the experienced David Ferrer on Thursday.

Delbonis trailed eighth seed and 2014 runner-up Ferrer 1-5 in the first set, and saved two set points at 4-5, in a 7-5, 6-3 win over one hour and 45 minutes for a place in his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season (also Sao Paulo). It was his first win in four matches against Ferrer, who lifted his 27th tour-level trophy on Sunday at the SkiStar Swedish Open (d. Dolgopolov).

“I have very good memories of the club in Hamburg,” said Delbonis. “It’s amazing to be back at a place to restore my confidence. I tried to keep battling at 1-5 in the first set, changing my game and slowing down the rallies. It was very fast at the beginning. I kept adopting the same tactic in the second set.” He will next meet third seed and #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov or Aljaz Bedene.

Another seed casualty was fifth seed Benoit Paire, who lost to Nicolas Kicker 6-4, 7-6(7). Paire could not convert one set point opportunity at 7/6 in the second set tie-break. Kicker awaits the winner of fourth seed and 2011 champion Gilles Simon or Philipp Kohlschreiber.

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Top seed Jack Sock and second seed John Isner are in opposite halves of the draw at the BB&T Atlanta Open, but the two friends found themselves up close during Isner’s press conference on Wednesday night.

Isner was ready to take a few questions after his win over Vasek Pospisil, but was surprised to find the first one came from a “reporter” with the the Kansas City Star. After answering a question from Sock about the recent change in his game plan, the top seed noted that “like at Shanghai doubles, you’re returning well.” (Sock and Isner teamed up this past October to take the title at the Shanghai Rolex Masters).

“I had a partner who was average in Shanghai last year,” joked Isner. “I had to carry him, so I had to put him on my back and play very well. That partner remains nameless.”

Sock plays his opening match against Dudi Sela on Thursday night and Isner will square off against Lukas Lacko in the quarter-finals on Friday. 

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German Tennis Championships 2017 – Hamburg, Germany 

Hamburg native Tommy Haas visited the Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall), a concert hall in Hamburg with his family over the weekend. The Elbphilharmonie is one of the largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world.  

“Hamburg is an absolutely special place for me, no question about that. I was born and raised here. I started playing tennis here in the tennis club when my dad was teaching tennis. So everything for me really began here,” said Haas.

Philipp Kohlschreiber assisted with the draw ceremony at Kaisergalerie

Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Pablo Cuevas, Gilles Simon, Daniel Altmaier, #NextGenATP player Karen Khachanov and Haas all participated in Media Day.

J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad – Gstaad, Switzerland

Roberto Bautista Agut met with some of his youngest fans during Kids’ Day. 

Mikhail Youzhny and Radu Albot are among the players who participated in the Pro-Am.

Joao Sousa, Henri Laaksonen and Marco Chiudinelli mingled with sponsors and signed autographs for fans.

Florian Mayer, Jiri Vesely, Maximilian Marterer and Haas took part in the Pro-Am.

BB&T Atlanta Open – Atlanta, Georgia 

Gilles Muller had a hit with Weather Channel meteorologist Paul Goodloe.

John Isner met with Harlem Globetrotters member Kris “Hi-Lite” Bruton and received a personal jersey with the No. 1 on it.

Bob Bryan visited the Georgia Aquarium with his family.

#NextGenATP Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka assisted in the tournament draw ceremony and participated in a Q&A during a charity fundraiser for the YMCA.

Fritz also visited the GT Baseball Field and tried his hand at a different sport.

Second seed and three-time BB&T Atlanta Open champion John Isner always find a way to bring his best tennis to Georgia, and his Wednesday night match against Vasek Pospisil was no exception. The American won 40 of his 44 service points to record a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory and book a spot in the quarter-finals.

“I love coming back here,” said Isner. “I’m very comfortable here and enjoy playing this event, so I’m very fortunate this tournament keeps coming back every year.”

Isner prevailed in Atlanta in 2013-2015 and finished runner-up in 2010, 2011 and 2016. He improves to 24-4 at this event with the win over Pospisil. 

Next up for Isner is Lukas Lacko, who scored the upset of the day in defeating sixth seed and Atlanta native Donald Young 6-3, 6-1. Lacko didn’t face a break point in the match and is through to his third quarter-final in Atlanta (2010, 2014)

#NextGenATP American Tommy Paul is through to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final after posting an upset 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 win over Malek Jaziri. The 20 year old rallied from 1-3 down in the deciding set to secure the win in two hours and 18 minutes.

“It’s definitely a good feeling. I was playing ITF Futures events a month ago and now I’m in the quarter-finals here, so it’s pretty crazy,” said Paul. “I’m excited to get out there again on Friday and keep riding this confidence.” 

Paul, currently No. 291 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, came through qualifying and has won four consecutive three-set matches this week. He opened his main draw campaign with a first-round win over seventh seed and fellow #NextGenATP player Hyeon Chung of South Korea.

The American has jumped over 100 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings over the past month. He’s enjoyed success stateside this season on the ATP Challenger Tour, posting semi-final finishes in Savannah and Winnetka.

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Awaiting Paul in the last eight is third seed Gilles Muller, who weathered a stern challenge from qualifier and #NextGenATP Frenchman Quentin Halys to advance 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3. Muller, competing in his first tournament since defeating Rafael Nadal to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, hammered 20 aces and won 87 per cent of his first-serve points to prevail in two hours and 14 minutes.

“It feels good to win. The most important thing is to be ready to start all over again every day. It’s not like players are just going to give it to me because I made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon You have to work hard,” said Muller. “I am ready to do that now. I am going to wake up every day and try to do my best. At the end of the day, there is a good chance I will win a few matches.”

Harrison/Venus Upset In Opening Round 

Andres Molteni and Adil Shamasdin defeated second seeds and Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 6-4, 0-6, 10-7. Next up in the quarter-finals for Molteni/Shamasdin are Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak.

Chung and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan needed 67 minutes to defeat the brother duo of Jack Sock and Eric Sock 6-3, 6-4. Their reward is a quarter-final showdown with top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.