The excitement is building in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan as the ATP World Tour’s budding stars make their final efforts in the last week of the Race at the Swiss Indoors Basel and the Erste Banke Open 500 in Vienna, with four qualifying spots remaining.

Basel is the hot spot for those who have not yet qualified for the inaugural Next Gen ATP finals. Five #NextGenATP players looking to add their name to the Milan mix are competing in the event.

The toughest task may go to American Frances Tiafoe, who enters Basel in ninth place in the Race, 110 points behind No. 7 Daniil Medvedev. The Top 7 in the Race qualify, with an eighth spot going to the winner of an Italian 21 and under event. Tiafoe will face top-seeded Roger Federer, who enters his hometown tournament after winning the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Federer beat Tiafoe in five sets at this year’s US Open and in straight sets at this year’s Miami Open presented by Itau.

A player he can face in the quarter-finals, Denis Shapovalov, is also a contender in the Race. However, the Canadian is much closer to guaranteeing his spot in Milan, sitting next in line to qualify in fourth place with 926 points. If the left-hander beats this year’s Antalya Open champion, Yuichi Sugita, in their opening match, he will qualify.

Jared Donaldson is second in line to qualify, currently in the No. 5 spot with 890 points. The American will face a qualifier in the first round. Just four points behind Donaldson in the Race is No. 6 Borna Coric, who will confront Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen at the 25 year old’s home event. Both players can qualify for Milan by reaching the quarter-finals.

South Korean Hyeon Chung will look to punch his ticket to the inaugural tournament with a strong result in Basel. After dropping from seventh to eighth in the Race last week, he will attempt to overcome a 12-point deficit behind Medvedev. Chung plays ATP World Tour veteran Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.

Medvedev, who climbed into the final automatic qualifying spot with his quarter-final showing at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, is the only player in the Race’s Top 9 not playing a tour-level event this week. Instead, the 21 year old is competing in the Open Brest Arena Credit Agricole, an ATP Challenger Tour event in Brest, France. He plays Italian Matteo Donati in the first round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, who rose to No. 10 in the Race by virtue of his semi-final run in Antwerp, is also playing in Brest. He has been eliminated from the Race, as even by winning the tournament he would remain in 10th.

The only other player still alive in the Race is Sebastian Ofner, who is in 17th. He plays Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the first round in Vienna. 

The three #NextGen ATP stars who have already qualified for Milan are all competing in Vienna. Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 player in the race, is the top seed, and he is facing Viktor Troicki in the first round. No. 2 in the standings is Andrey Rublev, who was drawn against a difficult foe in Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Dominic Thiem, the second seed. Karen Khachanov, who was the most recent player to earn his spot in Milan, is facing eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The Race comes to a close on 30 October.

It will be a sprint to the end of the 2017 Emirates ATP Race To London. Two weeks remain in the Race, and half of the Nitto ATP Finals qualification spots are still available.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem have already qualified for the prestigious event, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London.

But four other places remain, with Grigor Dimitrov, Pablo Carreno Busta, Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson looking to boost their chances at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna. Marin Cilic, David Goffin and Juan Martin del Potro will hope to do the same at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

Dimitrov might not have to wait until the new tournaments start on Monday; he could clinch his London debut on Sunday. The Bulgarian faces del Potro in the Intrum Stockholm Open final. With his second Stockholm title, the 26-year-old Dimitrov will book his place in London.

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Delpo can’t qualify on Sunday, but the Argentine has an outside chance of returning to the season-ending tournament (also 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013). If he repeats as Stockholm champion on Sunday, del Potro will be 470 points behind Carreno Busta, who currently holds the final qualification spot.

The Spaniard is looking to also book his first appearance at The O2. Carreno Busta is the fourth seed in Vienna, but has a tough draw. After facing a qualifier in the first round, Carreno Busta could face Fabio Fognini of Italy or Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who will try to win his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the European Open in Antwerp.

Cilic, the defending champion in Basel, needs to reach the semi-finals to officially start planning his third trip in the past four years to the Nitto ATP Finals. The second seed faces Stockholm semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the first round and could meet #NextGenATP countryman Borna Coric in round two. Eighth seed Mischa Zverev of Germany is the seeded favourite to meet Cilic in the quarter-finals.

Goffin, who was an alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals last year, is the third seed in Basel and might face Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi in the second round and fifth seed Jack Sock in the quarter-finals. Anderson, the seventh seed, and Querrey, the eighth seed, will also try to make headway in Vienna.

Federer qualified for his 15^th appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals months ago, and the Swiss will look to stay sharp in his hometown tournament, where he is a seven-time champion and making his first appearance since 2015.

The 36-year-old opens against #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe, who’s looking to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan. Federer could then meet American Steve Johnson. A quarter-final with #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov would be must-see tennis, but seventh seed Adrian Mannarino might prevent that. Goffin and Sock are the favourites to face Federer in the semi-finals.

Two former champions will battle it out for the 2017 Intrum Stockholm Open title as reigning champion Juan Martin del Potro outlasted eighth seed Fernando Verdasco on Saturday in a tussle between two of the biggest forehands in tennis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1), to set up a clash against top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.

“It was a great match. We both played great tennis and I think the crowd enjoyed our game,” del Potro said. “I’m glad to be in the final once again.”

Del Potro is into his first final of the season, and his first overall since lifting the trophy in Sweden last year. The right-hander will attempt to win his 20th title on Sunday.

The match will be of the utmost importance for del Potro in the Emirates ATP Race To London, as he has made a late-season charge to put himself within striking distance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 29-year-old is now into 15th in the Race with 2,035 points, and can ascend to 14th with a victory. If he beats the 2013 champion, del Potro will be within 480 points of No. 9 Pablo Carreno Busta, who has 2,605 points and currently holds the final qualifying spot with No. 7 Stan Wawrinka out for the season due to injury.

It was not easy for del Potro to give himself that opportunity to make a move in the Race, as the veteran left-hander Verdasco pushed the Argentine the distance.

Verdasco earned an immediate break of serve in the third set to gain a 2-0 advantage with his forehand keeping his opponent on the back foot, but del Potro roared right back with a break of his own, using his own timely forehands. The ‘Tower of Tandil’ then saved a break point at 3-4, which would have allowed Verdasco to serve for the match. Once the pair got to the tie-break, it was all del Potro.

“I was focused during the third set and in the tie-break I broke a few times at the beginning and that allowed me to play with more confidence in my game on my serve,” del Potro said. “I played a good match today.”

Del Potro will not have it easy on Sunday as he attempts to defend his title against an in-form Dimitrov. With his 6-3, 7-6(2) semi-final victory over sixth seed Fabio Fognini, the Bulgarian moved up to No. 5 in the Race, and put himself in position to win a career-best fourth title of the season (Brisbane, Sofia, Cincinnati).

Del Potro leads in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 5-2, but Dimitrov has won the past two matches, both straight-set victories this year in Beijing and Cincinnati.

“I would love to defend my title but Grigor is playing so good. He already beat me in Beijing and Cincinnati as well and he’s playing such good tennis on this surface,” del Potro said. “Hopefully I can be ready to put up a good fight.”

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It was a historic day at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, with two Bosnians playing in the semi-final of an ATP World Tour event for the first time.

But it was sixth seed Damir Dzumhur who continued his good play with a 6-0, 7-6(9) victory over qualifier Mirza Basic, his best friend, who had not reached a tour-level quarter-final before this week.

“It means a lot for us. It means a lot for Bosnian tennis. It means a lot for Bosnian people,” Dzumhur said. “I think back home in Bosnia everyone was watching us today. Some people were probably for cheering for him, some for me, but I think most of the people were just enjoying the tennis, especially in the second set when Mirza played very good tennis.”

For Dzumhur, No. 38 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, it will be his second final on Russian soil in the span of a month after claiming his maiden trophy at the St. Petersburg Open in September. He is projected to climb to a career-high ranking of at least No. 33 by making the final.

At the beginning of the semi-final, it appeared that the higher-ranked player would cruise. Dzumhur lost the first two points of the match on his own serve, but would go on to speed through the opening set in 22 minutes, facing just two break points in the fifth game.

“Mirza was tight, I could feel that. He was nervous and I used that in the start after getting a 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 lead. I knew that it was going to be an easy set, but [I knew] the second one is not going to be easy because you cannot have two easy sets against a guy like Mirza,” Dzumhur said. “When he’s serving good, when he’s in the zone, he’s very dangerous and that’s what he showed in the second set.”

Basic, World No. 209 played far better than his ranking in the second set, holding serve throughout to keep the match close. At 5-6, he saved eight match points on his serve in a 28-point game to force a tie-break.

“I just couldn’t finish it because he was either playing an amazing serve or a good forehand, good volley,” Dzumhur said. “After a few match points when you don’t use it, don’t finish, you get a little tight, you get a little bit nervous… I’m sure that if we went to a third set he’d have the advantage. He’d have confidence, I would be down because I didn’t use so many match points and so I knew that I had to finish in two sets. Luckily for me I finished it and I’m in the final.”

Dzumhur failed to convert two more match points in the tie-break, and saved two set points against him, but ultimately closed Basic out in straight sets.

The 25-year-old will play third seed Adrian Mannarino or Ricardas Berankis in the final, but for now is enjoying what was a special day for his nation.

“Definitely before we started the tournament we couldn’t imagine that we would play in the semis here in Moscow,” Dzumhur admitted. “That’s a huge thing for Bosnian tennis. That’s a huge thing for both of us and especially for Mirza, his first semis….I don’t feel good because I beat my best friend, Mirza, but one of us had to go to the final and I would say the same if I lost.”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play in his fourth ATP World Tour final of the season at the European Open in Antwerp. The Frenchman ended the run of home favourite Ruben Bemelmans on Saturday 6-3, 6-3 in 73 minutes.

“Today was a good match. I played pretty good. Ruben had played a few good matches before and he was pretty confident, so it was not easy. I played well and had to play my best tennis to win,” Tsonga said.

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Tsonga broke twice in both sets, converting all four break points, and erased two of three break points to roll past the Belgian, who was playing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final. Sunday will mark Tsonga’s first title match since May, when he won the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon (d. Berdych).

The right-hander will meet Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who ended the career-best run of 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with a 6-3, 7-5 win. The #NextGenATP Greek was playing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final.

Schwartzman started slow in both sets, falling behind a break. But the World No. 26 rallied to reach back-to-back European Open finals. “I think I took every chance I had today,” Schwartzman said. “I returned really well.”

Schwartzman fell in last year’s title match to Frenchman Richard Gasquet. The 5’7” Argentine won his maiden title last year at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open (d. Dimitrov). It will be his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Tsonga.

“It’s going to be a really tough match for me. Tsonga is a big player, big guy. He has played in a lot of finals. He has won many titles in his career,” Schwartzman said. “I’m going to enjoy the match here again in the final, try to win and try to play good tennis.

“Before I started to be a professional I saw him on TV, and now I am playing against him. It’s very nice for me. I am learning a lot and playing good tennis.” 

Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro continued his late charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London with a 6-2, 7-6(6) win against seventh seed Yuichi Sugita at the Intrum Stockholm Open on Friday evening.

“I just played good tennis in the tie-break,” del Potro said. “I found a way in the last point of the match and I got through in an important match and I’m glad to be in the semi-finals.”

The Shanghai Rolex Masters semi-finalist is now No. 16 in the Race with 1,975 points. Should he go on to advance to his first final since his last visit to Stockholm, he will climb to 15th, and then 14th should he defend his crown, which would bring his total to 2,135 points.

While that may seem far behind the eighth and final qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals, No. 7 Stan Wawrinka and No. 10 Novak Djokovic have ended their seasons due to injury, and No. 13 Andy Murray has not played since The Championships, also due to injury. Del Potro would be 470 points behind No. 9 Pablo Carreno Busta.

Del Potro could have faced another potential London qualifier in second seed Kevin Anderson, but Fernando Verdasco stalled the US Open finalist’s bid with a 7-6(1), 7-6(1) victory.

“It’s a very tough tournament, even if it’s a 250, the draw is really tough,” Verdasco said of the Intrum Stockholm Open. “Today it was an important match for me, also because it was the first time [I would] reach the semi-finals [in Stockholm] if I win and also because the last couple of months, I was not finding my game.”

Verdasco had not reached a tour-level quarter-final since July in Bastad, when he lost in the semi-finals at the SkiStar Swedish Open against David Ferrer. As the Spaniard said, Sweden may just be his lucky charm. Both Verdasco and Anderson saved the single break point they each faced, but the left-hander controlled both tie-breaks with his aggressive forehand and overall baseline play.

Confronting del Potro in the semi-finals is not the luckiest draw, as the Argentine has proven to be in good form. However, Verdasco feels he is ready for the challenge, as he pursues his first title since last year’s BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest.

“Very happy. Tomorrow is also going to be a very tough match, a very tough opponent,” Verdasco said. “But I’m very motivated, and I think I am ready to fight and try to win.”