There’s no greater pressure in tennis than facing match point. If you lose the point, you lose the match. There have been memorable moments over the years when players saved match point and eventually triumphed.

Alexander Zverev did this in an extreme way at the 2017 Coupe Rogers. In his opening match, the German saved three match points before defeating Richard Gasquet in a third-set tie-break. One of those match points, at 5-6, 30/40 in the decider, featured a 49-shot rally, which Zverev finished off with a forehand winner.

“It definitely helped that I won the point against Gasquet, otherwise I would be in Cincinnati right now,” Zverev said after his next match against Nick Kyrgios.

Zverev took full advantage of that save, going on to lift the trophy in Montreal with wins over Kyrgios, Kevin Anderson, Denis Shapovalov and Roger Federer.

At the same tournament, Gael Monfils saved four match points before defeating Kei Nishikori in a final-set tie-break to reach the Round of 16.

“I’m more than happy because I fought through the toughness, because it was tough for me,” Monfils said. “It was a bit like a rollercoaster.”

Other memorable match point saves include when Rafael Nadal battled from the brink against Novak Djokovic at the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open and Andy Murray saved seven match points against Philipp Kohlschreiber at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have won 119 tour-level titles together, setting countless doubles records. What has it taken to enjoy so much success?

“You’ve got to be crazy to be around someone like this for this long,” Mike said on this week’s episode of Tennis United.

“This doesn’t last unless we have the same DNA, the same blood. Our teeth are the same, we’ve got our braces on and off the same day. His retainer fit my mouth, it was just weird,” Bob said. “We’ve been connected at the hip since birth. I think twins are weird. It’s not normal to be this close to someone that’s not your spouse. It’s an unbreakable bond. It had to be a twin relationship for this to last this many years.”

Winning on the court is one thing, but maintaining your relationship with a partner is another. It’s unheard of for partners to stay together throughout their careers like the Bryan Brothers have.

“You have to be able to be around them all day with the practice, eating lunch. You’re a package deal. It is like a marriage and then you’re going through ups and downs weekly,” Mike said. “When stress gets involved, things could be said and if you lose matches you never want to look in the mirror and say, ‘I could have done this.’ We never had that vibe.”

“You play doubles with a guy for a couple years and he starts to get on your nerves and you’re looking for someone new,” Bob added.

It was doubles week on Tennis United. Co-hosts Vasek Pospisil and Bethanie Mattek-Sands are both Grand Slam doubles champions. They spoke to several doubles stars, including Rajeev Ram, Jack Sock, Jean-Julien Rojer, Kevin Krawietz, Andreas Mies and Marcelo Melo.

“My favourite thing about doubles is [it happens] so quickly,” Melo said. “We can have fun sharing the court with someone. You always have to be ready to make some reflex volleys. You have such entertaining points, so that’s why I love to play doubles and for sure many people do as well.”

Lucas Arnold Ker calls himself a tennis lover and does not hesitate to acknowledge that racquets and tennis balls were “everything” for a large part of his life. The 45-year-old Argentine, for whom tennis runs in the family with his father and brother both playing professionally, reached the doubles final at Roland Garros in 1997 and climbed as high as No. 77 in FedEx ATP Rankings.

One thing he’ll never forget is facing Roger Federer at the 1998 Swiss Open Gstaad, Federer’s ATP Tour debut. Arnold Ker defeated the 16-year-old home favourite 6-4, 6-4 in 80 minutes. 

“I’m often reminded that I beat him… but not many know that it was his first match on the ATP Tour,” Arnold Ker told ATPTour.com. “I never thought or imagined that Federer was going to be one of the best in the world and in history, I really didn’t.”

At that tournament Arnold Ker, then No. 88 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, fell in the final round of qualifying. He competed in the main draw as a lucky loser thanks to Tommy Haas’ withdrawal due to food poisoning. Arnold Ker had never set eyes on Federer, who had just been crowned the Wimbledon boys’ singles champion. 

“I had to play a Swiss junior and at the time Switzerland didn’t have much of a [tennis] history,” Arnold Ker said. “They weren’t very good players.”

That match, on 7 July 1998, was the first of over 1,500 tour-level matches for Federer. Arnold Ker broke the Swiss four times in his triumph.

“Roger had a good serve, a good forehand… but his backhand was stunted, not good at all,” Arnold Ker said. “I remember moving him over there all the time and that allowed me to beat him solidly in two sets.”

Did Arnold Ker imagine at the time that he had just faced a future World No. 1 and the winner of 20 Grand Slam titles?

“It’s incredible that he progressed as a player to be one of the best in history,” Arnold Ker said.

Federer also recalled the match a few months back in an interview with Argentine newspaper La Nación.

“I was disappointed because I was supposed to play Tommy Haas, but he had a stomach bug and, instead of playing on Centre Court, they put me on Court 1,” Federer said. “But it was still full of fans and it was really crazy, because I had won [the] Wimbledon juniors.

“I remember Lucas, who was from the generation of players who played serve and volley. He served to my backhand with spin and I had come from Wimbledon, where the ball bounces at a different height and I struggled. He was more experienced. I played well from what I remember. I lost 6-4, 6-4, but it was a great experience to have the media spotlight on me playing in front of a lot of people, getting used to that kind of pressure.”

For his part, Arnold only crossed paths on court with Federer one more time, in doubles. When he talks about tennis with his students today and remembers old times, the Argentine normally tells them to keep an eye on the Swiss legend. Federer still surprises him by continuing to improve despite his greatness.

Arnold Ker teaches tennis “more socially than competitively” because he prioritises his family, even moreso since battling testicular cancer in 2007, which he beat after countless chemotherapy sessions.

“Until I was probably 30, I spent 24 hours a day thinking about tennis,” Arnold Ker said. “Since I was little I knew I wanted to be a professional and I can say that I gave it everything.”

The ATP has announced the cancellation of the 2020 China tournament swing, following a Chinese government directive relating to sporting events in continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The directive, issued earlier this month by the General Administration of Sport in China, mandates that no international sporting events will proceed in China for the remainder of the year. As a result, the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Asia’s only ATP Masters 1000 tournament, the China Open in Beijing, an ATP 500 event, as well as the Chengdu Open and Zhuhai Championships, ATP 250 events, will not take place in 2020.

In addition to the four ATP Tour events affected, the policy also applies to other major international sporting events scheduled to take place in China.

“Our approach throughout this pandemic has been to always follow local guidance when staging events. We respect the Chinese government’s decision to do what’s best for the country in response to the unprecedented global situation,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce ATP tournaments will not be played in China this year. These important events have been a cornerstone of the Tour’s presence in Asia and I want to thank the organizers for their commitment and cooperation. Chinese fans are some of the most passionate in the world and I know players will be looking forward to the next opportunity to play in front of them.”

The ATP continues to work on a revised calendar for the final section of the 2020 season, through to the Nitto ATP Finals in November. A further update is expected in the next fortnight on a provisional schedule of events.

The 2020 ATP Tour provisional calendar can be found here.