William Blumberg may have the coolest summer job out of all his friends at the University of North Carolina. 

The rising sophomore is taking his first steps in pro events and has already enjoyed success on the ATP Challenger Tour. In just his fourth pro tournament and his first Challenger, Blumberg is through to the quarter-finals of the $75,000 event in Binghamton. The 19 year old made full use of his main draw wild card by defeating seventh seed Denis Kudla in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the last eight.

“It means a lot. I’ve been practising hard and playing really good this summer, so it’s nice to see all the hard work paying off,” said Blumberg. “A lot of the guys playing here are people I grew up playing with and are some of my best friends, so it’s nice to be around them as well.”

Blumberg completed his freshman year at UNC by reaching the finals of the NCAA Championships (l. Kwiatkowski), finishing the year with a 31-3 record in singles and holding a 24-match win streak at one stage. The Connecticut native was fittingly named the 2017 ITA National Rookie of the Year.

But after just a few weeks on the road with the pros, he’s already picked up on some of the main differences between top college players and those at the Challenger level.

“Everyone is talented from a certain level up, but the big thing I’ve noticed is how strong these guys are mentally,” said Blumberg. “Everyone is very professional, especially the top players here. You see them warming up 30 minutes before they practice, eating a very specific way. They don’t waste too much time because this is their job. It’s a little bit different at the college level because some of the players there may have different intentions, which is natural.”

Blumberg is aiming to continue building on his success this summer by playing more Challenger tournaments in the fall. But for now, he’s motivated knowing that his game already stacks up against some of the world’s most elite players.

“A lot of this is mental,” he said. “A lot of these guys are talented and ranked really high, so it’s a matter of believing in yourself and believing you can win these matches.” 

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.