Top seed Grigor Dimitrov, #NextGenATP player Borna Coric, Argentine Diego Schwartzman and Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky took time off in Marrakech on Sunday to enjoy a dromedary ride ahead of the Grand Prix Hassan II, which starts on Monday.

Dimitrov, who accepted a late wild card into the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, is visiting Morocco for the first time and enjoyed riding the dromedary, an Arabian one-humped camel. “It’s great to discover a new place and I had a great time today,” the Bulgarian said.

Coric has been to Marrakech before – the 20 year old reached the final last year before falling to Argentine Federico Delbonis. But the Croatian still had a great time during the off-court activity. “This was a new experience for me, and I really enjoyed it,” Coric said after the ride in the Palmeraie district.

Schwartzman, who is playing at a career-high No. 41 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, rode the moodiest dromedary but he couldn’t stop smiling and taking pictures, while Stakhovsky took in the architecture of the “red” city. Main draw play kicks off on Monday, with Stakhovsky facing Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the third match on centre court.

Spring Clay Season Commences: After an exciting first three months of action on the ATP World Tour, the red clay circuit swings into full gear with five tournaments in April. The lone clay tournament in North America, the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, and the only event in Africa, the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, begin the swing. There are 12 clay court tournaments in the next seven weeks leading into Roland Garros, which begins 28 May.

Emirates ATP Race To Milan Leaders: Six of the Top 12 #NextGenATP players in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan standings (as of 3 April) are in action, led by No. 5 Jared Donaldson, No. 7 Ernesto Escobedo and No. 9 Frances Tiafoe in Houston. Overall there are seven of the Top 20 in the main draw:

1 Alexander Zverev 11 Hyeon Chung – Houston

2 Daniil Medvedev 12 Noah Rubin – Houston (Q)

3 Casper Ruud 13 Alexander Bublik

4 Andrey Rublev 14 Omar Jasika

5 Jared Donaldson – Houston 15 Quentin Halys

6 Taylor Fritz 16 Blake Mott

7 Ernesto Escobedo – Houston (WC) 17 Karen Khachanov

8 Borna Coric – Marrakech 18 Alex De Minaur

9 Frances Tiafoe – Houston 19 Matteo Berrettini

10 Denis Shapovalov 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime

Reilly Opelka – Houston (WC)

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship (Houston): This year’s tournament will mark the 83^rd edition hosted at the River Oaks Country Club. The last five winners are in the 28-player field, including reigning champion Juan Monaco, who also captured the 2012 title. The others are 2015 titleholder Jack Sock, 2014 titlist Fernando Verdasco and 2013 champ John Isner.

Sock is the No. 1 seed for the first time in his career in an ATP World Tour event. The other seeds: No. 2 Isner, No. 3 Sam Querrey, No. 4 Steve Johnson, No. 5 Verdasco, No. 6 Feliciano Lopez, No. 7 Donald Young and No. 8 Thomaz Bellucci. Overall seven players in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw for the second straight year.

Reigning Champion: Unseeded Monaco comes in as the reigning champion. The 33-year-old Argentine is expected to drop from No. 72 to around No. 128 in the 10 April Emirates ATP Rankings, since the tournament was held one week earlier last year. Monaco missed the first two months of the season with a wrist injury before returning last month.

He has an 0-2 record, losing in the first round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Last year he came into Houston ranked No. 148 and defeated 2015 champion Sock 36 63 75 in the final. Monaco also won the 2012 title (d. No. 10 Isner). Overall, Monaco has a 14-4 record in Houston.

Sock Top Seed: Sock is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the first time. The 24-year-old top American is off to a career-best 18-5 start, winning ATP World Tour titles in Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (W/O vs. Raonic). He also advanced to his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (d No. 5 Nishikori, l. to Federer) and followed with a quarter-final in Miami (l. to Nadal).

Sock has an 11-3 record in Houston, winning his maiden ATP World Tour title in 2015 (d. Querrey) while unseeded and ranked No. 46. Last year he lost to Monaco 36 63 75 in the final.

#NextGenATP in Draw: There are six #NextGenATP stars in the main draw:

Rank Age
No. 75 Jared Donaldson 20
No. 89 Frances Tiafoe 19
No. 92 Hyeon Chung 20
No. 95 Ernesto Escobedo (WC) 20
No. 169 Reilly Opelka (WC) 19
No. 182 Noah Rubin (Q) 21

Querrey Eyes 300 Wins: Two-time finalist (2010, 2015) and No. 3 seed Querrey is four wins away from joining the 300 Match Wins Club on the ATP World Tour. The 29-year-old California native has a career record of 296-243. Querrey captured his ninth career ATP World Tour title in Acapulco last month, defeating two Top 10 (No. 9 Thiem in QF, No. 6 Nadal in final) and two Top 20 opponents (No. 11 Goffin in 2R, No. 17 Kyrgios in SF) along the way.

Querrey has a 13-7 record in Houston, falling to Juan Ignacio Chela in the 2010 final and to Sock in the 2015 championship. He also advanced to the semi-finals in 2014 (W/O vs. Almagro).

Isner Looks To Jumpstart: No. 2 seed and 2013 champion Isner comes in with a 6-7 match record on the season. The No. 2 American has not won back-to-back matches in the six previous tournaments he’s played in 2017.

His best results are quarter-finals in Auckland and Memphis (after a bye). He is playing in Houston for the 10^th straight year (13-8 record) and in addition to his title, he was runner-up in 2012, a semi-finalist last year and quarter-finalist in 2009 and 2011.

Haas Returns: Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, the oldest player in the singles draw at 39, returns to Houston for the first time since 2013. Haas is playing in his fourth tournament of the season and he’s looking for his first win (0-3). In his previous tournaments, he lost in the first round at the Australian Open (retired due to illness vs. Paire), in Delray Beach (l. to Basilashvili) and the in Miami (l. to Vesely).

Haas, who is the tournament director at Indian Wells, has a protected ranking of No. 25. He has a 14-7 career record in Houston, winning the title in 2004 (d. No. 2 Roddick), reaching the semi-finals in 2006 and quarter-finals three other times (2005, 2007, 2009). If he defeats wild card Reilly Opelka in the first round, he would be the oldest player to win an ATP World Tour singles match since 1995 Halle when 42-year-old Jimmy Connors reached the quarter-finals.

Bryans Back: Six-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who have finished No. 1 on the ATP World Tour in 10 of the past 14 years, are making their 13^th appearance in Houston. The reigning champions are the top seeds, and they also won titles in 2007, 2009-10-11, 2014. In their last eight visits (DNP ’08, ’12), they have compiled a 28-2 mark since 2007.

They are looking for their first title of the season at River Oaks for the second year in a row. Their best result so far this season is a runner-up at the Australian Open (l. to Kontinen/Peers). Their last title came in Rome in May 2016. The other seeds are No. 2 Cabal/Farah, No. 3 Baker/Mektic and No. 4 Peralta/Zeballos.

Grand Prix Hassan II (Marrakech): The only African tournament on the ATP World Tour, the Grand Prix Hassan II, inaugurated in 1986 in Casablanca, takes place for the second year in a row at the Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech. Leading the way is wild card and top seed Grigor Dimitrov, who is making his debut.

The other seeds: No. 2 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, No. 3 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 4 Mischa Zverev, No. 5 Paolo Lorenzi, No. 6 Benoit Paire, No. 7 Diego Schwartzman and No. 8 Marcel Granollers. The reigning champion is Argentine Federico Delbonis. Overall seven of the Top 50 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the field.

Grigor Top Seed: For the second time in his career, Dimitrov is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. The previous time was in 2014 Bucharest where he was a wild card entry. He went on to win his first clay court title (d. Rosol).

The 25-year-old Bulgarian comes in with a 17-4 match record on the season after a 14-1 start. He won two of the first three tournaments he played, in the opening week in Brisbane, the first since June 2014 at Queen’s Club/London. He defeated three Top 10 opponents in consecutive matches: No. 8 Thiem (QF), No. 3 Raonic (SF) and No. 5 Nishikori.

Dimitrov then followed by reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open, where he lost to No. 9 Nadal 6-4 in the fifth set. In February, he won the first-year tournament on home soil in Sofia (d. Goffin). In the first two Masters 1000 tournaments, he lost in the third round in Indian Wells (bye, d. Youzhny, l. to Sock) and second round (after bye, l. to Pella).

Delbonis Reigning Champion: Unseeded Argentine Delbonis is the defending champion (d. Coric). He also reached the semi-finals in 2014 (l. to Granollers). Overall he has a 7-2 tournament record. This season the 26-year-old left-hander has an 8-6 match record with a quarter-final in Sao Paulo (l. to Sousa) and a fourth-round showing in Miami (l. to No. 4 Nishikori).

Spanish Success: A Spaniard has hoisted the tournament trophy in five of the last eight years: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in 2014, Tommy Robredo in 2013, Pablo Andujar in 2011-12 and Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2009. There are a tournament-high five Spaniards in the draw, including former champions Garcia-Lopez and Robredo.

#NextGenATP Star: Last year’s finalist Borna Coric is the lone #NextGenATP player in the main draw. The 20-year-old Croatian has a 5-8 match record on the season, and he is coming off his best result, a third round at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he beat No. 8 Dominic Thiem (l to Mannarino).

Strong Doubles Draw: The top seeds in the doubles draw are Indian Wells champions Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. They are No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. The other seeds are No. 2 Granollers/M. Lopez, No. 3 Bopanna/Matkowski and No. 4 Mergea/Qureshi.

ICYMI

Andy Murray watched his countryman Aljaz Bedene take home an ATP Challenger Tour title. Read More

“Roger Federer deft touch” named March Masters Golden Hot Shot. Watch Hot Shot

First Time With #NextGenATP player Ernesto Escobedo. Read More

Why American Steve Johnson has been picking fish over fries. Read More

Next Gen ATP American Ernesto Escobedo cracked the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time this month, jumping well over 200 spots since April 2016. The 20-year-old California native talks about the best gift he ever received, the first professional tennis match he ever watched and when he knew he loved the sport.

First moment I realised I loved tennis
When I was about eight years old and started to play in tennis tournaments. I loved being on the court being myself or competing with someone else. I played basketball and soccer, but tennis was always in my heart.

First tournament I played
It was five minutes from my house in West Covina at a club called Pacific Palms. I was eight years old. I played Deiton Baughman and it was the first match I ever played. He won 10-8 in the third-set tie-break and it was just a crazy match.

First coach and most important lesson he/she taught me
My first coach was Fernando Chavez. He taught me how to hit the ball and also just have fun on the court. I found it very stressful to be on the court by myself as a kid and he taught me how to just enjoy the game.

First pinch-me moment on the ATP World Tour
When I won my first-round match last year at the US Open. I couldn’t believe it. It was my first Grand Slam main draw and to get the win there was really special. I had about 15 friends and relatives there cheering me on, so it was just a great moment.

First professional tennis match I ever watched
The first match I ever watched was when Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. I watched it from the first point to the last and it gave me so much inspiration to play tennis. Thanks, Andy! [Smiles].

First celebrity crush
I know this one… she was on iCarly, Drake & Josh (Miranda Cosgrove).

First pet
My first pet was a dog we got about five years ago. I had always wanted a dog and my sister just brought him home, without permission. [Laughs]. It was probably one of the best presents ever.

First time I flew business class
It was this year flying back from the Australian Open. It was really fun to be in business class, flying in such a big plane. Just a great experience.

A LOOK BACK

Verrazzano Open (Sophia Antipolis, France): Aljaz Bedene cruised to his second ATP Challenger Tour title of 2017 (Irving, U.S.A.) without dropping a set. The Brit needed just 69 minutes to dismiss top seed Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday’s final.

A rejuvenated Bedene, who is now 10-0 on the Challenger Tour in 2017 and improves to a staggering 13-2 in career Challenger finals, rises to World No. 76 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

World No. 1 Andy Murray helped present the trophy to his countryman Bedene. Murray has been training at the tournament venue, the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, ahead of his return to the ATP World Tour at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters later this month.

Great week in Sophia-Antipolis @mouratoglouacademy. Nice to receive the trophy from royalty in @andy_murray as well ?? pic.twitter.com/wOrIOpr5C5

— Aljaz Bedene (@AljazBedene) April 9, 2017

Visit Panama Tennis Cup (Panama City, Panama): Tennis returned to Panama on the ATP Challenger Tour following a two year absence. 2012 champion Rogerio Dutra Silva won his ninth Challenger title and second of the season (Santiago, Chile) with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Peda Krstin.

His reward is a 14-place jump to a career-high ranking of No. 69 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, becoming the Brazilian No. 2, just four spots behind his countryman Thomaz Bellucci. The 33 year old is one of six players with multiple titles this year, joining Bedene, Adrian Mannarino, Jurgen Melzer, Yuichi Sugita and Janko Tipsarevic.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

“It was a perfect week for me,” said Bedene. “This tournament is at the ATP World Tour level, that’s for sure. I feel great winning this title and I was consistent throughout the tournament, so it’s a good sign for the future.”

A LOOK AHEAD

Two clay court tournaments are scheduled on the Challenger Tour this week. Barletta in Italy hosts the €43,000 Open Citta’ Della Disfida.

The event, first held in 1997, has Gastao Elias playing as the top seed. 2011 and 2012 champion Bedene will target more Challenger success following his trophy haul in Sophia Antipolis. Defending champion Elias Ymer (d. Pavlasek) represents the #NextGenATP contingent along with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Over in Mexico for the $50,000 San Luis Open and Facundo Bagnis enters as the top seed, ahead of No. 2 Gerald Melzer and #NextGenATP player Stefan Kozlov.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: The ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

BELGIUM 3, ITALY 1
Spiroudome de Charleroi, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoor)

World No. 14 David Goffin wasted no time in sending Belgium to the Davis Cup semi-finals, ousting Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and 52 minutes on Sunday.

In front of the partisan Belgian crowd in Charleroi, Goffin sent the host nation back to the semis for the second time in three years, improving to 13-1 in his last 14 singles rubbers. The 2015 runners-up will welcome Australia in September.

“When you see the score it was comfortable, but inside it was not,” said Goffin. “You have to stay focused. Especially when you win the first two sets and you think it’s the end, but it’s not. I’m really happy with how I finished.

“I just give my best on the court. I just want to play for my team and my country. I love to play at home, with the atmosphere in front of my own fans.”

Goffin fired a forehand winner – his 29th of the match – to claim victory on Sunday. It was his second straight-set singles win of the tie, having defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.

FRANCE 4, GREAT BRITAIN 1
Kindarena, Rouen, France (Indoor Clay)

A day after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, France completed a 4-1 victory over Great Britain. Jeremy Chardy downed Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, after the Brits got on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win for Daniel Evans over Julien Benneteau.

SERBIA 4, SPAIN 1
Aleksandar Nikolic Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Hard)

Spain narrowly avoided a whitewash at the hands of Serbia, with Albert Ramos-Vinolas claiming the dead rubber victory over Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the day, Dusan Lajovic rallied past Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Nick Kyrgios guided Australia back into the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sam Querrey on Sunday.

The World No. 16 fired down 21 aces to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead for Lleyton Hewitt’s side at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.

The United States swapped Jack Sock for Querrey, a move that could have been prompted by the towering 29 year old’s win over Kyrgios en route to taking the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in February. However, Kyrgios dictated play, fighting back from a 1-4 deficit in the third set to clinch the tie on home soil.

“It’s a lot of relief we got through, a tough third set out there,” said Kyrgios, who won both singles matches this weekend in straight sets against Top 30 opponents. “Obviously a lot of emotions close to the finish line, I’ve been looking forward to this tie for a long time now.”

Later on Sunday, John Isner overcame Sam Groth 7-6(5), 6-3 in the dead fifth rubber.

Australia last made the semi-finals in 2015, losing to eventual champions Great Britain in Glasgow. “There is no greater honour than wearing the green and gold,” said Australia’s captain Hewitt. “I couldn’t be prouder of my boys. They’ve put so much hard work and effort into this campaign. They did absolutely everything we asked of them. The coaching staff too, so many sacrifices made. That’s what representing Australia is all about.”