Ahead of one of the most eagerly awaited returns to the ATP World Tour for 2017, Juan Martin del Potro has released behind-the-scenes footage of his preparations back home in Argentina. The former World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings announced earlier in the week he would start his season at the Delray Beach Open, the site of his tour comeback last season.

This week, he hit the courts with Gael Monfils and #NextGenATP player Elias Ymer at Crandon Park in Miami to practise for his season-opening campaign. His video footage from Tandil and Buenos Aires was filmed with his physiotherapist Diego Rodriguez before he shifted his preparations to the U.S.

During a meeting between the two masters of their sports, Vince Carter waited until the end to share his words of advice with Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday evening.

Carter, who at 40 is the oldest player in the NBA, met Karlovic before the New Orleans Pelicans took on the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. The two professional athletes exchanged pleasantries and traded equipment on the court: Carter gave Karlovic a pair of autographed shoes, size 16.5; Karlovic gave Carter an autographed Head Radical racquet.

Carter was excited by the new stick. He told Karlovic that his tennis-playing daughter will love it. Then Carter delivered the two words of wisdom that Karlovic has surely heard by now: “Stay young,” Carter said.

“You, too,” Karlovic replied.

The 6’11” Karlovic, who lives in Miami, prefers the Miami Heat over the Memphis Grizzlies but he still enjoyed meeting an NBA legend. “It was a big honour for me. I know of him. I have watched his games, his dunking contests and everything for 10 years or even more,” Karlovic told ATPWorldTour.com. “It was really cool to meet a guy like that.”

Carter is still playing great basketball with the Grizzlies, and Karlovic has been producing his best tennis in recent years. Last year, the Zagreb native won two ATP World Tour titles – Newport and Los Cabos – the most he had won since 2007 when he won three titles.

At the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in July, Karlovic, then 37 years, 4 months old, became the oldest ATP World Tour singles titlist since Marty Riessen won a title in Lafayette, Louisana, at 37 years, 9 months old in 1979. This week, Karlovic is the top seed at the Memphis Open. On Thursday, Karlovic will take on Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, who beat Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday.

The Memphis Open was featured a few times during the Grizzlies game on Wednesday evening. Steve Johnson and Leander Paes played a mini-game of tennis after the first quarter, and Darian King was the honourary captain during the pre-game captains meeting. King met NBA stars Anthony Davis, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.

“It was a great moment,” King said. “I didn’t recognise how big, how physical they are. I’m going to try to get that size.”

Speaking of sizes, the 16.5-size shoes Karlovic received from Carter are a little small for the big Croatian. Karlovic wears a size 17. But he doesn’t plan on donating the gifts.

“I want to give these a try tomorrow to see if I can squeeze into them,” he said.

Top seed Kei Nishikori survived an inspired challenge from home favourite Diego Schwartzman to win in his first outing at the Argentina Open in five years on Wednesday. The Japanese World No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Rankings fought back to claim a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 result to advance to the quarter-finals.

Nishikori had won the Memphis Open title as top seed for the past three years but elected to change up his schedule to play in South American in 2017. Looking to transfer that good fortune as top seed to the clay in Buenos Aires, however, Nishikori found his run under serious pressure early on when his Argentine opponent, ranked No. 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, broke to take the opening set.

From 1-2 down in the second set, however, Nishikori found another gear. He reeled off 11 of the last 14 games to book a quarter-final clash with sixth seed Joao Sousa, of Portugal. Sousa ended the hopes of another local, Federico Delbonis, 7-5, 6-3.

Fourth seed Pablo Carreno-Busta and fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas booked an all-Spanish quarter-final after their respective second-round wins. Carreno-Busta held off Italian qualifier Alessandro Giannessi 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the pair’s first ATP World Tour level match.

Carreno-Busta had won four previous meetings between the two at the Challenger level and in qualifying rounds. Ramos-Vinolas progressed when his opponent, Leonardo Mayer, of Argentina, retired when trailing 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 1-0 with a right leg injury.

Darian King thought he should pay more respect to “The King” while visiting Graceland on Wednesday. The 24 year old, who has made Barbados tennis history at the Memphis Open, was visiting Elvis Presley’s former residence and was asked how much he knew about the musical legend.

“Growing up and hearing about Elvis, sorry Mr. Presley, because obviously I can’t address him like that, he’s a big deal,” King said. “He’s down in the books as a great one. I’m really happy to actually be here, around his surroundings, around his homeland.”

King toured Presley’s south Memphis estate, checking out the green carpet on the ceiling in the jungle room, where Presley recorded “Moody Blue”. He walked through “Lisa Marie”, Presley’s Convair 880 Jet that he bought from Delta in 1975 and used for fun and business. King had to wiggle his hips in front of the Graceland mansion as well, just like Presley surely did back in the day.

The three-time Grammy winner lived in the home from 1957 to 1977. He also had houses in Florida and California but spent the bulk of his time at the mansion, which was 10,266 square feet when he purchased it. Presley bought the home and the 14-acre estate for $102,500 in March 1957. More than 600,000 people visit the site annually.

“I have to really thank the ATP [World Tour] for giving me an opportunity to come and see one of the most significant icons in music and artist industry. I’m really thankful for this opportunity,” King said.

The Barbados native might be feeling like a king this week. On Tuesday, he upset fifth seed Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4 to become the first player from Barbados to win an ATP World Tour match. King, who had to qualify for the Memphis Open, had lost his only other ATP World Tour main draw contest at the 2015 Citi Open.

Asked if he would feel comfortable in Presley’s former home, King laughed and said he’s striving to be successful like Elvis. “As you know I’m trying to be like a king,” he said in between laughs. “That’s obviously what I’m trying to aim for, to be one of the best… Hopefully it can happen.”

King’s stay in the city of “The King” continues later this week when he meets Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Germany’s Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.

More: Back In Memphis, Fritz Looks To Act On Lessons Learned

If you think of stretches of John Isner’s career as a title tour around the U.S., the American has claimed nearly every crown in the country.

He’s won the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston once. The former Georgia Bulldog has claimed the BB&T Atlanta Open three times.

Isner has won two titles on the grass at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. The 6’10” right-hander, who’s from North Carolina, has captured his home-state tournament, the Winston-Salem Open, twice.

But, although Isner has taken eight ATP World Tour titles in the U.S., his trophy case is still missing title hardware from the Memphis Open. This week, Isner will try to change that during his eighth appearance at the indoor tournament.

“I’m known for playing my best in America but I have never won this… I would love to this year,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com earlier this week. “The field is strong. I knew it would be but I’m excited to get out there.”

Isner is the second seed in the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, with top seed Ivo Karlovic leading the field. The American has come close to taking the title at The Racquet Club of Memphis in years past. Isner has reached the quarter-finals twice – 2012 and 2015 – and made the final in 2010 before falling to compatriot Sam Querrey.

“I’ve loved playing this tournament throughout my career. So coming back was a pretty easy decision for me,” said Isner, who played at the Argentina Open during this week last season. “I think all Americans love this tournament. We cherish the events we get to play in our home country. We travel so much so for me to play a tournament that’s just an hour-and-a-half flight, it’s nice. It’s virtually no travel compared to other places I go.”

Isner, who lives in Tampa, Florida, arrives in Memphis at No. 23 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, 12 spots below where he was a year ago. The dip follows a title-less 2016, the first year Isner didn’t hoist a championship trophy since 2009. “Mediocre” was how Isner termed his 2016 season.

But there were plenty of bright spots for the 31 year old, including his third career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the Paris Masters in November (l. to Murray).

“I did, in my opionion, salvage my season quite a bit. I played awesome tennis at the Paris Masters. That’s the way I was trying to play all year,” he said. “Obviously it’s easier said than done but I played fantastic that week and would like to put some more great weeks together this year.”

The Memphis Open field featured 10 Americans, including a mixture of tennis generations. Isner is here with his contemporaries, including Querrey and Steve Johnson. #NextGenATP Americans, including 19-year-olds Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and 20-year-old Jared Donaldson, have arrived in Tennessee as well.

More: Back In Memphis, Fritz Looks To Act On Lessons Learned

“A few years ago I would practise with some of these kids… I never really thought about actually playing against these guys but now that time is here,” Isner said. “I’ve played against Taylor Fritz. I’ve played Reilly before. I’ve played Frances before. I’m starting to play all these guys, and they’re all a handful as well. They’re all very talented.”

Seeing the older generation at the same tournament has been a change for the younger generation as well, said Fritz, who grew up watching the likes of Isner and Querrey on TV as a kid in California.

“I never thought I’d actually be playing them in tournaments. On any given week, you can get matched up in the draw against one of those people. I think it’s really cool,” Fritz said. “You don’t really like playing your friends but at a tournament like this there is a good chance to play other Americans.”

Fritz and the other three #NextGenATP Americans who played in Memphis all took different routes to the ATP World Tour than Isner, who played collegiate tennis for four years. But Isner said they all made the right choice by entering the pro ranks and skipping college.

“In my career, which is going on 10 years now, I’ve never seen a crop of players like this. So many guys who are doing well at 18, 19, 20,” Isner said. “They all seem to have a great head on their shoulders and got good teams on their side and great coaching. They have everything at their disposal to do fantastic things going forward, and I think all of them will.”