A pair of ATP World Tour 500 events in Basel and Vienna comprise the penultimate week of the regular season, with players battling for critical points in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Three berths remain up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, as Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych, David Goffin and Marin Cilic are within 1,035 points of Gael Monfils for the sixth position. Bidding to make his debut at The O2 in London, Monfils is off next week, but could qualify based on the results of the other contenders.

Thiem is looking to bolster his chances of joining Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori with a strong performance at his hometown Erste Bank Open 500. The third-seeded Austrian will turn to the home fans to spur him to victory, with defending champion David Ferrer also in his quarter of the draw and 2014 winner Murray looming in the semis. He opens against countryman Gerald Melzer.

Following Rafael Nadal’s announcement that he would conclude his 2016 season due to a wrist injury, Berdych has moved into the coveted final qualification spot with 2,880 points. Also competing in Vienna, the second-seeded Czech is less than a month removed from claiming his first title of the year at the Shenzhen Open. He faces a tricky path, with #NextGen star Karen Khachanov a potential second round opponent and Roberto Bautista Agut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who both own faint hopes in the Emirates ATP Race To London, also in his half of the draw.

A semi-final showing on home soil at the inaugural European Open has Goffin hot on Berdych’s tail. Like Monfils and Thiem, the Belgian is in pursuit of a first appearance at the season finale. He enters the Swiss Indoors Basel in strong form, having advanced to the semi-finals or further in three of his past five events on the ATP World Tour, in addition to a quarter-final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Runner-up in 2014 to Roger Federer, Goffin has a challenging path this year with five current and former Top 10 players in his half of the draw. He opens his Basel bid against Marcos Baghdatis and could face Juan Martin del Potro in a blockbuster second round, with London contenders Nishikori and Raonic also looming.

Cilic, meanwhile, is seeded fourth in his fourth trip to Basel. A mere 100 points behind Goffin and 290 back of Berdych, he is poised to mount a serious charge up the Emirates ATP Race To London standings next week. The Croatian opens against Mikhail Youzhny, with Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Pablo Carreno Busta beckoning in the second round. Stockholm finalist Jack Sock and top seed Stan Wawrinka are also present in his half of the draw.

Three Doubles Spots Up For Grabs In Basel
The five teams in the sixth to 10th positions in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London are all competing at the Swiss Indoors Basel. No. 6 Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram are seeded third, with No. 7 Henri Kontinen and John Peers and No. 8 Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi also in the draw.

Currently in the ninth spot are defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. The Dutch-Romanian duo are the top seeds in Basel and find themselves 385 points behind Huey/Mirnyi for the final spot. The Colombian Power of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah round out to the Top 10 and are unseeded in the Swiss city. 

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – The Contenders
Based on the calendar-year Emirates ATP Race To London standings as of Saturday, 22 October 2016. The top eight eligible players will qualify. Players in bold have already qualified.

*Nadal has concluded his 2016 season due to a wrist injury

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has established itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets to the tournament, which takes place from 13-20 November, can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.

American Jack Sock will play for his first title of the season on Sunday at the If Stockholm Open.

The 24 year old rallied to beat #NextGen star Alexander Zverev 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes on Saturday. The top American saved 10 of 12 break points to return to the If Stockholm Open final for the second consecutive year. He fell in last year’s title match to Tomas Berdych.

“We both had chances obviously at times,” Sock said. “It was a very good match, very good tennis. We both were battling out there.”

On Sunday, Sock will face another top opponent in Juan Martin del Potro, who prevailed against second seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-5. Sock won the only prior match-up in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, a 6-4, 7-6(2) win earlier this season in Madrid.

“He’s been playing great this week… He’s serving well and hitting big forehands,” Sock said. “So I’m definitely going to have to try to get into his service games as best as I can, scrap some points out and then take care of my serve.”

The American had lost to Zverev during their only prior match-up but overcame the hard-hitting German to reach his third final of the season (Auckland, l. to Bautista Agut; Houston, l. to Monaco).

Zverev, with power from both sides, often controlled the baseline rallies. But Sock found success in variety. He angled slices away the 19 year old, forcing the 6’6” right-hander to leave the baseline. The Nebraska native also tossed in drops shot and served and volleyed with success.

Zverev claimed the first set with a booming forehand overhead but Sock captured the second-set tie-break to even the match. In the third set, he continued his strong play and led 4-1 before Zverev broke back once more. Sock, however, would earn the final break, ripping a forehand winner for his 33^rd win of the season.

Sunday’s match will mark Sock’s fifth career final. He won his maiden title last year in Houston before falling in the Stockholm final.

Fabio Fognini held off a late challenge from Philipp Kohlschreiber to advance to the final of the VTB Kremlin Cup 6-1, 7-6(2). The Italian is into his second ATP World Tour hard-court final, having lost in St. Petersburg to Martin Klizan four years ago. All four of Fognini’s tour-level titles have come on clay.

“It’s always difficult after you win a set 6-1 to keep playing at such a high level,” Fognini said. “Against him it’s always difficult because he’s really good in every part of the game. I’m very happy and hopefully I can win the title tomorrow.”

Fognini will face Pablo Carreno Busta, who won 80 per cent of first-serve points in taking out Stephane Robert 6-3, 7-6(2). Both contestants in the semi-final match are enjoying career years. Robert could crack the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings as a 36 year old, while Carreno Busta, who won his first ATP World Tour title at the Winston-Salem Open, is into his fourth tour-level final in 2016.

“I didn’t really feel good on the court today, but the most important thing in a semi-final is to win and go into the final,” Carreno Busta said. “I will need to play better tomorrow. Fabio is a good player.”

Doubles Final Set

Austrians Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer defeated Russian #NextGen players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-2 to reach the final. Melzer is the only active player other than Radek Stepanek to own 300 wins in both singles and doubles. Knowle/Melzer will face Barclays ATP World Tour Finals hopefuls Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah for the title.

A pair of thrilling comebacks marked Semi-final Saturday at the European Open in Antwerp, as Richard Gasquet rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Kyle Edmund and Diego Schwartzman saved two match points to stun home favourite and top seed David Goffin.

Veteran experience prevailed in the first semi-final, as third seed Gasquet stormed back to oust #NextGen star Edmund. The 30-year-old Frenchman reached his 27th ATP World Tour final, downing his 21-year-old opponent 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 after two hours and four minutes.

Edmund was on the cusp of becoming the fourth member of the Next Generation contingent to reach a final in just the past five weeks. He led 4-2 in the second set, but Gasquet stayed the course and refused to surrender. Edmund burst out of the blocks in the opener, breaking to love in the sixth game, and took the lead in the second with an immediate break for 1-0. As the match wore on, the Brit’s energy level dipped and Gasquet grabbed in the initiative, breaking back for 4-4 as an Edmund forehand found the net.

Serving to force a second set tie-break at 6-5, Edmund struck his first double fault to give Gasquet three set points. The Frenchman would seize the opportunity, forcing a decider and converting the decisive break for 3-1 with a sublime backhand down the line.

Most Tour-Level Finals By A Frenchman

Gasquet will appear in his third ATP World Tour final of the year, having prevailed in Montpellier (d. Mathieu) and finished runner-up earlier this month in Shenzhen (l. to Berdych). Edmund, meanwhile, enjoyed his biggest result on the ATP World Tour in reaching his first semi-final. He notched his fourth Top 20 win of the year in upsetting David Ferrer in the second round.

In Saturday’s second semi-final, Schwartzman pulled the upset of the tournament in stunning top seed and home favourite Goffin 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. The Argentine saved two match points with Goffin serving for a spot in the final at 5-4 in the decider, eventually rifling a backhand winner to draw level. He would proceed to reel off 10 of the last 11 points, breaking to love to seal the win after two hours and 23 minutes.

“It was amazing for me,” said Schwartzman. “It’s my second time here in Belgium. The last time was in Davis Cup when David beat me last year. Today I played really well. It was a tough match.”

Schwartzman overturned an 0-11 mark against Top 20 players with the victory, booking a spot in his second ATP World Tour final. He previously defeated Grigor Dimitrov for the Istanbul title earlier this year. On Sunday, Schwartzman will meet Gasquet for the first time.

“Richard is a great player. He’s Top 10 and very talented. I need to recover and be ready for the final.” 

Top seeds Herbert/Mahut Cruise Into Final
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the No. 1 team in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, advanced to their ninth final of the season Saturday in Antwerp. The French duo downed Dominic Inglot and Andre Sa 6-3, 6-2.

Winners at Wimbledon, Queen’s Club and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo, Herbert and Mahut will face second seeds Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in Sunday’s final. 

Juan Martin del Potro will play in his first ATP World Tour final since January 2014 at the If Stockholm Open on Sunday. The Argentine delivered more powerful serving and laser-like forehands to advance past second seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday in Sweden.

The 6’6” right-hander last played in an ATP World Tour final almost three years ago in Sydney. He was the top seed Down Under and beat home favourite Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 in the final. The Tandil native will go for a similar result on Sunday when he faces either #NextGen star Alexander Zverev or American Jack Sock.

Win or lose in the final, del Potro has already enjoyed another successful week during his comeback season of 2016. The Argentine, who is one of four players nominated for Comeback Player of the Year in the ATP World Tour Awards Presented By Moët & Chandon, was a wild-card entry into Stockholm. He had to dismiss two former Top 10 players – American John Isner and Spaniard Nicolas Almagro – as well as two-time 2016 ATP World Tour titlist Ivo Karlovic to reach the semi-finals. And del Potro did it all without dropping his serve (30/30).

That streak ended, however, against Dimitrov, who was trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour final of the season. Serving at 3-2, 15/40 in the first set, del Potro netted a backhand to put the match back on serve, which Dimitrov celebrated with a “Come on!”

The joy was short-lived, though. During the very next game, Dimitrov fell behind 30/40 and couldn’t handle a heavy forehand to his backhand corner. Del Potro would serve the set out to love.

The two exchanged breaks in the second set as well, but del Potro earned the final advantage. Facing a break point at 5-5, 30/40, Dimitrov double faulted and del Potro clinched the match on his serve after one hour and 42 minutes.

Del Potro, No. 63 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won silver at the Rio Olympics in August after falling to Andy Murray in the final.

Jakob Amilon had a literal home court advantage at this week’s $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 22-year-old Swede and college tennis star at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas received a main draw wild card into the tournament being held on his campus courts. Amilon put up a strong fight in the latter stages of his opening round against Zhe Li of China before falling in straight sets.

Despite the loss, he was able to take plenty of positives from the experience.

“To get a great tournament like this with all of these pro players is good for our city, for the school and for the program,” said Amilon. “You learn a lot from playing guys at this level, so it’s one of the most fun weeks of the year for me.”

Amilon is in his final year on the men’s tennis team at UNLV and is one of the top players in the region. But while he’s competed against some of the best college tennis players in the country, he admitted that Challenger players are at a level he doesn’t see regularly.

“The serves and returns are the biggest difference,” he explained. “They hit more aces and get more first serves in, so it’s way more difficult to break. And as soon as they get a chance on the second serve, they jump all over it and put pressure on you.”

The Swede will primarily focus on leading the UNLV team to big wins over the next few months, but aims to be competing in pro tournaments regularly when he graduates in May.  Although his eventual goal is to be a staple in Challenger events and beyond, he plans on training like a player at this level for the remainder of his senior year.

“The thing you notice most with these guys is the way they practise and the work they put in, their attitude and the effort they put into their tennis. They’re so focused and put 100 per cent into everything,” said Amilon. “It’s really cool to watch.”