Nick Stachowiak couldn’t have asked for more home crowd support in his ATP Challenger Tour debut. 

The 18 year old American, currently a freshman at Duke University, received a wild card into the main draw of the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Cary. Competing on the courts that he’ll do battle on for Duke over the next four years, Stachowiak put up a valiant effort before losing to Emilio Gomez in his first-round match.

Although he left the tournament earlier than he hoped, he was grateful to play on front of a vocal Stadium Court crowd during a night session.

“Playing on Stadium Court for my first ATP Challenger Tour event was a great experience. I’m really grateful to everyone who gave me the wild card,” said Stachowiak. “I was a little nervous at the beginning of the match, but I got into it and it was a lot of fun.”

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Stachowiak concluded his junior career as one of the top players in the U.S., reaching the doubles final last month at the Boys’ 18s National Championships. But he admitted that while there will be a learning curve playing college tennis, there was even a steeper one playing and practising this week with the pros.

“I think the biggest difference in maturity. They do this for a living, so they know every point matters and don’t take any off,” said Stachowiak. “I’ve learned that I have a lot to work on. There’s always another level and you can always get better. The main thing is just to keep working hard.”

Although he will mainly focus on college tennis during the school year, Stachowiak said he intends to play a few Futures and ATP Challenger Tour events during the summer. He’s also hopeful to get another wild card here next year and show how much progress he’s made in 12 months.

“I couldn’t be happier because this is my hometown. I’ve been playing on these courts since I was seven years old,” said Stachowiak. “I’m so glad this tournament is here and I hope it stays here because I want to come back and play this again.”

After a difficult first half of 2016, Jan Satral has rebounded strongly and is playing the best tennis of his career.

The 26 year old from the Czech Republic is at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 182 after a string of impressive results in the past three months. After winning three main draw matches in Challengers in the first six months of the year, he’s gone 8-3 in his past four Challenger events.

Competing at this week’s $75,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Satral reached the quarter-finals before losing to fellow Czech player and fourth seed Adam Pavlasek. But despite the loss, he had only good things to say about the tournament.

“I’m in Banja Luka for the second time and really like it here,” said Satral. “The club and the city are really nice, the people from tournament are so friendly and always trying to make us feel like we’re at home. There are a lot of people watching us play every match as well. I’ll definitely come back again.”

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Satral won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in July at the $50,000 event in Marburg, Germany, then qualified for his first ATP World Tour main draw weeks later at the German Tennis Championships 2016. The following month, Satral qualified for his first Grand Slam at the US Open and won a round in the main draw. 

Despite all his recent success, Satral said his most satisfying moment was a loss. He reflected on his second-round match at the US Open against Gael Monfils, which was played on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as a motivating moment to continue producing solid results.

“The US Open was an amazing two weeks for me,” said Satral. “Coming back from two sets down against Mackenzie McDonald gave me a lot of confidence for the next matches in my career and playing a match in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Monfils was a dream come true . I also just had a really nice time in New York City with my girlfriend.”

With minimal points to defend the rest of the year, Satral hopes to continue pushing towards the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I feel really good on court now and am enjoying every moment in training, which is very important for me. If I’m good in my mind, I can play my best tennis,” said Satral. “Now that I have these feelings, I’m satisfied with my game and hope for more good results.”

CROATIA 0, FRANCE 1

Venue: Kresimir Cosic Hall, Zadar, CRO (hard – indoor)

Richard Gasquet gave France an early lead in the Davis Cup semi-finals as he defeated Croatia’s #NextGen star Borna Coric 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-1. Marin Cilic will look to level the tie for the hosts when he faces Lucas Pouille in Friday’s second rubber in Zadar.

The 30-year-old Gasquet notched his 12^th Davis Cup singles win as he struck 27 winners and benefitted from 37 unforced errors from the 19-year-old Coric, who is playing in just his eighth Davis Cup tie. The teenager was the hero for his country in July’s quarter-finals, when he defeated Jack Sock over four sets in the deciding fifth rubber to give Croatia victory over the United States.

World No. 17 Gasquet is looking to lead France to its second Davis Cup final in three years. France finished runner-up to Switzerland two years ago, but is a nine-time winner of the ITF men’s team competition, most recently in 2001.

Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic were irresistible on Friday, winning all six sets played against Slovakia to put Australia a match away from remaining in the Davis Cup World Group in 2017. #NextGen star Kyrgios opener the tie with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Andrej Martin, while Tomic helped the Aussies to a 2-0 lead by dismissing Jozef Kovalik 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4.

Even without Kei Nishikori, who was rested by captain Minoru Ueda, Japan was able to race to a 2-0 lead in their tie against Ukraine. Taro Daniel edged Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-1 in the first rubber before #NextGen player Yoshihito Nishioka beat Illya Marchenko 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

Uzbekistan, hosting Switzerland on outdoor clay in Tashkent, is aiming to reach the World Group for the first time. Denis Istomin helped the home team to an early lead by beating Antoine Bellier 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, but Henri Laaksonen equalised for the Swiss by routing Sanjar Fayziev 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

Feliciano Lopez was a late Spanish substitution for Rafael Nadal in the first rubber of their away tie against India. Lopez beat Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 on an outdoor hard court in New Delhi to give the visitors an early lead. David Ferrer put the visitor a match away from promotion by downing Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

Jan-Lennard Struff earned his first live-rubber singles win and helped the Germans move ahead 1-0 against Poland in Berlin. Struff outlasted Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(8), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. Florian Mayer would double the hosts’ lead by beating Hubert Hurkacz 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5.

David Goffin made a quick start in the Belgium-Brazil tie by downing Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Steve Darcis then topped Thomaz Bellucci 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to put the Belgians up 2-0.

Frank Dancevic helped Canada to a quick start against Chile by taking down Christian Garin 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 on a fast indoor court in Halifax. Vasek Pospisil doubled the home team’s lead by seeing off Nicolas Jarry 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3.

Andy Murray will put his 14-match Davis Cup winning streak on the line against Juan Martin del Potro, as the Brits hosts the Argentines for their semi-final tie on an indoor hard court in Glasgow this weekend. Leon Smith, the captain of the home team, has selected Kyle Edmund to the other singles slot. The #NextGen star will take on Argentinian No. 1 Guido Pella in the second match of the day.

The first rubber pits the World No. 2 Murray against del Potro, who is putting together a remarkable campaign after coming back from left wrist surgery. The pair most recently played in the final of the Rio Olympics, with Murray taking gold.

“It will be a very tough match. We obviously had a great battle in Rio. It was four hours, lots of ups and downs, a lot of momentum shifts and was mentally and physically a very draining match,” Murray told DavisCup.com. “I think both of us were pretty tired afterwards, and emotional. I think that showed in how we were right after the final point. It will be another intense atmosphere here and I’m looking forward to it.”

Del Potro has not played singles in Davis Cup since 2012, but holds a 12-4 record. All four of his losses have come on indoor courts. Murray is 29-2 when representing his country in singles.

Edmund narrowly lost to Pella in their most recent meeting and is eager to make amends in front of his home crowd.

“I’m obviously excited whoever I was going to play in the Davis Cup, it’s always an honour to represent your country. I’ve enjoyed the last two ties I’ve played in and had great experiences from it,” the Brit told DavisCup.com. “In terms of playing Pella, I lost 7-5 in the third set [in Indian Wells]. It was a close match. I’m sure he has improved since then. I’ve definitely improved since then, got a lot of experience and I feel my game has improved. I think what I have been doing the last few months and the run I’ve got on, it’s just trying to replicate that.”

In the other semi-final tie, France will look to take down home team Croatia on an indoor hard court in Zadar. The French are without Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga due to injuries, while Croatian No. 2 Borna Coric admitted to feeling less than 100 per cent due to problems with his knee. The #NextGen star will play the first rubber against French No. 1 Richard Gasquet.

“My preparations for the tie have been less than ideal because my knee flared up after the Olympic Games in Rio,” Coric told DavisCup.com. “I made the most of the last few days and we will see how it goes. I have never played against Gasquet so I have some homework to do in order to come up with the right game-plan.”

Top Croatian Marin Cilic will contest the second rubber against rising star Lucas Pouille, who is coming off a quarter-final showing at the US Open.

World Group Playoffs: Nadal To Lead Spaniards; Nishikori Gets A Day Off

In World Group play-off action, Rafael Nadal made the trip to India in an attempt to help Spain return to the World Group for the first time since 2014. He will face Indian No. 2 Ramkumar Ramanathan in the opening rubber, while David Ferrer will play Saketh Myneni in the second rubber. Nadal has not lost a Davis Cup singles match since falling in straight sets to Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic 12 years ago. He is 21-0 since.

Kei Nishikori, the top Japanese player in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will not play on Day 1 of the home team’s play-off tie against Ukraine. Instead, Taro Daniel will play Artem Smirnov while #NextGen player Yoshihito Nishioka will face Illya Marchenko, who lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka at the US Open.

Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic will both feature on Day 1 for Australia against Slovakia. The Swiss, sans Wawrinka and Roger Federer, are in Tashkent to take on Uzbekistan. David Goffin and the Belgians host Thomaz Bellucci and Brazil in Ostend. Frank Dancevic and Vasek Pospisil look to fend off Chile in Halifax, Canada. Russia faces Kazakhstan in Mosow, and Germany hosts Poland in Berlin.