American Ernesto Escobedo reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final last week in Sao Paulo, but the teenager proved he has the tools to ensure it likely won’t be his last.

Standing at 6’1” and with a highly aggressive baseline game, one might assume that Escobedo’s style of play wouldn’t translate to slow clay courts. The 19-year-old proved any doubters wrong by showing off impressively smooth movement and the ability to play defense when necessary. He weathered a marathon second-round match against No. 2 seed Joao Souza before prevailing in another three-set match in the semi-finals against last year’s finalist in Sao Paulo, No. 7 seed Christian Lindell.

Although he lost in the championship match on Sunday to Gonzalo Lama, he became the seventh different American teenager – and 10th in total – to reach an ATP Challenger Tour final since last October.

“I never expected that this tournament would be my first ATP Challenger Tour final,” said Escobedo. “I was playing really aggressive and, to be honest, that’s my game. That result gives me a lot of confidence and now I feel like I can play more freely.”

Although Escobedo grew up in California hard courts and feels most at home on them, he believes he has the ability to enjoy success on all surfaces in the years to come.

“I’ve always thought I could be a really good clay-courter. I’m just not as used to the surface,” said Escobedo. “Americans can play on clay. It’s just a stereotype that we don’t know how to.”

With a new career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 260, Escobedo said he will move on from Futures tournaments and focus primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour as he continues to build his game.

“It’s been such a great experience being on tour,” said Escobedo. “It’s been very important for me because I feel that I can play my game against good players and get good results. Hopefully I can keep improving my game”

It took four years for the potential to be realised. From 1999-2002, Roger Federer’s ability was clearly evident, but he was still perfecting his ruthlessly efficient patterns of play. And then is 2003, the Swiss took it to another level.

Federer exploded in 2003 with his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. He defeated Andy Roddick 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-3 in the semi-finals and took out Mark Philippoussis 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3) in the final. It was game on for Federer, and game over for pretty much everyone else.

Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt were early yardsticks for Federer. The four years of Federer’s pro apprenticeship from 1999-2002 and the four years after, 2003-06, clearly show defined improvement against Roddick and Hewitt.

Federer had a lopsided losing record (2-5) against Hewitt in the earlier years, but once he flicked the switch in 2003, the next four years yielded a 9-1 record for the Swiss. Federer is 21-3 lifetime against Roddick, pretty much always having his measure.

An Infosys ATP Beyond the Numbers analysis of Federer against Roddick and Hewitt in the four years before 2003 and the four years following provides an insightful look at Federer’s rise.

Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick / Lleyton Hewitt

Federer’s Super Serve

Against Roddick and Hewitt, Federer bumped his average ace tally from 7.4 in 1999-2002 to 11.3 in 2003-2006. As Federer got better at painting the lines, he also got better at not missing the box on his second delivery. His double faults dropped from an average of 2.7 per match to just 1.8 during the second four-year segment.

Overall in 2002, Federer averaged 2.6 aces for every double fault he hit. By 2006, that had been dialed up to 5.4 aces per double fault.

Federer’s serve has always been the rock he’s relied upon to get out of a jam and finish matches. From the first four-year period to the second, his serve developed into an amazing blend of hitting spots on the first serve and generally targeting the backhand jam location of his opponent on the second serve. Federer also made sure to stay clear of the dangers of the singles sideline and the centre line.

His first-serve percentage rose from 56 per cent against Roddick and Hewitt from 1999-2002, to 59 per cent from 2003-2006. Overall in 2001, Federer was making just under 60 per cent of his first serves for the season. By 2005, that number had vaulted to almost 63 per cent. Federer’s serve, more than any other shot, has carried him to many a victory over many an opponent.

Janko Tipsarevic made a triumphant return to professional tennis on Tuesday at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Ostrava, winning his first match after a seven-month injury layoff.

In front of a packed crowd on Centre Court, the former World No. 8 needed over two-and-a-half hours to dispatch No. 6 seed Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4. Rallying from a break down in the final set, the win marked his first ATP Challenger Tour victory since Belgrade in 2010, and his first professional win since last year’s ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Madrid. 

“The conditions were tough for everyone today because there was a tremendous amount of wind, but I’m happy that I won my first match in seven months,” said Tipsarevic. “It wasn’t a pretty match, but it’s important that I won.”

Tipsarevic has been out this year with right knee patella tendonitis, with his last match coming at the US Open. He returned to the tour last April after sitting out for 18 months with persistent foot issues, specifically in his left heel, which included two surgeries to remove a benign tumor. Simply happy to be healthy now, the 31-year-old said returning to Ostrava, where he won the third ATP Challenger Tour title of his career in 2004, is an ideal way to ease his body back into the rigors of competitive tennis.

“I wanted to be here. There was a chance I could have gotten a wild card into [the ATP World Tour event in] Munich, but this tournament is smaller and I can get some matches in,” said Tipsarevic. “I wanted to test things out and I also have good memories of this tournament from the past.”

The two-time US Open quarter-finalist is keeping his expectations low in Ostrava, but is aiming to play a full schedule for the remainder of the year and get back into the upper echelon of the game in 2017.

“I’m just seeing how my body feels at this tournament because I haven’t played in seven months,” said Tipsarevic. “The goal for this year is to finish in the Top 100 so I don’t have to go through qualifying for the big events.”

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez hung on and Paul-Henri Mathieu played the role of Portuguese spoiler on Tuesday at the Millennium Estoril Open.

Garcia-Lopez was leading by a set and 5-1 in the second against German Michael Berrer. But Berrer crawled back into the match and forced a second-set tie-break, where Garcia-Lopez ultimately prevailed to win the match 6-3, 7-6(3).

“He was playing better and better every point. He felt more free on court, and I was feeling the pressure to close the match,” Garcia-Lopez said.

The No. 5 seed moves into the second round to face French qualifier Stephane Robert for the first time.

Mathieu had the President of Portugal attending his match against Portuguese Gastao Elias, who cracked the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time this week. Elias’ ranking jumped 23 spots after he won the Torino Challenger in Italy on Sunday. But it was Mathieu who advanced on Tuesday, winning 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes.

“It’s never easy to play a player who is from the country of the tournament. He was playing with great confidence,” Mathieu said. “So I’m happy with the victory in two sets.”

The Frenchman will meet his countryman and No. 1 seed Gilles Simon in the second round. Mathieu leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 3-1.

#NextGen star Kyle Edmund of Great Britain also advanced on Tuesday, beating Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 7-5. Edmund will face No. 3 seed Benoit Paire of France for the first time. Spaniard Inigo Cervantes also moved into the second round. He beat compatriot Daniel Munoz de la Nava, 6-4, 6-1. Cervantes will play No. 2 seed Nick Kyrgios.

WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

Kyrgios celebrates his 21st birthday Wednesday at the Millennium Estoril Open, site of the first ATP World Tour final of his career. Kyrgios, runner-up to Richard Gasquet in 2015, plays his first clay-court match of the year against Cervantes. The Aussie hasn’t competed since April 1, when he fell to Kei Nishikori in the ATP Masters 1000 Miami semi-finals.

All was not lost for Kyrgios in Miami. After beating Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals, Kyrgios rose to a career-high No. 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, solidifying his place as the No. 1 player in the ATP World Tour Next Generation. Kyrgios also became the first Next Generation star to win a singles title when he swept Gasquet, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic in February at the Open 13 in Marseille.

Joining Kyrgios in Estadio Millennium are fellow Next Generation players Edmund and Borna Coric. The sixth-seeded Coric takes on Rogerio Dutra Silva. Play begins with a pair of Spaniards in the final first-round match of the draw: No. 8 seed Pablo Carreño Busta versus wild card Fernando Verdasco. In a rain-delayed final at Bucharest on Monday, Verdasco defeated Lucas Pouille for his seventh singles title.

Joao Sousa, the top player from Portugal at World No. 34, had the honour of meeting his country’s president on Tuesday at the Millennium Estoril Open.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa played an influential role in bringing the ATP World Tour to Portugal in 1990. He was gifted with a tennis racquet from Sousa before making his way to Estado Millennium to watch Portugal’s Gastao Elias, who cracked the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, face Paul-Henri Mathieu (the Frenchman won 6-3, 6-4).

“I think it’s great for the tournament,” Mathieu said after his win. “It’s great for tennis. It’s an honour to play in front of him.”

Sousa, the fourth seed this week, will open his campaign against Nicolas Almagro in the second round.

Tournament officials at the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich can’t seem to catch a break from Mother Nature this week. Snow disrupted qualifying matches on Sunday at the outdoor clay-court tournament. On Tuesday, rain was to blame for play being suspended and only three matches reaching completion.

In a battle of German qualifiers, Florian Mayer bested Matthias Bachinger 6-4, 6-4. Mayer, former World No. 18, returned to the ATP World Tour last week at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest after more than seven months off because of a torn right adductor tendon. The 32 year old will face another compatriot in the second round, No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who received a first-round bye.

Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan also moved into the second round after Russian Evgeny Donskoy retired because of a hip injury down 6-2, 3-0. Kukushkin, No. 88 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will face No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy or German wild card Maximilian Marterer.

The Fognini-Marterer match will be first up on Center Court on Wednesday, followed by the completion of the contest between #NextGen star Alexander Zverev and Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. Their match was suspended on Tuesday with Jaziri to serve up 5-4. The World No. 64 beat the German in straight sets last week to reach the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell.

Three other singles seeds are scheduled to play on Wednesday, including No. 7 Vasek Pospisil, No. 3 Dominic Thiem and No. 6 Thomaz Bellucci. Juan Martin del Potro also is scheduled to continue his comeback against German Dustin Brown.

WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

Following a rainy and snowy start to the BMW Open by FWU AG, the stars come out Wednesday in Munich. Del Potro plays in his first clay-court match since May 16, 2013. Munich marks del Potro’s fourth tournament of 2016, but his first on clay since 2013 ATP Masters 1000 Rome. The former World No. 4 has had three surgeries on his left wrist since then, and his opponent Brown is returning from a wrist injury as well. The dreadlocked German has not played since a Challenger in Jonkoping, Sweden seven weeks ago.

The final two matches scheduled on Center Court are second-rounders. No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem, who is 26-7 with two titles in 2016, meets Santiago Giraldo for a spot in the quarter-finals. Only World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has more wins this season with 28. Also in second-round action, Ivan Dodig faces No. 6 seed Thomaz Bellucci, who ended a seven-match losing streak Monday.

Gilles Simon and Nick Kyrgios visited the Autódromo do Estoril on Monday to test out some sport-tuned Peugeot cars with professional Portuguese drivers.

Simon and Kyrgios, who are the top two seeds at this week’s Millennium Estoril Open, took the passenger seat for some very high-speed laps.

“It was very nice and the first time on a track like this,” said Simon. “It was really impressive how fast the professional drivers could go, especially on the bends and their breaking. At times you think you’re doing a U-turn. It’s a lot of stress if you’re not used to it, but I had a lot of confidence in the driver.”

“It was really fun,” said Kyrgios. “To get in a car with professional drivers was scary at first, but when you get used to it you put your trust in them. They did an unbelievable job. It shook me up on the first corner, when he really hit the brakes and started drifting.”

Simon then took out one of the cars for a couple of laps under the tutelage of one of the pro drivers. Kyrgios, having only recently passed his test to drive a manual car, decided not to give it a go. “I like driving, but when I’m back home I drive a lot,” said Kyrgios.

Simon added, “My turn was slower! I did two laps, the first lap was good and saw how I could do with it. But in the second lap, I lost control on the grass. It’s a really nice place though, driving at a former Formula One track.”

Former Formula One champions Alain Prost (1984, 1987-88), Ayrton Senna (1985), Nigel Mansell (1990, 1992) and Michael Schumacher (1993) previously won Grand Prix races on the track. Senna won his first Grand Prix in Estoril.

Sixth seed Jiri Vesely recorded his sixth match win on clay this year by beating Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 33 minutes on Tuesday for a place in the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open second round. Vesely reached the Marrakech semi-finals (l. to Coric) earlier this month.

Fifth seed Marcel Granollers and seventh seed Teymuraz Gabashvili are also in action today.