Enter the grounds of the Scotstoun Leisure Centre and one thing is immediately apparent. The passion for tennis and thirst for live action in Scotland has never waned.

Fans have filed into the modest, cozy facility in Glasgow all week for a glimpse of world-class tennis. In three of the last four years, the bustling city has hosted Davis Cup ties at the Emirates Arena. But this week, the ATP Challenger Tour has welcomed players and fans to the quaint 1,000-seat venue at Scotstoun.

The ‘Murray Trophy’ has arrived.

While the name itself carries great significance throughout Scotland, it’s Jamie Murray who has made great strides to bring the tournament to life. Working closely to increase awareness for the game in his native land, he has played an integral role in the event’s creation and development.

“It’s been awesome to put on an event in Scotland,” Jamie told ATPChallengerTour.com. “We have no live, professional tennis the rest of the year, so it’s a great opportunity for people to get close to a big tournament. Monday morning here was already pretty busy which is great.

“There’s a huge appetite for tennis in Glasgow and in Scotland. We’ve had some pretty big Davis Cup ties in the past. A lot of people have already come out to see us play and we’ve gotten some great support.”

The former doubles No. 1 isn’t the only active player that has taken a hands-on approach in bringing Challenger tennis to his homeland. French stalwart Jeremy Chardy celebrated the inaugural edition of the Teréga Open Pau-Pyrénées in his hometown of Pau, in February. Like Chardy, it was Murray who has been instrumental in making the dream a reality.

The 33-year-old, in conjunction with the Lawn Tennis Association and Tennis Scotland, recognised the need for an expanded presence of ATP Challenger Tour events in Great Britain. That is, additional tournaments outside of the traditional grass-court season in June and July.

Cultivating interest in the game year-round has become a top priority and Challenger tennis is the perfect way to achieve that goal. This week, fans have the ability to witness the action in an intimate setting and interact with the players in the public areas. Murray has ensured the local kids are especially involved, setting up a mini-tennis court on site, while visiting his hometown of Dunblane on Saturday, a primary school on Monday and engaging in multiple Q&As and clinics.

Murray isn’t the only key tennis figure to visit the Scotstoun Leisure Centre this week. The Scot’s mother Judy Murray, British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, Queen’s Club tournament director Stephen Farrow and former Top 20 doubles star and Scotland native Colin Fleming have all come to support the cause.

Welcome to Scotland!

Glasgow’s own @aidymchugh takes us on a quick tour of the cozy facilities at the #MurrayTrophy. The 19-year-old, a former Top 10 junior, will kick off his campaign on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/Leoky3bj6K

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 16, 2019

“It’s really important to have this tournament,” said Farrow. “Obviously the majority of our professional events are in the summer, but what we are lacking are tournaments the rest of the year. That has been our strategy – to build up our circuit in other parts of the season where we don’t traditionally have events. It gives us an opportunity to talk about the sport in September, when the conversation wouldn’t typically be about tennis. This is a start for us. We’re engaging with local schools and the community in Glasgow.

“With Andy and Jamie, we’re talking about two of the greatest of all time. To have Jamie come here straight after winning the mixed doubles in New York and be engaged from Day 1, it’s been a pleasure to work with him. To see what he’s done in and around this event, and the enthusiasm he has to stimulate interest in the sport, is really encouraging.”

On the call for the doubles nightcap… former Top 20 star and ??????? Scotland’s own @colin_fleming, alongside @abigailtennis.#MurrayTrophy pic.twitter.com/ksT0aQ1GC1

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 18, 2019

While Murray is competing in the doubles competition, alongside John-Patrick Smith, the spectators have taken to the non-British players as well. A trio of 20 & under stars are in Glasgow and drawing crowds. Fourth seed Emil Ruusuvuori (20) of Finland, joins Spaniard Nicola Kuhn (19) and Austria’s Jurij Rodionov (20) as #NextGenATP stars pushing towards the Top 100 and beyond. All three are in Friday’s quarter-finals.

“This is my first time here in Glasgow and Scotland and it’s really nice,” said top seed Malek Jaziri. “The people are really nice. It is very well organised and I think Jamie has made, from what I can see, a very good tournament. All the conditions are good to play good tennis. There was a good crowd for my matches and that gives the players extra motivation. It is a great event for the next generation of players.”

BBC Sport are in Glasgow all week, streaming first to last ball coverage with Fleming on the call along with current doubles player Scott Clayton and Murray’s coach Alan MacDonald, among others. And with 20 accredited media providing coverage, it is a full-scale production.

While this is the first edition of the Murray Trophy, it is not the first time Challenger tennis has arrived in Scotland. For six years in the late 90s and early 2000s, the city of Edinburgh hosted a tournament. Also, Glasgow held one-off events on two previous occasions – in February in 2015 and in April last year. But now, with Murray’s support, it is hoping to remain a permanant fixture for years to come.

Portugal’s Joao Sousa played the villain at the St. Petersburg Open on Thursday, upsetting second seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 7-6(2), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250.

The unseeded 30-year-old fell to Khachanov in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting three years ago, at the 2016 Chengdu Open. But Sousa didn’t drop a point on his serve in the first-set tie-break and broke in the fifth game of the second to advance.

“They were pushing Karen. They were pushing me as well so I think I played a great match. I think they enjoyed,” Sousa said. “Unfortunately, Karen couldn’t win. He’s the Russian playing at home. But in the end, I was able to win and I’m very happy.”

Sousa is through to his third quarter-final of 2019 and his first not on clay. In back-to-back weeks, the veteran right-hander made the quarter-finals in Bastad and the semi-finals in Gstaad. He will next meet Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Damir Dzumhur on Wednesday.

“Mikhail is a great player,” Sousa said. “Hopefully tomorrow I will have a little bit more crowd [support]. It’s going to be another tough match as [was] today. So now it’s time to recover and to enjoy this victory.”

Top seeds Nikola Mektic/Franko Skugor eased into the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals on Thursday, converting all three of their break points to defeat Nicholas Monroe/Andrei Vasilevski 6-4, 6-2. Mektic/Skugor will now take on Divij Sharan/Igor Zelenay, who took out Roberto Carballes Baena/Andres Molteni 7-5, 5-7, 10-5

Second seeds Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen needed just 64 minutes to move past Adrian Mannarino/Hugo Nys 6-4, 6-4. The Belgian pair went on an 11-match winning streak in July, taking titles in Bastad (d. Delbonis/Zeballos) and Gstaad (d. Oswald/Polasek), and finishing runner-up in Kitzbühel (l. to Oswald/Polasek). Awaiting Gille/Vliegen in the semi-finals are Matteo Berrettini/Simone Bolelli, who defeated Frederik Nielsen/Tim Puetz 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.

At the Moselle Open in Metz, top seeds Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin reached the semi-finals by prevailing 6-4, 6-1 in an all-French battle with Dan Added/Albano Olivetti. This year’s Wimbledon finalists (l. to Cabal/Farah) will play Belgian duo Sander Arends/David Pel on Saturday.

Fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi finished strong in their 7-6(4), 6-3 win against Gerard Granollers/Marcel Granollers. Next up for Gonzalez/Qureshi is a semi-final showdown against Robert Lindstedt/Jan-Lennard Struff.

Fourth seed Lucas Pouille delighted the home crowd on Thursday at the Moselle Open in Metz, sprinting into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Pouille raced through the last five games of the opening set and saved both break points he faced, knocking off a forehand volley winner to advance in 68 minutes. The Frenchman seeks his first tour-level semi-final since this year’s Australian Open. He’ll look to keep his flawless FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Serbian Filip Krajinovic (2-0) when they meet on Friday. 

Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta provided the upset of the day with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over top-seeded Belgian David Goffin. The 28-year-old fell to Goffin last month at the US Open, but turned the tables on Court Central by breaking him four times en route to victory. Carreno Busta is aiming for his first hard-court ATP Tour semi-final this season.

Next up for Carreno Busta is Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, who took out seventh-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6(9), 6-2. Bedene saved two set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the first-set tie-break, then swept through the first four games of the second set before prevailing in one hour and 32 minutes. The 30-year-old improves to 3-4 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Paire, having also defeated him last month in a fifth-set tie-break at the US Open.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued to make his case for a fourth title in Metz, scoring a 6-3, 6-4 win over fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach the quarter-finals. He held the lead throughout their battle on Court Central, winning 82 per cent of his first-serve points and saving all three break points he faced to advance in one hour and 29 minutes.

Tsonga improved to 4-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Herbert and has won all nine sets they’ve played. He also defeated Herbert this February in the championship match in Montpellier. The 34-year-old continues to thrive on home soil, having won nine of his 17 career ATP Tour singles titles in France.

Next up for Tsonga is second-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who rallied from 4/6 in the second-set tie-break to defeat German qualifier Yannick Maden 6-2, 7-6(6). Tsonga and Basilashvili are tied 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, with Basilashvili winning their most recent clash this May in Lyon.

Matteo Berrettini stepped up his quest for a place at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday by reaching the St. Petersburg Open quarter-finals. The Italian swept past Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain 6-1, 6-2 in 56 minutes to rise one spot to eighth position — past Japan’s Kei Nishikori — in the 2019 ATP Race To London for a place at the 10-17 November event in London.

Buoyed with confidence after a run to the US Open semi-finals, Berrettini lost only six of his service points and broke Carballes Baena’s serve four times for his 35th match win of the season. The 23-year-old, who will now play Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov in St. Petersburg, has won two ATP Tour titles this year at the Hungarian Open in Budapest (d. Krajinovic) and the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart (d. Auger-Aliassime).

Elsewhere, fourth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric was leading 6-7(5), 7-5, 3-0 when Marton Fucsovics of Hungary retired due to a left leg injury after two hours and 19 minutes of play. Coric will next play eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud, who booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Salvatore Caruso of Italy in 74 minutes.

Benoit Paire beat countryman Richard Gasquet for only the second time in their nine-match FedEx ATP Head2Head series on Wednesday at the Moselle Open in Metz.

Paire, a two-time ATP Tour titlist this season, won 86 per cent (36/42) of his service points and fought back to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 tennis tournament 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Gasquet led their head-to-head contest 7-1 before their second-round meeting in Metz. Frenchmen have won eight of the past 10 Metz titles, and Paire will face another Frenchman in Gregoire Barrere, who beat Antoine Hoang 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 in a battle of French wild cards, for a place in the semi-finals.

France had a mixed day in the two other singles matches that involved home hopefuls. Three-time champion Gilles Simon dismissed Romanian Marius Copil 6-3, 6-4 and will meet Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia for a place in the quarter-finals.

But #NextGenATP Frenchman Ugo Humbert fell to German qualifier Yannick Maden 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-4. Maden, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the second round of Roland Garros, will next meet second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. In the final match of the day, Serbian Filip Krajinovic upset fifth seed Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and will next meet Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego or fourth seed Lucas Pouille of France.

Frederik Nielsen/Tim Puetz got off to a strong start on Wednesday at the St. Petersburg Open, easing past Marton Fucsovics/Stefano Travaglia 6-4, 6-4. Awaiting them in the quarter-finals are Italian duo Matteo Berrettini/Simone Bolelli, who needed just 53 minutes to defeat Roman Jebavy/Philipp Oswald 6-2, 6-2.

Divij Sharan/Igor Zelenay rallied to defeat fourth seeds Marcelo Demoliner/Matwe Middelkoop 3-6, 6-2, 10-5. Next up for them are Roberto Carballes Baena/Andres Molteni, who took out Evgeny Karlovskiy/Andrey Rublev 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-2.

At the Moselle Open in Metz, top seeds Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin won an all-French first-round battle over Tristan Lamasine/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-4. Fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi also reached the last eight by prevailing in an epic 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 battle over Denys Molchanov/Artem Sitak.

In quarter-final action, Robert Lindstedt/Jan-Lennard Struff saved three match points in the second-set tie-break of their 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 10-7 victory against Gilles Simon/Mischa Zverev. Next up for Lindstedt/Struff are Sander Arends/David Pel, who moved past Marius Copil/Ugo Humbert 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-5.

#NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud picked up his first win at an indoor ATP Tour event on Wednesday at the St. Petersburg Open. The eighth seed held off a stern challenge from Kazakh Alexander Bublik to advance 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2.

“Sascha is a good friend among the other guys on Tour. He hits a lot of fast serves and big shots, so I just tried to be ready for that,” Ruud said. “You have to take it match by match because it’s a very strong competition here, but I’ll try to win every match I play.”

Ruud raced through the last five games of the match to advance in two hours and two minutes. Awaiting him in the second round is Salvatore Caruso, who prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Italian battle with Thomas Fabbiano.

Portuguese Joao Sousa didn’t drop serve in a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Slovakian Jozef Kovalik, setting him up for a second-round clash with second-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov. Hungarian Marton Fucsovics rallied from 1-5 in the opening set and saved five set points en route to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Russian qualifier Alexey Vatutin. Next up for Fucsovics is fourth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric, who won their lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting this year at the Australian Open.

In a battle of former St. Petersburg champions, 2010 winner and sixth seed Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan defeated 2017 champion Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia 7-6(2), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals. The other second-round match on Wednesday saw Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov score the upset of the day against seventh-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-1. The 26-year-old’s most recent ATP Tour quarter-final also came on Russian soil last October in Moscow.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are teaming up again at the 2019 Laver Cup, which starts Friday in Geneva. And Nadal can’t wait to get started.

“He couldn’t be more pumped up for this event,” Federer said on Wednesday. “He just won the US Open. It would have been so easy for him to say, ‘Look, I need a break.’ But he said, ‘No, my break’s coming afterwards. I push it all aside, and I’m doing this because I really believe in the concept of the Laver Cup. And I believe in you guys.’”

The players were welcomed and made a public appearance on the balcony of the Palais Eynard, Parc des Bastions on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the third edition of the Laver Cup, which pits the best of Team Europe against the best of Team World.

“It’s been energetic, it’s been thrilling, it’s been exciting. The two teams have finally clashed and seen each other. We are all ready to go,” Federer said.

He and Nadal combined forces for Team Europe during the inaugural Laver Cup, in Prague in 2017. The two all-time greats played doubles together, beating Team World members Sam Querrey and Jack Sock 6-4, 1-6, 10-5.

Expect Federer/Nadal to take the court together again as the two practised doubles together on Wednesday against teammates Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini. The team competition gets underway on Friday.

This is what the ATP Challenger Tour is all about. On Sunday, in front of thousands of passionate fans at the Real Club de Tenis Betis, native son Alejandro Davidovich Fokina celebrated his maiden title in Sevilla.

The local Sevillanos filled the club, with a capacity crowd on hand to watch the 20-year-old battle countryman Jaume Munar. And with 400 more on line outside, in search of a coveted seat inside the historic venue, the atmosphere was electric and the drama palpable.

2019 #NextGenATP First-Time Spotlights: Ymer | Sinner | Ruusuvuori

The oldest tournament in Spain celebrated its 29th edition, welcoming a third #NextGenATP champion in the past four years. Casper Ruud (2016) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (2017) would go on to crack the Top 100 and beyond, a milestone that is now well within reach for Davidovich Fokina. The Malaga native is up to a career-high No. 108 in the ATP Rankings and moves to 12th in the ATP Race To Milan.

Davidovich Fokina has been on fire in September, halting a 1-6 mid-summer stretch with an impressive 12-2 run that also included a semi-final finish in Mallorca and final run in Genova. The 20-year-old continues to build off his breakthrough moment from earlier in the year, when he stormed to the semi-finals at the ATP Tour stop in Estoril as a qualifier. There, he upset World No. 18 Gael Monfils to reach the last four.

The Spaniard spoke to ATPChallengerTour.com following his maiden triumph in Sevilla…

Alejandro, congrats on winning your first Challenger title. How does it feel to lift the trophy?
I have been supported all this week by my family, by the team and by my friends. I am very happy to raise this title in front of them. I think it is well deserved, since last week I lost in the final, but this time I could get it.

The final against Munar was very close. Did you feel nervous today?
Yes, with Jaume there are always those nerves because I know he is a very consistent player. He doesn’t miss any shots. I started a little more nervous, but in the second set I was more explosive and aggressive. I have relied much more on myself and I also wanted to not lose a fourth final.

Recent #NextGenATP Spanish Champions

Winning your first Challenger title is not easy. What do you think were the keys during the week?
I have been for three weeks at a very good level. I looked to win the tournament from the beginning. In every game, at every point I went to the maximum. In addition, the confidence I brought from the previous matches carried into the final.

As you say, you had three finals in which you didn’t get the trophy. What did you learn from those experiences?
There were many emotions and I had a lot of pressure. But I prepared for this match very well with my coach Jorge [Aguirre] and I think I solved it very well. We knew there would be a lot of emotion, because we played in Andalusia, very close to home in Sevilla. And also the public would be on my side, which was very important.

You defeated two strong players – Salvatore Caruso and Jaume Munar – in the semis and final. How much confidence do those victories and this trophy give you?
First of all, I’d say not to lose your mind with these victories, because on Wednesday I will start competing in another Challenger. So I’m going to celebrate with my family, I’m going to enjoy my first victory and tomorrow it’s time to go back to work.

To win your first #ATPChallenger title is a big deal.

This is how much it means to @alexdavidovich1, champion in Sevilla. ??? pic.twitter.com/xijUOYNbU3

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 15, 2019

It has not been an easy summer for you. How did you prepare yourself to put aside those struggles and have such a successful month?
After Estoril, I did not have it very easy. There were matches that I should not have lost, where I was playing very poorly. In tennis there are always streaks and I know there will be ups and downs. The goal was to move on, never give up.

What have you enjoyed most of your time in Sevilla? It is such a historic tournament and very close to home for you.
Of course not the heat! (Laughs). The people here supported me a lot and the atmosphere is spectacular. Being able to play in Andalusia gives my whole family and my friends the opportunity to come. It is a plus to play in front of them all.

For those of us who don’t know much about you, what do you enjoy doing off the court?
I am a very hyperactive guy, who likes to do many things away from the court. I am very simple, very sociable. In the end, I am from Malaga. I grew up there and I my attitude is like the people there. I just like to have fun with friends and enjoy life.