On Wednesday, Norbert Gombos arrived at the Citi Open expecting to practise. The 28-year-old had lost on Sunday in the final round of qualifying against Tim Smyczek and he had a flight booked on Thursday to head home to Slovakia, where he planned to prepare for US Open qualifying.

Little did Gombos know that he would not be heading home Thursday, but instead advancing to the quarter-finals of the main draw in Washington, D.C. for the best result of his career. The seven-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist will play Aussie Nick Kyrgios in the last eight for a spot in his first ATP Tour semi-final.

“I was just waiting,” Gombos said of when he found out he received a lucky loser spot. “I had already [booked] the flight back home on Thursday, so I had to change my flight, and today again I have to change [it]. So already twice I have [had] to change my flight back home.”

Not only did Gombos receive a lucky loser spot, but he got especially lucky by taking Kevin Anderson’s position in the draw, as the fourth-seeded South African, who had a bye, withdrew due to right knee pain. Gombos has beaten Adrian Mannarino and Miomir Kecmanovic to make the quarter-finals, his first at an ATP 500 event.

“I was pretty surprised because I knew that maybe I won’t play already. I just came here and I was already set up for practices, so I didn’t expect that I could play,” Gombos said. “But I was so happy that I can play, and I get another chance, so that’s why I’m here still.”

Against Kecmanovic, Gombos won two fewer points in the match. But he played with nothing to lose in a final-set tie-break, pushing the pace from the baseline to ultimately seal the victory after two hours and eight minutes. Before this week, he had not won a match in the main draw of an ATP Tour event since July 2017, and he had earned only three of them in his career. Now, he is enjoying his best tournament yet under the most unlikely of circumstances.

“I was so happy that I got another chance to play here. I know that I was playing really good in previous weeks and now I get a chance to play with the best players,” said Gombos. “After yesterday’s win, I felt like I’m playing really well, so I can take a chance in advancing to other rounds.

“I was playing really good [against Kecmanovic]. Actually it was a close match, and I’m so happy that I won such a close match. I’m really happy to be in the quarter-finals, and I’m really enjoying this moment.”

Gombos has climbed as high as No. 80 in the ATP Rankings. And perhaps it’s fitting that two of the three highest-ranked players he has faced in his career are Anderson — whose spot he received this week — and Kyrgios, who is next up. The Slovakian lost against the Aussie at 2017 Marseille in his only previous tour-level quarter-final, but he’s excited for the challenge of facing Kyrgios under the lights on Stadium Court in Washington on Friday evening.

“I will be happy to play in such a great venue,” Gombos said. “So I will try my best and hopefully it will be good.”

Did You Know?
Gombos is not the only lucky loser into the Citi Open quarter-finals. German Peter Gojowczyk also lost in the final round of qualifying, but he is also through to the last eight after defeating Alex de Minaur and Milos Raonic in back-to-back matches, winning both in straight sets. He won a third-set tie-break against Andrey Rublev in the first round of the main draw.

A lot has changed for Dominic Thiem since he reached his maiden ATP Tour final at the Generali Open in 2014. The Austrian has captured 13 tour-level trophies, contested two Roland Garros finals and reached a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings.

But one thing remains the same. The Austrian is still seeking his first tour-level trophy on home soil. On Friday, he moved one win away from achieving that feat in Kitzbühel after overcoming Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6(6).

The 25-year-old won 73 per cent of service points (49/67) to advance to his fourth tour-level championship match of the year (2-1) after one hour and 42 minutes. Thiem has now won 10 matches at this ATP 250 tournament (10-7) and improves to 27-11 this season.

Following a competitive opening six games, Thiem claimed 12 of the next 14 points to charge into a one-set lead. The World No. 4 returned from behind the baseline, hitting with depth to neutralise rallies before stepping up the court to pressure his opponent into crucial errors.

After trading early breaks, a tie-break was needed to decide the winner of the second set. Following a rain delay, Thiem rallied from 1/4 down to claim victory as Sonego fired a backhand return beyond the baseline.

Thiem will need to beat in-form Albert Ramos-Vinolas if he is to add to his 2019 titles at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer) and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Medvedev). The Spaniard advanced to his second ATP Tour final in as many weeks after beating Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4.

Ramos-Vinolas, who captured his second tour-level crown in Gstaad last week, rallied from 2-5 down in the opening set and broke the #NextGenATP Norwegian’s serve on four occasions to improve to 12-1 in his three most recent tour-level events.

“[At 2-5 down] I changed my tactics, I stepped in a little bit more,” said Ramos-Vinolas. ”With the forehand I changed a little more down the line, also with the return a little bit more closer to the lines.”

Prior to his title run in Gstaad last week, the 31-year-old reached the semi-finals at the Swedish Open (l. to Londero). Ramos-Vinolas lifted his maiden trophy at the Båstad-based event in 2016.

Thiem and Ramos Vinolas are tied at 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Ramos-Vinolas defeated Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the 2016 Chengdu Open, before the Austrian levelled their series with a victory by the same score line at the 2017 Rio Open presented by Claro.

”I expect a very difficult match [if I play Thiem in the final]. Obviously, he is probably one of the best on clay at the moment and he is playing at home. If he wins, it is going to be a difficult match.”

Fifth seed Taylor Fritz continued his red-hot form on Thursday at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex. The American ensured there will be a new winner in Los Cabos after defeating top seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 7-6(1).

“I think I’m playing my best tennis. I’ve found a level of consistency where it’s still pretty high even when I’m not playing my best,” said Fritz. “This is what I train for. All the stuff I do in the gym and on the practice court is way harder than anything that could be replicated in a match.”

Fritz raced through the first five games of the match and Fognini received strapping to his left foot and ankle after the opening set. Both players held serve throughout the second set to force a tie-break, but the fifth seed won seven straight points to clinch his second Top 10 win of the year. Fritz evened his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Fognini at 1-1.

Read More: Marin Marches Past Felix In Washington

The American has won 12 of his past 14 matches. He earned his first ATP Tour title in June at the Nature Valley International (d. Querrey) and finished runner-up last week at the BB&T Atlanta Open (l. to de Minaur). His outstanding results have put him at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 28, which is set to climb even higher when the newest standings are released on Monday.

Awaiting Fritz in the semi-finals is seventh seed Radu Albot, who powered past Aussie wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-3 for a career-high 25th tour-level win of the season. Albot clinched his first ATP Tour title this February in Delray Beach by saving three championship points to topple Daniel Evans.

Second-seeded Argentine Guido Pella withstood a stern test from South Korean qualifier Soonwoo Kwon to advance 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. The 21-year-old Kwon, competing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final, was not overwhelmed and mixed aggressive forehands with timely trips to the net. But Pella settled in and broke serve twice in each of the last two sets to advance in two hours and three minutes.

Pella is through to his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the year. He captured his maiden ATP Tour crown this March in Sao Paulo (d. Garin) and reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 21 in May.

Next up for Pella is third seed and fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who had few problems in dispatching eighth-seeded Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2. Schwartzman has been in top form this week, dropping only eight games to reach the last four. He seeks his first ATP Tour title of the year after finishing runner-up in February in Buenos Aires (l. to Cecchinato).

Pella leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Schwartzman 2-1 and won their most recent clash this February in Cordoba, but this will be their first hard-court meeting.

It’s common practice on the ATP Challenger Tour. With more than 150 tournaments in 40 countries and territories, players are criss-crossing the globe nearly every week, chasing valuable ATP Rankings points and prize money.

This week, Yuichi Sugita took that to the next level. On Sunday, the Japanese veteran claimed his 10th ATP Challenger Tour title, lifting the trophy in Binghamton, New York. He hailed it as one of the greatest achievements of his career, having endured two years of struggles following his breakout 2017 campaign.

But Sugita had no time to celebrate. In just over 48 hours, he would find himself on the other side of the world, taking the court for a first-round match in Chengdu, China. From a final in upstate New York on Sunday afternoon to being first on Court 17 at 10:00am on Wednesday in central China, it was quite the journey for the 30-year-old.

“Even though I have jetlag, I think this tournament is really important for me,” Sugita told ATPChallengerTour.com. “That is why I’m here. The temperature is different from New York and the humidity too. I got here on Tuesday and started the next day, so it was not easy. But I won my first two matches.”

Photo: Jacob Stuckey

Sugita is hoping to return to the form that saw him reach a career-high No. 36 in the ATP Rankings in 2017. Earlier that year, he claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Antalya. But the Japanese admits that it was a struggle to maintain that form as he competed full-time at the tour-level.

“I had a lot of lost confidence. When I played on the ATP Tour, I had to play a lot of top players in the first rounds. Every match is really strong and it’s difficult to find confidence. I had to play all ATP Tour tournaments and I think I lost 10 first round matches in a row. It’s difficult to keep playing well, but it is the tour you dream of playing on. It was a really good experience for me.”

In 2018, Sugita would endure a 10-match losing streak and eventually fell outside the Top 200. As fast as he enjoyed his biggest breakthrough, he would plummet to No. 274 and was forced to return to the ATP Challenger Tour.

He says his victory at the Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger was a great boost, not only in lifting a trophy once again and returning to the Top 200, but in restoring much-needed confidence.

“It’s a long, long time since I last got a title. It’s a big one for me. I was in the Top 40 in 2017 and then I dropped in the ATP Rankings. And I lost how I want to play my tennis. It was really tough to come back to my level, but I won last week and now I have more confidence with my tennis. It was a big, big title for me. It was bigger than my ATP title. These two years, it was really tough, but finally I got it back.”

Now, Sugita is on the rise once again and he credits his resurgence to a renewed mindset and firmer commitment to improving his physical and mental approach. And later this month, he will reap the rewards with a berth in US Open qualifying. What a difference one week can make.

“I needed to practise even harder. I worked on my footwork and the physical and mental side. Physically I tried to get more fit and mentally I just needed the confidence to get back there. I manage myself and my game and find what is my strong points and just believe in myself.”

On Friday, Sugita will face one of his biggest tests of the year in top seed James Duckworth. A spot in the semis at the 2019 International Challenger Chengdu is on the line.

Some days you play your best tennis, and other days you need to try to find ways to win without your top level. #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime battled hard on Thursday, but ultimately fell short of a solution against sixth seed Marin Cilic at the Citi Open.

“I don’t know what it was, but I couldn’t figure it out,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It was just really tough out there today, in every way. I just felt like I couldn’t even play close to what I’m able to.”

The double fault proved the 18-year-old’s bugaboo against the Croat veteran — Auger-Aliassime’s double fault on match point was his 11th of the match. But instead of dwelling on his performance, the Canadian wants to use this moment to his advantage moving forward.

“I’m going to go back to training, and that’s just how I’m going to live with it,” Auger-Aliassime said. “There’s not much I can do anymore except going back to training, try to improve, and that’s what I will try to do.”

It’s not as if Auger-Aliassime is mired in a slump, either. He defeated in-form American Reilly Opelka in the second round, holds a 12-5 record in his past five tournaments, and a 29-16 tally on the year. The teen owned only six tour-level wins prior to 2019.

“Every loss for sure is an opportunity to improve,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Today has shown that I need to improve a lot of things still, but I’ll just take the days that I have before Rogers Cup to see what I can work on before starting there.”

Auger-Aliassime was not blown off the court, either. He battled hard and showed flashes of brilliance, including a one-handed backhand flick that brought roars from the crowd. At 4-4 in the second set, he earned a break point that would have allowed him to force a decider. But it was not to be.

“It’s not always easy. Today was a very tough day for me, but I tried to bring the best of me,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Sometimes I’m not proud of myself with what I’m doing, but I try to do whatever I can. In a way I was able to do that. I had a brief point at 4-All where it could have turned my way. But for sure I’m going to fight to earn what I want.”

It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Auger-Aliassime, who has climbed from outside the Top 100 in the ATP Rankings at the start of the year as high as World No. 21. And now, the Canadian will take his momentum home to the Coupe Rogers, where he will compete in front of the Montreal fans for the first time. Although Auger-Aliassime is excited for that, he knows he needs to remain focussed like he would for any other tournament.

“I don’t have to change my routine because of that. It is a big tournament, but it’s a tournament like all the other ones. There’s matches to play,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I have to prepare. I have to do my routines. That doesn’t change. I think I will go out there and keep doing what I’m doing, but with for sure a bit of adjustments to not lose too much energy outside of the court.”

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas withstood a spirited challenge from Aussie Jordan Thompson on Thursday at the Citi Open, saving a set point in the second set to prevail under the lights 6-3, 7-6(4).

The victory puts the #NextGenATP Greek into his 10th ATP Tour quarter-final of the season. Tsitsipas seeks his third ATP Tour title of the year after prevailing in Marseille (d. Kukushkin) and Estoril (d. Cuevas). He’ll next take on fifth-seeded American John Isner or No. 10 seed Benoit Paire of France. Tsitsipas is winless against both Paire (0-1) and Isner (0-2) in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalries.

More to come… 

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Felix Auger-Aliassime earned perhaps the highlight of the day on Thursday at the Citi Open. But Marin Cilic walked off Stadium Court with even more: a victory against the #NextGenATP Canadian star.

Cilic defeated the ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes in Washington, D.C., advancing to the quarter-finals when the teenager struck his 11th double fault of the match.

Sixth-seeded Cilic entered the match with just a 12-10 record on the 2019 season. But the Croat has climbed as high as No. 3 in the ATP Rankings and won both a Grand Slam (2014 US Open) and ATP Masters 1000 tournament (Cincinnati) on hard courts, making him a dangerous player at all times.

Cilic broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the first game of the match to set the tone, and perhaps that helped the 30-year-old’s confidence. Cilic saved three of the four break points he faced, consistently firing a big serve to get himself out of trouble. He also did a good job of putting returns back into play, forcing the Canadian to beat him in rallies.

At 2-2 in the second set, Auger-Aliassime earned two break points. And later in the game, the 18-year-old saved a Cilic game point with a magnificent one-handed flick down the line, wagging his finger in the air in celebration. It appeared the World No. 22 was on the verge of a breakthrough.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN ?

What a shot from @felixtennis ??

?: @TennisTV | @CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/ja1pPIWLs8

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 1, 2019

But while Cilic bent in the match, he never broke. And the Croat was the steadier player in the biggest moments to claim victory in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Cilic will next face third seed Daniil Medvedev or 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Frances Tiafoe.

Also on the bottom half of the draw, Brit Kyle Edmund battled hard to beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 23 minutes. The 13th seed withstood 18 Tsonga aces, saving six of the seven break points he faced.

Next up for the World No. 34 is lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk, who ousted eighth seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes. The German, who lost to Donald Young in qualifying, also upset BB&T Atlanta Open champion Alex de Minaur in the second round.

Dominic Thiem has accomplished a lot in 2019: winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, reaching his second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, triumphing in Barcelona for the first time and plenty more. And on Thursday, the World No. 4 moved to within two wins of capturing his maiden ATP Tour trophy at home in Austria.

Thiem defeated Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-6(4), 6-4 in one hour and 44 minutes to reach the semi-finals of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. It is the third time the home favourite has made it this far at the ATP 250 tournament in his eighth appearance since it became a tour-level event in 2011.

The key was success on second serves, as Thiem won 61 per cent of his second-serve points, while Andujar only earned 35 per cent of his. The Austrian broke four times in the match, twice in each set.

The top seed now leads Andujar 3-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and he will next face seventh seed Lorenzo Sonego, who eliminated third seed Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes.

Sonego, at 24, has enjoyed the best season of his career, reaching his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and then earning his first ATP Tour crown at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya.

The Italian saved four of the five break points he faced against Verdasco, winning 82 per cent of his first-serve points against the Spaniard. Sonego needed a final-set tie-break in each of his first two matches, but he found some of his best tennis to advance to his second tour-level semi-final. He has never previously played Thiem.

#NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud continued his pursuit of a trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 5-9 November, beating fourth seed Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour and 36 minutes.

Ruud has played just one match each on hard court and grass court this season, losing both, but the 20-year-old has shone on clay. The World No. 65 is now 17-7 on the surface in 2019, reaching his first ATP Tour final in Houston on the red dirt.

Ruud will try to make another championship match when he battles Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who moved past Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes. The Spaniard has rounded into form, winning 11 of his past 12 matches, including a title last week at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad.

Ramos-Vinolas has beaten Ruud in their two previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, which both came on clay. The lefty won all five sets they played.