Stefanos Tsitsipas wanted to be alone. Greece’s #NextGenATP star had lost in the first round of Wimbledon, a five-setter to Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano in which Tsitsipas had three break points early in the fifth set but converted none.

The 20-year-old locked himself in his London room for three days. He spent time on his computer and read books. That’s it.

“I thought about this match a lot,” he said on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. “I was very upset.”

But Tsitsipas didn’t exclusively turn to fantasy fiction or a topic that would let him completely think about something other than tennis. Tsitsipas read the novel The Alchemist and a book on his tennis idol, Roger Federer.

“I was reading an autobiography [by] another journalist concerning the life of Roger Federer. One really interesting book about him,” Tsitsipas said. “The details in there are pretty accurate.”

Eventually, though, Tsitsipas did step away from the sport, going on a two-week vacation. “I think that was very important to refuel, recharge my batteries coming in here,” he said.

The World No. 6 returned to his winning ways on Stadium Court at the Citi Open, an ATP 500 event, beating home favourite Tommy Paul of the U.S. 6-3, 7-5 to make the third round. Tsitsipas advanced to the semi-finals last year in Washington before falling to eventual champion Alexander Zverev of Germany.

“I was a bit nervous in the beginning. Didn’t know what to expect. I’m really happy that I got through that first match. It was quite a challenging match,” Tsitsipas said.

On Monday, he and Aussie Nick Kyrgios joined forces for the first time, playing doubles against the No. 1 ranked team in the world, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. The reigning Wimbledon champions beat Kyrgios/Tsitsipas, but the extra match time hasn’t hurt either of them. Kyrgios also reached the third round with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win against Gilles Simon.

“I think that released some pressure out of me compared to if I wouldn’t have played doubles,” Tsitsipas said.

The pair plan to play together again at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, which begins 11 August. In Washington, Tsitsipas will next meet Aussie Jordan Thompson, who fought past German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-5.

Fabio Fognini has never successfully defended an ATP Tour title, but he moved closer to doing just that at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex in Los Cabos. The top seed shook off a slow start on Wednesday to win his opening match over Spaniard Marcel Granollers 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Fognini dropped the first four games against Granollers before he began to dial in from the baseline. The top seed broke twice in each of the last two sets to advance in two hours and nine minutes. Fognini, who improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Granollers to 4-4, currently sits at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 9.

Awaiting the Italian in the quarter-finals is fifth-seeded American Taylor Fritz, who continued his top form by rallying to defeat Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Fritz finished runner-up last week at the BB&T Atlanta Open (l. to de Minaur) and has won 11 of his past 13 matches. The 21-year-old, who clinched his maiden ATP Tour title this June at the Nature Valley International (d. Querrey), is at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 28.

Third seed Diego Schwartzman made his Los Cabos debut a memorable one as he raced through the last nine games of his match with Latvian Ernests Gulbis to reach the quarter-finals 7-5, 6-0. Schwartzman dropped just 10 points in the second set.

Next up for him is eighth-seeded Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin, who defeated Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5. The Brit served for both sets at 5-4, but Kukushkin fought back to advance in one hour and 35 minutes. The 31-year-old is enjoying a career-best season that includes a runner-up finish in Marseille (l. to Tsitsipas) and advancing to the second week at Wimbledon. Kukushkin and Schwartzman are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 1-1, but haven’t played in two years. 

Second-seed Guido Pella opened his Los Cabos campaign in style by moving past Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2 for his eighth ATP Tour quarter-final of the year. Pella went on a six-game run to lead 5-0 in the second set before closing out the match in 71 minutes. The 29-year-old Argentine won his maiden ATP Tour crown this March in Sao Paulo (d. Garin) and reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 21 in May.

Awaiting Pella is South Korean qualifier Soonwoo Kwon, who took out Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for his first ATP Tour quarter-final. The 21-year-old has primarily competed on the ATP Challenger Tour and picked up two titles this season. Kwon, currently No. 112 in the ATP Rankings, will become the third South Korean to crack the Top 100 if he can reach the semi-finals this week.

Seventh-seeded Moldovan Radu Albot scored seven breaks of serve in dispatching Japanese Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-2. He’ll take on Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis, who continued his love affair with Los Cabos by upsetting fourth-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Injuries have limited Kokkinakis to five events this season, but both of his career ATP Tour quarter-finals have come at this event. The Aussie finished runner-up here in 2017 (l. to Querrey).

Stefanos Tsitsipas had to hit one, two and sometimes three winners to put away Tommy Paul during their second-round match on Wednesday. But Greece’s #NextGenATP star stayed patient and persistent to move past the 22-year-old 6-3, 7-5 at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

The top-seeded Tsitsipas, 20, erased three break points in the fifth game and then promptly broke Paul before taking the opener. Paul, playing at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 128, made the Washington quarter-finals in 2017 and had three match points against Kei Nishikori for a semi-final spot.

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But he couldn’t capitalise on his chances against the World No. 6 Tsitsipas, who made the semi-finals in Washington a year ago (l. to Zverev). Paul broke for 5-3 in the second set but couldn’t serve it and lost the final four games of the match. Tsitsipas will next meet Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff or Aussie Jordan Thompson.

Eighth seed Milos Raonic, the 2014 champion, dropped only two first-serve points (26/28, 93%) in a 6-1, 6-4 victory against American qualifier Tim Smyczek.

Raonic will face Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk, who ended Alex de Minaur’s four-match winning streak 6-3, 7-6(6). The #NextGenATP Aussie won his second ATP Tour title on Sunday at the BB&T Atlanta Open (d. Fritz).

Nick Kyrgios has yet to drop a set in reaching the third round. The 24-year-old Aussie delivered 24 aces and beat French veteran Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-6(5). Kyrgios will meet the winner between seventh seed David Goffin and Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.

Two of the most memorable matches of the 2019 season captured fans in July. Roger Federer prevailed past Rafael Nadal during their 40th FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup to make the Wimbledon final, but Novak Djokovic had the final smile of the fortnight when he saved two match points to beat Federer and win back-to-back Wimbledon crowns.

Below, ATPTour.com remembers five of the most popular stories from the month of July.

1. Federer Beats Nadal, Sets Sights On Ninth SW19 Title
From 12 July: Roger Federer booked a place in his 12th final at The Championships, where he will attempt to lift a record-extending ninth trophy, after a tactical masterclass against his long-time rival Rafael Nadal, a two-time former titlist, on Friday at Wimbledon.

The Swiss superstar played at his aggressive best on return of serve, at the net and in long rallies to beat World No. 2 Nadal 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their semi-final, which lasted three hours and two minutes, on Centre Court.

Federer seized the momentum in his 40th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Nadal with a break of serve at 3-1 in the third set and, in spite of an early break in the fourth set, kept 18-time Grand Slam championship winner Nadal at bay before converting his fifth match point chance. It was their first grass-court clash since their legendary 2008 Wimbledon final, which Nadal won 9-7 in the fifth set.

“It’s always very, very cool to play against Rafa here, especially [as we] haven’t played [here] in so long,” said Federer. “It lived up to the hype, especially from coming out of the gates, we were both playing very well. Then, the climax at the end, with the crazy last game, some tough rallies there. It had everything at the end, which was great, I guess. I’m just relieved it’s all over at this point.”

2. Djokovic Beats Federer: How The Final Was Won
From 14 July: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic captured his fifth crown at The Championships, Wimbledon, on Sunday with a thrilling 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) victory over second seed Roger Federer, the eight-time former titlist from Switzerland, in four hours and 55 minutes on Centre Court. Federer had two championship points at 8-7, 40/15 on serve, in the fifth set that lasted two hours and two minutes.

It was the third major championship match that Djokovic saved two match points to beat Federer (also 2010 US Open semi-finals and 2011 US Open semi-finals). It was the first time since the 1948 Wimbledon final — American Robert Falkenburg beat John Bromwich of Australia 7-5, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, after being three match points down — that a player had been championship points down and won.

3. Berrettini Asks Federer How Much He Owes For Tennis Lesson
From 8 July: World No. 20 Matteo Berrettini is getting his wallet out.

After Roger Federer punched a forehand volley into the open court to complete his straight-sets victory, the Swiss congratulated the Italian on a strong grass-court season, leading Berrettini to come back with a witty response.

“I said, ‘Thanks for the tennis lesson, how much do I owe you?’”

Federer lost only 11 service points in the match, cruising to victory after 74 minutes on the back of 24 winners. The 37-year-old made just five unforced errors in the match.

“I think for sure I didn’t play my best match, but he was just too good for me today. He was playing good and I was kind of tight, also,” Berrettini said. “Before the match I was ready for that stuff, and also when he started to play like this, for me, it was really tough to do anything.”

4. Nadal Gains Revenge Against Kyrgios At Wimbledon
From 4 July: Nick Kyrgios brought underhand aces, tweeners and blistering exchanges. But Rafael Nadal absorbed them all to earn another Grand Slam milestone on Thursday at Wimbledon.

Two-time champion Nadal held off an in-form Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) on Centre Court to reach the Wimbledon third round and become only the ninth player in the Open Era to earn 50 wins at SW19 (50-11).

“Been a tough match obviously against a very tough opponent… Very happy the way that I hold the pressure. Very happy the way I played the tie-breaks with the right determination,” Nadal said

5. Djokovic Matches Federer On Big Titles Leaderboard
From 15 July: Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer for his fifth Wimbledon title on Sunday, and now the Serbian is dangerously close to also surpassing Federer on the all-time “Big Titles” leaderboard.

Djokovic saved two match points to beat the eight-time champion in an epic final, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3), the first fifth-set tie-break in Wimbledon singles history.

The 32-year-old won his 16^th Grand Slam crown and 54^th Big Title, a combination of Grand Slam, Nitto ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 titles.

Federer, the all-time Grand Slam championships leader with 20, still has four more major victories than Djokovic, and the Swiss has celebrated one more Nitto ATP Finals title (six) than the Serbian (five). But Djokovic has won five more Masters 1000 titles (33-28), creating the tie atop the Big Titles leaderboard.

#NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime reached his second hard-court quarter-final of the season on Wednesday, beating 6’11” Reilly Opelka of the U.S. 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

The winner of each set didn’t face a break point in the set, with Auger-Aliassime breaking Opelka in the 10^th game of the third. Opelka saved one match point at 4-5, 30/40 with a bouncy second serve. 

But, on his second match point, Auger-Aliassime got a racquet on a first serve, and Opelka dumped a tight backhand into the net. Auger-Aliassime won 89 per cent of his first-serve points (42/47).

“He was serving unbelievable. I even moved my position. I was trying to mix up the positions. Every time I was getting aced at the same spot. It was just so frustrating. How did he manage to ace me on that same line again every time?” Auger-Aliassime said. “Again, I had to deal with it. I was able to come back well in the third set. [There are] frustrating moments in a tennis match, but that’s how it is.”

The 18-year-old Canadian will next meet sixth seed Marin Cilic, who’s looking to make his second quarter-final of the season (Madrid, w/o to Djokovic).

Fifth seed John Isner, another big-serving American, had better luck, saving all six break points faced against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz to advance 6-4, 6-4. Isner struck 14 aces and won 66 per cent of his second-serve points (19/29).

“I had to save a bunch of break points,” said Isner, who saved all six in his first two service games. “At a certain point in the match, I started to play really well. Probably 3-all in the first set, I started to pick it up. I was, in my opinion, fortunate to even be at 3-all, so I’m happy with the win.”

Thirteen of Isner’s 15 ATP Tour titles have come on American soil, and 10 on hard courts. He also leads the draw in Washington victories, with a 25-10 record. Isner, however, has never won the Citi Open, finishing runner-up in 2007, 2013 and 2015. He will next meet Frenchman Benoit Paire or Aussie Marc Polmans.

#NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic collected his 16^th victory of the season with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) win against 15^th seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France. The 19-year-old will face Slovakian lucky loser Norbert Gombos, who took fourth seed Kevin Anderson’s place in the draw on Wednesday (right knee) and then beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6(9), saving two set points in the tie-break, at 6/7 and 8/9.

Andy Murray broke down in tears last year at the Citi Open after a third-round singles win over Marius Copil that finished after 3:00 a.m. This year, the Brit returned to Washington and scored another victory on Wednesday under happier circumstances that also gave brother Jamie Murray his 400th tour-level doubles win.

The popular British pair won the last eight points of their first-round match to defeat Wimbledon finalists Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-7(7), 10-5. Their draw doesn’t get any easier as they next face third seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus, who defeated Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. 

“It was a good atmosphere. It felt like there were some good points and quick reactions out there,” said Andy. “I’m in a much better place than I was last year. Physically, I’m so much better now. To be competing again and pain-free is brilliant.”

Jamie has scored at least 35 tour-level wins in each of his past six seasons. The 33-year-old has won 23 tour-level doubles titles with six different partners, including the 2016 Australian Open and US Open (both w/Soares).

Murray/Murray earned the first break of the match at 5-4 in the opening set after Jamie laced a backhand winner between the Frenchmen. Both teams held serve throughout the second set to force a tie-break, but the British brothers were unable to convert two match points at 6/4. A forehand volley from Mahut erased a third match point at 7/6 and an aggressive backhand volley from Roger-Vasselin two points later brought their clash to a Match Tie-break.

It appeared the French duo would score an impressive comeback victory after a pair of return winners gave them a commanding 5/2 advantage. But Murray/Murray found a new gear and erased both mini-breaks against them, then unleashed four consecutive winners to set up four match points. A strong serve from Jamie wrapped up play after one hour and 52 minutes.

The Murray brothers were competing together for the first time since 2016 and in their first tour-level event as a team since 2013 Indian Wells. Their two ATP Tour doubles titles together came at 2010 Valencia (d. Bhupathi/Mirnyi) and 2011 Tokyo (d. Cermak/Polasek). Jamie prevailed at this event last year with Bruno Soares (d. M. Bryan/Roger-Vasselin).

The winner between Murray/Murray and Klaasen/Venus will face second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who won the lone quarter-final of the day over Matthew Ebden and Nicholas Monroe 6-2, 5-7, 10-2. On Monday, Melo earned the 500th doubles win of his career.

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau moved into the last eight over fourth seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 7-6(9), 2-6, 10-7. The 2014 champions saved three set points in the first-set tie-break en route to prevailing in one hour and 42 minutes. Next up for Rojer/Tecau are four-time Washington champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who defeated Treat Huey and Denis Kudla 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.

Top seed Dominic Thiem breezed through to the Generali Open quarter-finals in Kitzbuhel on Wednesday, beating countryman Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-2. Thiem, who’s seeking his first Kitzbuhel title (2014 finalist), won 80 per cent (28/35) of his first-serve points and will next meet Spain’s Pablo Andujar, who beat home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber, a Kitzbuhel resident, 6-4, 6-4.

Frenchman Jeremy Chardy reached his third consecutive quarter-final on clay, upsetting second seed and Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag champion Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Chardy made the last eight at the Bastad Swedish Open and the Hamburg European Open. Both times the French veteran fell to the eventual champion in the quarter-finals: Nicolas Jarry in Bastad and Nikoloz Basilashvili in Hamburg.

Chardy will next face Gstaad champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who dismissed 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-3.

In other action, Norway’s #NextGenATP star Casper Ruud will face fourth seed Pablo Cuevas for a place in the semi-finals. Ruud held off German qualifier Matthias Bachinger 6-4, 7-6(3), and Cuevas, a six-time ATP Tour clay-court titlist, dropped only two games in the final two sets, advancing 6-7(1), 6-0, 6-2.

Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco, the third seed, beat Slovakian Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 7-6(7) and will meet seventh-seeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Sonego, the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya champion, beat last year’s Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(1).

It was the first round of the 2016 US Open and Jordan Thompson had just blown a two-set lead to fall to gritty Belgian Steve Darcis 7-5 in the fifth set. In the post-match autopsy, coach Des Tyson laid it on the line.

“He sat me down and said that I owed it to myself to start eating better given how hard I was working on the court and the gym. I had a little bit of a sweet tooth for lollies (candy) and desserts. I really took that advice on board,” Thompson told ATPTour.com. “I cut them out and I noticed straight away how much better I felt.”

Three years on, 25-year-old Thompson is now one of the most disciplined and competitive forces on the ATP Tour, much in the mould of fellow Australians Alex de Minaur and John Millman. He’s also the second-ranked Aussie at No. 46.

“I have that competitive streak like Alex and John. I don’t want to give away a point and neither do those blokes. Growing up I looked up to Lleyton Hewitt. I loved the way he competed and his ‘never-say-die’ attitude. I also respect Andy Murray for his fighting spirit.

“I’ve been labelled as a pretty quiet guy and a man of few words. I’m happy to just go about my business and let the other [Aussie] guys have bigger profiles. I like remaining under the radar.”

Although Thompson has embarked on a steady march up the ATP Rankings during the past 18 months, the pathway has been a tale of two seasons.

In 2018 he endured a horror 1-11 record at tour-level events. He did, however, win 52 matches at the ATP Challenger Tour, a mark second only to the 57 matches won by Carlos Berlocq in 2007. In 2019 Thompson has been off to the races, boasting a career-best 21 match wins heading into this week’s Citi Open and reaching his first ATP Tour final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“2018 was a rough year. I only won one tour-level match and I never heard the end of it, whether it be friends, family or other people on social media,” the Sydney native said.

“I had my tonsils out at the end of 2017 and that knocked me around in the pre-season. I came into Australia and ran into some tough tennis and it dragged my confidence down. But I went back to the Challenger Tour and won more than 50 matches. It’s tough to drop back to that level but I was prepared to do it. That’s where I got my confidence and match fitness back.”

Thompson, who is coached by fellow Australian Jaymon Crabb, finished the 2018 Challenger season by reaching three consecutive finals, winning back-to-back titles (for the loss of just two sets) on home soil in Traralgon and Canberra.

“That was a pretty good way to finish the year and then I hit the ground running in 2019. I was fit and hitting the ball much better.”

At this year’s Miami Open he beat Top 50 players Cameron Norrie, Karen Khachanov and Grigor Dimitrov before falling to then World No. 7 Kevin Anderson in the round of 16. “Against Khachanov I barely missed a ball. That gave me a lot of confidence going into the match against Grigor. I then took a Top 10 player in Kevin Anderson to 7-5, 7-5, so that run really instilled belief in myself.”

The hardcore Wests Tigers rugby league fan then reached the third round at Roland Garros before his run to the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final (l. Mannarino). He continued his good grass form by reaching the Antalya semi-finals. He’s also appeared in three other quarter-finals this year in Sydney, New York and Houston, demonstrating that he has a game for all surfaces.

And Thompson, who earlier in his career worked with countrymen Sandon Stolle and Jamie Morgan, says that he’s just getting started.

“I was always told that my best tennis would come around 28, 29, 30. You can see how many guys in the Top 50 are in their 30s. I’m more mature and always working to be better and striving to achieve. I don’t want to stop just because I’m in the Top 50. I want to progress to the Top 40, Top 30.”