#NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur and American Reilly Opelka have been dinner buddies this week at the BB&T Atlanta Open. The third seed may want to foot the bill tonight after holding off 28 aces from Opelka on Saturday to reach the final with a 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3 win.

At age 20, De Minaur is the youngest finalist in tournament history. He’s through to his first ATP Tour final since winning the Sydney International in January (d. Seppi) and the fourth of his career. Although the Aussie endured a string of early exits on clay and grass while dealing with a groin injury, he’s 14-4 on hard courts this season and has looked confident since stepping back on his best surface.

“I’m really proud of where I am after suffering a tough injury. I’m back where I want to be,” said De Minaur. “I felt like I’ve been playing some great tennis, but not getting the wins that I wanted. I knew that sooner or later, I’d have a good result again.”

There were no service breaks in the first two sets of his semi-final with Opelka. De Minaur raced through the last three points of the first-set tie-break, but Opelka hung tough in a wild second-set tie-break that saw him lose three mini-break advantages before levelling the score.

After more than two hours of play, De Minaur earned the first break of the match to lead 3-2 in the deciding set. Buoyed by snapping Opelka’s streak of 47 consecutive service holds this week, the third seed broke once more to close out the match after two hours and 29 minutes. He improved to 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Opelka, having defeated the American this year in Sydney.

De Minaur will play second-seeded American Taylor Fritz or Brit Cameron Norrie in the final. The Aussie has never played Norrie, but defeated Fritz last year in the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Hip impingement surgery. Lower back ailment. Pubic bone inflammation. Pelvic surgery to insert netting. Stress fracture of the pubic bone. Three separate right wrist surgeries in a 12-month span.

Cedrik-Marcel Stebe is only 28, yet he has been through more injuries over the past six years than most people would like to in a lifetime. Nevertheless, the German has persevered. Despite entering the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad without a tour-level match win since September 2017, Stebe has battled through three consecutive three-setters to reach his first ATP Tour final.

“It’s unreal, to be honest. I just came here trying to win one match, maybe,” Stebe told ATPTour.com. “I’d never think I would get this far in this tournament, especially in altitude.”

Stebe showed promise at a young age, reaching a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 71 in February 2012. But he’d miss the end of 2013, all of 2014, and almost the entirety of 2015 due to injury. At the time, the German wondered if he would ever play professional tennis again.

But Stebe never stopped believing, grinding away until he reentered the Top 100 in September 2017 after qualifying for that year’s US Open and winning a round in the main draw. The lefty earned three ATP Challenger Tour titles that year, ascending as high as No. 76. But again, the injury bug struck in early 2018.

“Sometimes I felt like someone has a voodoo doll of myself and was playing around with it and randomly sticking needles into my body parts somewhere. It always felt like I was trying to come back and feeling almost okay, and then something came around again and I had to do surgery again,” Stebe said. “It just feels like some bigger force doesn’t want me to play tennis anymore. But I kept trying and trying and here I am, finally, and I’m playing some good tennis again.”

Life wasn’t easy for Stebe during his most recent bout with injury, as he underwent right wrist surgeries in February and July of 2018, before undergoing another surgery this February due to a torn ECU tendon. He had come all the way back and reestablished himself on the ATP Tour, only to be knocked back onto the shelf.

“To be out for about one and a half years after coming back from injuries that took me out for two and a half years, it wasn’t easy. I knew how to handle it somehow, but mentally, sometimes, I went crazy,” Steve said. “I just had to find other things I could focus on, meet some friends, visit friends that are living far away.

“I tried to not think about any tennis at all. I also didn’t check any results, because that would make me go even crazier. Seeing people climbing up the [ATP] Rankings and I had to stay home and not play at all, that would have been crazy.”

Stebe returned to action this April in Marrakech, playing 10 matches at all levels before this week’s ATP 250 event in Gstaad. The German’s only two victories came at a Futures tournament. That makes his run in Switzerland even more impressive. And on Saturday, Stebe did double-duty, winning a three-set quarter-final and semi-final in the same day.

“It’s been tough, to be honest, the past couple of months,” Stebe said. “Winning some good matches and also some tight matches gives me confidence and that’s exactly what I need at the moment. It’s just unreal to come through here today, two matches, each three sets.”

Lowest-Ranked ATP Tour Finalists Since 1985

The World No. 455 is the seventh lowest-ranked ATP Tour finalist on record (since 1985), and he can become the second lowest-ranked tour-level titlist if he defeats Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Sunday in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. The only time they’ve played one another came 10 years ago at a Futures event.

“Body-wise, it was of course tough today. I just need to continue focussing on the match tomorrow because the tournament isn’t over yet,” Stebe said. “That’s the most important thing, that I try to stay focussed and don’t be too satisfied with the wins today. I just have to give everything tomorrow and hopefully win the title.”

Stebe was delightfully surprised with his form when he arrived in Gstaad. Last week, he competed at sea-level in Umag, where he lost in the first round against Czech Jiri Vesely. After beating eighth seed Corentin Moutet in the first round here, he avenged that Vesely defeat in three sets and has not looked back.

“My tennis has been pretty good this week. Since the first day I came here, I remember I arrived in the evening… I kind of felt the ball immediately even though I came from sea-level in Umag. It was strange from the beginning when I felt the ball very good and didn’t miss many balls,” Stebe said. “My coach also said it was looking very good. I don’t want to say it was supposed to be like this now, but I was feeling very well from the start of the week.“

Stebe knows that he hasn’t had the easiest time as a professional tennis player. Far from it. But he also believes that people who watch him persevere can learn from what he’s gone through, not just in tennis, but in life.

“To never give up. What I’ve been through is maybe unique. I don’t know many people who suffered the injuries I had and ever came back playing at a world-class level,” Stebe said. “In my opinion, people shouldn’t give up early. They have the chance to play, keep trying, working hard and eventually it will pay off.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios will share a court on the ATP Tour for the first time in Citi Open doubles action next week, where they will meet top seeds and Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in a loaded draw at the ATP 500 event.

The talented duo, which owns a combined eight tour-level singles trophies, will aim to end Cabal and Farah’s 10-match tour-level winning streak in the American capital. In their two most recent appearances, Cabal and Farah lifted back-to-back trophies on grass at the Nature Valley International and Wimbledon to rise to No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings.

The winner of that encounter will face wild cards Leander Paes and Jack Sock or Aussie duo Alex de Minaur and John Peers in the quarter-finals. Peers lifted the trophy in 2017 alongside Henri Kontinen.

In the second quarter of the draw, four-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will open their campaign for a fifth title against Treat Huey and Denis Kudla. The winning pair will meet 2014 champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau or Mate Pavic and 2018 titlist Bruno Soares in the last eight.

Bruno Soares’ partner en route to the 2018 trophy, Jamie Murray, appears in Washington with a familiar partner. The 23-time tour-level champion is joined by his brother, Andy Murray, for the first time since September 2016.

The Murray brothers open their campaign for a third team title against Wimbledon finalists Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Andy and Jamie own two ATP Tour doubles crowns as a pairing, following title runs at 2010 Valencia and 2011 Tokyo. Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies also feature in the third quarter, where they will face 2018 Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus.

The fourth quarter is headlined by two teams battling for a place at this year’s showpiece event at The O2 in London. Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, currently third in the ATP Doubles Race To London, will meet ninth-placed Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. Potential second-round opponents Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor, who lifted the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title in April, will meet the winning pairing from qualifying in their opening match.

Andrey Rublev began his week in Hamburg having made just one ATP Tour quarter-final this season. And on Saturday, the 2017-18 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier was on the brink of elimination when he trailed Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 2-4.

But the Russian battled back to defeat Carreno Busta 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, advancing to the Hamburg European Open final.

It was the second incredible comeback of the day in Hamburg, as Nikoloz Basilashvili, Rublev’s opponent in the championship match, saved two match points en route to ousting reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev. Rublev did not need to save a match point, but he won 11 of the match’s final 13 games to triumph after one hour and 52 minutes.

This will be Rublev’s first ATP Tour final since 2018 Doha, which came in the first week of last season. The Russian won his maiden tour-level trophy two years ago in Umag as a lucky loser.

Rublev, who climbed as high as No. 31 in the ATP Rankings last February, has struggled with injuries over the past year and a half. He missed three months last season due to a lower back stress fracture, and he was out for six weeks this year due to a wrist injury.

It seemed Carreno Busta, who was pursuing his first final since triumphing in Estoril two years ago, was too solid from the baseline for the powerful Rublev. But the 21-year-old began to find his range, frustrating the Spaniard. And once the World No. 78 got into a rhythm, he rode his momentum to the finish line.

Rublev crushed an inside-out forehand winner to finish the match, turning around to his team and pumping his fist in celebration. The Russian struck 11 aces and broke Carreno Busta’s serve five times.

Basilashvili won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head match against Rublev, emerging victorious in straight sets in Doha earlier this year. Rublev will try to lift his first ATP 500 trophy when he battles the defending champion.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev was able to battle from the brink of defeat in his quarter-final on Friday against Filip Krajinovic. But the German was on the opposite end of a Harry Houdini act on Saturday against defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili.

The Georgian saved two match points at 3-5 in the third set en route to a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory against the second seed. Basilashvili, who captured his first ATP Tour title in Hamburg last year as a qualifier ranked World No. 81, is now just one victory from retaining his trophy at the ATP 500 tournament.

“I don’t think I was calm. I was really emotional inside. Maybe I didn’t show that much,” Basilashvili said. “I was serving really, really bad in the third set, so that got me very emotional and I got very tight also in the third set. But in general, how I managed to come back from 2/5 in the tie-break was something that I give credit to myself. It doesn’t happen with my tennis that often, so I’m really happy. “

He needed every sliver of mental fortitude he could find in what was a roller coaster battle against the World No. 5. Basilashvili led by a break early in both the second and third sets, but relinquished those leads on both occasions as Zverev locked down defensively, allowing the World No. 16 to make more unforced errors.

Just as it appeared Zverev would complete his comeback when he had a 5-3 lead in the third set, Basilashvili found some of his best tennis. He saved two match points — first with an inside-out forehand winner and then when he sprinted to the net to swat away a forehand volley — on his own serve before breaking back, ultimately leading to a final-set tie-break.

Despite trailing 2/5 in the tie-break, Basilashvili once again rose to the occasion, going for his shots and landing. On his first match point, the Georgian fired an inside-in forehand that forced Zverev to hit a forehand slice into the net, completing his triumph after three hours and eight minutes.

“In the tie-break, I was really concentrated on the ball and just how to play tennis, how just to play the game,” Basilashvili said. “But inside I think Sascha was also very tight and emotional, and me also because it is one or two points that decide the match.”

Throughout nearly the entire match, the rallies were on Basilashvili’s racquet, as the Georgian took his typical big cuts at the ball to push Zverev back. That aggression paid dividends as he took the lead. But when he broke early in the second and third sets, unforced errors trickled into his game, allowing Zverev to buckle down defensively and put more pressure on the Georgian.

Even after the disappointment of losing the second set, Basilashvili remained calm and broke for a 3-1 lead in the decider after crushing a forehand winner. But Zverev raised his level to break back with a laser-like backhand pass down the line. He broke in Basilashvili’s next service game, too, that time hitting a backhand winner down the line on a second-serve return.

But the German was unable to complete the victory to advance to his first Hamburg final. Instead, Basilashvili will face Russian Andrey Rublev in the championship match. He owns a 1-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Rublev, defeating the 21-year-old this year in Doha in straight sets.

“My mind was calm pretty much,” Zverev said. “I came back yesterday so I knew I could do it again today, and I was close to it… I guess it was a nice atmosphere and it was good for the crowd, but now he is in the final and I lost. So it’s not the nicest feeling in the world.”

Did You Know?
Basilashvili saved 16 of the 20 break points he faced, while converting four of the eight opportunities he had to break Zverev’s serve.

Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas reached his first ATP Tour semi-final of the season last week in Båstad. And this week, he has played even better, advancing to the final of the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad on Saturday with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory against 2014 champion Pablo Andujar.

Ramos-Vinolas has won all eight of his sets this week, defeating three of the ATP 250 tournament’s seeds. Entering the semi-finals, the lefty had only emerged victorious in one of seven previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Andujar, but Ramos-Vinolas claimed 43 per cent of his first-serve return points en route to victory in one hour and 54 minutes.

The 31-year-old is into his first tour-level final since Quito last year. Ramos-Vinolas has made six championship matches, with his lone ATP Tour title coming at Båstad in 2016.

The former World No. 17 was broken first in the match, giving Andujar a 5-3 lead after Ramos-Vinolas couldn’t stave off a sixth break point of the game. But he broke back immediately, and stormed to a 4/0 lead in the first-set tie-break, never looking back from there. There was a rain delay with two points remaining in the match, but Ramos-Vinolas won two points upon the resumption to go through.

Ramos-Vinolas will face Portugual’s Joao Sousa or German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the final. Sousa and Stebe were knotted at 1-1 in the opening set, with Sousa facing two break points at 15/40, when rain suspended play.

Earlier in the day, Stebe defeated Italian Thomas Fabbiano in the final quarter-final. Prior to this week, Stebe had not won a tour-level match since September 2017 in Davis Cup against Sousa.