This week, the game’s elite are vying for the ATP World Tour’s biggest prize in London – the Nitto ATP Finals crown. Led by year-end No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the prestigious tournament marks the conclusion of the tour-level calendar. 

But the eight best players in the world aren’t the only ones battling for significant honours. The stars of the ATP Challenger Tour are jockeying for position in the ATP Rankings in the final weeks of the season. Coveted year-end Top 100 berths are at stake in tournaments across the globe.

This week, the latter stages are upon us at a pair of $150,000 events – in Bangalore, India and Houston, USA – as well as indoor tournaments in Champaign, USA and Kobe, Japan. The last clay-court event of the year is also being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And critical ATP Rankings points will also be up for grabs next week as the season concludes in Pune, India and Andria, Italy.

So, why is this so important? As many players have already begun their much-needed offseason rest and relaxation, the frantic finish on the Challenger circuit carries great significance for those battling for Australian Open main draw spots and direct entry into many ATP World Tour events in 2019.

Storylines abound for those on the precipice of finishing the year inside the Top 100…

A two-week Indian swing in Bangalore and Pune caps the ATP Challenger Tour season

Pablo Andujar (Buenos Aires)
 In Buenos Aires, former World No. 32 Andujar looks to complete his comeback from three elbow surgeries. Ranked as low as World No. 1,824 on 12 February, the Spaniard lifted a Challenger trophy in Alicante, Spain and fourth ATP World Tour crown in Marrakech. Now at No. 99 in the ATP Rankings, he is into the quarter-finals at the Challenger de Buenos Aires presentado por Mostaza and is scheduled to compete on the indoor carpet courts of Andria next week. The 1,700+ spot leap to the Top 100 would be the biggest of the year.

Ivo Karlovic (Houston)
In Houston, Karlovic is bidding to complete a comeback of his own. The all-time aces leader and former World No. 14 is riding a Challenger surge in his quest to return to the Top 100. He would be just the third player aged 39 & older to reach the milestone at season’s end, joining Jimmy Connors and Ken Rosewall. The oldest titlist in Challenger history – in Calgary last month – he is into the quarter-finals at the Oracle Challenger Series Houston. Entering the week at No. 102 in the ATP Rankings, Karlovic is on the cusp of achieving his season-long goal.

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Bradley Klahn (Houston)
Also in Houston, Klahn is looking to complete a dream run to the year-end Top 100 as he bids for the title on the campus of Rice University. The American, who was sidelined for 21 months from 2015-16 after undergoing back surgery, finally returned to the Top 100 after last appearing in the club four years ago. Currently at No. 97, he joins Karlovic in the quarter-finals at the $150,000 event.

Reilly Opelka (Champaign)
Opelka is bidding to make his Top 100 debut a special one, needing to win the title at this week’s JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana to break into the club. The #NextGenATP American is on a hot streak after lifting the trophy in Knoxville last week and reaching the semis in Champaign. Opelka is in fourth place among win-loss percentage leaders (.744) on the ATP Challenger Tour this year. Having sat outside the Top 200 in May, he is up to No. 116 in the ATP Rankings.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran (Bangalore & Pune)
In 2018, Yuki Bhambri completed an impressive return to the Top 100 after recovering from an elbow injury. But it has been many years since another player from India (Devvarman in 2014) cracked the century mark. That could all change in the near future, with the season-ending two-week Indian swing underway. Prajnesh Gunneswaran is up to career-high No. 141 in the ATP Rankings and is into the semi-finals at the $150,000 event in Bangalore. He is projected to move up at least 13 spots and could rise even higher with the $50,000 event in Pune coming up next week.

Also In The Hunt
At No. 100, Thomas Fabbiano is squarely on the bubble, as is No. 101 Radu Albot, No. 103 Michael Mmoh and No. 104 Pedro Sousa. Albot and Sousa both had opportunities to move up this week, but suffered first-round defeats in Bangalore and Buenos Aires, respectively. Albot is in action at next week’s finale in Pune.

Also slated to compete in the final week of the season are No. 108 Lorenzo Sonego and No. 115 Paolo Lorenzi, both on home soil in Andria.

Note: In addition, Ugo Humbert will look to build on his current standing of No. 98 in Andria, as he bids for a first year-end Top 100 finish. However, the #NextGenATP Frenchman is guaranteed to start the 2019 season as low as No. 115 after ITF Futures points come off on January 1. He is a three-time winner on the Futures circuit this year. Starting in 2019, all points earned at the level will be applied to the newly formed ITF transition tour. Only points earned at the ATP Challenger Tour, ATP World Tour and Grand Slams will go towards a player’s ATP Ranking.

Entering Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals, there was a chance Roger Federer would fail to reach the semi-finals at the season finale for just the second time in 16 appearances. But one impressive straight-sets win against fourth seed Kevin Anderson later, and the 37-year-old is through round-robin play atop Group Lleyton Hewitt.

Suddenly, a major milestone is within reach. If Federer wins two more matches, he will lift his 100th tour-level trophy, with Jimmy Connors (109 titles) the only other player who has achieved the feat.

“Personally I’m still not thinking of the number, 100. I won’t let that get in my head, make me go crazy because it should be something I’m excited about and not something I should feel extra pressure [to earn],” Federer said. “It’s just going to be hard to finish it. I’m happy I gave myself the opportunity. I’m happy that I’m raising my level of play throughout this week. This is what I hope to do. It’s exciting to be in this situation now, of course, no doubt.”

Just four days ago, the Swiss lost a round-robin match at the Nitto ATP Finals in straight sets for the first time, so he knows that he has to take it one step at a time. That is part of what makes this tournament so special; every match poses a major challenge.

“I think regardless of the numbers, this is a massive tournament for the players. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I’ve loved being part of the Tennis Masters Cup, today [the Nitto ATP] Finals,” Federer said. “I’ve always tried to pace myself in a way… that I would have something left in the tank, that I would peak at this event.”

And Federer has gotten better with every match at The O2 in 2018. After an exchange of breaks in the first set against tournament debutant Anderson, Federer used his backhand slice well to throw off the game of the South African, who had not faced break point in the entire event. Federer broke him four times.

“I’m feeling great,” Federer said. “I’m very happy that I still have energy left in the tank. Mentally, I feel fresh.”

And Federer’s secret sauce continues to work. The second seed took a day off of practice after losing to Kei Nishikori on Sunday. And that strategy has not failed him since.

“Look, I’m a big believer in vacation. I’m a big believer in taking time off sometimes. When I go to work, I go hard, I go the right way, I go professional about it with my team,” Federer said. “I didn’t think of taking a day off, to be honest, after the Nishikori match. I thought, ‘What are we going to do? Where are we going to train?’”

But Federer’s team suggested taking a day off, and the Swiss heeded their advice. He did not practice on Wednesday after beating Dominic Thiem on Tuesday, and Federer says he doubts he will hit balls on Friday. Why change something if it’s not broken?

“It’s one of the first times I’ve done it like that,” Federer said. “I’m happy it’s paying off so far. But I’ve got to be very, very focused the moment I step on court for the practice, the warm-up. I think that’s key, as well.”

And Federer will look to remain focused regardless of his opponent in the semi-finals. Novak Djokovic leads Group Guga Kuerten after two matches, with Marin Cilic, John Isner and Alexander Zverev still hoping to advance. Federer, this year’s Australian Open, Rotterdam, Stuttgart and Basel titlist, is now 57-14 at the Nitto ATP Finals. And while he’s triumphed at the tournament six times, the Swiss seeks his first victory since 2011.

“I’m happy that this is another week like this. Didn’t look like it maybe 72 hours ago,” Federer said. “But I was able to come back and play good tennis.”

Roger Federer walked onto Centre Court at The O2 on Thursday knowing he needed a strong performance if he wanted to advance to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals for the 15th time.

And Federer responded in a big way, defeating fourth seed Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-3 to not only guarantee that he would move on to the last four in London, but that he would win Group Lleyton Hewitt with a 2-1 record.

The week might not have started off well for the 37-year-old Swiss, who shockingly fell in his opening match against Kei Nishikori in straight sets, the first time he has fallen in two sets at the event in round-robin play. But Federer bounced back to beat Dominic Thiem and now Anderson without dropping a set.

“We’re used to you lose, you leave and you don’t hang around. So from that standpoint, I think it was more straightforward for me today,” Federer said on court after his win. “I’ve always wanted to go out with a bang today and win the match. If I go through, great, if I don’t well I don’t deserve to be through and that’s okay, too. I’m happy I’m still alive.”

Federer came out focused early against Anderson, who was 2-0 in his Nitto ATP Finals debut, breaking first. But the second seed played a sloppy service game and struggled to pinpoint his serve like usual to give that break back.

From there, though, Federer locked down his game, and did well to win 68 per cent of second-serve return points against the big-serving Anderson to triumph in 77 minutes. The 99-time tour-level champion did everything in his power to keep Anderson from getting in a rhythm, hitting dagger-like backhand slices short in the court to elicit mishits from his opponent, and to bring Anderson into the net without the 6’8″ right-hander necessarily wanting to journey into the forecourt.

“Unfortunately I had a rocky service game myself after that [first service break. I didn’t let that frustrate me or disappoint me. I kept on plugging away, kept on trying,” Federer said. “I think my attitude was good today. I think I had an aggressive playing mindset, a good variation as well with my slice. I think it was just a good match from my side.”

With Thiem’s victory over Nishikori in straight sets earlier in the day, Anderson was already guaranteed to become the first South African to move into the semi-finals at the season finale since the tournament began in 1970. So Federer will face the second-placed competitor in Group Guga Kuerten, while Anderson will clash against that group’s winner.

“I’m very happy. First match was tough against Kei, never got going. And with the back against the wall, maybe it’s easier for me to play, I’m not sure. But I fought hard,” Federer said. “In the end, I played some good tennis today and I’m very happy. Kevin’s had a wonderful year, and so have the other two guys. It’s been a fun group, with many different kinds of players in the group. I’m thrilled. Thanks for the support, of course, and I’m excited to be in the semis.”

The win is even sweeter for the Swiss, as Anderson came from two sets and a match point down against Federer in this year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals to earn perhaps the biggest win of his career en route to the final at SW19. Federer now leads Anderson 5-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Did You Know?
Federer broke Anderson four times in the match. The South African had not faced a break point in his first two matches at the season finale.