Daniil Medvedev largely has the same shots that he did a year ago – same forehand, same two-handed backhand, same serve. But mentally, the Russian has morphed into a completely different player.

He used to be beset with anger issues, throwing tantrums on the court or picking fights with umpires. YouTube has some of his best hits.

But this year, Medvedev has found a way to keep calm, and the titles, along with the best season of his career, have followed.

The 22-year-old celebrated his third ATP World Tour crown on Sunday, beating home favourite Kei Nishikori in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships final in Tokyo. It was Medvedev’s first ATP World Tour 500 title, and he made it look stress-free, not dropping a set all tournament after qualifying.

“I know how to be focused only on tennis when I need to, and that’s why I started to play even better… This year it has changed a lot and I’m happy about it,” he said.

“ATP 500 is definitely a different thing, beating indoor [great players] like Milos [Raonic], Denis Shapovalov and Kei in his hometown is something amazing… You never win easy but doing this with easy scores, with amazing level of my game, I’m just really happy about myself and I hope to continue improving in this way.”

The improvements, he said, have come from experience. Two years ago, if facing a fight in an ATP World Tour final, Medvedev would have folded, said, “Not today,” and shrugged his shoulders as he walked away with a loss. It almost happened in the third set of the Sydney final against #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur.

Read More: Medvedev Focused On Continuing His Rise

“I was two breaks up, 4-0, 5-3, my serve. De Minaur comes back, like always. Five-all, 0/40 on his serve, becomes deuce. Probably two years ago I would just said, ‘No, I don’t want this anymore.’ I would lose 7-5, but I managed to win it, my first title,” Medvedev said. “It gave me a big push in the year.”

Medvedev began the season at No. 65 in the ATP Rankings and was hovering around the 50s before he made a last-minute decision to play at the Winston-Salem Open in mid-August. The Russian beat Steve Johnson of the U.S. in the final for his second title.

Watch Highlights: Medvedev Upsets Nishikori In Tokyo

“Winston-Salem was a really big boost in my career, this season, because it made me go up the rankings straight into almost Top 30, and it’s definitely another level to be Top 30 than being in the 50s or 60s,” Medvedev said.

He thinks some of his recent success, though, during the North American hard-court swing occurred because of what he did just before stretch began. Medvedev proposed to his girlfriend, and they married on 12 September.

“If it happens like this, you propose to your girlfriend, and you win two titles, one ATP 500, become Top 25, it means that somebody is showing you that you did what you need to do,” said Medvedev, who rose to No. 22 on Monday. “The best end of the season of my life.”

Watch: That’s In Medvedev’s Bag?

The 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist backed up his Tokyo title on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he, despite feeling tired from his long week in Japan, remained calm to beat home favourite Ze Zhang 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4. On Wednesday, for the first time, Medvedev will play defending champion Roger Federer.

The Russian hopes Wednesday’s match goes better than their practice session did 18 months ago. “He was just destroying me,” Medvedev said with a smile.

“But it’s going be good… because I know that straightaway from the first one I will need to try to put pressure on him also, because that’s what he does. If I stay passive, if I’m just going to try to put the ball in the court, that’s not going to work out.

“It was my dream probably to play him once, because we all know that his career will not last forever… to play him in the tournament on the central court, especially in a Masters 1000, is something amazing.”

Chile’s Nicolas Jarry saved two match points against No. 6 Marin Cilic to earn the biggest win of his career on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The 22-year-old came from a set down and broke Cilic while he was serving for the match to advance 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-5. Cilic had two match points in the second set – at 5-4, 40/30 on Jarry’s serve and while serving at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break – but Jarry saved them both, benefitting in the tie-break when Cilic shanked a backhand wide.

The Croatian then broke in the third and served for the match at 5-4 but couldn’t finish off the 6’6” Chilean, whose previous Top 10 win (2-1) had come against No. 8 Dominic Thiem in July in Hamburg.

Watch Jarry Hot Shot

It’s only Jarry’s second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 win, and his seventh hard-court victory of 2018 (7-6). On clay, he reached the Brasil Open final in February (l. to Fognini) and semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro, Hamburg and Kitzbuhel.

Cilic stumbled near the finish line last week as well. During his second-round match in Tokyo, the Croatian served for the match twice but fell in three sets to German Jan-Lennard Struff.

The Croatian is looking to secure his fourth appearance – and third consecutive – at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London. He is currently in sixth place in the ATP Race To London; the top eight will qualify for the season finale.

Jarry will next meet Brit Kyle Edmund or Italian Andreas Seppi. Cilic’s countryman Borna Coric advanced 6-4, 6-2 against Bradley Klahn of the U.S. Coric will next face Richard Gasquet or third seed Juan Martin del Potro.

In 2012, Matthew Ebden defeated then-World No. 8 Mardy Fish in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in a career-best victory. That personal record, which stood for over six and a half years, was broken on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The 30-year-old Australian, a quarter-finalist in Shanghai seven years ago, rolled back the years to shock World No. 7 Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(4) in two hours and 45 minutes. Ebden hit 14 aces and saved six of nine break points en route to victory, recording his 18th win in 36 tour-level encounters this season.

Standing between Ebden and a return to the last eight in Shanghai will be Peter Gojowczyk. The German advanced by almost exactly the same scoreline, edging Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5). Ebden leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Gojowczyk 1-0, beating the Munich-born 29-year-old en route to his only tour-level final appearance at Newport last year.

Thiem, who leads the ATP World Tour with 48 match wins, was aiming to reach the third round in Shanghai for the first time. A winner of three tour-level trophies this season, Thiem drops to 3-8 in China.

Ebden, after falling behind an immediate break of serve in the opening game of the match, quickly rallied to rebalance the score in the following game before manufacturing two set points in the tenth game. The Australian converted his opportunity with depth into Thiem’s backhand wing to move one set ahead.

A tie-break was needed to decide the outcome of the set, after Ebden recovered a service break in the sixth game, with Thiem eventually prevailing. Ebden saved three set points with brave serving and net play, before Thiem finally converted his fourth chance with a strong forehand approach.

Ebden served for the match at 6-5 in the decider after capitalising on consecutive backhand errors from Thiem in the tenth game, but could not convert a match-point opportunity before surrendering his serve. But the Perth resident soon emerged victorious, with big serving in important moments to confirm victory.

Richard Gasquet recovered from a slow start to book his place in the second round, beating Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. The 2017 quarter-finalist, who won just 5 of 15 service points in the first set, converted four of five break points to eventually cruise into the second round after 89 minutes. Gasquet now leads the Hamburg runner-up 2-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and will face China Open finalist Juan Martin del Potro for a spot in the third round.

Kyle Edmund booked his place in the second round for the third straight year, defeating Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-3. The British No. 1 landed 11 aces and saved four of five break points to set up a third FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the season, and fourth overall, against Andreas Seppi of Italy.

Nikoloz Basilashvili extended his winning streak to six matches by beating Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Georgian knocked out #NextGenATP Canadian Shapovalov 6-2, 6-2 in just 58 minutes for his first victory in three visits to the Qi Zhong Stadium. He next faces fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, a contender for the Nitto ATP Finals in November, in the second round.

Basilashvili denied World No. 19 Shapovalov an opportunity to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held in Milan from 6-10 November, and he improved to a 28-25 record on the season (6-2 against Top 20 opponents since 22 July). He also beat Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4 in the Budapest second round on 26 April. Last week, Basilashvili lifted the China Open trophy in Beijing (d. Del Potro), adding to another ATP World Tour 500 crown at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann in Hamburg (d. L. Mayer).

Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who is currently one spot behind Shapovalov in fourth position in the ATP Race To Milan, booked his spot in the second round with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Vasek Pospisil in one hour and 52 minutes. De Minaur, who also beat the Canadian in August at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., now faces Benoit Paire of France.

Elsewhere, last year’s inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals champion, Hyeon Chung, defeated Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in one hour and 39 minutes and meets Marco Cecchinato, the No. 16 seed from Italy, in the second round.

Lloyd Harris keeps racking up the achievements as the 2018 season rolls along. And the South African #NextGenATP is pressing towards yet another: the Top 100 in the ATP Rankings.

Harris dominated the field in Stockton, California, to claim his second ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday, defeating fellow #NextGenATP Marc Polmans 6-2, 6-2 in the championship. Two months ago, he became the first South African to lift a trophy in five years. Now, the 21-year-old proved that he’s not done with just one. 

The Cape Town native dropped just one set all week, earning impressive wins over an in-form Christopher Eubanks, top seed Jordan Thompson and eighth seed Polmans. He joins as exclusive club in becoming the third #NextGenATP with multiple titles this year, in addition to Jaume Munar and Michael Mmoh.

And most importantly, Harris is up to a career-high No. 113 in the ATP Rankings and rises four spots to 10th in the ATP Race to Milan. Having resided in 20th place prior to his triumph in Lexington, he is now firmly in contention to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Behind a ruthless run that has included a pair of Challenger titles, a successful US Open qualifying campaign and a first Top 50 win over Gael Monfils at the Chengdu Open, Harris has fast become one of the hottest players in pro tennis. He’s showing no signs of slowing down as the season nears its conclusion.

?? @lloydharris63 is the champion in Stockton, claiming his second #ATPChallenger title of the year with a 62 62 win over Polmans.

Joins Jaume Munar and Michael Mmoh as #NextGenATP with multiple ? in 2018 pic.twitter.com/YSnqY9k0yl

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 8, 2018

Harris sat down with broadcaster Mike Cation following his victory on Sunday…

Lloyd, it was an impressive performance, especially considering how windy it was. We were looking at sustained winds of over 20 miles per hour. How did you stay focused in those conditions?
Thank you very much first of all. I came out and saw the wind and knew it was going to be a very tricky match for both of us. I think I like to dominate with my serve, but it was almost impossible to get any free points. I knew I was going to have to be smart with my game and from the start I was zoning in on him with every single point. I was focused and I played the big points well and got some breaks early. I looked to hold my serve and keep the momentum going. It was a good performance.

From the start, it looked like you were willing to take chances. Where does that confidence come from and how has it been building through this incredible year for you?
I was willing to take the risk, whether it was break point or 15/0. I knew I was going to take the initiative in most of the points and try to be as aggressive as possible with my forehands and backhands. I feel really confident out there and I’ve played a lot of matches this year. Getting a lot of wins in the last couple of months has really built my confidence up nicely. Last week I had the biggest win of my career (d. Monfils at Chengdu Open) and that really helps for sure. I’m just playing very good tennis at the moment.

For a lot of players, when they have that first monumental win on the ATP World Tour, find it hard come back down to a Challenger the next week. And especially in a different continent. How did you do that?
There was a bunch of things that happened in Chengdu. I got my biggest win and I lost 7-6 in the third the match after. Then, the 15-hour time difference. It was a tricky turnaround for sure. Luckily, I had 3-4 days to settle down and get used to the conditions. But I just came out there and did what I had to do in each match. I got better as the tournament progressed. I’m happy with the tennis I played for sure.

Now you’re No. 113 in the ATP Rankings and you’re in touching distance to the Top 100 for the first time in your career. How do you maintain this form without getting over confident?
The key for me is to keep improving my game and doing the hard work. I feel like if I keep doing that, the tennis will stay good. As long as I keep a positive mindset, I’ll play better and have strong results in the future. I’m not expecting anything and giving it my all every day.

What are the points of improvement that you’re working on, in the back end of the year? Are there specific things or are you just coasting now at a good level and want to continue with these results?
I’m constantly trying to work on things. It’s a mixture of tweaking small things in my game, like moving forward and working on my volley game, and also the transition from playing defence to being more offensive. Just the small things and I felt that it’s really paying off. After a great run in the U.S. summer, I went home and took 2.5 weeks to think about how I want to improve and what I want to do with my game. I’ve come back even stronger and am playing even better than I wanted to before. 

One of the things I remember from last year was that you can go off mentally and lose focus. A part of that is youth. How have you matured in that part of your game?
It’s a problem a lot of players have. That is, keeping the focus throughout an entire match and an entire tournament. At the Challenger level and at the ATP level, you can’t have that. Any dips will cost you the match. So, I feel like I’ve really improved on that. I’m trying to compete in every single point. It doesn’t matter if it’s 0/40 or whatever the score may be. I’m trying to compete hard. In the last couple of months I’ve really done that well and made a mental shift.

Speaking of which, the one set you lost this week was against Christopher Eubanks in the quarter-finals and you looked pretty out of it. What happened there and how did you turn that around?
I couldn’t even finish my warm-up that day. I woke up and was not feeling well. I was pretty nauseous. I actually thought he was going to take advantage more, but I got it to a tie-break. And when I lost the first set I had to recuperate and get my thought process positive again. I thought I did well in the second set and he gave me a game with a couple of double faults. Right then and there, I went up another gear and took control of the match. That’s something that is important to do if you want to become a top player.

And you came out with a coffee right before the match.
Me not feeling well definitely had a lot to do with the coffee. It was one of the only days in the last two years where I had a coffee and still couldn’t get going in the first set. Starbucks should definitely start sponsoring me one of these days for sure.

After Lexington, we were talking about the South African connection. Kevin Anderson and Raven Klaasen are sending messages to you. Robbie Koenig too. With this core group of South Africans who are playing professionally – and Robbie as well – what does it mean to have another guy like you?
I think it’s massive for the country. One thing we’ve been lacking as a country has been depth. We’ve only had Anderson at the top and also Raven in the doubles. A country is not a great tennis country with only one guy succeeding. So now, we’re getting closer and closer and hopefully I’ll be in all the main draws of the Grand Slams as well. I want to be right there competing with the top guys. I think it’s great for the country and to have a support group behind me. It’s also awesome that I can inspire the younger kids and upcoming juniors that they can also achieve that. That’s what we’re looking for.

What have they said to you over the past couple of years, to help you reach this point where you are now?
It’s just advice on the tour and how to manage your schedule. I didn’t have much experience with that stuff and playing a lot of Futures. Just a Challenger here and there. Going through their situations and how they eventually reached the top, translated well for me and I found some inspiration from that.

How do you celebrate a win like this?
I’ll have a small celebration, because you need to feel good about the win and that you’ve achieved something. Then it’s all focus again and getting used to the conditions in Fairfield. I need to mentally shift to the next one. 

Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a record fourth Rolex Shanghai Masters championship when he meets familiar foe Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday. Djokovic is 11-0 in matches and 26-0 in sets against Chardy, including a 7-6(5), 6-4 win in the London/Queen’s Club semi-finals on 23 June. The World No. 3 would pass Roger Federer for No. 2 in the ATP Rankings by reaching Sunday’s final, among other scenarios. With each victory this week, Djokovic will also gain ground on Rafael Nadal in the ATP Race to London, which ultimately determines who finishes 2018 as the World No. 1.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-ups at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and vote for the players you think will win!
Djokovic v Chardy | Shapovalov v Basilashvili | Cilic v Jarry

Joining Djokovic on Center Court is Beijing champion Nikoloz Basilashvili, who for the second time meets #NextGenATP superstar Denis Shapovalov. Basilashvili defeated Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4 in the Budapest second round on 26 April. The Georgian went on to reach the US Open fourth round in between ATP World Tour 500 titles at Hamburg and Beijing. Basilashvili is 15-5 overall and 5-2 against Top 20 opponents since qualifying for Hamburg on 22 July. He is ranked a career-high No. 23 after posting the biggest victory of his career on Sunday over No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro.

Like Basilashvili, Daniil Medvedev is only two days removed from capturing an ATP World Tour 500 title. Medvedev is ranked a career-high No. 22 after defeating two-time champion and local hero Kei Nishikori for the Tokyo title. The 22-year-old Russian is 3-0 in finals this season with all three wins over players competing in their home country. He beat Alex de Minaur for the Sydney title and Steve Johnson for the Winston-Salem title. On Tuesday, Medvedev meets Chinese wild card Ze Zhang, who owns an 0-8 record in main draw matches at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.