It’s not often that you find two iconic athletes from different sports on the same court. But on Friday, British stars Andy Murray and Wayne Rooney met at the Citi Open for a short hit and game of football-tennis.

“He’s obviously had an incredible career, one of the best players ever in English football history,” said Murray, whose grandfather played for Scotland’s Hibernian F.C. “It’s nice to finally meet him. I’ve never met him before, so it’s very cool.”

Rooney, the leading goal-scorer in England National Team and Manchester United history, currently plays for local club D.C. United of Major League Soccer, so he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to meet Murray. The football legend was in the stands when the Scot captured his first Wimbledon title in 2013 to end Great Britain’s 77-year wait for a home champion.

“It was incredible, a real achievement, and [Novak] Djokovic at the time looked unbeatable, so it was a great victory and a great experience to be there,” Rooney said. “It was the first time I was at Wimbledon, and [it was] history for Britain, so it was a fantastic moment to be there.”

Murray, who was joined by brother Jamie Murray — the fourth seed in the doubles draw with Bruno Soares at the Citi Open — on Stadium Court, grew up playing football and follows the Premier League as he travels the world. Rooney hasn’t been able to pick up a tennis racquet much, but he says he loves watching the sport. His game was put to the test when the pair rallied, and Murray hit some serves to the football star.

“It was decent. Forehand was alright, he almost returned a couple serves. But yeah, not bad. Backhand needs a bit of work,” Murray joked. “He did alright for someone who doesn’t play much. It was good.”

Murray will now turn his attention to the ATP World Tour 500-level tournament in Washington D.C. The 31-year-old will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round, and could face compatriot and fourth seed Kyle Edmund in a second-round blockbuster.

Twelve months ago, Matteo Berrettini was outside the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings and plotting his ascent on the ATP Challenger Tour. What a difference a year makes.

On Saturday, the 22-year-old Italian reached his first ATP World Tour final, ousting Jurgen Zopp 6-4, 7-6(6) at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad. Berrettini needed one hour and 19 minutes to secure his fourth straight-set win of the week.

Coming off signature victories over fourth seed Andrey Rublev and former champion Feliciano Lopez, Berrettini is playing the best tennis of his young career in Gstaad. He saved both break points faced against Zopp, firing nine aces to book his spot in the championship. On Sunday, the Italian will face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Berrettini. “The conditions were different today after the rain. I managed to raise my level and was fighting hard during the whole match. I’ve been playing a lot of important matches lately – winning a round in Rome, my first match at a Slam and more. I’m feeling well and excited about the final tomorrow.”

Persistent rain showers delayed the start of Saturday’s first semi-final by more than three hours, before Berrettini and Zopp took to Roy Emerson Arena. The lone break of the match would come in the very first game, as the World No. 84 set the tone with an immediate break to love. He would not stumble from there, claiming the opener 6-4 and eventually securing his third match point.

It marked the second time Berrettini and Zopp have met this year, following the Italian’s semi-final victory at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bergamo, Italy, in February. He would go on to lift the trophy a day later and will hope history repeats itself on Sunday.

A promising unseeded finalist is deja vu for the Gstaad faithful, who witnessed Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann stun the field en route to the title match last year (l. to Fognini). Now, it’s Berrettini’s turn. After breaking into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings in May, he would streak to the third round at Roland Garros and earned his first Top 20 win against Jack Sock at Wimbledon just three weeks ago.

Moreover, at 22 years and three months, Berrettini claimed a slice of national history as the youngest Italian to reach an ATP World Tour final since 2003 (Volandri in Umag). 

In the second semi-final, Bautista Agut showed the heart of a champion to book his spot in the title match. The Spaniard rallied from a set down to dismiss Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 in a marathon two hours and 41 minutes.

Bautista Agut reached his 15th ATP World Tour final in the fading sunlight, denying Djere’s bid for a first final appearance. The second seed is a perfect 4-0 in championship clashes since 2016, most recently triumphing on the hard courts of Auckland and Dubai this year.

The run to the final carries added significance for the Spaniard, following the death of his mother in May. He is also competing in his first tournament in more than a month after suffering a groin injury in the Gerry Weber Open semi-finals.

Molchanov/Zelenay Reach Doubles Final
Berrettini will look to lift a second trophy on Sunday in the doubles final, teaming with 40-year-old countryman Daniele Bracciali. They will face Denys Molchanov and Igor Zelenay.

The Ukrainian-Slovakian duo ousted second seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-4 to reach their first final together. Individually, Molchanov is appearing in his first tour-level doubles final, while Zelenay is into his fourth (0-3) and first since 2012.

Leonardo Mayer’s reign at the Am Rothenbaum continues. The ‘King of Hamburg’ battled into his third final in five years, saving a match point to dismiss Jozef Kovalik 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(7) on Saturday.

Mayer survived an offensive onslaught from the Slovakian qualifier to extend his stay at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann. The Argentine needed two hours and 51 minutes to overcome Kovalik, firing 42 winners, including 28 off his forehand wing.

Two-time champion Mayer has struggled in recent months, earning just two wins from nine matches entering the week, but he has once again discovered his top form on the clay of the ATP World Tour 500 event. Mayer, whose two tour-level titles have come in Hamburg, defeating David Ferrer in 2014 and Florian Mayer last year, will look to lift the trophy once again on Sunday. He faces either Nicolas Jarry or Nikoloz Basilashvili.

The 31-year-old scored another impressive three-set win, after edging second seed Diego Schwartzman on Friday. On a sunkissed afternoon in the German metropolis, he was forced to rally from an early deficit against Kovalik. The Slovakian snatched the opening set in a tie-break, but Mayer was up to the task, forcing a decider behind an immediate break to open the second.

That would be the only break of the match, as neither player could penetrate the opponent’s serve in the third set. With a spot in the championship on the line, an exuberant Kovalik would earn a quick mini-break in the ensuing tie-break and held a match point at 6/5. But a deep return by Mayer forced Kovalik to net a forehand. Five points later, the Argentine raised his arms in triumph, lunging to put away a volley winner to secure the victory.

Mayer improved to 15-2 in five appearances in Hamburg. Last year, he triumphed as a lucky loser with an ATP Ranking at No. 138. Now, the World No. 36 is into his fifth ATP World Tour final and first of 2018.

Kovalik, meanwhile, concludes a career week on the ATP World Tour, reaching his first 500-level semi-final. The 25-year-old is thriving on the clay in recent months and will break into the Top 100 for the first time. After qualifying at Roland Garros, he claimed his third ATP Challenger Tour title in Poprad, Slovakia, and reached the final at the prestigious Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, Germany, earlier this month.

Peralta/Zeballos Reach Doubles Final
Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos advanced to the doubles final, rallying past Ben McLachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 7-5, 10-7. They will face top seeds and Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic for the title.

The Chilean-Argentine pair will feature in their ninth ATP World Tour final as a team and first at the 500-level or above. Last week, they lifted the trophy at the SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad.

Ryan Harrison once appeared to be the future of American tennis. As a qualifier at the 2010 US Open, an 18-year-old Harrison beat No. 15 seed Ivan Ljubicic in the first round. Despite his ATP Ranking sitting at No. 220 at the time, the big-serving teenager proved he belonged.

So it was no surprise that the right-hander soared as high as World No. 43 within two years. What was a shock was how quickly Harrison fell away. From 18 November 2013 until 12 September 2016, Harrison remained outside the Top 100.

“I would have told [that Ryan] to have fun, enjoy those moments, even when you have tough losses,” Harrison told ATPWorldTour.com earlier this year. “Enjoy moments that you’re able to be a part of and make sure that you measure your own game and your own expectation of yourself with just you and your team. Don’t let the hype and all this stuff that can pile on and feel like a monkey on your back get you.”

Harrison held three match points in the second round of that US Open against then-World No. 36 Sergiy Stakhovsky before bowing out. That same player went six years before advancing to the third round of a Slam for the first time. Harrison did not make an ATP World Tour final until last February, either.

But last season is when everything changed. Harrison, who says he has lost many close matches due to mental lapses rather than physical differences on the court, broke through to claim his maiden tour-level title at the former Memphis Open in 2016. The 26-year-old has reached two more championship matches since, and is one match from reaching his fourth final, at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

It’s only fitting that this week, he has battled from a set down in all three of his matches.

“There are the days when tennis is made for you, when you go out there and everything feels perfect and I hit three or four aces, serve out the match. It’s comfortable. It’s easy. But everyone has those sorts of moments where you miss your spots and you feel a little tentative,” Harrison said. “A year ago, two years ago, three years ago, [winning these matches] was just something that I wasn’t able to do.”

Sure, Harrison is at World No. 53 and has not dropped out of the Top 60 since last February. But the 6’1” right-hander is not focused on any hype or expectations that have come with that success.

“My number one goal that I focus on every day is getting the best out of what I’ve got that day,” Harrison said. “My goal is not performance-based now. And I believe in my game and my ability that if I control that, the tennis is going to take care of itself.”

Harrison is on the rise once again. But this time, as a different player.

“When you get to a point in your career when you have been very successful and then you have a number of setbacks and they last for a period of time and then you’re able to break back through and you change things around, it’s almost like I know what the other option entails,” Harrison said. “I know that it’s not where I want to be. I’ve been down that road. It’s not a successful one… all I can do is learn from my mistakes and I’m fortunate that I’m still only 26 and tennis is going to, Ivo Karlovic is 39, so I’ve still got some wins ahead.

“I’m proud to say I’ve been able to turn my mental effort around from a very easy person to break down mentally to I feel I’m one of the toughest out there now.”

Ryan Harrison got off to a tremendous start to the 2018 season, reaching the final at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. But after that, the American won just 10 of his next 25 matches. That momentum has turned right around this week in Atlanta.

Harrison beat Australian Open semi-finalist and reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(5) on Friday to reach the last four at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

“This is exactly what the doctor ordered for me,” Harrison said on court after the match. “It was a little nervy from both of us there at the end, but I’m really happy to get through.”

It is the 26-year-old’s fourth trip to the semi-finals at the event, and he is trying to reach the championship match for the second consecutive year (l. to Isner in 2017). Harrison will next face second seed Nick Kyrgios, whom he lost to in Brisbane, or Brit Cameron Norrie.

While Chung did not push through in his first tournament since the Mutua Madrid Open, the South Korean advanced to his eighth tour-level quarter-final of the season.