On Wednesday, Canadian Vasek Pospisil advanced to just his second tour-level quarter-final since October 2015, defeating recent Nature Valley International champion Mischa Zverev to move into the last eight at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island.

In the newest edition of ATPWorldTour.com’s ‘On The Line’ series, Pospisil discusses his favourite music and the interesting career he wants to pursue when he stops playing tennis.

What’s your biggest passion outside of sport and why?
Music. Just because it soothes my soul. I love it.

What’s your favourite musical group?
The Beatles.

Favourite song?
In My Life by The Beatles.

What’s the last book you read?
The Sale of A Lifetime.

What’s your favourite book ever and why?
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s probably the one I’ve tried to apply to my life the most and it’s a really good read.

Person whom you admire the most?
My father for the sacrifices he’s made in his life and because he’s taught me everything that I know. He’s taught me how to handle myself as a man and he taught me how to play tennis.

My tennis career will be a success ________________.
If I could finish my career and say that I left everything out there and didn’t feel like I have any regrets in terms of trying to get better every day. I don’t know what the results are going to bring, but I want to hold ATP World Tour titles, which I haven’t done yet, and finish inside the Top 20 [of the ATP Rankings] at some stage in my career.

After my tennis career, I want to _____________.
Start a family and become a real estate investor.

What makes you want to go into real estate?
I don’t know, I just have a real passion for it. I like the idea of being in real estate and making passive income, being able to spend time with my family and trying to grow real estate wealth.

Have you done any of that yet while on the ATP World Tour?
I’ve just started. I’ve just kind of planted the seeds just to kind of get into it. I’m not going to focus on that until after my career. As soon as I finish my tennis career, then I’m really going to educate myself and dive into it and make that my priority No. 1 in my career. [But] not before I’m done with tennis, because there’s too much risk to go into something that I’m not fully educated in.

Entering this week, Jason Jung had never won a match on the ATP World Tour. But on Wednesday, when he turned to the crowd at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport and put his hands in the air, the 29-year-old had broken new ground.

Jung defeated 2013 Newport champion Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first tour-level quarter-final.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Jung told ATPWorldTour.com. “I’ve worked hard to get here. I think I’ve always believed I’ve had a game to be here, so it’s just cool to see the success playing out.”

It’s not a bad result for a player who did not start his professional career immediately after playing collegiate tennis, despite making the All-Big Ten Conference team twice at the University of Michigan. Instead, Jung began a job as a business analyst. But shortly thereafter, things changed when he was laid off.

“A lot of people said it was a good opportunity to go out and play,” Jung said. “I didn’t really know what to expect and at the beginning, it was really tough. I must have lost five first-round Futures [matches] and was traveling by myself. There were a couple of times when I wanted to quit. It was just so hard. It’s pretty amazing to me that I kept going and now I’m here.”

It’s been a difficult path for Jung. At first he gave himself two years to see how he’d fare on the ATP World Tour. Ever since, he has reevaluated the situation at the end of each season and decided to continue pushing forward, despite never finishing one of his eight pro seasons inside the Top 150 of the ATP Rankings. What has motivated him to do so?

“Just the family behind me. I have a lot of friends and my coach. They’ve always believed in me and told me to keep going,” said Jung.

He started his 2018 campaign battling illness in January before reaching the semi-finals of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Dallas and triumphing for the third time at that level the next week in San Francisco.

“Since then, there have been a couple of ups and downs, but I think for the most part it’s my coach and friends and family, they’re just telling me to keep going.”

At Wimbledon, Jung made his Grand Slam main draw debut, advancing through qualifying, before losing to Frenchman Benoit Paire. Then Jung, who represents Chinese Taipei, received a wild card into this week’s grass-court ATP World Tour 250-level event.

“When you get a wild card for an event like this, it’s like playing with house money and just trying to enjoy it, and I think I’ve done a good job of that so far,” said Jung, who will play American Tim Smyczek for a spot in his first tour-level semi-final. “It’s a great opportunity for both of us.”

Challenger Chronicles: Jason Jung, Part II

Regardless of the future outcome, Jung is pleased to have made it this far in Newport and to post one of the best weeks of his professional tennis career. And while on the surface, people will see that this is his maiden quarter-final, he knows that it is more than just a result.

“I guess you could say it’s an overnight success, but this is many years in the making. There was a lot of struggle through this process,” Jung said. “I’ve worked hard to be in this position.”

Adrian Mannarino’s best tennis has been played on grass, so there stands reason to believe the Frenchman’s first title will also be won on the turf. The top seed moved a step closer to his maiden ATP World Tour crown on Wednesday, beating Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-2, 7-6(4) to move into the quarter-finals at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport.

Mannarino reached his third Newport quarter-final (2015, 2016) and improved to 6-6 at the ATP World Tour 250 event. The 30-year-old left-hander has won 59 per cent of his grass-court matches in his career (43-30), compared to 46 per cent of his overall matches (155-181), according to his FedEx ATP Win/Loss Record.

“I think the last four or five years I’ve had good results on grass. So it’s just [a surface] that I feel comfortable on. It’s always good to come here with some confidence,” Mannarino said.

The left-hander has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon the past two years, and he made his third and fifth ATP World Tour final, respectively, at the 2016 and 2017 Turkish Airlines Open Antalya.

He will next meet Spain’s Marcel Granollers, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on grass by beating 2016 finalist and sixth seed Gilles Muller 7-5, 7-6(4).

“I think it’s one of my biggest wins on grass. Gilles is a really good player here,” Granollers said. “I think I served very good for the match, and I went for my chances.”

Third seed Steve Johnson won 80 per cent of his service points (33/41) to beat compatriot Christian Harrison 6-3, 6-1. Johnson will next play Israel’s Dudi Sela.

“[Sela] is a fantastic tennis player, He’s played Newport a lot so he knows how to play here,” Johnson said.

Read More: Ask The Pro: Playing Experience Helps Martin As Newport Tournament Director

Sela, for the first time in his seven-match FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Ivo Karlovic, beat the 2016 champion 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-2. Karlovic hit 18 aces but also 15 double faults.

“I’m very happy,” said Sela, who’s making his fifth appearance at Newport. “I have a lot of friends coming from New York and from all over. It’s nice to play here.”

Fourth seed Matthew Ebden, last year’s finalist (l. to Isner), was upset by American Tim Smyczek 6-3, 6-3. Smyczek will next face Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei, who beat France’s Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4.

Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan pulled away from eighth seed Denis Kudla of the U.S. 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Ramanathan will next play Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who upset second seed Mischa Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 for his fourth tour-level victory of the season.

It is long known for its revolutionary architecture, fascinating museums, thriving sports scene and of course deep dish pizza. And now, the bustling city of Chicago is an ATP Challenger Tour destination.

The third-largest city in the United States will host a Challenger tournament for the first time, as a new $150,000 event descends on the metropolis in September. The event will be held at the XS Tennis Village during the second week of the US Open, from 2-9 September. It will be the second Challenger in the greater Chicago area, with nearby Winnetka celebrating its 27th anniversary last week.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Oracle Challenger Series to Chicago this September,” said Kamau Murray, President and CEO of XS Tennis Village and Executive Director of XS Tennis and Education Foundation. “We’re proud to work with Oracle on this great event and support the incredible work that they do. Their commitment to the sport goes hand-in-hand with our mission at XS to provide a positive pathway to future success through tennis.”

The Oracle Challenger Series is coming to the Windy City.

Learn more about this FREE event and Oracle’s growing commitment to American tennis.

?: https://t.co/WdZlHWxCY7#RoadtoIndianWells pic.twitter.com/YRnsFn6tvF

— Oracle Challenger Series (@OracleChallngrs) July 18, 2018

Murray’s foundation was established in 2005 to offer tennis opportunities to at-risk youth in Chicago. His recently-opened $15 million 13-acre facility features 13 outdoor hard courts, 12 indoor hard courts, four clay courts, a track and turf field and a $10,000 square-foot gym.

Continuing its commitment to grow the game at the Challenger level and provide more opportunities for players in world-class settings, Oracle announced the addition of the tournament as part of the Oracle Challenger Series. 

Earlier this year, the series launched with a pair of successful events in Southern California. #NextGenATP star Taylor Fritz kicked off his charge in the ATP Race To Milan with a title run in Newport Beach, the fourth victory in his young career, while former World No. 24 Martin Klizan returned to the winners’ circle in Indian Wells.

The 2018-19 Oracle Challenger Series will begin in Chicago, with additional events to be added at a later date. It will culminate at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year, where the two Americans who accumulate the most points over the course of the series will receive wild cards into the singles main draw.

The Oracle Challenger Series builds on Oracle’s commitment to help support U.S. tennis at both the professional and collegiate level. Oracle sponsors the Oracle US Tennis Awards, two $100,000 grants awarded annually to assist young players as they transition from college into the professional ranks. In addition to sponsoring the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, Oracle also hosts the Oracle ITA Masters tournament in Malibu, California and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships which will be held at the Surprise Tennis Center in Surprise, Arizona in 2018.

Marco Cecchinato continued his strong run of recent form on clay, beating Jiri Vesely 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Wednesday.

The Gazprom Hungarian Open titlist recorded his 16th tour-level win in 28 matches this season, after converting his seventh match point, to overcome the 25-year-old after two hours and 19 minutes. Roland Garros semi-finalist Cecchinato, who became the first Italian man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Corrado Barazzutti in 1978, saved eight of 10 break points and fired nine aces en route to victory.

Vesely entered the tournament in fine form after winning six of eight matches during the grass-court season. The Czech reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon (l. to Nadal) after falling to eventual champion Damir Dzumhur in the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya semi-finals.

Cecchinato will meet Laslo Djere for a spot in the semi-finals. Djere upset ninth-seeded Maximilian Marterer 7-6(4), 6-3.

After defeating 2014 champion Pablo Cuevas in the first round, Djere dropped just five first-serve points (29/34) to reach his second tour-level quarter-final this season. In May, the World No. 100 enjoyed a run to the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open semi-finals.

Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finalist Dusan Lajovic also overcame seeded opposition, eliminating fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.

Lajovic levelled his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against the Spaniard at 2-2 after one hour and 39 minutes, converting four of 14 break-point opportunities to reach the quarter-finals. Lajovic will meet Aljaz Bedene or Guido Pella for a place in the final four.

Did You Know?
Andrey Rublev is bidding to become the third man to win back-to-back Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag titles. Thomas Muster (1992-1993) and Carlos Moya (2001- 2003) are the only men to ever successfully retain their title at the event.

Todd Martin knew he didn’t have the street clout of a Pete Sampras or an Andre Agassi. But back in the winter of 1991, Martin also knew he deserved better treatment than what he was receiving at the prominent indoor ATP World Tour tournament held in the midwest of the United States.

Martin, then 21, approached the tournament desk and inquired about a practice court. The young American was preparing for the qualifying section of the tournament.

But the person at the desk was dumbfounded. The official stopped everything, glanced at Martin and then yelled back at the manager, “What do we do with these guys, these qualifier guys?”

The words stuck with Martin, who, almost 30 years later, as the tournament director of this week’s Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, knows exactly what to do with “these guys”: Treat them like you would any other player.

“They were equipped to give me a practice court. They just didn’t how to handle somebody that wasn’t John McEnroe or Pete Sampras or the like,” Martin told ATPWorldTour.com.

Martin is among a small group of former ATP World Tour players who have found successful second careers in tennis as tournament directors, including recent additions Tommy Haas (Indian Wells) and James Blake (Miami).

Some of the former players turned bosses tried coaching after their playing days, or even still stay involved with guiding up-and-comers. But ultimately, the former greats decided to focus their unique expertise on helping improve the tournament experience for fans, sponsors, coaches and especially players.

“I’m trying to be a tournament director and see things through the player’s eyes, and make sure that we’re trying to provide for their needs while still delivering an amazing product to the consumer,” Martin said.

The eight-time ATP World Tour titlist wasn’t set on leading a tournament when he finished playing in 2004, after reaching No. 4 in the ATP Rankings and playing in two Grand Slam finals (1999 US Open, l. to Andre Agassi; 1994 Australian Open, l. to Pete Sampras). Martin wanted to coach.

He worked with Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic in the following years, but coaching ATP World Tour stars meant travelling, and Martin, who had a young family at the time, wasn’t interested in any more globetrotting.

Todd Martin, left, and Pete Sampras hug after competing in the 1994 Australian Open final. (Ian Kenins/AFP/Getty Images)

So he started his own business, Todd Martin Tennis, and invited players of all ages and their coaches to come to Florida, where they could train and learn together from Martin.

“I knew I wanted to be a leader of a business, not a participant in a business, so I felt like as much as anything, diving in head first was going to be the best way for me to be educated,” Martin said.

But in running the business, he quickly became more of an accountant, marketer and sales executive than a tennis coach. When the Newport opportunity became open, he was intrigued.

“I always have felt that tennis history has an incredible inspirational and dynamic capability to it,” said Martin, who started as CEO-designate in April 2014.

Read More: Hall of Fame Announces Germany’s Stich As 2018 Inductee

“So I really felt like when I took this job there was an opportunity to better leverage that inspirational quality, and the fact that the responsibility was great, being international and being the International Tennis Hall of Fame. For me, personally, I felt like if I’m going to work really hard at something, I’ve been conditioned over the years to having it mean something. And I really feel like the work here, no matter how hard it is at times, it means something when it’s being done and when it’s done. And that really satisfies me.”

The tournament director part of the job wasn’t a must have for Martin. But he thought his past experience, including eight years as president of the ATP World Tour Player Council, prepared him well for that particular role. Martin has also relied on his tournament experiences as a player, including his time as a qualifier.

“There’s a lot of activity getting set up for the tournament so providing that service a day earlier is not easy. But if it were the day before Roger Federer was playing, guess what? Roger Federer would have food on property. And that’s what we have to do, is try to imagine Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in every person that we service,” Martin said.

Simon Aspelin, right, has transitioned from an ATP World Tour doubles champion to an ATP World Tour Tournament Director. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Simon Aspelin, like Martin, didn’t plan on becoming a tournament director after he retired in 2011. The 2007 US Open doubles titlist (with Julian Knowle) studied economics at Pepperdine University, where he played collegiate tennis, and thought he’d spend his post-playing days working in finance.

“I wanted to try to try something different after my career,” Aspelin told ATPWorldTour.com. “[But] after a long tennis career, it wasn’t really my passion, I didn’t enjoy it as much.”

So after a year in finance, he returned to tennis, coaching at the Good to Great Tennis Academy, which was founded by Magnus Norman, Nicklas Kulti and Mikael Tillstrom. The travel, however, deterred Aspelin as well, and after a year at the Stockholm academy, he joined Lagardere, which runs both the SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad, which started Monday, and the Intrum Stockholm Open.

“I know what the players appreciate, and I enjoy working with the sport that I love and working with an organization that delivers two really nice tournaments,” said Aspelin, who will direct his third edition of the Stockholm tournament in October.

Read More: Stockholm Tournament Honoured

When Aspelin was playing, he always remembered the feel of the tournament, the hospitality of the event. That’s why in Stockholm, he and his staff go out of their way to accommodate player requests.

“We want the players to feel like they can pretty much ask for anything and we will solve it for them,” he said. “We always try to be accommodating with any special hotel requests. We make sure that transportation is working, and that players can be picked up whenever they arrive.”

Aspelin, his staff and his team of 400-plus volunteers also make sure to satisfy one other special ask they always receive. It goes against one of their dining meal goals, which is to have variety.

But the players at this Swedish tournament request this food over and over again, for nearly every meal, so the tournament provides it. The players love the tournament’s Swedish meatballs.

“Every day, every meal – pretty much – they want to have that as an option,” Aspelin said. “We try to have a good variety but then we get the feedback that the meatballs should be on the menu every day. I guess they never have anything close to meatballs during the year.”

Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli completed a dramatic first-set comeback at the SkiStar Swedish Open on Wednesday to knock out top-seeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-6(8), 6-3 in one hour and 55 minutes.

Bolelli recovered from 2-5 down in the first set and saved set points at 6/7 and 7/8 in the tie-break en route to his highest-ranked match win since he beat then No. 5-ranked Tomas Berdych in September 2015 at the St. Petersburg Open. He will next play last year’s quarter-finalist Henri Laaksonen, a Swiss lucky loser, who beat Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in 59 minutes.

Later in the day, second seed Pablo Carreno Busta set up a quarter-final clash against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, the fifth seed and two-time finalist.

Carreno Busta overcame Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-4, 6-3, while Verdasco, the 2013 and 2016 runner-up, knocked out Pedro Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes.

Did You Know?
Eight different Spaniards — Manuel Orantes (1972, 1975), Emilio Sanchez (1986), Carlos Moya (2002), Rafael Nadal (2005), Tommy Robredo (2006, 2008), David Ferrer (2007, 2012, 2017), Tommy Robredo (2008) and Albert Ramos-Vinolas (2016) — have won the ATP World Tour 250 tournament title since the first edition in 1970.