Phil Cello has been running tennis tournaments, including ATP Challenger Tour events, for the past 35 years. But Cello and his army of workers and volunteers have never had an experience like last week’s NorthBay Healthcare Men’s Pro Championship, where the on-court action at the $100,000 ATP Challenger tournament was secondary to fans, players and officials.

The host site, Solano Community College, was just miles from wildfires that were ravaging Northern California, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes and devastating communities across the region. Signs of the ongoing destruction were omnipresent at the tournament.

Every day, on their way to the courts, players walked by the college’s cafeteria, which had been turned into an evacuation center for affected families. Instead of 18 and 19 year olds exhausting their meal plans, the cafeteria featured rows of cots and tables of food for individuals who had been forced from their homes.

Outside, organisers handed out gas masks throughout the week as air quality worsened because of nearby billowing smoke. Officials stopped play altogether on Wednesday, after only three of 10 scheduled matches had been contested, because of deteroriating air quality, said Keith Crossland, the tournament’s ATP Challenger Tour supervisor.

Some players watching Wednesday’s early matches donned gas masks but none of the on-court competitors did, Crossland said. Felix Auger-Aliassime played in one of those matches, falling to Serbia’s Nikola Milojevic 6-2, 6-4. That same day, the 17-year-old Canadian withdrew from doubles, citing “respiratory illness”, Crossland said.

A handful of players had to evacuate the homes they were living in and, with help from tournament officials, find new temporary homes while they played in the tournament.

The tournament, itself, almost had to be relocated as well. On Wednesday, the fires were within a valley of reaching the college, Cello said. A powerful gust of wind would have forced an evacuation of the campus, which had already been shut down, save for the skeleton crew running the evacuation center.

“Had we had a little more wind and just at the wrong moment, we might have had to abandon the tournament,” said Cello, who had made contingency plans for the tournament to be moved to the University of California, Davis, about 30 miles from Fairfield. “We dodged a very big bullet.”

Ultimately, the tournament stayed at the community college, and players and officials attempted to provide a distraction for the families whose lives had been interrupted by the flames. Players were also reminded of what really matters during such dire weeks.

California wildfires put things into perspective for @SamGrothTennis: https://t.co/lhIROZ1SnO #MyTennisLife pic.twitter.com/EXHve5QBiu

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 16, 2017

Aussie Sam Groth on his #MyTennisLife Tennis Channel blog wrote: “The week in Fairfield was not really as much about the tennis as it was with the bushfires that have been wreaking havoc in the Nap area (sic). Several players had to be evacuated from their housing and the evacuation center was right next to the tennis courts. It really puts in to perspective what playing tennis means, when you have people who have fled their homes, not knowing if they will be there when they return.”

Cello was impressed by Groth and the other players. Not once did he hear an athlete groan about having to change homes or about playing in such conditions.

“That was a real positive thing to come from this,” said Cello, who had to evacuate his own home at 2 a.m. Tuesday and didn’t return until Saturday evening. “I never really heard a player say, ‘This is crazy. We shouldn’t be playing’. They were all really nice.”

The players were aware that thousands were having it much worse in California. To date, the fires have killed at least 41 people and destroyed more than 5,700 structures and 200,000 acres. “It’s the biggest and most deadliest wildfire in California history,” Cello said.

On Sunday, the tournament finished on time and under blue skies. It was a fitting final for “The Golden State”, as California natives Mackenzie McDonald and Bradley Klahn played for the crown. McDonald prevailed 6-4, 6-2 for his first ATP Challenger Tour title. After the final, they made time to help fire victims.

Both McDonald and Klahn were dunked in water. The players will now promote their “Splash for Sports” videos on their social media channels to help raise money for a wildfire relief fund.

“I just really appreciated the fact that both of those guys were willing to help,” Cello said.

Watch Their “Splash For Sports” Videos and Donate To The Wildfire Relief Fund

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VTB Kremlin Cup — Moscow, Russia

Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta enjoyed a guided tour of the Kremlin Territory and Cathedral Square, which features five famous Moscow cathedrals and the Tsar Bell, the world’s largest bell.

Local star and #NextGenATP’s Andrey Rublev assisted with the draw ceremony, held at Moscow’s TASS News Agency on Saturday.

ATP World Tour Uncovered spent the day with the rising star, visiting Rublev’s family’s restaurant, Moscow’s Red Square and his childhood tennis club.

All main draw players were treated to a special night during the Official Kremlin Cup Opening Party at Duran Bar, featuring live music, speeches and a sit-down dinner to kick-off the event.

#NextGenATP Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Andrey Kuznetsov all took part in autograph sessions.

European Open — Antwerp, Belgium 

Belgium’s David Goffin and Steve Darcis took on Benoit Paire and Sebastien Grosjean of France in the European Open Pedalo Cup, a friendly paddle boat competition in the port of Antwerp. The Belgians were first to cross the finish line, with Nick Kyrgios waving the black and white checkered flag. Afterwards, the group participated in a press conference in the port house and office building.

.@David__Goffin and @stevedarcishark are the @EuroTennisOpen Pedalo Cup champions beating @benoitpaire and @sebboca29! #EuropeanOpen #pedalo pic.twitter.com/RBut2BB99j

— European Open (@EuroTennisOpen) October 16, 2017

Goffin also enjoyed a walk around Antwerp before taking in the view from high up in the Antwerp Cathedral, where Maui Jim presented their new collection to the top Belgian. 

Kyrgios and Frances Tiafoe were just a few of the players who enjoyed a laid-back night Monday, as the tournament hosted a player’s cocktail to kick off the week.

Intrum Stockholm Open — Stockholm, Sweden

Brothers Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer took part in the opening ceremony on Sunday at their home country tournament.

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov interacted with fans at autograph sessions.

The 21-year-old right-hander hit 16 aces and saved eight of 11 break points to outlast countryman Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6). “It’s always tough to play a friend and you always feel sorry to beat him,” Medvedev said.

The Moscow native is in eighth place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan. The top seven qualify for the inaugural event, with the eighth spot reserved for the winner of an Italian 21-and-under tournament.

Medvedev has 747 Race points, only 13 behind seventh-placed Hyeon Chung of South Korea, who plays second seed Kevin Anderson on Thursday at the Intrum Stockholm Open. Medvedev will next face top seed and Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Pablo Carreno Busta.

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Third-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who recently contested his second ATP World Tour final of the year at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 (l. to Goffin), knocked out qualifier Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6(4) for a place in the quarter-finals. Mannarino will next challenge Dudi Sela, a 7-5, 6-1 victor over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, the sixth seed, recovered from a 0-3 deficit in the deciding set to knock out Indian qualifier Yuki Bhambri 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes.

This year’s St. Petersburg Open titlist will next meet 2012 champion Andreas Seppi of Italy, who saved three match points to beat fourth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3. Seppi was serving at 5-6 in the second set when he erased the trio of match points, including two in a row from 15/40.

Two-time finalist Jack Sock snapped a five-match losing streak on Wednesday at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The third seed won 78 per cent of his service points and erased the lone break point faced to beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4 and improve to 3-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Sock improved to 12-4 in Stockholm and reached his eighth quarter-final (or better) of the season. The 25-year-old American will next face Italian Fabio Fognini, who drew on his big-match experience to save one match point in a thrilling end to a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) victory over top Swede and #NextGenATP Elias Ymer.

The 21-year-old Ymer had come within two points of winning when serving at 5-4 in the deciding set. He then saved three match points from 0/40 at 5-6, before holding a 6/5 lead in the tie-break.

Fognini, who is through to his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) in 2017, is now 35-21 on the season that includes a run to the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad title (d. Hanfmann). He also finished runner-up at the St. Petersburg Open (l. to Dzumhur).

Ymer’s young brother, 19-year-old Mikael Ymer, also fell just short in an upset bid. Ymer led by a break in the third set but couldn’t put away German veteran Mischa Zverev, who advanced to the second round with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 win. The fifth-seeded Zverev will next play Serbian Viktor Troicki.

Eighth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco advanced to the quarter-finals for the fourth time (also 2004, 2013-14) after he knocked out lucky loser Jurgen Zopp of Estonia 6-4, 6-2 in 73 minutes. It was his 25th match win of the year, which includes a run to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final (l. to Murray) in February. He awaits the winner of second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, who is attempting to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, or South Korean Hyeon Chung, who is battling to book a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

In other action, Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in 87 minutes to set up a clash against fourth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro. German Jan-Lennard Struff saved three match points in beating Marius Copil of Romania for a meeting against top seed and Nitto ATP Finals contender Grigor Dimitrov. Struff triumphed 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(12) in two hours and 11 minutes, saving match points at 4-5, 30/40 and at 6/7 and 10/11 in the deciding set tie-break.

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Nitto ATP Finals Contenders Start Doubles Campaign
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, who are currently No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London added 45 points for their 6-3, 6-4 first-round win over Jonathan Eysseric and Franko Skugor. The Austrian-Croatian team, now on 2,715 points are 305 points behind eighth-placed Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. The pair will next face Jonathon Erlich and Nikola Mektic.

France’s Julien Benneteau swept past Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes to reach his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year (also ‘s-Hertogenbosch) on Wednesday at the European Open in Antwerp. The 35-year-old Benneteau will next play a compatriot, second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or qualifier Kenny De Schepper.

Portugal’s Joao Sousa withstood 18 aces and lost just seven of his first-service points (45/52) to beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. He awaits the winner of third-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios or Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium.

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Bryans Open Doubles Title Bid

Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan saved all five break points they faced in a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Belgian wild card Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for a place in the quarter-finals against Santiago Gonzalez and Julio Peralta. The American twins, who are looking to capture their 115th team crown this week, have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November.

One out of a hundred.

Ninety-nine players out of the Top 100 have a losing record holding serve in 2017 when falling behind 15/40. Only one player has won more than 50 per cent of his service games from this perilous point score.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 100 players this week reveals that one player is World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. It’s an amazing achievement, considering the Spaniard does not possess a flame-thrower of a serve, or routinely ace his way out trouble. Nadal is ranked 33rd on tour this season in total aces hit at 278 from 75 matches – averaging 3.7 aces per match. 

He is not the fastest server, and he does not enjoy as many free points on serve as other players. But Nadal has been mentally and strategically the best this season at dealing with the adversity and pressure of overcoming 15/40.

The Spaniard holds serve 50.7 per cent (37/73) of the time from that scoreline. Second place goes to Grigor Dimitrov, who is back to his career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 8 this week and has a 40-17 record in 2017. Dimitrov has held serve 47.9 per cent (35/73) of the time from 15/40, just two service games back from Nadal.

2017: Top 10 of the Top 100 at Holding Serve from 15/40

Infosys Nia Data found correlation with where a player is ranked in the Top 100 and how well he holds serve from 15/40.

Four Top 100 Groups: Holding Serve from 15/40

Players Ranked 1-25 = Held 33%

Players Ranked 26-50 = Held 28%

Players Ranked 51-75 = Held 27%

Players Ranked 76-100 = Held 24%

On average, the Top 100 have held serve from 15/40 28 per cent of the time this year. That immediately creates a drill for the practice court, where the server starts 10 service games from 15/40. If you can win three of them, then that’s right at the Top 100 average. If you can win half, then you know what it feels like to be the No. 1 player in the world.

Diego Schwartzman has faced 15/40 115 times this season, which is more than anyone else in the Top 100. He has held 24 times (20.9 per cent), which puts him in the bottom quarter of the Top 100.

Dominic Thiem has come back from 15/40 more than anyone else in the Top 100 so far in 2017, winning 47 out of 110 games. That places the Austrian at fourth best in the Top 100 at holding from 15/40.

The point score of 15/40 is all about overcoming adversity. Staying positive, being aggressive, and looking for a Serve +1 forehand to hit right after the serve are all hallmarks of Nadal’s prowess in this precarious position.

Fifth seed David Ferrer saved a match point and fought for more than two hours and 20 minutes on Tuesday to advance at the European Open. The Spaniard beat 25-year-old Italian Stefano Travaglia 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) to move into the second round in Antwerp.

Ferrer was down 30/40 while serving at 4-5 in the third set but won three consecutive points to hold. The 35-year-old Ferrer, a titlist in Bastad earlier this year, will next face German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe or Belgian Steve Darcis.

#NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe bolstered his chances of reaching the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals next month in Milan by beating German Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4. Tiafoe won 47 per cent (28/60) of his return points in the 58-minute victory.

The 19 year old is currently in 10^th place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan. The top seven in the Race will qualify for the eight-player tournament, to be held 7-11 November. The eighth spot is reserved for the winner of an Italian 21-and-under tournament.

Tiafoe has 662 Race points, 98 behind seventh-placed Hyeon Chung of South Korea. Tiafoe faces top seed David Goffin in the second round. The right-hander held two match points against Goffin in their only prior FedEx Head2Head meeting before losing at 2016 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Two other #NextGenATP players with their hopes set on Milan also advanced in Antwerp. American Ernesto Escobedo, who reached the semi-finals earlier this year in Houston, beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in a #NextGenATP battle, 7-6(5), 6-4.

#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas upset sixth seed Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 6-4. Cuevas has now lost nine consecutive matches.

Both Escobedo and Tsitsipas still could qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. Escobedo is in 11^th place with 497 points, 263 behind seventh-placed Chung. Tsitsipas sits in 13^th place with 477 points, 283 behind Chung.

Escobedo next faces fourth seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. Tsitsipas will meet Croatian Ivo Karlovic.