Alexander Zverev battled through a testing opening match at the Shenzhen Open on Thursday evening, edging Steve Darcis 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in two hours and 48 minutes. “I’m just happy to go through. I was down a break in both sets and it’s good to win those matches,” said the German, who is closing in on a spot at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. 

Looking to defeat Zverev for the second time this year, Darcis twice put himself in a strong position to win the match. After securing the first set with a break in the third game, the Belgian served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not get to match point as Zverev fought back to level. The 33-year-old Darcis then served for a 5-3 advantage in the decider, but Zverev converted his fourth break point in a lengthy game, and went on to prevail in the eventual tie-break.

The 20-year-old Zverev was playing his first tour-level match since a shock second-round loss at the US Open (l. to Coric). This week, Zverev resumes his campaign to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. The right-hander, who has won two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this season in Rome and Montreal, is currently third in the Emirates ATP Race To London. On Friday he will play in-form Damir Dzumhur in the quarter-finals.

Last week’s St. Petersburg champion Dzumhur extended his winning streak to seven matches after a beating Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-3 in a match in which he did not face a break point. The 25-year-old from Bosnia & Herzegovina is at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of 40 and has won 15 of his past 18 matches since reaching the Los Cabos semi-finals in the first week of August.

Israel’s Dudi Sela upset third seed Mishca Zverev 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in one hour and 46 minutes, breaking serve three times and winning 72 per cent of his service points.The No. 77-ranked Sela is bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final since the first week of the season in Chennai (l. to Medvedev) and goes on to face fifth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who won an all-Ukrainian battle with Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6(5), 6-4.

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#NextGenATP star Taylor Fritz is through to the quarter-finals of the Chengdu Open after finishing strongly to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Thursday in the first week of the ATP World Tour Asian swing.

The 19-year-old Fritz is looking for a big push in the closing stages of the season as he bids to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. The right-hander is currently 11^th in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, with the Top 7 qualifying by right and the eighth spot going to the winner of an all-Italian wild-card tournament.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Fritz, who came through qualifying at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament. “The match was really physical and we were both hitting the ball really big. I was doing a lot of moving because he plays so aggressive and attacks so much.

“I’ve definitely found the best tennis I’ve ever played at the end of this year,” added the American. “This is my third quarter-final of the year. I’ve been playing really good since the hard-court season. I started the year still recovering from a knee injury and that’s what hurt me a lot at the end of last year. Now I finally feel like I’m getting it back and I think I’m playing better than when I was at my career-high ranking.”

Fritz is looking to return to an ATP World Tour semi-final for the first time since making his breakthrough with a final run in Memphis in February 2016 (l. to Nishikori). He goes on to face Argentina’s Guido Pella, who upset top seed Dominic Thiem 7-6(6), 6-4.

World No. 72 Pella edged a tight first set, in which both players held a set point, and seized the momentum at the start of the second set with an immediate break of Thiem’s serve. Thiem fended off two match points to hold in the ninth game, and had a break point as Pella serve for the match, but could not deny the Argentine, who held on for victory in one hour and 56 minutes.

Another of the top seeds fell as fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev was defeated 6-2, 6-1 by Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in 54 minutes. The 34-year-old Lu, 15 years older than Rublev, converted four of his 12 break points as he reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Winston-Salem in August 2016.

Lu goes on to face Marcos Baghdatis, who defeated last week’s Metz champion Peter Gojowczyk 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 47 minutes. Baghdatis withstood 14 aces to break serve four times, claiming his 15^th win of the season. The Cypriot is looking to reach his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season.

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Chengdu Open – Chengdu, China

The top four seeds — Dominic Thiem, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev — attended the Chengdu Open Players’ Party at the St. Regis Chengdu, where they received a gift from the tournament with their names written in Chinese calligraphy.

Wu Yibing, who recently became the youngest Chinese winner on the ATP Challenger Tour circuit just a week after claiming the US Open Boys’ Singles and Doubles titles, attended the draw ceremony.

#NextGenATP Karen Khachanov, Jared Donaldson and Taylor Fritz visited the Chengdu pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Donaldson was on top of his panda trivia, asking, “Did you know that China owns the rights to every panda in the world, except two? Those two are in Mexico.” Read and Watch

Marcos Baghdatis and #NextGenATP Borna Coric put their culinary skills to the test, attempting to make Chinese meat dumplings. Read and Watch

“There are not a lot of similarities between American and Chinese culture – we don’t have bamboo and cultural places like this,” said Donaldson, who joined Sweden’s Mikael Ymer on a trip to ‘Wangjian Lou’, a cultural attraction in Chengdu that roughly means ‘river view pavilion.’ The duo learned calligraphy and played mini-tennis in the park. Read and Watch

Shenzhen Open – Shenzhen, China

Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev joined David Goffin and Paolo Lorenzi at the Shenzhen Open Players’ Party. The Zverevs continued an annual tradition in which players competing in the event leave their handprint in a piece of artwork.

Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s top seed, visited the Shenzhen Grand Gemdale Tennis Club in Pingshan, an hour’s drive off-site, where he held a clinic for players in the academy.

China’s own Ze Zhang and Israeli Dudi Sela attended the draw ceremony.

Lorenzi and Jeremy Chardy played mini-tennis in front of the tournament hotel to help launch the tournament.

Doubles players Marcelo Melo and Alexander Peya played tennis with local kids and offered photo opportunities.

He caught the imagination of the tennis world when he reached the semi-finals of the Coupe Rogers in Montreal, and 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov’s stunning backhand pass against Adrian Mannarino not only drew the applause of his opponent, but was voted by fans as the #NextGenATP Shining Shot for the third quarter of 2017.

In a poll run last week, Shapovalov’s winning backhand received 61 per cent of the fans’ vote. Alexander Zverev’s 49-shot rally with Richard Gasquet earned 21 per cent of the vote, while shots from Alexander Bublik, Matteo Berrettini and Tommy Paul received 13 per cent, four per cent and two per cent, respectively.

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It has been a long and winding road for Ante Pavic throughout his eight-year career.

But as arduous as the journey has been for the 28 year old, victory never tasted so sweet. Pavic stood in the winners’ circle for the first time on the ATP Challenger Tour on Sunday, lifting the trophy in Columbus, Ohio. It came in dramatic fashion, as the Croatian stormed back from a set and a break down to defeat Alexander Ward 6-7(11), 6-4, 6-3.

“It was a really good feeling,” Pavic told ATPWorldtour.com. “I’ve had good results, winning a round at Wimbledon and some matches in ATP events, but I never won a Challenger. It was a great feeling and I was just relieved.”

After rising to a career-high of No. 132 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2014, on the back of strong performances to qualify at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Croatian came down with mononucleosis, and was out for six months. In 2016, he discovered a stress fracture in his right shoulder. This season, Pavic missed two months with hip problems.

The ATP Challenger Tour has been an important step in navigating that winding road. That was most evident last week when the 28 year old took a significant step in the right direction. His victory in Columbus saw him climb 135 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 290.

“I was very nervous,” Pavic said, referring to Sunday’s final. “In the morning before the match and during the match especially. Somehow I managed to break back and relaxed more… the final was not the best match for us, but it’s understandable knowing that it’s the final and a big chance to win a first title.”

It was not the first time that Pavic earned a big victory this season, winning his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 qualifying match this summer in Cincinnati against #NextGenATP Ernesto Escobedo. Nobody would have guessed that he had lost in the first round of a Futures tournament the week before against the World No. 804.

“I played a pretty bad match and wasn’t at my level. After the match there were a lot of negative thoughts going through my head,” said Pavic, who was a few hours away from Cincinnati by car and decided to try to get into qualifying as an alternate, which he did. “Tennis is sometimes a crazy sport. When you think you’re not ready and need more practice, you take pressure off yourself and just play the game.”

It was not always easy for Pavic to overcome the tough times, whether it was a rough patch on the court or being forced out of competition due to injury or illness. But one thing has always remained the same.

“It’s just the love for the game. The passion that keeps me in it,” said Pavic. “I was close to the Top 100 before my health problems. The most important thing is that I’ve always loved what I’m doing and I’m always trying to improve. It’s not easy. There are a lot of moments when you feel down and you don’t want to be 28 and dependent on parents and others to pay for expenses. But if you really want something, you can find a way to make it happen.”

Pavic’s big win in Columbus has given him the confidence that he can keep climbing the Emirates ATP Rankings, and he hopes that within a year or two he can break into the Top 100. But through the journey, one lesson stands out.

“Believe in yourself and keep working hard even if the results aren’t coming,” Pavic said. “Leave the door open for good things, because you never know which tournament is going to suit your game. That’s one of the big lessons and exactly what happened to me.”