Winning is never easy on the ATP Challenger Tour. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski has learned that quickly in his young professional career, as the University of Virginia standout remains in search of his first main draw victory at the Challenger level since graduating this spring.

“To be honest, I’m having a bit of a tough time,” reflected Kwiatkowski, who capped his impressive college career with an NCAA singles title this year. “I’ve been taking a lot of lumps this summer and I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that it’s very tough week-in and week-out.”

Tuesday night was no different, as the 22 year old won five more points than lucky loser Luke Bambridge in the Atlantic Tire Championships, but fell in a third set tie-break. When Kwiatkowski got off the court in Cary, North Carolina, he received worse news — his family’s beach condo in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, had been damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Irma.

“It definitely lets you know that there are bigger things than losing a match in a third set breaker,” Kwiatkowski said. “My family evacuated and everything’s fine [with them]. Just of course major flooding in Jacksonville. Just a big storm came by.”

As competitive as Kwiatkowski is, it gave the 22 year old a moment to reflect — as much as he wants to win, there are bigger things in life than tennis.

“As long as I go out there and I treat others with respect: my coach, myself and my opponent, and I try for every point,” added Kwiatkowski. “I’m going to be okay with the result.”

This week’s loss was not the only difficult one to swallow lately, as the American had a two-sets-to-one lead in the first round of the US Open — which he entered with a wild card that came with his NCAA title — against 23^rd seed Mischa Zverev. The German would claim the match in five sets and eventually advance to the fourth round.

“Walking off the court was pretty disappointing,” admitted Kwiatkowski. “I just felt like I had a lot of chances to win the match and it would’ve been really nice to get that win in terms of points, and [because] I’ve been having a tough summer. So to have won that match would have been really nice.”

Instead, Kwiatkowski went straight back to the practice court, as he continues to look to grow his game and adapt to life on the pro circuit. He hopes that moving into his first permanent residence since leaving school – at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida – will give him a sense of stability as he aims to improve his game.

“I definitely feel like I have the ability to play.” Kwiatkowski said. “Now I have to work really hard, trust the process that eventually I can get to that level consistently.”

Kwiatkowski will attempt to build on his position of No. 712 in the Emirates ATP Rankings this fall, playing a schedule that includes ATP Challenger Tour stops in Monterrey, Mexico, and Charlottesville, Virginia, where he attended school.

“In college, I didn’t lose a whole lot in a semester,” Kwiatkowski said. “On the tour, you’re going to lose every week most likely. So that means you have to, I don’t want to say learn how to lose, but take lessons from each loss.”

While he said he was very match tough at school, the three-time singles All-American now has to find ways to improve every single day so that those tough losses on tour turn into wins. Kwiatkowski hopes that those improvements will help him climb inside the Top 300 and gain entry into Grand Slam qualifying draws.

The American knows it won’t be easy, but understands that it is a process.

“I feel like everyone’s got to start from the bottom. Of course it’s tough. You’re going to take a lot of tough losses and the road’s not going to be easy,” Kwiatkowski said. “I’m looking forward to the journey.”

SERBIA vs. FRANCE
Lille, France – (Outdoor Clay) 

World No. 80 Dusan Lajovic upset No. 22 Lucas Pouille 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) on Friday to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup semi-final. Lajovic won almost 60 per cent of his second-serve points and hit 29 forehand winners.

He and Pouille had split their two prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, with Pouille winning their only match-up on clay. But Lajovic stepped up to help Serbia, which is playing without Novak Djokovic, gain the early lead.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will try to even the semi-final when he faces World No. 95 Laslo Djere, who is making his Davis Cup debut. The semi-final is a rematch of the 2010 Davis Cup final, which Serbia won. France is attempting to reach the final for the first time since 2014 (l. to Switzerland).

AUSTRALIA vs. BELGIUM
Brussels, Belgium (Indoor Clay)

World No. 12 David Goffin will try to push Belgium into its second Davis Cup final of the past three years when the Belgians take on Australia in the Davis Cup semi-finals, which start on Friday.

Goffin and his countrymen will have their work cut out for them in Brussels. Australia is bringing World No. 20 Nick Kyrgios; John Millman, who’s coming off a third-round run at the US Open and will be making his Davis Cup debut; Jordan Thompson, who upset top-seeded American Jack Sock in New York; and John Peers, No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings.

In addition to Goffin, Belgium will be represented by No. 77 Steve Darcis, No. 92 Ruben Bemelmans and No. 147 Arthur De Greef. The two countries have split their four meetings. Belgium fell in the 2015 final against an Andy Murray-led Great Britain squad.

SERBIA vs. FRANCE
Lille, France – (Outdoor Clay)

In the other semi-final, Serbia, without Novak Djokovic, will take on a star-studded squad in France. The French will try to avenge their 2010 Davis Cup final loss to the Serbians with No. 18 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 22 Lucas Pouille, and the doubles team of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

Serbia will counter with No. 80 Dusan Lajovic; No. 93 Laslo Djere, who will be making his Davis Cup debut; No. 111 Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic, No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings.

WORLD GROUP PLAYOFF TIES

Defending champion Argentina will try to maintain its World Group status without 2016 hero Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentines, led by US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman, will face Kazakhstan on hard courts in Astana, Kazakhstan. ATP World Tour veteran Mikhail Kukushkin will lead the host country. Sweden, in 1999, was the last team to be relegated the year after winning the Davis Cup title.

Last year’s finalist, Croatia, will try to win its fourth consecutive tie on clay when the country faces Colombia in Bogota. Colombia is trying to reach the World Group for the first time. Croatia will be led by Marin Cilic, who could become the Davis Cup singles match-wins leader if he wins two singles rubbers this weekend.

You check the draw. Who do you play in the first round?

Your heart skips a beat when you see your opponent is ranked in the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. It’s equal parts opportunity and fear. What a great win it could be, but how likely are you to actually get the W?

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 ranked players show that on average they win three out of every four matches they play. They are dominant, but they also do lose matches just like the rest of us.

The current Top 10 players have won 75 per cent (370/496) of their matches so far this season, which is exactly the same win percentage for the Top 10 in the 2016 year-end Emirates ATP Rankings.

Top 10 as of 11 September 2017: Match Win Percentage

Roger Federer has the highest match win percentage this season, winning 91 per cent of the time. The only other two players at 80 per cent or higher are Rafael Nadal (86 per cent) and Novak Djokovic (80 per cent).

Emirates ATP Race To Milan leader, Alexander Zverev, is the only other player above the Top 10 average, having won 76 per cent of his matches in 2017.

The next best include Andy Murray (71 per cent), Stan Wawrinka (70 per cent), Grigor Dimitrov (70 per cent), Dominic Thiem (69 per cent), Marin Cilic (67 per cent), and Pablo Carreno Busta (65 per cent).

Players at all levels of the game are often intimidated by facing highly-ranked opponents. Sometimes the match is over before it even begins as the possibility of victory seems too daunting.

Competing against a Top 10 opponent can also have the completely opposite effect, releasing pressure since the expectation of victory is so low. We all seem to play better against somebody who is better than us, primarily because the pressure to win isn’t overwhelming.

Over the years, some players have managed to find another gear against Top 10 opponents, elevating their performance against the best of the best. They are able to rise to the moment and perform at a higher level on the biggest stage. The following table highlights players who are career leaders in specific categories against only Top 10 ranked opponents.

Career Leader vs. only Top 10 Opponents

Year-End No. 1

Of all the players that finished year-end No. 1 from 1991 to 2016, Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt performed best against Top 10 opponents, according to the Infosys ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS Serve, Return and Under Pressure Ratings.

Year-End No. 1 Leader versus Top 10 Opponents

• Best Serve Rating (297.3) = Roger Federer, 2004 season

• Best Return Rating (178.8) = Lleyton Hewitt, 2001 season

• Best Break Points Saved (79.1%) = Roger Federer, 2004 season

• Best Break Points Converted (51.4%) = Lleyton Hewitt, 2001 season

Defeating a Top 10 player first starts in the mind. Do you see the match with trepidation or opportunity? They will lose one out of every four matches they play. That one may as well be against you.

For more information, visit ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS

Age is just a number and tennis might just be a game, but for Peter Polansky, some of his finest tennis has come with age – and it’s getting only better.

The 29-year-old Canadian has been an unassuming but tenacious competitor across all levels of professional tennis, quietly putting together a successful career that just now is seeing him start to maximise his potential. On the back of three successive ATP Challenger Tour finals earlier this year, Polansky reached a career-high of No. 115 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and looks to build on that vein of form in Asia later this year.

A veteran by his own account, Polansky has been around long enough to witness the beginnings of what now is an incredible boom in Canadian tennis talent, most recently in the form of #NextGenATP stars Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, both of whom have made record-breaking strides on the pro circuit this season.

In a country where most kids pick up hockey sticks instead of tennis racquets, the sport has seen a dramatic spike in public interest, which, according to Polansky, began with fellow Canadian Milos Raonic’s accomplishments at the top of the game.

“In Canada, before, no one really knew anything about tennis and when Milos started doing well, more and more of the general public knew more about tennis,” said Polansky. “Now, with the two young juniors we have coming up … the excitement is even [greater] because Canada feels like they have someone they can support.”

Polansky is quite familiar with Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime, having played them both this year on the ATP Challenger Tour, losing once to each but posting an impressive win over Shapovalov in the semi-finals of the Granby National Bank Challenger.

“They’re both really young,” said Polansky of his teenaged compatriots. “They still have so much time to improve. They’re already doing amazing but they’re going to keep getting better.

“I don’t think there’s any specific advice I can give them,” he added. “I can’t tell them they need to work on their backhand or their forehand; they have all the shots. It’s more about psychologically being in every match, competing and [to] keep moving in the right direction all the time.”

But don’t be mistaken: as compelling as this future generation of Canadian talent may be for pundits, Polansky is firmly invested in the present one – his own. The 29 year old has his sights set on a year-end Top 100 finish, as he hopes to gain direct entry into many ATP World Tour events and the Australian Open in 2018. His motivation to keep improving has never waned over the years.

“I think when you get to the later part of the career and you get older – a lot of the players start to lose motivation. Maybe they don’t train as much or they don’t do the right things; they want to enjoy other things besides tennis,” said Polansky.

“For me, I’m not at that point yet. I love competing, I love playing, and I want to keep improving,” he added. “I know in a few years I’ll have things that I can do later in life but for now I’m very focused on my career.”

Despite an early exit at this week’s Shanghai Challenger at the hands of 17-year-old Wu Yibing, another talented young champion in the making, Polansky makes no distinction in age when it comes to improvement.

“No matter what age you are, if you’re always there and you’re always committed – you will get better.”

On paper, Noah Rubin’s 6-3, 6-3 win over World No. 453 Pedro Sakamoto in the first round of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Cary, North Carolina, appears ordinary. But considering it was Rubin’s first triumph since April, after missing nearly four months due to a sprained right wrist and bone bruise, it took on added significance for the #NextGenATP American.

“I almost forgot how to do it. After I won I didn’t even know what I should do out there,” Rubin joked, reflecting on Monday’s victory. “It’s great just to get the ‘W’, regardless of how I played, how he played. It was just nice to shake hands and have that winning feeling again.”

Welcome back @Noahrubin33! The #NextGenATP ?? is a defensive demon at the @AtlanticTireCh in Cary.

? Hot Shot: https://t.co/xfInkdAsOx pic.twitter.com/poLwCSBogM

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 13, 2017

It wasn’t that long ago that Rubin was playing in the second round of this year’s Australian Open, competing inside Rod Laver Arena against eventual champion Roger Federer. Rubin competed well, earning more games than 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych would against the Swiss in the next round.

The New Yorker would win his second career ATP Challenger Tour title less than a month later in Launceston, Australia, rising to a career-high of No. 163 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. But after qualifying for the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in April, any momentum he had gained came to a halt as the 21 year old slid into a drop shot in the fourth game of his first round match against Nicolas Kicker.

The trajectory of his slide forced the American to fall forward and onto his wrist – the same wrist where he fractured his scaphoid bone five years ago – and Rubin would retire later in the first set. While the injury did not require surgery, he did not hit a tennis ball for two months.

Does not matter how bad we want to win on the court, there can still be friendship. This is what sport is truly about! pic.twitter.com/ynqrgnWESc

— Noah Rubin (@Noahrubin33) May 4, 2017

It was Rubin’s second unlucky injury in two seasons, as the American tripped between two cracks in the pavement while on a jog last June, spraining his ankle. While he didn’t think much of it at the time, he would not regain full mobility for months, playing just one tournament between May-August 2016.

As Rubin began to practice on and off this summer, there was still pain, especially when hitting forehands. While he has played three tournaments since his injury — ATP Challenger Tour stops in Aptos, California, and Vancouver, Canada, followed by US Open qualifying – coming back has not been easy.

“It was a struggle. I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who I played, but I was in a decent amount of pain playing those two tournaments,” Rubin added. “This is the first tournament where I feel like I’m putting some of my better tennis forward.”

The World No. 205, who played college tennis for one season in North Carolina at Wake Forest University, is not looking too far ahead, and is not worrying about reaching a certain position in the Emirates ATP Rankings. All Rubin is concerned with is working hard every day in practice.

“I trust my game. I trust my mental ability. I know I have what it takes to play with the top players. So whether it’s two months from now that I get to where I want or three years, I know where I’ll be.”

Rubin, seeded sixth, next plays another Brazilian in Joao Pedro Sorgi at the Atlantic Tire Championships on Thursday. And while it may not be Federer at the Australian Open, he is simply ecstatic to be competing again, and on his way back to full health.

“I just missed being out there. Just being in the sun, hitting tennis balls, smiling, running around the court like I always do. It’s part of my life, so it’s tough to live without it.”

With a Grand Slam breakthrough last week at Flushing Meadows, it looks like China might finally have a new champion on its hands.

His name? Wu Yibing. His latest claim to fame? Winning the 2017 US Open boys’ singles and doubles titles and reaching No.1 in the junior rankings. With no time to celebrate, the 17-year-old hopped on a plane to the ATP Challenger stop in Shanghai, showing little signs of slowing down as he looks to make the transition from juniors to pros.

Not long after touching down on home soil following just a few hours of rest, Wu picked up where he left off in New York with a surprising 6-3, 7-6(3) win over second-seeded Canadian Peter Polansky, who himself is coming off a fine summer in North America that included three ATP Challenger Tour finals.

Wu, who hails from Hangzhou just a few hours south of Shanghai, recognises the immediate impact of his US Open triumph. “I think it was a great experience for all the Chinese tennis players and [Chinese] associations,” said Wu. “We showed the world that we can do it for boys’ and men’s players also.”

With the exception of the year-end ITF Junior Masters in Chengdu, the Chinese teenager’s focus now shifts to the professional circuit, where he hopes his junior success will translate.

“I think it’s about the rhythm and how the players are thinking about the matches,” said Wu on the biggest difference in playing the pros. “They [are more] tough mentally and [have] more experience about how to win the match. About the technique… I think I am ready already.”

And Wu has reason to be confident in his game: In addition to his decorated junior resume, the foundations of his game are well set to develop into tangible threats at the ATP level. He’s quick on his feet, solid on the forehand wing, and generates exceptional racquet head speed on his backhand, a shot that cuts through the court and changes direction with ease.

Incidentally, it’s not difficult to see why Wu cites Andy Murray as the player he models his game after. “I’m trying to learn something from him, they way he plays and how he thinks; how he defends, how he chooses good timing for offensive [shots]… I think I can learn a lot from him.”

Despite major tennis successes by Chinese women, including two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, China has waited patiently for a male champion to rise to the occasion of being the face of tennis in a country with greater tradition in other sports.

“I think that it’s the best thing [ever],” said Wu when asked about the impact that Li had on tennis in China. “She’s the first one to give us hope; real hope that young players can get to that level.”

Wu, however, isn’t without his own successful Chinese predecessors: journeymen Wu Di and Zhang Ze have paved the way for a younger generation of Chinese players in men’s tennis following their recent ATP Challenger victories in Maui (2016, d. Edmund) and San Francisco (2017, d. Pospisil), respectively.

Yet as both Wu Di and Zhang could relate to, with great success comes immeasurable pressure, and Wu acknowledges the pressure that a nation of over 1.3 billion people can place on young, talented shoulders such as his own.

“I think we don’t need to [have] too [much] pressure to be the same like Li Na, but we have to try to be at that level and work harder every day. Sometimes when I lose I want to give up,” admits the 17-year-old, candidly. But looking forward to the rest of the season – where he hopes to finish in the Top 300 of the Emirates ATP Rankings – and to 2018, he knows quite simply what improvement he has to make.

“I have to keep my mind tough.”

Wu will put his toughness to the test next against Shuichi Sekiguchi in the second round of the Shanghai Challenger.