Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic picked up crucial points in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London on Sunday with their first ATP World Tour team title.

The top seeds came through indoors at the Intrum Stockholm Open, beating second seeds Aisam–Ul–Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer 3-6, 7-6(6), 10-4.

Marach/Pavic will gain 100 more points in the London standings, pushing them to within 100 of eighth-placed Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, who hold the lone remaining qualification spot as only two weeks remain in the Race. The top eight doubles team will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London. Marach/Pavic are seeking to make their debut at the prestigious tournament.

See Who’s Leading The Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London

The Austrian/Croatian pairing had fallen in their three prior finals, all this season and all on grass: Stuttgart (l. to Murray/Soares), Antalya (l. to Lindstedt/Qureshi) and Wimbledon (l. to Kubot/Melo).

But for the third consecutive match, the top seeds played big in a Match Tie-break to win. Marach/Pavic won six of their seven service points in the Match Tie-break. They improved to 27-17 on the season since partnering at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Miami in March.

Marach is now 17-21 for his career in tour-level doubles finals; Pavic, 8-13. The champions will receive 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €31,910 in prize money.

Qureshi/Rojer were playing together for the first time since the 2013 Nitto ATP Finals. They are now 4-4 in finals together. They will receive 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €16,780.

The future of Chinese tennis could not be brighter with 18-year-old Wu Yibing leading the charge. But on Friday, the #NextGenATP star took a trip into the past while competing at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Ningbo.

Wu visited one of the oldest drum towers in China, located in the heart of the city. The teen, who is soaring up the Emirates ATP Rankings after lifting his first Challenger tilte in Shanghai in September, took a tour of the tower complex with his team – coaches Nahum Garcia Sanchez and Chen Yanbei and physiotherapist Antonio Torres. The three-story structure atop the city gate served as a war-time lookout post. The bell tower forms part of the ancient city wall, with portions of an old grain storage house used in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) still standing nearby.

“It is cool to see something like this in Ningbo,” Wu said. “We are always traveling and it’s nice to get away from the courts and see things in the city. There is a lot of history here. Thanks to the ATP for this opportunity.”

Photo shoot time with Wu Yibing at the #ATPChallenger in Ningbo ?? pic.twitter.com/Hvo5larbPD

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 22, 2017

Wu, who also made his ATP World Tour debut at the Chengdu Open earlier this month, is coming off an appearance at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He is up to No. 321 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and is looking towards 2018 as he continues to plot his ascent.

“I felt really nervous when I entered the centre court against Gilles Simon,” Wu said about competing at his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. “I was shaking a little bit, but I think I adapted well. I was thankful they gave me the wild card, but I need to keep playing my way and there is no pressure. I will focus on my tennis and not think about other things. It’s all about the work I do outside of the match court. The experience showed me that I have to work harder.”

The ATP World Tour heads to Vienna this week for the Erste Bank Open 500, where some of the game’s biggest names, including German Alexander Zverev and home favourite Dominic Thiem, will look to secure one of the final titles of the season.

Zverev will be looking to capture his first title in Vienna and sixth title in 2017. The top seed has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals on the back of two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (Rome, Montreal).

“This city is amazing. I think it is an old-fashioned European city like we have in my home country in Germany,” Zverev said. “I think it is great, and hopefully it is going to be a great tournament for me as well.”

Second-seeded Thiem, who grew up just outside Vienna, will be making his seventh appearance at his home tournament. The right-hander has also already booked his return trip to the Nitto ATP Finals, but Thiem will look to reverse an 0-3 Asian swing this week in Austria.

In his opener, Thiem will meet Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who, last week, qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan. Rublev’s countryman Karen Khachanov also secured his bid for Milan last week. The 6’6″ Russian will meet eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. Tsonga is going for his fourth title of the year on Sunday at the European Open in Antwerp.

The excitement is building in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan as the ATP World Tour’s budding stars make their final efforts in the last week of the Race at the Swiss Indoors Basel and the Erste Banke Open 500 in Vienna, with four qualifying spots remaining.

Basel is the hot spot for those who have not yet qualified for the inaugural Next Gen ATP finals. Five #NextGenATP players looking to add their name to the Milan mix are competing in the event.

The toughest task may go to American Frances Tiafoe, who enters Basel in ninth place in the Race, 110 points behind No. 7 Daniil Medvedev. The Top 7 in the Race qualify, with an eighth spot going to the winner of an Italian 21 and under event. Tiafoe will face top-seeded Roger Federer, who enters his hometown tournament after winning the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Federer beat Tiafoe in five sets at this year’s US Open and in straight sets at this year’s Miami Open presented by Itau.

A player he can face in the quarter-finals, Denis Shapovalov, is also a contender in the Race. However, the Canadian is much closer to guaranteeing his spot in Milan, sitting next in line to qualify in fourth place with 926 points. If the left-hander beats this year’s Antalya Open champion, Yuichi Sugita, in their opening match, he will qualify.

Jared Donaldson is second in line to qualify, currently in the No. 5 spot with 890 points. The American will face a qualifier in the first round. Just four points behind Donaldson in the Race is No. 6 Borna Coric, who will confront Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen at the 25 year old’s home event. Both players can qualify for Milan by reaching the quarter-finals.

South Korean Hyeon Chung will look to punch his ticket to the inaugural tournament with a strong result in Basel. After dropping from seventh to eighth in the Race last week, he will attempt to overcome a 12-point deficit behind Medvedev. Chung plays ATP World Tour veteran Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.

Medvedev, who climbed into the final automatic qualifying spot with his quarter-final showing at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, is the only player in the Race’s Top 9 not playing a tour-level event this week. Instead, the 21 year old is competing in the Open Brest Arena Credit Agricole, an ATP Challenger Tour event in Brest, France. He plays Italian Matteo Donati in the first round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, who rose to No. 10 in the Race by virtue of his semi-final run in Antwerp, is also playing in Brest. He has been eliminated from the Race, as even by winning the tournament he would remain in 10th.

The only other player still alive in the Race is Sebastian Ofner, who is in 17th. He plays Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the first round in Vienna. 

The three #NextGen ATP stars who have already qualified for Milan are all competing in Vienna. Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 player in the race, is the top seed, and he is facing Viktor Troicki in the first round. No. 2 in the standings is Andrey Rublev, who was drawn against a difficult foe in Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Dominic Thiem, the second seed. Karen Khachanov, who was the most recent player to earn his spot in Milan, is facing eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The Race comes to a close on 30 October.

It will be a sprint to the end of the 2017 Emirates ATP Race To London. Two weeks remain in the Race, and half of the Nitto ATP Finals qualification spots are still available.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem have already qualified for the prestigious event, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London.

But four other places remain, with Grigor Dimitrov, Pablo Carreno Busta, Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson looking to boost their chances at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna. Marin Cilic, David Goffin and Juan Martin del Potro will hope to do the same at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

Dimitrov might not have to wait until the new tournaments start on Monday; he could clinch his London debut on Sunday. The Bulgarian faces del Potro in the Intrum Stockholm Open final. With his second Stockholm title, the 26-year-old Dimitrov will book his place in London.

 Watch Full Match Replays

Delpo can’t qualify on Sunday, but the Argentine has an outside chance of returning to the season-ending tournament (also 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013). If he repeats as Stockholm champion on Sunday, del Potro will be 470 points behind Carreno Busta, who currently holds the final qualification spot.

The Spaniard is looking to also book his first appearance at The O2. Carreno Busta is the fourth seed in Vienna, but has a tough draw. After facing a qualifier in the first round, Carreno Busta could face Fabio Fognini of Italy or Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who will try to win his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the European Open in Antwerp.

Cilic, the defending champion in Basel, needs to reach the semi-finals to officially start planning his third trip in the past four years to the Nitto ATP Finals. The second seed faces Stockholm semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the first round and could meet #NextGenATP countryman Borna Coric in round two. Eighth seed Mischa Zverev of Germany is the seeded favourite to meet Cilic in the quarter-finals.

Goffin, who was an alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals last year, is the third seed in Basel and might face Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi in the second round and fifth seed Jack Sock in the quarter-finals. Anderson, the seventh seed, and Querrey, the eighth seed, will also try to make headway in Vienna.

Federer qualified for his 15^th appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals months ago, and the Swiss will look to stay sharp in his hometown tournament, where he is a seven-time champion and making his first appearance since 2015.

The 36-year-old opens against #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe, who’s looking to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan. Federer could then meet American Steve Johnson. A quarter-final with #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov would be must-see tennis, but seventh seed Adrian Mannarino might prevent that. Goffin and Sock are the favourites to face Federer in the semi-finals.

Two former champions will battle it out for the 2017 Intrum Stockholm Open title as reigning champion Juan Martin del Potro outlasted eighth seed Fernando Verdasco on Saturday in a tussle between two of the biggest forehands in tennis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1), to set up a clash against top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.

“It was a great match. We both played great tennis and I think the crowd enjoyed our game,” del Potro said. “I’m glad to be in the final once again.”

Del Potro is into his first final of the season, and his first overall since lifting the trophy in Sweden last year. The right-hander will attempt to win his 20th title on Sunday.

The match will be of the utmost importance for del Potro in the Emirates ATP Race To London, as he has made a late-season charge to put himself within striking distance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 29-year-old is now into 15th in the Race with 2,035 points, and can ascend to 14th with a victory. If he beats the 2013 champion, del Potro will be within 480 points of No. 9 Pablo Carreno Busta, who has 2,605 points and currently holds the final qualifying spot with No. 7 Stan Wawrinka out for the season due to injury.

It was not easy for del Potro to give himself that opportunity to make a move in the Race, as the veteran left-hander Verdasco pushed the Argentine the distance.

Verdasco earned an immediate break of serve in the third set to gain a 2-0 advantage with his forehand keeping his opponent on the back foot, but del Potro roared right back with a break of his own, using his own timely forehands. The ‘Tower of Tandil’ then saved a break point at 3-4, which would have allowed Verdasco to serve for the match. Once the pair got to the tie-break, it was all del Potro.

“I was focused during the third set and in the tie-break I broke a few times at the beginning and that allowed me to play with more confidence in my game on my serve,” del Potro said. “I played a good match today.”

Del Potro will not have it easy on Sunday as he attempts to defend his title against an in-form Dimitrov. With his 6-3, 7-6(2) semi-final victory over sixth seed Fabio Fognini, the Bulgarian moved up to No. 5 in the Race, and put himself in position to win a career-best fourth title of the season (Brisbane, Sofia, Cincinnati).

Del Potro leads in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 5-2, but Dimitrov has won the past two matches, both straight-set victories this year in Beijing and Cincinnati.

“I would love to defend my title but Grigor is playing so good. He already beat me in Beijing and Cincinnati as well and he’s playing such good tennis on this surface,” del Potro said. “Hopefully I can be ready to put up a good fight.”

 Watch Full Match Replays