Andrej Martin snapped the five-match win streak of seventh seed Martin Klizan on Thursday at the Konzum Croatia Open Umag, saving five match points to prevail in their second-round encounter, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Klizan, who prevailed last week at the German Tennis Championships 2016, had all five match points on his serve at 5-4 in the second set. Martin raised his game even further in the deciding set, landing 83 per cent of his first serves and not giving Klizan any break point opportunities.

Martin, ranked No. 70 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is now into his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year. The Slovakian next plays the winner of the match between second seed Joao Souza and Leonardo Mayer.

Gastao Elias caused the upset of the tournament over top seed Pablo Cuevas, saving a match point to prevail in their second-round battle, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7). Elias was unable to serve out the match at 5-4 in third set or convert on his first match point at 6/5 in the final-set tiebreak, but saved a match point down 6/7 and won the final two points to clinch the match.

The 25-year-old from Portugal is seeking his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the year, having reached the final four last week at the SkiStar Swedish Open. He’s also excelled on the ATP Challenger Tour by winning two $50,000 events this spring in Italy.

Next up for Elias is sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who moved into the quarter-finals with a convincing win over Teymuraz Gabashvili, 6-4, 6-2. The Spaniard landed 69 per cent of his first serves in play and only dropped 11 points on serve all match. Carreno Busta is now into an ATP World Tour quarter-final for the sixth time this year. 

As Novak Djokovic sank to his knees in celebration on 23 July 2006, little did he know that it would be the first step of a meteoric rise. In only Djokovic’s 24th tournament, he swept through the draw at the Dutch Open Tennis Amersfoort without losing a set, beating Chile’s Nicolas Massu 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final.

Massu, the 2003 Amersfoort champion, recalls 10 years on, “He faced me as an equal. We had already trained beforehand, but in the match his spectacular potential was noticeable. I thought he’ll surely be in the Top 5 [in the Emirates ATP Rankings] in the future. He had it all: the game and a winning mentality. During many critical moments he kept focused and he didn’t let me win.”

Djokovic, at just 19 years of age, got off to a flyer, taking a 3-0 and 4-1 lead before 26-year-old Massu, contesting his fourth final of the season, rallied. Even when Djokovic faced break points at 4-4, he simply took a deep breath, not scared by the threat of a comeback from his experienced opponent.

Third seed Djokovic squandered two set points at 6-5 on the Chilean’s serve and again grew frustrated when he fell behind 0/3 in the tie-break. But the Serbian regained his composure and reeled off seven of the next nine points to claim the 84-minute first set. A break in the seventh game of the second set tipped the pair’s first meeting in his favour.

After two hours and 41 minutes, Djokovic knelt down, looked up to the sky and raised his index finger in triumph. “It’s been an amazing week for me… I will always remember this tournament in Amersfoort,” said Djokovic, after he received a bunch of flowers and a silver-plated iPod.

“I always had a good relation with him,” said Massu, who reached a career-high No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (13 September 2004) in a 17-year professional career. “He was a very nice person, very polite. During the final, he applauded me on a couple of points, and in the ceremony he congratulated me for my career to date.”

The victory, watched courtside by his coach Marian Vajda and his girlfriend, now wife, Jelena, saw Djokovic rise eight places to No. 28 in the Emirates ATP Rankings – making him the youngest player in the Top 50. He was the third teenage ATP World Tour winner of 2006, alongside Andy Murray (San Jose) and Rafael Nadal – a titlist in Dubai, Barcelona and ATP World Tour Masters 1000s in Monte-Carlo and Rome.

Speaking 10 years on, Massu, who is now Chile’s Davis Cup captain, says, “Djokovic deserves all he has achieved. He lives for tennis, is very organised, disciplined and is a good person. Being in his first final is a nice memory.

“Djokovic stood out at his age. His strength, similar to Roger Federer, was growing up really fast. He has never stopped. Nadal was out of the ordinary, because at the age of 19 he had already showed the tennis world who he was.”

Ten years on from his first ATP World Tour title on Amersfoort’s clay, Djokovic is No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings – a position that he has held for a total of 208 non-consecutive weeks over three stints. He has lifted 65 singles trophies, including 12 Grand Slam championships and a record 29 ATP World Tour Masters 1000s.

Watch: Djokovic Reflects On 200 Weeks At No. 1

Take a stroll through the grounds of the Generali Open Kitzbühel and you’ll notice one common theme. Celebrating its 25th edition on the ATP World Tour this week, and 72nd in total, the tournament boasts a unique and fascinating heritage.

“Kitzbühel undoubtedly brings to tennis great heritage,” said David Massey, vice president of ATP Europe, who presented the tournament with a 25-Year Commitment Award. “We are very proud to count the tournament on the ATP World Tour and today is an opportunity to recognise and thank them for the 25 years that they have been with us. As one of the jewels on Tour, we look forward to many more editions in this beautiful mountain town.”

“This award is also dedicated to our previous presidents,” said Kitzbühel Tennis Club president Herbert Günther. “Receiving this award also shows gratefulness for the continuous work of the Kizbühel Tennis Club and all the helping hands and institutions around our tournament.”

Nestled in the central European Alps in the Tyrol region, with the famous Hahnenkamm mountain – home to the world-renowned World Cup ski race – towering over the venue, the tournament is one of the more picturesque settings on the ATP World Tour. It all started when Europe was mired in conflict during World War II and Austria was occupied by the Russians, French, British and Americans. A British lieutenant stationed in Kitzbuhel declared that a tennis tournament would be organised in the town, with the four nations sending players to compete for the title.

Following the war, the Austrians continued the tradition, founding the Alpine Cup. It was highlighted by legends including Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe.

“This tournament went through some unbelievable times,” added tournament director Alex Antonitsch. “The amazing spirit we have now goes back to Herbert, who came here as a student to control tickets and [tournament organiser] Markus Bodner, whose dad was one of the very first people working here for the tournament. They put so much heart and emotions into this event and it made it easy for me to say ‘yes’ to joining the team. It’s really a family.

“Our focus is to promote players from the region in Germany, Austria and Italy and get fans back. We invested in young players like Dominic Thiem, who has been here from the beginning. It’s his sixth year here now and we finally have a Top 10 player and it’s our own player.”

The event’s storied past is evident in the large murals and black-and-white photos that decorate the sprawling public spaces, as well as the players’ lounge, restaurant and Champions Club. With images of the old centre court and past champions Pete Sampras, Thomas Muster and Goran Ivanisevic on full display, the tournament’s history remains an integral element in its burgeoning popularity and success.

“It means so much to me to play here,” said Thiem. “I’m 22 years old and it’s my seventh time already playing this tournament. It’s quite a lot. So many positive things have happened to me here. Now it’s my first tournament at home as a Top 10 player. As a tennis player, you don’t play at home very often. It means a lot to me.”

The Generali Open Kitzbühel is the first ATP World Tour event in 2016 to receive the 25-Year Commitment Award.

Sixth seed Dusan Lajovic reached his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the year (also Sao Paulo) on Thursday by beating #NextGen’s Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel.

The 26-year-old Serb improves to 2-8 lifetime in quarter-finals and will now challenge World No. 123 Nikoloz Basilashvili, who knocked out fellow first-time quarter-finalist Adam Pavlasek 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3 in one hour and 56 minutes.

This year, the last four at this ATP World Tour 250 event will include at least one member of the Melzer family, with 35-year-old Jurgen Melzer facing off against little brother Gerald Melzer, 26, later today. This is the duo’s first tour-level meeting, though they have clashed once before: Jurgen defeated Gerald 6-1, 6-4 in Wimbledon 2015 qualifying.

The future likely will hold plenty of rematches, but on Wednesday, Alexander Zverev confidently took the first contest between he and fellow NextGen star Taylor Fritz at the Citi Open in Washington. The 19-year-old German erased all five break points and pressured Fritz’s serve throughout the second-round contest, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win over the 18-year-old American.

Zverev, No. 27 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, never let Fritz find his comfort zone on the hard courts in D.C. The German broke at 1-all and erased all five break points in the next game to seize momentum and lead 3-1. The Hamburg native served out the set at love.

The second set showed a similar story: Zverev broke with heavy groundstrokes at 1-all and again at 3-1. He held with near-perfect serving, winning almost 90 per cent of his first-serve points (33/38) during the contest. On match point, Zverev recorded his seventh ace, and the two likely future stars of the ATP World Tour shared a laugh at the net.

“Taylor has great potential for the future. That’s obvious,” Zverev said. “We’re all very young and there’s room for improvement for both of us.”

In the third round, Zverev, the 2015 ATP Star Of Tomorrow presented by Emirates, will face Tunisian Malek Jaziri, a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3) winner over No. 9 seed Kevin Anderson. On 11 July, Zverev became the youngest player to break into the Top 30 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since Rafael Nadal in March 2005.

“The goal for this year is just to get better and become the best player you can to compete in the best tournaments you can,” Zverev said. “I’m just trying to get better, to learn, and get stronger physically to compete against other guys.”

Second seed Gael Monfils gained his first win since 3 May by breezing past Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 6-3, 6-2. The 29-year-old Frenchman, playing in Washington for the third time, hit 10 aces and never faced a break point in the 61-minute match. He will take on #NextGen player Borna Coric for a place in the quarter-finals after the Croat defeated Yuichi Sugita of Japan 6-4, 6-4.

“I love the tournament, and it’s in a city that I really like. I have great memories here,” Monfils said. “I’m happy to be back this year.”

A virus has kept Monfils, the 2011 Washington finalist, away from action during the past two months. Since he played in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on 4 May, Monfils has played in only two matches – first-round losses in Rome and at Wimbledon.

“I’m very pleased. It’s been a tough month, and I’m glad to be back on the court and 100 per cent,” Monfils said. “I was a bit surprised that I could play that good so soon. Hopefully, with a couple matches, I can be back.”

Fifth seed Steve Johnson kept up his stellar pace with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The match was suspended because of rain on Tuesday evening with Johnson leading 4-2. When play resumed on Wednesday, Johnson picked up where he left off and, behind 12 aces, finished the match in an hour and nine minutes overall. Johnson reached the semi-finals in Washington last year (l. to Isner).

The 26-year-old American has picked up his game of late. He started the season 6-14 but in his past five tournaments has gone 12-3. The better half includes his maiden title in Nottingham last month and his best showing at a Grand Slam championship, a fourth-round finish in Wimbledon (l. to Federer). Johnson also is playing at a career high in the Emirates ATP Rankings, No. 25.