Dominic Thiem will go for his third ATP World Tour title of the season on Sunday against Philipp Kohlschreiber, who will be trying to win his third home title at the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich.

Thiem overcame #NextGen star Alexander Zverev on Saturday 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach Sunday’s final, which will be the seventh of his career. The Austrian erased eight of 11 break points faced and broke the 19-year-old German six times to prevail.

“It’s unbelievable how he plays at 19 years old,” Thiem said. “I lost the first set and then I changed a little bit… more slice, more drop shots, and I think this was one of the key points to win it.”

The 22 year old, who won titles earlier this year in Acapulco and Buenos Aires, now stands alone atop the ATP World Tour match wins chart this season (29-7). He had been tied with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Thiem, who is 13-2 on clay this season, lost to Kohlschreiber 6-0, 7-6(6) during their previous meeting last year on clay at the Generali Open. Kohlschreiber dismissed No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and four minutes on Saturday. “I was happy to make the big points today,” he said. “Very successful week, very solid performance so far.”

The German erased all three break points faced and won almost 90 per cent of his first-serve points to move into his fifth Munich final. “He’s had a huge season so far. He’s a very hot player, very tough to play against him,” Kohlschreiber said of Thiem. “I also feel very well… I hope we’re going to see a great final tomorrow.”

Fourth seeds Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky will play for their third team title on Sunday at the Millennium Estoril Open. The Americans downed second seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 7-5 in 74 minutes. They landed 71 per cent of first serves and saved six of eight break points faced. Last year, Lipsky and Huey teamed to win the inaugural edition of the Estoril Open.

“We are really happy to be into the finals,” Butorac said. “Today was a really tricky match because the winds were so extreme. Scott has [won in Estoril before], so I’m just trying to follow his lead. He told me that on his day off he was looking at property in the area.”

In the final, Butorac/Lipsky will take on top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Croats Borna Coric and Franko Skugor in just 51 minutes. The Poles did not face a break point and won 80 per cent (8/10) of second serve return points.

Cipolla/Sela Into Istanbul Final

The doubles final is set at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, with first-time pairing Flavio Cipolla and Dudi Sela booking their spot in the title match opposite the all-Argentine duo of Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman.

Individually, 32-year-old Cipolla and 31-year-old Sela are appearing in their first doubles final on the ATP World Tour. They have not dropped a set en route, ousting third seeds Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez 7-6(5), 6-1 on Saturday. The Italian-Israeli tandem needed one hour and 26 minutes to seal the victory, saving all five break points faced while converting two of six chances of their own.

Munich Doubles Final Set

In Munich, the No. 3 seeds Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia beat Oliver Marach of Austria and Fabrice Martin of France 6-2, 6-3. Kontinen/Peers will play the No. 2 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the BMW Open by FWU AG doubles final.

“Today was a very solid day for us,” Peers said. “It was great to play back in the sunshine and play at a good level. It’s a lot more fun than playing in the snow. We both played good tennis and it allows us to have a shot at the title tomorrow.”

It’s not unheard of for a tennis player to come out of retirement and either dabble on the ATP Challenger Tour or make a full comeback, but Peter Luczak is breaking new ground by coming out of retirement and continuing to take home trophies.

The 36-year-old Luczak, affectionately known as “Looch,” retired from pro tennis in 2012 after a successful career that saw peak him at No. 64 in singles in the Emirates ATP Rankings, in addition to winning 12 ATP Challenger Tour singles titles. After spending the next three years serving as a coach and hitting partner for former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, he’s now been working with rising Australians Marc Polmans and Blake Mott.

While traveling with Mott last spring for a series of Futures events in Italy, he teamed up with him in doubles for a one-off tournament and the pair won the title. This week at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Tallahassee, Florida, Luczak and 18-year-old Polmans beat two seeds on their way to the doubles final, where they narrowly lost to No. 1 seeds Dennis Novikov and Julio Peralta. Although Luczak was delighted at the result, he admitted that playing this week wasn’t part of the plan for him.

“I was watching Blake and the next thing I know, Marc comes up to me and says, “Mate, we’re playing,” said Luczak. “I still like to stay reasonably fit and there are a lot of good young players I can hit with at the National Academy in Melbourne (Australia). Marc did most of the work this week, though. I just came along for the ride.”

Polmans won the boys’ doubles title at the Australian Open in 2015 and has quickly proven that he could become an established player on tour. The teenager has already won nine Futures doubles titles, but his run this week with Luczak in Tallahassee is his biggest result to date. Polmans is far from content with his doubles success, though, and said that Luczak has been helping him develop the tools needed to produce equally strong results in singles.

“Peter’s a really good clay court player, so he’s got a lot of tips on getting shape and depth on my shots. He’s got a pretty strong forehand as well, so he’s also trying to show me that,” said Polmans. “He’s teaching me a lot out there with the doubles this week and he’s calling the shots, so he can help me out on the pressure situations.”

It’s only natural to wonder if Luczak and Polmans will team up for more events this year after their surprise run, but Luczak was quick to diffuse any possible talk of even a part-time comeback.

“That’s my schedule these days: one tournament a year,” he joked. “I’m lucky to be coaching two kids who work hard and want to get better. I’m still very competitive and will leave it all out there when I get a chance to compete, but I’m very happy coaching these days.”

Roger Federer could meet Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open as the Swiss star continues his return to the ATP World Tour. Nadal also will have a bigger task on his mind in Madrid: Fighting off World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to become the outright ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title leader with 29 championships.

Main-draw pairings were announced on Saturday in Madrid, and the storylines abound: How will Federer do in his second tournament back? Can Nadal continue his title run on clay? How will Djokovic bounce back from Monte-Carlo? And how will Andy Murray, the Madrid defending champion, fare?

All of the Big Four, though, could have their hands full in the early stages of the fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the season. Djokovic, who will be playing for the first time since losing in the second round at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, receives a first-round bye but could face #NextGen star Borna Coric or Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the second round. Coric, No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, reached the Grand Prix Hassan II final on clay and fell in the quarter-finals on Friday at the Millennium Estoril Open. Almagro, former World No. 9, was the runner-up on clay in Buenos Aires and plays Nick Kyrgios on Saturday to advance to the final in Estoril.

The first seeded player Djokovic could face is No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut, who reached the third round in Monte-Carlo before falling to Federer. In the quarter-finals, a potential match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could await Djokovic. Tsonga, the No. 7 seed, could have to get past No. 11 seed Milos Raonic, though, before meeting Djokovic.

If the Serb and the Frenchman play, it would be their 22^nd meeting. Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 15-6, which includes a 2014 win at Roland Garros, the last time they played on clay. In the semi-finals, Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, the No. 4 seed, could meet for the 24^th time, with Djokovic leading their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 19-4. Wawrinka won their most recent meeting on clay at last year’s Roland Garros final.

In the bottom half of the draw, Nadal, the No. 5 seed, will try to keep his 10-match win streak alive against Serb Viktor Troicki or Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round. (Nadal receives a first-round bye.) In the third round, the four-time Madrid champion could face No. 12 seed David Goffin of Belgium. The 25 year old, who’s reached a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 13, made the semi-finals at two Masters 1000 events, Indian Wells and Miami, but has yet to replicate that success on clay. Goffin lost in the third round in Monte-Carlo to Spaniard Marcel Granollers and fell on Friday to #NextGen star Alexander Zverev at the BMW Open by FWU AG.

Should Nadal, who’s going for his third consecutive clay-court title, meet Federer, the No. 3 seed, in the quarter-finals, it’d mark the 35^th meeting in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. Nadal holds a 23-11 edge, including a straight-set win the last time they played on clay (Rome 2013).

But Federer hardly has early walkovers. After a first-round bye, the Swiss could meet Portugal’s Joao Sousa or France’s Nicolas Mahut. In the third round, the three-time Madrid champ could meet No. 14 seed Dominic Thiem, who’s already won a clay-court title this year (Buenos Aires) and advanced to the Munich final on Saturday to improve to 13-2 on the red dirt this year. Thiem faces Juan Martin del Potro in the first round.

Murray, who beat Nadal last year to win his first Masters 1000 title on clay in Madrid, could face Canada’s Vasek Pospisil in the second round. If the seeds play out, Murray will then meet No. 16 seed Gilles Simon. In the quarter-finals, Murray, who’s going for his first title of 2016, could meet No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych. Murray, No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, and Berdych have played 13 times, with Murray leading their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 7-6. The last time they played on clay, however, Berdych won in straight sets (Madrid 2013).

For now at least, Nick Kyrgios holds the upper hand against his fellow #NextGen star Borna Coric. In their first tour-level meeting on Friday, Kyrgios served freely and blasted forehands to breeze past Coric 6-4, 6-4 and move into the semi-finals of the Millennium Estoril Open.

The 21-year-old Aussie hit 10 aces and won 82 per cent of his service points. Kyrgios also never faced a break point in the one-hour and nine-minute match. Coric, meanwhile, had to work to hold the entire contest, erasing six of eight break points faced. Coric, No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was trying to go 4-0 in quarter-finals this season but will have to wait until his second meeting with Kyrgios to even their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

The two had met twice before on the ITF Junior Circuit, with Krygios winning both contests. Now the World No. 20 advances to his fourth semi-finals of the season, where he’ll face Nicolas Almagro. The Spaniard knocked off No. 7 seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 7-6(5). “I’m not going to think about it too much,” Kyrgios said of his semi-finals match. “I know what he’s doing to do, and I know what I have to do to win.”

Almagro, a former World No. 9, improved to 4-0 against Mayer, No. 46 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 30 year old pressured Mayer’s serve all match, converting three of his 11 break points.

Benoit Paire remained undefeated in ATP World Tour quarter-finals this year. The Frenchman dispatched Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6(2), 6-2 on Friday. Garcia-Lopez was trying to reach his second consecutive semi-finals, after reaching the final four last week at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest. Paire, now 4-0 in quarter-finals this year, controlled the match with his first serve, winning almost 80 per cent of those points.

In the semi-finals, Paire will face another Spaniard: Pablo Carreno Busta, who beat No. 1 seed Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4. The No. 8 seed hit five aces and won 70 per cent of his second-serve points. In the first set, Carreno Busta erased both break points faced and converted his only break point against the World No. 18. During the second set, Carreno Busta didn’t face a break point and broke Simon once more. “He was always able to play the right shot at the right moment,” Simon said.

Anyone who’s traveled knows how expensive staying in a hotel can be. For players competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, the cost of staying in a hotel for up to 30 weeks out of the year can add up quickly.

“I was playing in San Francisco two years ago and was looking for cheap accommodation and couldn’t find anything,” said James McGee. “I went into a hostel and was spending $200 a night for a bunk bed with me on the top bunk and my coach on the bottom one.”

For players competing in many of the ATP Challenger Tour events in the U.S., a unique alternative is offered in the form of player housing. Local families offer to take in players for the week, free of charge, providing a more relaxed atmosphere that they see as a welcome change of pace from the routine of hotels.

“They don’t really do housing like this anywhere else in the world,” said Dean O’Brien. “The families are really nice and you get to know a lot more about the cities you’re in since they live there. There are enough weeks when you’re sitting in a hotel room by yourself, so it’s just nice to get to know people.”

Players view local housing as more than a crash pad for the week, though. They often keep in touch with the families and even reunite with them at other tournaments. Bjorn Fratangelo explained that a family he stayed with years ago at a Futures event in Tampa, Florida, recently reached out about coming to watch him play at the ATP Challenger Tour event in nearby Sarasota. For the families, it’s a chance to rub shoulders with professional athletes and get to know them on a more intimate level. 

For some players, saving money on local housing is a significant part of how they keep their expenses down on the road. McGee said that he primarily plays in the U.S. because “I either stay in housing or someone provides me housing for 90 percent of the Challengers I play in.” He’s even occasionally lucked out and been given his own place for the week.

“Someone provided me a condo in Sarasota that overlooked the lake,” said McGee. “I really lucked out. It was the ideal situation.”

He’s also returned to stay with some host families, like the Seifer family in Tiburon, California, which has opened up its home to him during the ATP Challenger Tour event there for the past three years. Although McGee acknowledged that there are financial benefits to staying in local housing, he said the experiences he’s shared with these families have been priceless.

“Building relationships is really what it’s all about,” said McGee. “Your tennis career only lasts for so long, but your friendships are forever.”