For aspiring stars on the ATP Tour, the opportunity to spend time with those at the top of the game is a dream come true. Just ask 18-year-old Daniel Vallejo, who rubbed shoulders with Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and other stars at the Nitto ATP Finals in November.

The Paraguayan spent two weeks as a hitting partner in Turin, where he watched and practised with those competing at the prestigious year-end event.

“These two weeks have been amazing,” Vallejo said. “You learn a lot and you get a lot of rhythm with the players. This court is amazing, it is one of the biggest courts I have been to. I have been hitting here. It has been cool to play here and to watch all the matches that have been played here. When you step in and hit it is a completely different feeling to hitting [on] a normal court.”

The World No. 581 first picked up a racquet when he was a six-year-old in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion. His desire to play professionally quickly grew, with his two older brothers a source of inspiration after they went to play college tennis in the United States.

Currently training at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, Vallejo has enjoyed testing himself against fellow rising stars in Mallorca. However, the former junior World No. 1 quickly noticed the step-up in level when he hit with Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in Turin.

“They are very consistent and aggressive with their games. They have big serves. They have a lot of things you can take away and try and practise,” Vallejo said. “I was warming up Daniil Medvedev for his match against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas. It was a fun experience. Daniil has a completely different game style. He is a very chilled guy. It is very fun to be with him and play with him. You get used to his ball and it is very fun.”

Vallejo, who had prior experience hitting with Nadal in Spain, shared a locker room with alternates Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz in Turin. A unique aspect of the year-end event is that the eight qualified singles players and eight doubles teams have individual lockers, which is different from other tour-level tournaments.

“I think one of the coolest things for the players playing the tournament is they have their own lockers with their faces on the door,” Vallejo said. “That is pretty cool. This is a one-time thing. I should keep working hard to maybe be here one day.”

On court, Novak Djokovic captured his sixth Nitto ATP Finals crown when he defeated Casper Ruud in the championship match. Vallejo relished the opportunity to watch the Serbian in action.

“I love watching Novak Djokovic. He is an amazing player to watch. He has everything. With Roger, he is probably the most complete player,” Vallejo said. “He can do everything, so it is amazing to watch him play.”

Eager to learn from his experience in Turin, Vallejo will hope he can climb the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and fulfil his long-term dream of competing at the Nitto ATP Finals.

“I will be focusing on [ATP] Challenger [Tour] events and Futures, but hopefully in two years I can start playing on the ATP [Tour],” Vallejo said.

“I would love to be here in three or four or even 10 years from now, but I will have to keep working hard. I would like to win a Grand Slam, hopefully Wimbledon or US Open. But I have to keep working hard and dreaming.”

It’s all square for Great Britain and hosts Colombia after Friday’s Davis Cup Qualifier action in Bogota.

After Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia earned his first Top 100 win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 result against Daniel Evans, Cameron Norrie levelled the tie at 1-1 by beating Nicolas Barrientos 6-2, 7-5.

Mejia clinched his milestone victory with a break in the final game against Evans, a blazing backhand passing shot sparking wild celebrations in the Colombian capital. After the competitors split a pair of one-sided sets, the 22-year-old fended off three break points in the first game of the decider before piling on the pressure late.

While he could not convert on two break chances as Evans held in a marathon game to level the set at 4-4, Mejias responded with a love hold before clinching victory with his third break of the two-hour, 31-minute contest.

“The key to victory? The attitude, dedication, not getting nervous more than necessary,” he said post-match. “I have also learned a lot from previous defeats.

“I wanted to go out and win and I was not going to give them anything. I am very happy for the point that I was able to give to Colombia. There is a long way [to go] to think about victory.”

In the day’s second match, Norrie coped with the pressure of the 1-0 deficit and the volume of the home crowd, claiming an early break against Barrientos to settle British nerves. The British No. 1 again scored an immediate break to open the second set, but the Colombian snapped back with his first break of the match.

Barrientos then created five break points on return at 1-2, but he could not break Norrie’s dogged resistance. The Colombian earned another break chance at 2-3 but was again denied, and ultimately paid the price when a missed volley handed Norrie a crucial late break in the set’s 11th game.

With the match on his racquet, Norrie finished the job to earn Great Britain its first point in the tie.

“Especially given that we’re the away team, they’ve got a huge advantage [with us] coming here on clay, in altitude, with the fans out there,” Norrie said after his victory. “That’s why we love it and that’s why we’re out here playing. I really enjoyed the match today and I can improve on a lot of things going into tomorrow.”

Both teams will require two wins from Saturday’s action to clinch the tie and secure a place in the 2023 Davis Cup Final Group Stage. Play is set to begin a noon local time with doubles.

Djere, Kecmanovic Earn Serbia Commanding Lead In Norway

Contrasting wins for Laslo Djere and Miomir Kecmanovic left Serbia 2-0 up after Friday’s Davis Cup Qualifier play in Oslo.

After Kecmanovic cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph against Norway’s Andreja Petrovic, Djere scored a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(8) win against Viktor Durasovic, the stand-in No. 1 for the Norwegians after Casper Ruud’s late withdrawal.

World No. 65 Djere saved a match point in the decisive tie-break before clinching victory on his third chance. The Serbian started well, not conceding a break point until the seventh game of set two, but found himself in a third set as Durasovic battled back with the help of his home crowd. Djere led 5-2 in set three but was dragged into a final-set tie-break after another surge by his opponent.

“It was a very tough match today, my opponent played exceptionally well,” Djere said after his win, before paying tribute to the small but vocal band of Serbian supporters in the stands. “The atmosphere was great, I’m thankful for all the support I got from the crowd. I’m very happy I got the win and got the second point for Serbia.”

Kecmanovic, the World No. 34, enjoyed a more straightforward victory in just 46 minutes. 

“It definitely feels good to start off without any drama, without any complication,” the 23-year-old reflected afterwards. “I think I played a really good match today, pretty solid from the back so overall I’m pretty happy with how things went.”

Today’s results leave Serbia one win away from a place in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, with the doubles match scheduled at 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday followed by the reverse singles matches if required.

This story features contributions from DavisCup.com

Ugo Humbert overcame Marton Fucsovics 6-3 6-2 to earn a much-needed point for France on Friday in the Davis Cup Qualifiers, levelling the score at 1-1 against Hungary after Zsombor Piros stunned Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(4) 6-3 in the opening rubber.

The score being level in this tie might not come as a surprise, but the way in which both teams earned a point was a little unexpected. First, World No. 182 Piros pulled off a stunning upset to topple Bonzi, before Humbert came out fighting in his Davis Cup debut against Fucsovics to leave the tie finely balanced.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” reflected French captain Sebastien Grosjean. “Hungary are a Davis Cup team. They love it. They love to play for their country. They love the atmosphere. Like us. So now we’re going to focus on the doubles and we’ll see.”

Playing in his country’s colours certainly brought the best out of Piros, who had only previously played four times against Top 50 opponents. Each of those came in Davis Cup, and each time he had taken his game to a new level. The biggest win of his career came in the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, when he overcame the then world No. 30 Marin Cilic, and he was in similar form on Friday.

The match against Bonzi wasn’t without its momentum shifts and none more so than in the second set. The Hungarian battled back from 1-3, 0/40 on his own serve to reel off five games in a row much to the delight of the home fans.

After the match Piros said: “It’s one of my biggest victories and to have this in front of the home crowd makes it more precious. The second set was a miracle escape, I really don’t know how I did it.”

Both teams now look to what could be a pivotal doubles match on Saturday as they bid for a place in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, which will take place in September.

Fabian Marozsan and Mate Valkusz are scheduled to play against Nicolas Mahut and Arthur Rinderknech in the first match of the second day’s play before the reverse singles matches. Hungary is looking to score a first win against 10-time champion France since 1948.

This story features contributions from DavisCup.com

The United States signalled winning intentions Friday in their Davis Cup Qualifier against Uzbekistan, taking a 2-0 lead after the first singles matches.

Debutant Mackenzie McDonald, fresh from an Australian Open outing that saw him take down Rafael Nadal in Melbourne, defeated Uzbekistan’s No.1 Sergey Fomin in the opening rubber of the tie. The 21-year-old Fomin, the No.366 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, delighted the vocal Uzbekistani supporters with flashes of brilliance but the World No.63 McDonald held firm for a 6-4, 6-1 win.

“It’s been amazing,” said McDonald of his first Davis Cup experience so far. “I’d say it’s really nice playing a team event. It’s not something you get to do a lot throughout the year… I’m very excited to be on the Davis Cup team.”

World No.19 Tommy Paul then faced No.480-ranked Khumoyun Sultanov in the second singles match.

After taking the first set 6-1, Paul faced a renewed onslaught from the Uzbek, who leapt to an early 4-0 lead before being reeled back in. The pair then went toe to toe before Paul edged the tie-break for a final score of 6-1, 7-6(6).

“In the second set he picked up his level a tonne,” Paul said afterwards. “I felt like I wasn’t prepared for it. He got a pretty good lead there in the second.

“I think the team helped me out and the energy I brought there in the second was a lot better, just pumping myself up and looking a bit more up for the challenge,” he added.

The 2-0 scoreline leaves Uzbekistan’s doubles pairing of Fomin and Sanjar Fayziev with an uphill battle when they meet Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

Play in Tashkent resumes on Saturday at 12:00 local time (07:00 hrs GMT).

This story features contributions from DavisCup.com

Netflix’s Break Point chronicled the clay-court exploits of Casper Ruud during the 2022 season, culminating in his meeting with Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final. Court Philippe Chatrier was a fitting venue for the Norwegian’s first major final, played on a surface on which he has won eight of his nine ATP Tour titles.

Ruud claimed his first tour-level trophy in Buenos Aires in 2020, then broke into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings behind five 2021 titles, including four on clay. In 2022, he rose to a career high of World No. 2 with a big helping of hard-court success. While he won three more titles on the dirt last season, Ruud also reached marquee finals at Miami, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals to flash his hard-court credentials at the highest level.

View Ruud’s Break Point Player Profile

Speaking with the ATP Tour in late 2021 — a year in which he won three straight clay titles in July — Ruud discussed his confidence level on clay and hard courts.

“I don’t have a lot of doubts in my hard-court skills, but definitely it’s not as good as maybe my clay-court game,” he said. “But it’s something I’m working on of course.”

Fortunately for the Norwegian, he had two elite examples of players who were able to translate early clay success to other surfaces: Nadal and Dominic Thiem.

“Nadal is the perfect example and I think also Thiem a little bit,” he said. “I think the general media has considered both Nadal and Thiem big-time clay-court specialists, and Nadal has won even two times in Wimbledon. It just goes to show that it’s possible for the heavy topspin players to play well on the surface.

“[Nadal] is a type of player that I looked up to for many years and that I will try to learn from when it comes to this transition from clay court to hard court.”

Ruud studied well and emulated the success of both Nadal and Thiem with his 2022 campaign. The next step for the Norwegian is to match the pair by becoming a champion at the ATP Masters 1000 and Grand Slam level.