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Tallon Griekspoor took the Netherlands to the brink of the Davis Cup Final 8 in dramatic circumstances on Thursday in Split, where he downed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-6(3) to secure an upset win for his nation against the United States.

After Botic van de Zandschulp had eased past Tommy Paul 7-6(2), 6-2 to give the Netherlands an early lead in the Group D tie, Griekspoor avenged his loss to Tiafoe in Cincinnati last month with an inspired display against the World No. 11. The Dutchman let slip a match point at 5-4 in the deciding set but held his nerve impressively to claim a tie-break which ended when Tiafoe was given a point penalty for a code violation on match point.

“I just believed in myself,” said Griekspoor. “I stayed calm, still went after my shots like I did the whole match. That’s what paid off in the end, I think. I played a really good tie-break until 6/2, just kept going after it and kept believing and that’s what got me through in the end.”

?? @Griekii seals the tie for the Netherlands! ?@DavisCup | #DavisCup | @KNLTB pic.twitter.com/TsuiIQeKAF

It was a second singles win of the week for Griekspoor, who defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori on Tuesday. The Netherlands has now won both its ties in Group D but will still have to wait until its final clash against host Croatia to confirm its spot in the Final 8 for the second consecutive year. Doubles pair Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop can boost their country's position further on Thursday evening by overcoming Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram to complete a sweep against the United States.

With the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah heating up, several #NextGenATP stars earned standout results in July, August and September to make their moves in a bid to boost their chances of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 28 November-2 December.

Stricker & Shelton Deliver At US Open
Ben Shelton and Dominic Stricker stared at the US Open, clinching career-best results at a major to consolidate their positions in the Live Race To Jeddah. The 20-year-old Shelton defeated countryman Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe to become the youngest American to reach the last four at the hard-court major since Michael Chang in 1992.

Stricker, currently seventh in the Live Race To Jeddah, advanced to the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time. The 21-year-old Swiss had won only one major match (Wimbledon 2023) before arriving in New York, but showed fans how dangerous he can be with his big lefty serve.

Stricker upset World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round to earn his first Top 10 win, before losing against Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.

"Such a great day for me, such a great win," Stricker said after beating Tsitsipas. "It gives me a lot of confidence and I think it is great to see from my team. We are working hard every day and it is so great to do that."

Zachary Svajda was two years old when he first started playing tennis. He would volley a balloon back and forth in the living room with his father Tom to make an early start on developing hand-eye coordination skills. The California native soon transitioned to a court, where he enjoyed riding the ball mower to pick up the court full of balls he had just hit.

As Svajda grew older, his family decided to set him on a unique junior path. From ages 10 to nearly 15, he did not play any tournaments. Instead, the goal was to finetune his game as much as possible.

“We were just thinking about it as I got to be nine, 10 years old, we just didn't really see a point of playing these junior tournaments every week,” Svajda told ATPTour.com. “We just tried to focus on getting better. I know it's different because tournament play is always different from practice.

“We also couldn't afford to travel around the world playing ITFs or anything. We were like, ‘Let's just take a different route and let's just try to get better every day and hopefully by 15, 16 I'd be a good player and get those matches from there.’”

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Down match point in the opening round of this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Cary, North Carolina, 19-year-old Alex Michelsen survived a lung-busting rally at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break before letting out a loud roar.

Michelsen was on the ropes of defeat to Frenchman Maxime Janvier, but the American held his nerve to survive 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-3 after two hours, 18 minutes. Though it was a tight, heavy-hitting battle, the teenager appeared calm, cool and collected. On the inside, Michelsen’s fiery competitive spirit came alive alongside a methodical approach to turn the match around.

“I just told myself, ‘Keep calm and try to make as many balls as you can and hopefully he'll give you some mistakes,’” Michelsen told ATPTour.com. “And then he gave me a couple and that was all I needed to get back in the match. I played a very good point to save match point and then I just found a way, so it was good.”

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The California native raced through the third set and post match went to cool down in the gym, where he was riding a stationary bike while playing Clash Royale on his phone. Currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Michelsen’s determination to be the best goes beyond tennis.

Jiri Lehecka guided Czech Republic to victory in its opening Group C tie against Spain on Wednesday in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.

The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up earned a 7-6(5), 7-5 win against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Valencia to give his nation an unassailable 2-0 lead. Lehecka struck the ball fearlessly throughout the one-hour, 55-minute clash, firing 25 winners to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Davidovich Fokina.

Earlier, Tomas Machac had moved Czech Republic ahead when he beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes. The World No. 119 has now won five of the six Davis Cup singles matches he has played.

Czech Republic, a three-time champion, is aiming to reach the Final 8 for the first time since 2016.

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Daniel Evans clinched a vital three-set victory for Great Britain on Wednesday in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage in Manchester.

The World No. 27 edged past Australian Alex de Minaur 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to give his country a 2-0 lead in its Group B tie. Evans, who is competing in his 23rd Davis Cup tie for Great Britain, the joint fifth highest in his countries history, broke De Minaur five times to advance after two hours and 10 minutes.

Earlier, Jack Draper earned victory for Great Britain on his Davis Cup debut, downing Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(4).

The 21-year-old lefty rallied from a break down in the third set, clawing back to 5-5 before he sealed his two-hour, 54-minute win with a backhand winner in the tie-break. Draper reached the fourth round at the US Open earlier this month.

This week 16 countries are competing in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from Tuesday through Sunday in the hopes of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop delivered for The Netherlands on Tuesday in Split, where they earned a decisive Group D Davis Cup Final Group Stage doubles win against Finland’s Harri Heliovaara and Patrik Niklas-Salminen 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.

The Dutchmen did not face a break point in the two-hour, seven-minute clash, sealing a 2-1 win for their nation. The Netherlands is aiming to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time since 2005.

Earlier, Otto Virtanen had given Finland a 1-0 lead after he downed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(0), 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. The World No. 125 has now won four of the eight Davis Cup singles matches he has played.

Tallon Griekspoor then levelled the tie, defeating Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(7), 6-3 in one hour and 46 minutes. World No. 24 Griekspoor saved one set point in the first set at 6/7. He then broke twice in the second set to triumph.

[BREAK POINT]

Ugo Humbert ensured France made a winning start to its Group B Davis Cup Finals Group Stage campaign on Tuesday when he defeated Stan Wawrinka to guide the 10-time champion to an unassailable 2-0 lead against Switzerland.

The lefty delivered a clean-hitting performance against Wawrinka in Manchester, where he triumphed 6-4, 6-4 in 89 minutes. With his victory, Humbert lifted France to the top of Group B after one tie.

Earlier, Adrian Mannarino defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker, who upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the fourth round at the US Open last week.

Mannarino struck 22 winners and broke three times to clinch a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win in two hours and three minutes. The 35-year-old has now won six of his eight Davis Cup matches. France is aiming to reach the quarter-finals at the Davis Cup Finals since 2018.

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Following fourth-round appearances at the US Open, Dominic Stricker, Rinky Hijikata and Borna Gojo cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. Thiago Seyboth Wild earned back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles to also make his Top 100 debut.

ATPTour.com reviews highlights from each player’s season to celebrate their breakthroughs.

Dominic Stricker
The 21-year-old is the youngest Swiss to reach the milestone since 20-year-old Stan Wawrinka did so in 2005. A five-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, including two titles this year, Stricker made a splash at Flushing Meadows by stunning seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set, second-round match. The lefty struck 78 winners throughout the four-hour, 10-minute encounter and maintained his form to make the fourth round, lifting him 38 spots to World No. 90.

Stricker will look to continue his surge to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for a second consecutive year. A semi-finalist at last year's 21-and-under event, he is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah.

Rinky Hijikata
The US Open will always hold special memories for the Australian. In 2022, he made his Grand Slam main-draw debut against 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated Hijikata in four sets on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fast forward a year, Hijikata reached the fourth round in New York, propelling him to World No. 82.

Novak Djokovic celebrated his US Open victory on Monday with an early-morning wakeup to make the rounds at some of the United States’ premier morning shows.

Djokovic joined the TODAY Show, where he spoke about the gruelling second set he won against Daniil Medvedev in the final and more.

“There were doubts, there are always doubts,” Djokovic said. “But it’s important to keep things quite simple and have good clarity and be in the present moment and focus on the next point and what needs to be done.”

Photo: Nathan Congleton / ©NBCUniversal
Djokovic did just that to emerge victorious after three sets with his fourth US Open trophy and 24th major crown.

“It’s a good tired this morning,” Djokovic said. “I guess it will probably settle in a few days. But it has been an incredible experience last night.”

This week 16 countries will compete in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from Tuesday through Sunday in the hopes of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

The countries will compete across four groups in four cities — Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split — with the top two countries per group to qualify for the knockout stage in two months.

In Group A, defending champion Canada, Italy, Chile and Sweden will square off. Notable players in action include Denis Shapovalov for Canada, Lorenzo Musetti for Italy and Nicolas Jarry for Chile.

Group B is full of stars, with Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans and Andy Murray leading the way for Great Britain and Stan Wawrinka on the Swiss side, which also includes Dominic Stricker, the man who upset Stefanos Tsitsdipas at Flushing Meadows. Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis are competing for Australia.

US Open champion Novak Djokovic headlines Group C as he leads Serbia. Also in the group will be 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Jiri Lehecka, the Czech who made this year’s Australian Open quarter-finals.

Following Christopher O’Connell’s second-round appearance at the US Open, where he pushed finalist Daniil Medvedev to four sets, the Australian made the long journey from New York to Shanghai, where he competed at the ATP Challenger 100 event, the Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Despite the lengthy trip, the 29-year-old did not drop a set en route to the title, which lifted him to a career-high No. 53 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. O’Connell, who is one of six Challenger champions this week, defeated Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki 6-3, 7-5 in the final. Despite Watanuki's 20 aces, O'Conell held the edge on second serve, winning 68 per cent of his second-serve points, compared to his opponent’s 32 per cent.

“I loved playing here. As soon as I arrived here, I felt pretty comfortable. It was a tough trip coming from the US Open, playing a tough match against Medvedev,” O’Connell said. “I continued playing some really good tennis. I love the conditions here, the humidity. I’ve been training prior to the US Open in Florida with conditions similar to this, so that really helped with how I played this week.”

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The ATP Challenger Tour made its long-awaited return to China three weeks ago after a near four-year absence on the calendar. Starting next week, China will host four tour-level tournaments in as many weeks. O’Connell looks to maintain his form in Asia. He will next play the Guangzhou Challenger before competing at the ATP 250 event in Chengdu.

Dominic Stricker has moved within the qualification cut for the Next Gen ATP Finals after he enjoyed a breakthrough run to the fourth round at the US Open.

The 21-year-old Swiss star, who reached the semi-finals at the 21-and-under event in 2022, is up three spots to seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah (576 points) after coming through qualifying in New York to reach the last 16. Stricker upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round for his first Top 10 win before he lost against Taylor Fritz.

Earlier this season, the lefty earned his first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon, while he clinched ATP Challenger Tour crowns in Italy and the Czech Republic.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah

American Ben Shelton further consolidated his position in the Live Race To Jeddah after soaring to the semi-finals on home soil in New York. The 20-year-old has jumped to third (1,455 points), leapfrogging fifth-placed Arthur Fils (953 points) and fourth-placed Lorenzo Musetti (1,300 points).

The last major of the season at the US Open threw up plenty of storylines, from Novak Djokovic’s title run to Ben Shelton’s big breakthrough.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as of Monday, 11th September 2023.

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No. 1 Novak Djokovic, +1 (Joint Career High)
The 36-year-old made history again in New York, where he captured a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, matching Margaret Court’s mark. The Serbian, who has now won the US Open four times, dropped just two sets en route to his fifth trophy of the season. He defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final, avenging his 2021 loss in the title match. His title run has lifted him above Carlos Alcaraz and back to No. 1, where he begins his 390th week on Monday.

No. 6 Andrey Rublev, +2
Rublev maintained his consistency at majors at the US Open, where he advanced to his third major quarter-final of the season. The 25-year-old, who is 44-18 on the season, fell against Medvedev in the last eight.

Novak Djokovic boosted his hopes of securing the year-end ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a record-extending eighth time when he clinched his 24th major title at the US Open on Sunday.

Djokovic entered the final in New York knowing defeat against Daniil Medvedev would leave him trailing Carlos Alcaraz in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. His advantage against third-placed Medvedev would have also been cut to 755 points.

The Serbian has now given himself some breathing room, though, with his straight-sets victory against the 27-year-old Medvedev lifting him to first in the Live Race To Turin on 8,945 points, 770 points ahead of second-placed Carlos Alcaraz (8,175). The 36-year-old is 2,355 points clear of Medvedev (6,590), who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals following his fourth-round win at the US Open.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

Andrey Rublev has also climbed one place to fifth (3,640) in the Live Race To Turin after reaching the quarter-finals at the hard-court major. The 25-year-old is aiming to qualify for the prestigious year-end event for the fourth consecutive year.

As a coach of Novak Djokovic since 2019, Goran Ivanisevic has become increasingly familiar with the post-Grand Slam victory routine.

“I like these press conferences, because that means he won a Grand Slam,” said Ivanisevic on Sunday night at the US Open, where Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev to claim his 24th major crown.

Djokovic again underlined his reputation as one of sport’s greatest fighters by holding off Medvedev in a lung-busting 104-minute second set en route to victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium. With his fourth US Open crown, he tied Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles trophies in history.

“He's a genius. He's one of kind,” said Ivanisevic of Djokovic. “There are not too many people in this world like him sport-wise. This is one of the biggest achievements in sporting history. We're not talking about tennis. We are talking generally in sport.

“He's a winner. He's the guy who is self-motivating. He had luck to have guys like Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer come before him, so they pushed each other, but he's a born winner. For him, when you tell him he cannot do something, it's even worse. Then he's going to show you that he can do it.

Novak Djokovic’s fellow tennis legends Rod Laver and Billie Jean King were quick to pay tribute to the Serbian after he notched his 24th Grand Slam crown Sunday night at the US Open.

Juan Martin del Potro, WTA star Viktoria Azarenka and Brad Gilbert, who helped coach Coco Gauff to women’s singles glory at Flushing Meadows, also praised Djokovic after he tied Margaret Court for the most major singles trophies in history.

Well done again Novak, I’m sure 24 feels as great as one, especially when you have fought so hard to get where you are and to stay there against a growing tide of challengers. You were on high alert tonight against a quality player in Daniil. Take another bow, champ! ?

Congratulations to 24x Grand Slam champion @DjokerNole, the Men's Singles Champion of the #USOpen! https://t.co/tapu9ZZS9a

Thank you for the last 2 weeks New York! ?? You were great. Not the result we hoped for today. Congrats to @DjokerNole on #24. See you next year @usopen. pic.twitter.com/ybqDDNHpD2

Novak Djokovic tells the story of his childhood dream frequently. As a seven-year-old, he wanted to win Wimbledon. Little did that young boy know that he would accomplish much, much more.

When the Serbian eventually embarked on his professional career, Pete Sampras’ men’s singles record of 14 major titles loomed large. Djokovic’s chief rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal loomed even larger.

After winning his fourth US Open trophy on Sunday by defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, Djokovic now owns 24 Slam crowns and shows no signs of slowing down.

“To be honest with you, I was probably not thinking so intensely and concretely about the history of the weeks at No. 1 or most Slams until maybe three years ago,” said Djokovic, who on Monday begins a record-extending 390th week atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. "Then I realised, ‘Okay, I'm quite close for weeks in No. 1. I also have a pretty good chance at the Grand Slams if I keep healthy and if I'm playing well.’Of course the Slams at that point seemed a little bit less reachable than weeks of No. 1, but I believed. I believed that I'll make it.

“I don't put any number right now in my mind on how many Slams I want to win until the end of my career. I don't really have any number.”

Daniil Medvedev has two chief regrets from his US Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic: one that played out over the course of the match and one that came and went within seconds.

Unable to repeat his 2021 US Open final victory against the Serbian, Medvedev said that he paid the price for not altering his deep-court return stance, which Djokovic exploited with 22 serve/volley plays, of which he won all but two.

And he won’t quickly forget his split-second decision when he held set point to level the match to attempt a cross-court pass rather than hit down-the-line for a near-certain winner.

"Oh, regrets, for sure. Should have won it. Should have won it, but sometimes tennis is not that easy,” Medvedev said. “Passing for sure down the line, not cross, but I have two choices and I chose the wrong one. Had I won the second set maybe it could have been a different game.”

Medvedev appeared the fitter player during the exhausting 104-minute second set, when Djokovic did not look like his normal elastic and balanced self. And playing his best tennis of the match, he would have had significant momentum heading into the third had he levelled the match.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Daniil Medvedev gambled on extending baseline rallies into oblivion against Novak Djokovic in the US Open final on Sunday night. He held a set point in the second set, but ultimately came up well short with his master plan.

Novak Djokovic defeated Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 by surviving a war of attrition that featured a staggering 54 points in the nine-plus shot rally length. The opening point of the match was 19 shots long, and two points later, they traded a bruising 23-shot rally. Djokovic won them both, and Medvedev’s intentions were crystal clear. It was going to be a battle of legs and lungs.

The rally length for the final was a lactic acid-inducing 6.3 shots. As a comparison, the average rally length was 4.4 shots in Medvedev’s semi-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz. It was just 4.2 shots for Djokovic in his semi-final victory over Ben Shelton. Medvedev averaged running 25 metres per point, while Djokovic was slightly higher at 26 metres per point. Those totals were considerably higher for both players than any of their other matches for the tournament.

Medvedev signaled from the first game that he was going to set up shop deep behind the baseline and would refuse to budge. It is extremely rare to see a match feature more points in rallies of nine or more shots than in five to eight shots, but that is precisely what Medvedev’s dogged game style produced.