Before this season, something was missing in Jiri Vesely’s game.

He had the weapons – the 120 m.p.h. serve, the whipping forehand. He had confidence from a 2015 Auckland title and a Top 50 ranking. But every time he’d face the top players on the ATP World Tour, Vesely was lacking.

The Czech had gone 0-8 against players ranked inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. But he’s changed his luck this season. He shocked World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo and beat then-World No. 8 Dominic Thiem at Wimbledon.

So what’s changed? His strategy. Namely, he’s picked one and stuck with it.

In the past, sometimes Vesely had been hurrying himself to play more aggressive. Other times, the 6’6” Czech preferred more defensive tennis and tried to push the ball back.

But this season, he’s employed an aggressive game plan, starting with his serve, that’s helped him beat the top players in the world. The 23 year old hopes the strategy will also help him continue his breakthrough year and finish the season at a new career high.

Read More: Vesely Shocks Djokovic In Monte-Carlo

“I really didn’t know which game style, which plan to play against these guys or overall,” Vesely told ATPWorldTour.com at the Winston-Salem Open. “I think that this year I found a little bit more of my rhythm. I found a little bit more of my game that I really would like to play. It’s definitely a big change.”

The skills, without a doubt, were always there. He finished 2011 as the top junior in the world.

His power game naturally translated to the ATP World Tour as well, and two years later he was in the Top 100 and named the 2013 Emirates ATP Star Of Tomorrow. The expectations had been set: Vesely would soon contest the best in tennis.

But the next year, his struggles began. He fell to Andy Murray in Indian Wells. He lost to Milos Raonic at Roland Garros. By the end of 2014, the left-hander had climbed into the Top 70 but was 0-3 against the Top 10.

In 2015, the Pribran native won his first ATP World Tour title at the ASB Classic in Auckland. But Vesely lost five more matches against the top players, including a 6-4, 7-6(2) loss to Rafael Nadal in Hamburg.

“I always was very close to these top guys but I never had a win,” Vesely said.

Everything surprisingly changed in Monte-Carlo, though. Vesely battled back after losing the second set and knocked Djokovic out in the second round, handing the Serbian his earliest loss in three seasons.

His aggressive serving helped carry him to the upset. Vesely won almost 70 per cent of his first-serve points against Djokovic and going big with the weapon has remained an integral part to his new approach.

“Serving is definitely my biggest gun,” Vesely said. “Trying to be a little bit more aggressive. Trying to go to my forehands more…. And I think that’s where I made good progress.”

The focused blueprint was on display again on Tuesday evening in Winston-Salem. Facing defending champion Kevin Anderson, Vesely erased the only break point faced and won almost 80 per cent of his service points (50/64). He also frequently followed his serve with a forehand to prevail 7-6(5), 6-4.

“I served well and I think that’s what decided it today,” Vesely said after the match.

Read More: Vesely Beats Winston-Salem Defending Champion

In attempting to play more consistent, in a way, Vesely is trying to be more like his childhood idol and countryman Tomas Berdych, who’s finished in the Top 10 the past six seasons. The two played at the same club in Prostejov, and Vesely remembers as a 12 year old admiring Berdych, who was 20 but already in the Top 100.

“I really was always looking up to him and I was trying watch his practice sessions and watch what kind of stuff he’s doing,” Vesely said.

As Vesely has improved his game against the Top 10 and come closer to matching Berdych, though, he senses their relationship might be changing. It’s a shift that he’s glad to see taking place.

“We are fine. We are friends. But of course right now I think also we start to be rivals,” Vesely said before laughing. “I like that.”

Former World No. 8 Jurgen Melzer began his quest for a 15th US Open main draw appearance, downing American Tennys Sandgren 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday. The 2011 doubles champion, Melzer kicked off the first day of qualifying in New York with the victory after just 74 minutes.

“The first match of a tournament is never easy, but it was a very solid match,” said Melzer. “I kept my focus and won in straights so it’s on to the next one.”

Competing in his first Grand Slam since last year’s US Open, having recently undergone shoulder surgery, he will face Guido Andreozzi in the second round. The Austrian is coming off a strong week at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Kitzbuhel last month, where he stunned top seed and countryman Dominic Thiem. It was his first victory over a Top 10 opponent in more than five years.

“It gave me all the confidence that I needed after a 10-month break, showing that by body can hold up. It was a very good match and a good tournament. I’m happy to play at a level I’m satisfied with. I want to win matches again and that’s what I’m here for. It’s not easy playing 14 years in the main draw here and then go through qualies but that’s the way it is.”

Joining Melzer in the second round is fellow veteran Tim Smyczek, a 6-3, 6-4 winner of Russia’s Alexander Kudryavtsev. The 10th-seeded American prevailed after 73 minutes, firing three aces, while saving all seven break points faced.

“It feels really good,” said Smyczek, who will face Guilherme Clezar next. “I haven’t been winning that many matches lately, so it feels good. I’m looking to build on it because I did some really good things out there. And they were things that I do well when I’m stringing matches together.”

“Billy’s message to me is pretty much the same throughout,” Smyczek added, referring to coach Billy Heiser. “It’s been about me receiving the message and playing every point with intensity and not taking any off.”

Also battling into the second round of qualifying was #NextGen star Quentin Halys. The Frenchman snapped a six-match losing skid in style, launching nine aces en route to a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win over Egor Gerasimov. He will meet American Alexander Sarkissian on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 11th-seeded American Ryan Harrison earned a 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe. Having previously lost to Stebe in a fifth set at Wimbledon qualifying in 2011, it was sweet revenge for the Louisiana native.

The upset of the day came on Court 4, where Stebe’s countryman Daniel Brands stunned fourth seed and World No. 99 Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). The big-serving German fired 14 aces in claiming the win after one hour and 56 minutes. Aussie Matthew Barton provided just as big a shock when the World No. 194 saved a match point in downing fifth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(6).

Wednesday’s action at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center features #NextGen stars Karen Khachanov, Jared Donaldson, Stefan Kozlov and Andrey Rublev, with former Top 10 player Radek Stepanek and top seed Yuichi Sugita also opening their campaigns.

Second seed Roberto Bautista Agut did it the hard way on Tuesday, needing more than two hours to secure a win in his opening match at the Winston-Salem Open. Much like top seed Richard Gasquet a day earlier, the Spaniard needed three sets to get his 2016 campaign off the mark. He prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Brit Aljaz Bedene, with his opponent serving 15 aces but finishing one for eight on break points won.

Bautista Agut, a winner of hard-court titles this season in Auckland and Sofia, will play No. 14 seed Marcos Baghdatis in the third round after the Cypriot won through a two-hour-plus struggle of his own against Donald Young. Baghdatis won 76 per cent of first-serve points in the 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 result.

Three-time semi-finalist Sam Querrey also progressed to to the third round after narrowly holding off Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The sixth-seeded American posted a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5 victory in two hours and eight minutes on the back of 24 aces.

Querrey won 86 per cent of first-serve points and saved nine of 10 break points. He awaits the winner between Viktor Troicki and Kyle Edmund.

Third seed Pablo Cuevas had a smoother path to the third round. The Uruguayan downed Malek Jaziri 7-5, 6-1 to book a clash with Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The No. 16 seed moved past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-5.

For the second year in a row, Gilles Simon bowed out in his Winston-Salem opener. The seventh-seeded Frenchman fell to Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-6(2), 6-1 on Tuesday. Schwartzman, World No. 68 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was a finalist earlier this year at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open (l. Dimitrov). He awaits the winner between No. 10 seed Joao Sousa and Yen-Hsun Lu.

It was an early exit also for Spanish eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He fell 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to John Millman. The Australian next meets American wild card Bjorn Fratangelo, who knocked out 11th-seeded Italian Paolo Lorenzi, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours.

There was a new look to Steve Johnson on Tuesday at the Winston-Salem Open. Gone was the beard – “Shaved it off, it was getting a little too itchy… clean it up a little bit and keep my momma happy” – and, more importantly, the California native wore the badge of No. 1 American as he swept 2014 champion Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-2 in 57 minutes.

“Economical. Get in, get out, it’s past my bedtime,” he said. “Lot of ups the last couple weeks. You never know how the body is going to respond mentally, physically. Came out, didn’t serve great tonight… not bad by any stretch, but not the best, and I still felt like I played the important points well and I played great from the ground.”

On Monday, Johnson snapped John Isner’s three-year reign as the top American, backed by a stellar summer run including his first ATP World Tour title in Nottingham, his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final in Cincinnati and first Grand Slam Round of 16 at Wimbledon. He currently stands at a career-high No. 21 Emirates ATP Ranking, one spot ahead of Isner.

“Right now I’m just not hitting the panic button at any moment, until the match is over and at that point there’s not much you can do,” he said. “Even last week in Cincy, losing to Grigor [Dimitrov] I feel like I had a chance to win until that last point, and that’s just how I’m approaching matches now and that’s a big difference for me.”

Johnson will next go for his first win against Fernando Verdasco, though their previous three FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes have come on clay, most recently at Roland Garros this year. Verdasco, the No. 15 seed, advanced with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over American NextGen star Taylor Fritz.

Fifth seed Kevin Anderson’s title defence at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament came to an early end as he fell in a tricky opener against Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6(5), 6-4. The 23-year-old Vesely, who upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic this past April in Monte-Carlo, evened his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Anderson in their fourth meeting. 

“We know each other very well,” said Vesely. “We both serve good. I knew it was going to be really up to one or two important points, and I think that’s what it showed today.

“I’m very happy the way I coped with it, the way I fought because you always have to stay there and you always have to just wait for your chance. That’s what I did today. I was just very patient and waiting for my opportunities.”

In doubles, third seeds Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi fought for a 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-6 win over the wild card duo of Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim. Wild cards Leander Paes and Andre Begemann, meanwhile, set up a quarter-final meeting with top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Nenad Zimonjic after defeating Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-4, 6-4.

Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will commence his season in Australia for the first time when he joins the field at Brisbane International presented by Suncorp this summer.

The Spanish ace has traditionally favoured the Middle East to start his new year campaign, but will break with tradition in January for his maiden appearance in the Sunshine State.

“It’s going to be the first time in my career that I’m going to play in Australia the first week of the season and I’m really excited about it,” Nadal said.

“I think this is something I have to do during my career and I think at the same time it’s going to be a great preparation to be in Australia early. Everybody who has been in Brisbane has told me very beautiful things about the tournament and the place so I want to try it.”

Nadal completes a clean sweep of the ‘Big Four’ to step out at Pat Rafter Arena, with fellow men’s tennis stars Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray all having competed at previous editions of the event.

Brisbane International Tournament Director Geoff Quinlan said the World No.5 would be a sure-fire favourite with fans this summer.

“We’re thrilled to announce Rafael Nadal will start his season in Brisbane in 2017 and can’t wait to welcome him to Queensland Tennis Centre,” he said.

“The Brisbane International has a reputation for attracting the biggest names in world tennis and we’re really excited our fans will have the chance to see Rafa in action this summer. We’ve been in talks with Rafa for a number of years about competing in Brisbane, he’s seen the event get bigger and better every year and we’re ecstatic he’s decided to join the field in 2017.

“Rafa is a legend of the sport and one of the most exciting players to see live so I’m sure fans will be counting down the days to January.

“This is just the start of a very exciting line-up of players we will announce over the coming months as we look ahead to Brisbane International 2017.”

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones said securing Nadal was a win for the tournament and Queensland tourism.

“In 2016 we welcomed legend Roger Federer for a third time, and it’s fantastic to now add Rafa to the list of champions to play in Queensland’s premier tennis tournament,” Minister Jones said.

“Securing marquee players like Rafael Nadal provides a big drawcard for the Brisbane International and boosts the reputation of this world class Queensland event.”

Brisbane International 2017, presented by Suncorp and supported by Tourism and Events Queensland, will be held at Queensland Tennis Centre from 1 to 8 January. The tournament is part of the Emirates Australian Open Series, which also incorporates Hopman Cup (Perth), Apia International Sydney, Hobart International and World Tennis Challenge (Adelaide).

Pre-sale tickets are on sale to registered players through Ticketek from midday today.

For all tournament information please visit brisbaneinternational.com.au.