Finishing the season inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings is a special achievement for those competing on the ATP Challenger Tour. It marks the culmination of a year of hard work and often signals a turning point in a player’s career.

But few Top 100 ascents are as dramatic as this. Reilly Opelka opened the month of September at No. 173, with a mountain to climb to crack the century mark. Having struggled with a bout of mononucleosis over the U.S. summer, the 21-year-old needed to find his form in a hurry. What resulted will go down as one of the most memorable storylines of the Challenger season.

Opelka had claimed just 17 match wins during the year, as he stepped on the hard courts of windy Chicago in the first week of September. He would double that total in the coming months, capping his Top 100 ascent with a stunning 17-4 stretch. It all kicked off with back-to-back finals in Chicago and Cary and culminated with consecutive titles in Knoxville and Champaign. That’s four final appearances in just six tournaments following the US Open. 

On Saturday, Opelka blasted to a career-high No. 98 in the ATP Rankings behind a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Ryan Shane in the final of the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana. He needed to sweep both indoor events in Knoxville and Champaign to conclude his season and he did just that, reeling off nine straight matches with aplomb. Playing with poise and maturity from the baseline, the 6’11” American did not only rely on his seismic serve. Armed with a more consistent and patient ground game, coaches Jay Berger and Jean-Yves Aubone have guided their young charge to new heights.

Opelka Fast Facts
– Concludes the season in second place among Challenger win-loss percentage leaders (.756), behind only Vasek Pospisil (.784).
– One of six players to win at least three titles in 2018, joining Guido Andreozzi (4), Pablo Andujar (3), Hugo Dellien (3), Christian Garin (3) and Jordan Thompson (3).
– First American to win three titles in a single season since 2014 (Bradley Klahn and Sam Querrey).
– Joins Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz as Americans aged 21 & under to feature in the year-end Top 100.

After winning in Champaign, Opelka spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation…

You said last week that Top 100 didn’t really matter to you, because of the long-term goals. That being said, now you’re there and you’ve guaranteed yourself Australian Open main draw. That has to mean something at this point.
Yeah, being in the main draw of Australia is huge. It allows me to go there and play two tournaments before the Australian Open. Usually I’ll have to play qualies the week before and it’s a long trip over there just for that. You might just play one match and then qualifying, which is brutal. From that standpoint, it’s huge. Like I said last week, Top 100 is not something I’m celebrating, but yes, I’m stoked to be there.

Two straight titles to get there is pretty hard to do. In your first couple matches in Champaign, your game wasn’t entirely there. What turned on as the week progressed?
I was focused, but I just played another guy [Lloyd Glasspool] with a big serve. And then [Kaichi] Uchida was playing insane in the second round. The tough moments in the tournament were early on and then in the quarter-finals it was just a great match-up for me. On Friday, it was extremely physical [against Tommy Paul], so I wasn’t 100 per cent confident in my body today. But I knew that playing Ryan, he would be serving big and looking to end points quick. I didn’t have to rely on moving and being physical to win the match.

Tommy Paul is a very close friend of yours. How awkward was it to play him for the first time as pros, in the semi-finals?
I didn’t feel it was awkward, actually. We know each other so well and have practised a ton together. We know each other’s games, but it did take me a while to get going in that match. I started slow. Once that happened, we played great tennis. From 2-all in the second set until the end of the match, it was high quality. I didn’t serve my best, so I won a lot of points from the baseline and was just scrapping. We had a 40-ball rally on the first match point. I had to win in a different way from how I’m used to winning. 

✅ Back-to-back #ATPChallenger titles
✅ Top 100 debut
✅ First ?? to lift three ? in a single season since Bradley Klahn in 2014@ReillyOpelka is the champion in Champaign, capping his 2018 campaign in dominant fashion. pic.twitter.com/ddnNK3J6Zj

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 17, 2018

It was completely different in the final against Ryan. He’s playing some incredible tennis this week and showing everyone what he’s capable of, reaching his first final. What did you see from him and how did you combat that?
I think he’s just disrupted a lot of guys. He was playing much more consistent with the same aggression. That’s huge. In baseline points, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I’d hit a huge shot and he responded right back. Granted, he missed some big shots that he shouldn’t have, including that break point that gave me the first break. Maybe that’s the downside to his style, where you can’t control it in the big points. But that’s what won me the match today.

You played pretty well under pressure the past two weeks. How do you bring that into next year? What will you do with a six-week off-season in front of you?
I actually don’t think it’s something I can bring into next year. I have six weeks off and I’ll take a short break and then it’s five weeks of getting better. We looked at a lot of stats and watched a lot of my matches last year. We’ll do the same this year. Putting this year behind us what we need to do and we’ll look at what flaws need to be fixed for next year.

If you take out the struggles with mono and you look at the year as a whole, what you’ve done is pretty important. Just in terms of your growth and your development. You are at the point where you can start playing more and more ATP events so you are not at the Challenger level. How important is that for you in 2019?
It’s huge. I hope I can make a nice transition on the ATP World Tour. I’m not saying I will or it will be easy, but it’s definitely not my last Challenger. I have the opportunity to go to Australia and train with a couple tour events and prepare for the Aussie Open. I’ve never had that chance before.

Last week you said you weren’t going to celebrate your title in Knoxville, but now you don’t have anything to worry about with a complete week off coming up. How are you going to celebrate with your team, family and friends?
My favourite restaurant is in Chicago. It’s called Boca. I’m going to try to take my talents there and probably won’t be able to walk out because I’ll be eating so much. I went there every night with Michael Mmoh during the Chicago Challenger. He’ll also confirm that it’s the best restaurant we’ve been to. It’s on the agenda.

Alexander Zverev’s holiday in the Maldives will be that much more enjoyable next week after the 21-year-old followed in the footsteps of fellow German Boris Becker, who won the last of his three season finale titles in 1995, with victory over Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday. Zverev has also finished the year among the Top 4 in the ATP Rankings for a second straight season.

Zverev, who was emotional and admitted to being dazzled by the silver trophy in his post-final press conference, admitted, “This trophy means a lot, everything, to all the players. I mean, you only have so many chances of winning it. You play against the best players only. How I played today, how I won it, for me, it’s just amazing.”

As the youngest singles champion at the season finale since Djokovic clinched the crown in 2008, aged 21, when the event was played in Shanghai, Zverev fell to his knees in celebration on court after beating World No. 1 and five-time former titlist Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 at The O2 in London.

“I fell to my knees, so my knees kind of hurt,” said Zverev. “Apart from that, I was very happy. Obviously, it’s quite astonishing, winning this title, beating two such players back-to-back, Roger [Federer] and Novak, in semi-finals and final. It means so much. I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud of this moment right now.”

Zverev recovered from a 6-4, 6-1 round-robin loss to Djokovic on Wednesday to become the first player to beat Roger Federer (in Saturday’s semi-finals) and Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals. He is the first player since 1990 to beat the top two seeds, replicating the feat of Andre Agassi who knocked out Becker in the semi-finals and Stefan Edberg in the final.

In his eighth tournament since teaming up with Ivan Lendl, Zverev reflected on the influence of the former World No. 1. “He obviously analysed the match that I played with him a few days ago [and] told me a few things I had to do different,” said Zverev. “I was more aggressive today. I tried to take the ball earlier… But my Dad is the one that gave me the base. My Dad is the one that taught me the game of tennis. My dad deserves the most credit out of everyone… I’m very thankful to him for that. Obviously [with] Ivan, the experience he has on and off the court, is amazing. That helped me, as well, to kind of play the two matches that I played back-to-back now.”

Zverev completed the season with an ATP World Tour-best 58 match wins on the season (58-19 overall), which includes three other trophies at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Thiem), the BMW Open by FWU (d. Kohlschreiber) and the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. (d. De Minaur).

“[Djokovic and Federer] are still going to be the guys to beat at the big tournaments,” said Zverev. “[But] I will do everything I can to get better, to compete with them always. I feel like I’m doing that. But I still have a lot of things to improve. I’m still very young. Hopefully, next year, I’ll be able to play better tennis than I did this year, even though it’s been a good year.”

The first set was from another world.

Alexander Zverev defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals in London on Sunday on the back of one of the best sets of tennis he has ever played.

Zverev was soundly defeated by the World No. 1 6-4, 6-1 in round robin stage at The O2 earlier in the week, and also lost 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals of Rolex Shanghai Masters last month.

Then this set roared to life…

Zverev’s overall first-serve percentage this season is 64 per cent (3277/5117), but he made an eye-opening 86 per cent in the first set. He averaged 135 mph on his first serve in Set 1, which was simply on another level from Djokovic’s 123 mph average.

Zverev crushed seven aces in the opening set, and just three in the second set. He hit no double faults in Set 1, but three in Set 2. Zverev won a remarkable 86 per cent of his first-serve points in the opening set, and just 67 per cent in the second set.

Set 2 was solid. Set 1 was the launch pad to end-of-season glory.

Djokovic reached the London final on the back of putting so many serves back in play – but 48 per cent of Zverev’s first serves were unreturned in Set 1, which was much higher than the 33 per cent in Set 2.

As good as Zverev’s first serve performed in the opening set, his second serve metrics may have been better. Zverev averaged 104 mph on his second serve against Djokovic in the Round Robin stage, but that elevated to 109 mph in Set 1 on Sunday evening. In Set 2, it significantly dropped down to 98 mph. Zverev won a dominant 67 per cent of his second-serve points in the opening set, but that fell away to just 50 per cent in the second set.

Zverev brought the farm in Set 1, and it paved the way to the biggest title of his career.

Once the rally matured past the serve and return stage into a baseline contest in Set 1, Zverev employed a very aggressive down-the-line strategy that was aimed at making Djokovic have to hit the ball on the run.

Zverev Groundstroke Direction
• Set 1 = 33% line / 67% cross
• Set 2 = 21% line / 79% cross

Zverev’s return of serve was also much more dominant in Set 1 over Set 2. Zverev put 81 per cent of Djokovic’s first serves back in play in the opening set, but just 69 per cent in the second set.

Zverev stepped into returns in the opening set and blasted them back at Djokovic at will.

Zverev Average Return Speed
• 1st Serve Return Speed – Set 1 69mph / Set 2 61mph
• 2nd Serve Return Speed – Set 1 78mph / Set 2 76mph

In the opening set, Zverev was dominant in points won under nine shots, winning that metric 25-17. In Set 2, he lost it 23-24.

After two recent lopsided losses, Zverev had to make an adjustment. He had to come out swinging, and land as many punches as he possibly could. Almost every single one of them landed in the opening set and paved the way to victory.

Editor’s Note: Craig O’Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic’s coaching team.

A 14-year-old Andy Murray is taking a two-minute break from his practice session with Germany’s Mischa Zverev. As the pair get a drink of water, Mischa’s tiny four-year-old brother, Alex, rushes from his vantage point at the side of the court to hit some balls with his parents. Even then, he didn’t miss much.

Fast forward 13 years and Alexander Zverev is looking to follow in his big brother’s footsteps and make his own way on the ATP World Tour. Standing at 6’6’’, the tables were turned in Cincinnati over the summer as the German looked down on Murray when the pair reunited on the practice court. A huge fan of Miami Heat, Zverev could easily have looked at home on the basketball court. 

“I saw him for the first time in a long time a few months ago and I couldn’t believe how tall he was,” exclaims Murray. 

Tossing wavy blonde hair out of his eyes, Zverev recalls in his American twang, “I was practising with Andy in Cincinnati and he told me, ‘I’ve known you since you were this high!’ 

“I’ve known Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray since I was four years old. I didn’t realise who they were. They were like little kids for me. I was just playing with them. I played soccer with them, basketball, tennis. Now, they’re at the top of the game, practising with them and getting the opportunity to get to know them better is unbelievable. I’m really thankful to them for giving me the chance.”

Being around a tennis court is pretty much all that Zverev, who goes by the nickname ‘Sascha’, has known. Born in Hamburg to tennis coach parents, Sascha looked up to Mischa, watching on as his big brother went on to reach the Top 50. Aged seven, Sascha joined his brother at Florida’s Saddlebrook Tennis Academy for the first time and has returned every year for his winter training. Of late, the place he refers to as his “second home” has given him the chance to practise with leading Americans, John Isner and Jack Sock.

“I think he’s very good,” says Isner. “He’s very tall, which I like, obviously nowhere near as tall as me. When I practise with him, you can tell he’s pretty under-developed. And that’s a good thing. He’s got so much room to improve. Being a tall kid, he hits the ball extremely well from the baseline. He’s got a lot of weapons. I think when he grows into his body, he’s going to be a force. I really think he’s a good tennis player.”

For the past year, Zverev has employed the services of physical trainer, Jez Green, who was largely credited with two-time major champion Murray’s physical transformation from skinny teen to one of the Tour’s leading athletes. It’s an addition to his team that the Scot feels can only be beneficial to Zverev as he grows into his gangly body.

“Jez can help him for sure,” says the Dunblane native. “[Zverev is] very different physically to me, we’re very different people, so Jez will have to do some different work with him. We’ve obviously worked together for a long time. He has a lot of experience on tour. I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

In an era when the average age of the Top 10 is 28, it is rare to see the likes of Zverev and fellow 17 year old Borna Coric having success on the ATP World Tour. But both have managed to make their mark in 2014, with the promise of great things to come as they continue to develop physically and gain experience.

Having started the season winning the Australian Open junior title, former junior World No. 1 Zverev was outside the Top 800 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but looks set to finish it inside the Top 150 as he plays his final tournament of the year this week at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Admitting he doesn’t care much for running around the baseline, World No. 135 Zverev has managed to impose an aggressive game in leaping more than 650 spots in the rankings.

Having felt disheartened by losses in the qualifying rounds of ATP Challenger Tour events in the weeks after his Melbourne victory, things finally “clicked” for the right-hander as he seized his opportunity on home soil in the spring to make his breakthrough. He won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Braunschweig with victory over former World No. 12 Paul-Henri Mathieu. Then, at the invitation of Michael Stich, he beat four Top 100 players en route to the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 in Hamburg. His run eventually came to an end in a 6-0, 6-1 defeat to David Ferrer.

“It was definitely a great run,” remembers Zverev. “Winning Braunschweig was unbelievable, then being in the semi-finals of an ATP 500, in my hometown, that was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had on a tennis court. Winning matches there in front of my home crowd, knowing half the people in the stadium. I’m really thankful to Michael Stich for giving me the opportunity there. 

“After the first couple of matches I was pinching myself, but then I tried not to think about where I was, compared with where I had been half a year ago. When I got in the semi-finals, I was definitely nervous. Against David, you want to play your best tennis, otherwise you’re not going to win, especially on a clay court. Hopefully one day I can play like him and maybe win another couple of games!”

One player who knows all about finding his feet on the ATP World Tour is 21-year-old Dominic Thiem, who has taken 100 places off his ranking this year to break the Top 40. The Austrian and Zverev fast became firm friends after playing doubles together last week in Vienna. Thiem, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Kitzbuhel in July, is only too happy to pass on to Zverev the same advice that friend and mentor Ernests Gulbis bestowed on him in the early stages of his professional career.

“He’s a really good guy. There are not that many young guys from Austria and Germany, so I really enjoy [his friendship]. We speak the same language and have interests in similar topics,” says Thiem. One of those topics is surely hair styles. The pair could easily be in a boyband with their coiffed locks.  

“If he ever wants any help, I will give him some,” continues Thiem. “Ernests gave me a lot of advice, a lot of help, because he likes me. And I like Alex, maybe I can give him some advice if he wants it. Ernests told me everything about how it works on the Tour, how it is after a loss, how it is after a win. Usually you have one defeat every week because you’re playing against the best players. You cannot win every tournament, which is a little bit different from juniors or the Futures where you win a lot. I think you have to learn to lose also a lot.”

Zverev is certainly not one to get too carried away with his early success. Practice sessions with Murray and Djokovic in North America gave the German insight into what he needs to bring day in, day out, to make it with the best on the ATP World Tour.

“Their practise is just way more intense than other guys, their work ethic,” he says. “If you see them in the gym, they’re there an hour before practice and and then they do another hour in the gym after. How they work is unbelievable. It’s probably talent as well, but most of it is hard work and I hope I can work as hard as them and we’ll see where I can get.

“My Dad has the biggest role in my tennis. We both know that we have to keep on working. This is just the beginning for me. I’m only 17 years old. We hope we can have better results than Hamburg in the future. We’re trying to work even harder. We just have to see what the future brings us.

“I need to improve everything. I’ve been hitting with Andy a little bit, Novak. Their games are so much more complete than mine. What they do on the court, I can’t at the moment. So I’m trying to get better in every part of my game.”

His performances in practice and on the match court over the summer have certainly left Murray in no doubt that Zverev has the potential to be one of the world’s top players. “He’s a very good player. He’s obviously grown a lot over the past couple of years, so physically he needs a bit more time to mature and develop because he’s a very big guy. 

“He’s going to be a very good player. I don’t want to say how good. You never know with injuries or any distractions. I don’t know how hard he works, or anything like that. But just from watching his game, I could tell he’s going to be very good.”