On paper, Noah Rubin’s 6-3, 6-3 win over World No. 453 Pedro Sakamoto in the first round of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Cary, North Carolina, appears ordinary. But considering it was Rubin’s first triumph since April, after missing nearly four months due to a sprained right wrist and bone bruise, it took on added significance for the #NextGenATP American.

“I almost forgot how to do it. After I won I didn’t even know what I should do out there,” Rubin joked, reflecting on Monday’s victory. “It’s great just to get the ‘W’, regardless of how I played, how he played. It was just nice to shake hands and have that winning feeling again.”

Welcome back @Noahrubin33! The #NextGenATP ?? is a defensive demon at the @AtlanticTireCh in Cary.

? Hot Shot: https://t.co/xfInkdAsOx pic.twitter.com/poLwCSBogM

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 13, 2017

It wasn’t that long ago that Rubin was playing in the second round of this year’s Australian Open, competing inside Rod Laver Arena against eventual champion Roger Federer. Rubin competed well, earning more games than 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych would against the Swiss in the next round.

The New Yorker would win his second career ATP Challenger Tour title less than a month later in Launceston, Australia, rising to a career-high of No. 163 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. But after qualifying for the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in April, any momentum he had gained came to a halt as the 21 year old slid into a drop shot in the fourth game of his first round match against Nicolas Kicker.

The trajectory of his slide forced the American to fall forward and onto his wrist – the same wrist where he fractured his scaphoid bone five years ago – and Rubin would retire later in the first set. While the injury did not require surgery, he did not hit a tennis ball for two months.

Does not matter how bad we want to win on the court, there can still be friendship. This is what sport is truly about! pic.twitter.com/ynqrgnWESc

— Noah Rubin (@Noahrubin33) May 4, 2017

It was Rubin’s second unlucky injury in two seasons, as the American tripped between two cracks in the pavement while on a jog last June, spraining his ankle. While he didn’t think much of it at the time, he would not regain full mobility for months, playing just one tournament between May-August 2016.

As Rubin began to practice on and off this summer, there was still pain, especially when hitting forehands. While he has played three tournaments since his injury — ATP Challenger Tour stops in Aptos, California, and Vancouver, Canada, followed by US Open qualifying – coming back has not been easy.

“It was a struggle. I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who I played, but I was in a decent amount of pain playing those two tournaments,” Rubin added. “This is the first tournament where I feel like I’m putting some of my better tennis forward.”

The World No. 205, who played college tennis for one season in North Carolina at Wake Forest University, is not looking too far ahead, and is not worrying about reaching a certain position in the Emirates ATP Rankings. All Rubin is concerned with is working hard every day in practice.

“I trust my game. I trust my mental ability. I know I have what it takes to play with the top players. So whether it’s two months from now that I get to where I want or three years, I know where I’ll be.”

Rubin, seeded sixth, next plays another Brazilian in Joao Pedro Sorgi at the Atlantic Tire Championships on Thursday. And while it may not be Federer at the Australian Open, he is simply ecstatic to be competing again, and on his way back to full health.

“I just missed being out there. Just being in the sun, hitting tennis balls, smiling, running around the court like I always do. It’s part of my life, so it’s tough to live without it.”

With a Grand Slam breakthrough last week at Flushing Meadows, it looks like China might finally have a new champion on its hands.

His name? Wu Yibing. His latest claim to fame? Winning the 2017 US Open boys’ singles and doubles titles and reaching No.1 in the junior rankings. With no time to celebrate, the 17-year-old hopped on a plane to the ATP Challenger stop in Shanghai, showing little signs of slowing down as he looks to make the transition from juniors to pros.

Not long after touching down on home soil following just a few hours of rest, Wu picked up where he left off in New York with a surprising 6-3, 7-6(3) win over second-seeded Canadian Peter Polansky, who himself is coming off a fine summer in North America that included three ATP Challenger Tour finals.

Wu, who hails from Hangzhou just a few hours south of Shanghai, recognises the immediate impact of his US Open triumph. “I think it was a great experience for all the Chinese tennis players and [Chinese] associations,” said Wu. “We showed the world that we can do it for boys’ and men’s players also.”

With the exception of the year-end ITF Junior Masters in Chengdu, the Chinese teenager’s focus now shifts to the professional circuit, where he hopes his junior success will translate.

“I think it’s about the rhythm and how the players are thinking about the matches,” said Wu on the biggest difference in playing the pros. “They [are more] tough mentally and [have] more experience about how to win the match. About the technique… I think I am ready already.”

And Wu has reason to be confident in his game: In addition to his decorated junior resume, the foundations of his game are well set to develop into tangible threats at the ATP level. He’s quick on his feet, solid on the forehand wing, and generates exceptional racquet head speed on his backhand, a shot that cuts through the court and changes direction with ease.

Incidentally, it’s not difficult to see why Wu cites Andy Murray as the player he models his game after. “I’m trying to learn something from him, they way he plays and how he thinks; how he defends, how he chooses good timing for offensive [shots]… I think I can learn a lot from him.”

Despite major tennis successes by Chinese women, including two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, China has waited patiently for a male champion to rise to the occasion of being the face of tennis in a country with greater tradition in other sports.

“I think that it’s the best thing [ever],” said Wu when asked about the impact that Li had on tennis in China. “She’s the first one to give us hope; real hope that young players can get to that level.”

Wu, however, isn’t without his own successful Chinese predecessors: journeymen Wu Di and Zhang Ze have paved the way for a younger generation of Chinese players in men’s tennis following their recent ATP Challenger victories in Maui (2016, d. Edmund) and San Francisco (2017, d. Pospisil), respectively.

Yet as both Wu Di and Zhang could relate to, with great success comes immeasurable pressure, and Wu acknowledges the pressure that a nation of over 1.3 billion people can place on young, talented shoulders such as his own.

“I think we don’t need to [have] too [much] pressure to be the same like Li Na, but we have to try to be at that level and work harder every day. Sometimes when I lose I want to give up,” admits the 17-year-old, candidly. But looking forward to the rest of the season – where he hopes to finish in the Top 300 of the Emirates ATP Rankings – and to 2018, he knows quite simply what improvement he has to make.

“I have to keep my mind tough.”

Wu will put his toughness to the test next against Shuichi Sekiguchi in the second round of the Shanghai Challenger.

Rafael Nadal turned up the heat on rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in their domination of the ‘Big Titles’ leaderboard by winning his third US Open trophy – and 16^th major overall – last Sunday in New York.

In defeating Kevin Anderson to capture the final major of the season, Nadal earned his fourth ‘Big Title’ of 2017, having already won his 10th titles at Roland Garros and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters as well as his fifth Mutua Madrid Open. The Spaniard now has a combined 46 ‘Big Titles’ — a collection of Grand Slams, Masters 1000 events and Nitto ATP Finals — putting him one behind Novak Djokovic’s 47 and within five of leader Roger Federer, who holds 51.

Djokovic still has the best conversion rate, capturing one ‘Big Title’ for every 3.4 events played. But Nadal is close behind with a ratio of 3.5. Djokovic and Nadal share the record for 30 Masters 1000 titles won; Federer has 26 Masters 1000s titles.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

 * Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.

Earlier this year Nadal qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 13^th consecutive season, yet surprisingly he has never captured the title at the season finale. Victory in London from 12-19 November would also likely clinch for Nadal the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking for the fourth time (2008, 2010, 2013). He currently leads the effective two-man race for the honour with five-time year-end No. 1 Federer, with whom he has shared this year’s four Grand Slam titles.

Federer qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 15^th time after winning his eighth Wimbledon crown in July, which followed his Australian Open triumph in January. He also added ‘Big Titles’ at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, winning the ‘Sunshine Double’ for the third time in his career.

Nadal still has plenty to play for in 2017. He has never won the three ‘Big Titles’ still on the table this season – the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals. He was the beaten finalist at the season finale in 2010 (l. to Federer) and 2013 (l. to Djokovic).

Federer has won the Nitto ATP Finals a record six times, most recently in 2011, but has a more modest record in Shanghai and Paris, winning both tournaments just once.