Juan Carlos Ferrero was the “perfect fit” to join the team of Alexander Zverev and his father and coach, Alexander Zverev Sr., who together made the decision to bring on Ferrero.

The Spaniard and the #NextGenATP Zverev have talked almost daily since Zverev approached him about working together at the Mutua Madrid Open in May. This week at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, is the first time they’ve worked together in person.

Zverev wanted to bring on Ferrero for a few reasons, he said on Wednesday. He remembered the Spaniard being of the hardest workers during his time on the ATP World Tour.

Ferrero’s bonafide top-level credentials – former World No. 1, four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and a Grand Slam crown, 2003 Roland Garros – also appealed to Zverev. To boot, Zverev enjoys being around the former champion who now runs his own academy in Spain.

“From a personal point of view, he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met,” Zverev said after his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) second-round win against Aussie Jordan Thompson. “He obviously can be very strong on court, telling me what to do and telling me what I’m doing wrong. But he’s such an easy guy to be around that it was such an easy decision for me to take him into the team. He doesn’t want to take my father’s place; my father doesn’t want to take his place. From that kind of view, he was the perfect fit.”

It’s not as if Zverev needed outside help; his career has been on an upward trajectory with his father as his lone coach. The German reached a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 8 on Monday. The 20 year old has won four ATP World Tour titles, including his first Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this year.

Zverev is the only player not named Roger or Rafa to win a Masters 1000 crown or Grand Slam title this season. He’s currently in sixth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London and leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan.

Alexander Zverev Sr., in addition to working with Sascha Zverev, also coaches his other son, the serve-and-volleying Mischa Zverev, who’s No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I think my dad might be one of the best family coaches of all-time. He has two sons who are in the Top 25 in the world… with two completely different game styles. That’s not easy to do. You’ve got to be very smart, you’ve got to know what to practise and what to teach… Our practice sessions are completely different,” Alexander Zverev said.

“I think no other coach has done that, to bring two players from scratch, absolute zero to the Top 25 in the world. So I think he really is one of the greatest coaches of all-time.”

The 6’6” Zverev, who fell in the Washington semi-finals (Monfils) last year and the quarter-finals (l. to Cilic) in 2015, will try to secure his first ATP World Tour 500 title this week and achieve a personal milestone. He is one match win away from his 100^th victory.

Zverev will next meet American Tennys Sandgren, who was leading 6-3, 3-0 when Aussie Nick Kyrgios retired from the match.

“I really love the crowd in DC. They’re always involved in the tennis. I think they always quite enjoy coming back and supporting all of us,” Zverev said. “I’ve played here the past two years. I’ve played pretty well, and obviously it helps every single time to play in such a great atmosphere. I think they enjoy matches like that and I think we, as players, really appreciate it as well.”

Peter Polansky just wanted matches going into a three-week run of ATP Challenger Tour events last month, but now sits at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking as he enjoys one of his most successful runs on tour. 

The Canadian reached three consecutive Challenger finals on home soil, recording finishing runner-up showings in Winnipeg, Gatineau and Granby. Polansky then followed that up by winning his first ATP World Tour main draw match of the season this week over Yasutaka Uchiyama in Los Cabos. He’s played 17 matches in the past four weeks.

“I didn’t really have any expectations going into those three Challengers,” said Polansky. “I had been struggling with my results for the previous three or four months, but felt like I had been playing well lately.

“There weren’t as many events in Canada when I was younger, so to have the chance to play three Challengers in a row at home is really nice. I could have played the main draw at [the ATP World Tour] event in Newport, but chose to play at Gatineau instead because I’ve done well there before and have good memories. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had success at home.”

Polansky faced off twice against #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov during this three-week Challenger stretch, falling in the Gatineau final before getting revenge a week later in the Granby semi-finals. The veteran said he’s impressed by the progress that Shapovalov and fellow #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime have made over the past year

“It feels like their games are continually rising and going in the right direction every time I’ve seen them. They’re both becoming a little mature and obviously have a lot of time to work in the [Emirates ATP Rankings],” said Polansky. “I see them both having the potential to make the Top 50 in the next couple of years and then you never know after that.

“What impresses me most about a lot of the #NextGenATP guys is that they’re very mature for their age and they believe in themselves. I remember playing some of the top players when I was younger and being a little bit intimidated. I thought I could give them a good match, but didn’t think I could actually beat them. These kids have a fearless attitude against anyone, which is rare to see.”

Polansky currently sits at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 115. Although he’s inching closer to making his Top 100 debut at age 29, he said he’s learned the importance of trying to avoid thinking about it

“It’d be quite meaningful. I had a good opportunity after Australia, where I had almost no [Emirates ATP Rankings] points to defend, but struggled after that because I started to think about it and put a little too much pressure on myself,” he admitted. “When you’ve been on the tour as long as I have and come close to the Top 100 so many times, you do start to think about it. But I’m trying to focus on what’s in front of me for now, do my thing just keep swinging away.”

Six seeds – Pablo Cuevas, Paolo Lorenzi, Gilles Simon, Jan-Lennard Struff, Jiri Vesely and Horacio Zeballos – were all beaten on a dramatic Wednesday at the Generali Open.

Austrian wild card and World No. 157 Sebastian Ofner kept his nerve in a rain-interrupted 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3) victory over top seed Pablo Cuevas – making his tournament debut – in two hours. The second-round match was suspended due to rain with Ofner serving at 2-5, 15/30 in the second set.

“I’m happy that I stayed focused during the tie-break [and] I played well,” said #NextGenATP’s Ofner. “For sure, the experience in Wimbledon helped me today. It’s a great feeling to be in the quarters and of course it’s very special to play in front of my home crowd.”

Ofner, now 4-1 on the year, will next challenge Renzo Olivo, who defeated fellow Argentinean and eighth seed Horacio Zeballos 7-6(4), 6-2.

Fourth seed Simon lost 6-4, 6-4 to Serbian Dusan Lajovic, who now plays Kitzbühel resident Philipp Kohlschreiber in the last eight. The German recorded his 15th match win at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, where he won the 2015 title (d. Mathieu), in beating seventh seed Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-3.

Elsewhere, Thomaz Bellucci ousted sixth seed Struff 6-4, 7-6(3) for a quarter-final clash against second seed Fabio Fognini, the recent Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag titlist, a 6-4, 6-4 victor over qualifier Miljan Zekic.

Joao Sousa ousted third seed Lorezni 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals, where he will face Gerald Melzer. The Austrian pleased his home crowd with a 6-3, 7-6(1) win over Santiago Giraldo.

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Roger Federer will make his first appearance in Montreal since 2011 at next week’s Coupe Rogers, when he begins his North American summer swing.

The Swiss superstar has not competed in Canada since a 2014 final loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was held in Toronto.

“I’m happy to be coming back to Montreal, as I have not had the chance to play there for many years,” said Federer. “This 2017 season has been very exciting and I am really looking forward to being back on the court on the ATP Tour.”

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Federer captured two titles in Toronto in 2004 (d. Roddick) and 2006 (d. Gasquet). He also finished as runner-up in the Canada finals of 2007 (l. to Djokovic), 2010 (l. to Murray) and 2014. Overall, he has a 31-9 record at the prestigious tournament.

Closing in on his 36th birthday, on 8 August, Federer has enjoyed a hugely successful 2017 season, compiling a 31-2 match record with five titles – including two Grand Slam championships at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open presented by Itau.

His compatriot, Stan Wawrinka, announced on Wednesday that he has withdrawn from the Montreal event and also the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati – due to a knee injury.

“After much consideration and consultation with my doctors and my team, I have decided to skip Canada and Cincinnati to be on the safe side, although I’ve been battling hard to be fit for these events,” said Wawrinka.

“It’s hugely disappointing for my fans and for myself that I have to make this decision. But I need to be 100 per cent confident before I resume competition that the injury that has plagued at Wimbledon has been resolved. My team and I are doing everything to make this a speedy recovery.”

Wawrinka, who is currently No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, struggled with knee problems during the grass-court swing at the Aegon Championships and Wimbledon.