Darian King thought he should pay more respect to “The King” while visiting Graceland on Wednesday. The 24 year old, who has made Barbados tennis history at the Memphis Open, was visiting Elvis Presley’s former residence and was asked how much he knew about the musical legend.

“Growing up and hearing about Elvis, sorry Mr. Presley, because obviously I can’t address him like that, he’s a big deal,” King said. “He’s down in the books as a great one. I’m really happy to actually be here, around his surroundings, around his homeland.”

King toured Presley’s south Memphis estate, checking out the green carpet on the ceiling in the jungle room, where Presley recorded “Moody Blue”. He walked through “Lisa Marie”, Presley’s Convair 880 Jet that he bought from Delta in 1975 and used for fun and business. King had to wiggle his hips in front of the Graceland mansion as well, just like Presley surely did back in the day.

The three-time Grammy winner lived in the home from 1957 to 1977. He also had houses in Florida and California but spent the bulk of his time at the mansion, which was 10,266 square feet when he purchased it. Presley bought the home and the 14-acre estate for $102,500 in March 1957. More than 600,000 people visit the site annually.

“I have to really thank the ATP [World Tour] for giving me an opportunity to come and see one of the most significant icons in music and artist industry. I’m really thankful for this opportunity,” King said.

The Barbados native might be feeling like a king this week. On Tuesday, he upset fifth seed Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4 to become the first player from Barbados to win an ATP World Tour match. King, who had to qualify for the Memphis Open, had lost his only other ATP World Tour main draw contest at the 2015 Citi Open.

Asked if he would feel comfortable in Presley’s former home, King laughed and said he’s striving to be successful like Elvis. “As you know I’m trying to be like a king,” he said in between laughs. “That’s obviously what I’m trying to aim for, to be one of the best… Hopefully it can happen.”

King’s stay in the city of “The King” continues later this week when he meets Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Germany’s Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.

More: Back In Memphis, Fritz Looks To Act On Lessons Learned

If you think of stretches of John Isner’s career as a title tour around the U.S., the American has claimed nearly every crown in the country.

He’s won the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston once. The former Georgia Bulldog has claimed the BB&T Atlanta Open three times.

Isner has won two titles on the grass at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. The 6’10” right-hander, who’s from North Carolina, has captured his home-state tournament, the Winston-Salem Open, twice.

But, although Isner has taken eight ATP World Tour titles in the U.S., his trophy case is still missing title hardware from the Memphis Open. This week, Isner will try to change that during his eighth appearance at the indoor tournament.

“I’m known for playing my best in America but I have never won this… I would love to this year,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com earlier this week. “The field is strong. I knew it would be but I’m excited to get out there.”

Isner is the second seed in the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, with top seed Ivo Karlovic leading the field. The American has come close to taking the title at The Racquet Club of Memphis in years past. Isner has reached the quarter-finals twice – 2012 and 2015 – and made the final in 2010 before falling to compatriot Sam Querrey.

“I’ve loved playing this tournament throughout my career. So coming back was a pretty easy decision for me,” said Isner, who played at the Argentina Open during this week last season. “I think all Americans love this tournament. We cherish the events we get to play in our home country. We travel so much so for me to play a tournament that’s just an hour-and-a-half flight, it’s nice. It’s virtually no travel compared to other places I go.”

Isner, who lives in Tampa, Florida, arrives in Memphis at No. 23 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, 12 spots below where he was a year ago. The dip follows a title-less 2016, the first year Isner didn’t hoist a championship trophy since 2009. “Mediocre” was how Isner termed his 2016 season.

But there were plenty of bright spots for the 31 year old, including his third career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the Paris Masters in November (l. to Murray).

“I did, in my opionion, salvage my season quite a bit. I played awesome tennis at the Paris Masters. That’s the way I was trying to play all year,” he said. “Obviously it’s easier said than done but I played fantastic that week and would like to put some more great weeks together this year.”

The Memphis Open field featured 10 Americans, including a mixture of tennis generations. Isner is here with his contemporaries, including Querrey and Steve Johnson. #NextGenATP Americans, including 19-year-olds Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and 20-year-old Jared Donaldson, have arrived in Tennessee as well.

More: Back In Memphis, Fritz Looks To Act On Lessons Learned

“A few years ago I would practise with some of these kids… I never really thought about actually playing against these guys but now that time is here,” Isner said. “I’ve played against Taylor Fritz. I’ve played Reilly before. I’ve played Frances before. I’m starting to play all these guys, and they’re all a handful as well. They’re all very talented.”

Seeing the older generation at the same tournament has been a change for the younger generation as well, said Fritz, who grew up watching the likes of Isner and Querrey on TV as a kid in California.

“I never thought I’d actually be playing them in tournaments. On any given week, you can get matched up in the draw against one of those people. I think it’s really cool,” Fritz said. “You don’t really like playing your friends but at a tournament like this there is a good chance to play other Americans.”

Fritz and the other three #NextGenATP Americans who played in Memphis all took different routes to the ATP World Tour than Isner, who played collegiate tennis for four years. But Isner said they all made the right choice by entering the pro ranks and skipping college.

“In my career, which is going on 10 years now, I’ve never seen a crop of players like this. So many guys who are doing well at 18, 19, 20,” Isner said. “They all seem to have a great head on their shoulders and got good teams on their side and great coaching. They have everything at their disposal to do fantastic things going forward, and I think all of them will.”

Rotterdam has never been a happy hunting ground for David Goffin. But the in-form Belgian took the first step to turning that around on Wednesday when he defeated Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-2 to score his first win in four appearances at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

It was stark contrast to his debut at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament four years ago, when he went down to Jarkko Nieminen without winning a single game. First round defeats followed in 2015 (l. to Baghdatis) and 2016 (l. to Muller).

Watch full match replays at Tennis TV

“I am feeling good,” said Goffin, whose runner-up finish at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open last week (l. to Dimitrov) came on the heels of a quarter-final showing at the Australian Open (l. to Dimitrov). “I am playing really well and pleased with the victory, especially against Andrey – a good indoor player. He can play fast, so it was not an easy first round. I served well when I needed to and I am happy to win my first match in Rotterdam. I had a great week in Sofia and I’ve come here with a lot of confidence.

“I remember the first time I played in Rotterdam and I didn’t win any games against Jarkko Nieminen. The tournament isn’t far from Belgium and I have support here.”

Qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert is the first player through to the quarter-finals after defeating Evgeny Donskoy 6-2, 7-6(4). The Frenchman could face second seed Dominic Thiem in what will be his first tour-level quarter-final since reaching the Winston-Salem Open final in 2015 (l. to Anderson). Thiem plays his first-round match against Alexander Zverev on Wednesday evening. 

Conjuring memories of a maiden run to an ATP World Tour final 12 months ago, Taylor Fritz is again tasting success at the Memphis Open. The #NextGenATP player saved three match points in his opening round to take down No. 8 seed Yen-Hsun Lu 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(7) in a thrilling two-hour, 10-minute affair on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old did not break serve throughout and was forced to fend off three match points in the deciding-set tie-break before he clinched the match on his first. Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden is next.

“It was tough. I was just thinking, don’t think about it,” Fritz said. “These are the moments I play for, these pressure moments. They’re my favourite things about the sport.

“One of them [a match point], he was just pounding the forehands and I was just like thinking during the point one of these he’s just going to finish me. Sometimes you just find a way and you can’t explain it.”

Last year, Fritz entered the event as a wild card and went all the way to the final before a defeat to Kei Nishikori. It was just his third tour-level event.

“I really didn’t want to lose in the first round,” he said. “I’m all about progress coming back to a tournament I played the year before and wanting to do just as well or better.”

Fellow American #NextGenATP player Frances Tiafoe was not so fortunate. Tim Smyczek defeated the 19-year-old 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in Tuesday night’s last match.

Qualifier Smyczek looked to be cruising with a set and a 5-2 lead in the second set only to lose five straight games to level the match. Tiafoe, currently at a career-best No. 91 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, continued the momentum swing in his favour when he broke for 2-1 in the deciding set, before his countryman steadied to book a second-round meeting with No. 4 seed Steve Johnson.

Former champion Tommy Robredo’s season debut is off to a flying start with the 34-year-old seeing off No. 7 seed Fabio Fognini in the first round of the Argentina Open on Tuesday. The Spaniard inched ahead in the pair’s FedEx Head2Head series 5-4 with the 6-4, 6-3 result.

Having undergone right elbow surgery last season, the former World No. 16 in the Emirates ATP Rankings arrived in Buenos Aires on a protected ranking of No. 57. But against Fognini, there were few signs of any rust.

He broke the Italian four times in the one-hour, 13-minute affair. He will next face either Victor Estrella Burgos or Thiago Monteiro.

Robredo’s countryman, fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, had a far more difficult task reaching the second round. Ramos-Vinolas narrowly edged home hopeful Guido Pella 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6).

In a clash of former Top 20 players, Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov had a convincing win over Serbian wild card Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-3. Argentine wild card Carlos Berloq scored a 6-4, 6-4 result over Slovak qualifier Jozef Kovalik, while Berloq’s countrymen Guido Andreozzi and Renzo Olivo battled it out over three sets.

Qualifier Andreozzi emerged with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win, joining fellow qualifier, Italian Alessandro Giannessi, in the second round. Giannessi beat Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4, saving a match point in the process.