Dusan Lajovic upset second seed Bernard Tomic at the Abierto Mexicano Mifel on Wednesday, winning their second-round clash 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 in just under two hours.

“Bernie is a very good player. Perhaps I was a bit more confident on big points because I had already played a match,” Lajovic said. “The balls were flying quite a bit and he was having a tough time controlling the ball at the end of the third set. I was able to use that.”

“It was a good match,” Tomic said. “[Lajovic] was going for his shots and deserved the win, for sure. It’s a beautiful tournament. It’s a shame I lost today but I am looking forward to coming back next year.”

Lajovic will next face seventh-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, a winner of 13 ATP World Tour titles, who downed countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6(4), 6-3 in one hour and 42 minutes.

Top seed Feliciano Lopez will look to deny Julien Benneteau the 250th match win of his career on Thursday when the pair meet for a place in the semi-finals. Lopez lost five of his first service points and saved all four break points he faced in a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over 18-uear-old Reilly Opelka in 87 minutes. Benneteau, 34, hit 13 aces to beat Zeballos 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-1.

Santiago Giraldo, who is currently No. 137 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, scored a 7-6(1), 6-3 second-round upset over No. 4 seed Sam Querrey. The Colombian survived 12 aces and moved into the quarter-finals in 83 minutes. He will next face Pablo Carreno-Busta.

Giraldo, who won consecutive tour-level matches on hard court for the first time in 2016, secured 80 per cent of first-serve points and only faced two break points (1/2). The 28 year old broke Querrey twice (2/6) to improve to 2-3 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“It’s hot at all of these summer tournaments. I’m used to it, but it can still be difficult,” said Querrey, who is planning on staying in Los Cabos a little longer to fine-tune his game. “I’ll be out here practicing tomorrow morning. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some wins in Cincinnati and Winston Salem, and get some momentum going.”

Carreno Busta eased past American Austin Krajicek 6-0, 6-3 in under one hour. The Spanish wild card lost only two first-serve points and converted all five break points opportunities.

Ivo Karlovic, the third seed, saw off Mischa Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Marcel Granollers, a 7-6(2), 6-2 winner over Tobias Kamke. Karlovic landed 69 per cent of first serves and blasted 18 aces to oust qualifier Zverev.

Lindstedt/Qureshi Beaten In Opener

Spaniards David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco, who have a 6-4 record in ATP World Tour doubles finals, knocked out second seeds Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6(6), 6-3 in 84 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. They will face Almagro and Marcelo Demoliner.

Elsewhere, Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski saved three match points against Swedes Johan Brunstrom and Andreas Siljestrom 2-6, 6-0, 13-11 in 77 minutes. Erlich and Skupski saved match points at 7/9 and 10/11 in the Match tie-break.

After winning the boys’ singles title this year at Roland Garros, Geoffrey Blancaneaux is turning his attention to the pros.

The 18-year-old Frenchman is competing at this week’s $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Trnava, Slovakia. After coming through qualifying, Blancaneaux won his first-ever main draw Challenger match on Tuesday by defeating local wild card Patrik Fabian, 6-4, 6-3.

“It was a big experience for me and I felt a bit of pressure going into the match. Even though I’ve played in Grand Slam qualifying before, it’s not quite the same,” said Blancaneaux. “It’s a lot tougher in Challengers compared to the juniors. I constantly play against Top 200 players and sometimes even Top 100.”

Blancaneaux made headlines earlier this year at Roland Garros, where he saved three championship points to prevail in an 8-6 deciding set over Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada in the boys’ singles final. With former Roland Garros champion and fellow Frenchman Yannick Noah looking on, Blancaneaux struck a forehand winner on match point and collapsed to the ground in celebration.

“Winning there gave me so much confidence, especially on clay. I’m improving each day and seeing my level go up quickly,” he said. “I just need to be stronger on the first few balls [of the rally] now, which is what I’m missing.”

Although Blancaneaux will play the junior events at the US Open, his primary focus is on playing Futures and ATP Challenger Tour events. But after this week, he said it’s a safe bet he will return to Trnava.

“I’ve played the ITF Junior event here before, but this is completely different. The tournament director, structure and courts are all unbelievable,” said Blancaneaux. “I’m telling players they should come here and I will come back with pleasure.”

With a new crop of ATP Challenger Tour events being held throughout China this year, these tournaments have been a chance for some of the country’s youngest stars to showcase their best tennis.

At this week’s $125,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Qingdao, 18 year old Rigele Te prevailed in the first round over fellow Chinese player Yecong He to win his second main draw match in a Challenger. His first main draw Challenger win came last week at the $125,000 Challenger in Chengdu, where he was also a wild card.

Although Te lost in the second round in Qingdao on Thursday to Danilo Petrovic of Serbia, the youngest player on the Chinese National team said the past two weeks have been an invaluable experience for him.

“To be able to win matches in Challengers for the first time is exciting,” said Te. “I know I still have a long way to go. I just need to play more matches, gain more experience and boost my confidence.”

Another player taking his first steps this year on the ATP Challenger Tour year is 16 year old Yibing Wu. Currently ranked No. 19 in the ITF Junior Rankings, he made his Challenger main draw debut this week in Qingdao, where he lost to former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in straight sets.

“I was very excited when the draw came out and to have the chance to play Janko. I really enjoyed it. I thought I played aggressive tennis in the first few games, but couldn’t keep up with him because he is so solid,” said Wu. “The pro players take everything very seriously. I learned a lot from that.”

Te and Wu’s appearances in Qingdao also come on the heels of 18 year old Fanjing Sun coming through qualifying to reach the quarter-finals last week in Chengdu. All three are aiming to get into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, but said they want to be part of a contingent of top Chinese players.

“I hope when I reach this goal,” said Wu, “We already have Top 100 players from China.”

Slovenian veterans including Blaz Kavcic and Blaz Rola are taking to the court at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Portoroz, but a local teenager also took the first steps towards what he hopes is a long pro career.

Sven Lah, 17, made his ATP Challenger Tour main draw debut on Tuesday against second seed Renzo Olivo of Argentina.  Although the World No. 113 in the Emirates ATP Rankings was by far the highest-ranked player Lah had ever faced, the youngest player in the draw held his own on Centre Court in a 6-2, 6-3 loss.

“It was a pleasure to play in such a good tournament and playing against Renzo is one of the best experiences of my career,” said Lah. “Playing against pros was a really good lesson for me, so I’m happy that I got the opportunity.”

Currently ranked No. 84 in the ITF Junior Rankings, Lah has spent most of this year competing in some of the world’s biggest junior events. But while he’s comfortable competing against quality opponents, he admitted the ATP Challenger Tour was a new level for him.

“The biggest thing I learned this week is that everyone knows how to hit serves, forehands and backhands, so the main thing is what you’re able to show on court,” said Lah. “The head is the main factor in the mind game out there.”

The Slovenian plans on eventually turning pro, but is first looking at first playing at college tennis in the U.S. because “from the beginning of my career we have been playing on clay, so I have to learn how to play on hard courts.” Lah plans to play more pro events over the next year, though, and is already plotting his return to Portoroz.

“It was a great week for me,” he said, “But I hope that I will come back next year without needing a wild card.”

Denis Shapovalov has had just one week to digest how his summer is unfolding. Junior Wimbledon title… check. First ATP World Tour main draw at the Citi Open… check. First ATP World Tour match win against World No. 16 Nick Kyrgios in front of thousands of screaming home fans at the Rogers Cup… triple check.

Where most 17-year-olds are enjoying their summer months relaxing at the beach and lounging with friends, Shapovalov is spending countless hours on court as he strives towards his professional ambitions. Having experienced a taste of success on both ends of the spectrum, the Canadian understands that developing his skills and building confidence at the Challenger level is imperative.

“My parents told me from the start to not expect this all the time,” Shapovalov told ATPWorldTour.com at the Challenger Banque Nationale de Gatineau. “It’s two wild cards at two dream tournaments, but then it’s back to reality and back to grinding. I expected it and it hasn’t been a problem for me yet. Those tournaments motivated me more than anything. It’s a long way and I just have to keep working. These Challengers give me that opportunity.”

Shapovalov’s longtime coach Adriano Fuorivia agrees that it’s a long process and the ATP Challenger Tour is an important next step for his pupil to return to the big stage.

“Hopefully playing in Challengers against guys in the 100-200 range will continue to push his level and further motivate him to reach for that top level. He won some Futures events in Florida at the beginning of the year, then came off the big win at Wimbledon juniors and now against Kyrgios, so he’s been playing with so much more confidence and is believing that he belongs in a higher category.

“We told him that you have to earn your way there. The wild cards into Washington and Toronto were a nice opportunity, but you have to earn your way back. That means playing more Challengers. I know it’s tough. It’s not easy to play in the spotlight at Wimbledon and night matches in Toronto in front of large crowds. But it’s a learning experience.

“Going back out there every single day and feeling that you have to perform in front of that crowd can be a different pressure. That’s not necessarily Denis’ problem, but these are thoughts in my mind that you have to prepare yourself for. And then you’re back playing on Court 1 or 2 at a smaller event, but that’s just another step in his development at a young age.”

Shapovalov’s tenure on the ATP Challenger Tour got off to an auspicious start in March, with a stunning run to the semi-finals on home soil in Drummondville. His first-round win over countryman Filip Peliwo made him the first player born in 1999 to win a Challenger match, which he proceeded to follow up with a straight-sets upset of second seed Austin Krajicek. Shapovalov would catapult more than 200 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 551. It was a week that set the tone for his breakthrough season.

“I played some incredible tennis there and I wasn’t expecting to beat [Krajicek] in the quarters,” Shapovalov reflected. “We actually packed our bags, getting ready to go home before that. When I played Daniel Evans, I played amazing too. Ever since then he’s been in the Top 100 and made the third round at Wimbledon. It gave me so much experience and confidence. Now I need to pump up my fitness and work with Adriano to get ready for a few Challengers in the U.S. at the end of the year.”

“I don’t want to say it was a surprise, but just the level he was playing at was pretty high,” Fuorivia added. “Everything was clicking. His serve, forehand, backhand were all on. I don’t look at who he beats because everyone has an off day. I look at his level. If I feel that the level was looking pretty good, then I know he can play with these guys. And when the level is high, then the ranking will follow.”

The Italian-born Fuorivia, who first started working with Shapovalov four years ago, acknowledges that his pupil’s greatest asset is his mental approach. Where most teens would be looking ahead to an upcoming family vacation in Greece, Shapovalov, who is into his second straight Challenger quarter-final this week in Gatineau, is wired differently.

“He’s very perceptive in that he immediately notices what it takes to compete at this level and say ‘I have to do this better’ or ‘I need a better 1-2 shot’. He’s never played a junior game. It’s always been a ‘go for it’ game.

“The transition to playing the pros was easier for him. His serve improved and his attacking ball got better. I’m not saying he’s there, but it wasn’t so hard for him to stay in points because he goes for his shots. There’s so much in him to learn and get better.”

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Abierto Mexicano Mifel – Los Cabos, Mexico

Top seed Feliciano Lopez, second seed Bernard Tomic and No. 4 seed Sam Querrey launched the inaugural Abierto Mexicano Mifel with mini tennis on a boat that included a scenic view of El Arco.

Ivo Karlovic, Jeremy Chardy, Santiago Giraldo, Lopez, Tomic, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Marcel Granollers, Pablo Carreno Busta, Fernando Verdasco, Robert Lindstedt, Tim Smyczek and more stars relaxed during the tournament players’ party on Sunday night. Watch

Karlovic, Chardy and Giraldo took a scenic boat ride in Los Cabos for some snorkeling at Playa del Amor. Watch

Carreno Busta, Dusan Lajovic, Adrian Mannarino, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Tigre Hank took part in a unique activity when they visited the Wild Canyon adventure park. The players soared above ground on the Monster Ziplines and rode all-terrain vehicles across Los Cabos Canyon Bridge. Read & Watch

Chardy, Dolgopolov, Purav Raja and Divij Sharan participated in kids’ day activities.

Julien Benneteau, Austin Krajicek and Carreno Busta are among the stars who met fans and signed autographs on site.