Donald Young doesn’t have to be here at the Savannah Challenger, playing in front of a couple dozen people on an island outside Savannah. The 26 year old is ranked No. 84 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and could be in Europe preparing for qualifying at ATP World Tour tournaments, including the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

But Young, like most players, has gone through ups and downs during his career, and he’s in Savannah to start what he hopes is another positive stretch. “I just wanted to play to get some matches on clay before leaving for Europe,” Young said. “I thought I’d come here and build some confidence.”

The American was beaming with assurance at times during 2015. He started the year with a quarter-finals showing at the ASB Classic in Auckland. In February, he reached his second ATP World Tour final at the Delray Beach Open. Later that month, Young beat two Top 50 players on his way to the semi-finals at the Memphis Open. The Atlanta resident started the year 13-7.

“The beginning of last year was awesome,” Young said.

But in 2016, the Chicago native failed to replicate that strong start. He reached the second round in Auckland, fell in the quarter-finals in Memphis and lost in the second round in Delray Beach. As a result, since the beginning of the year, his ranking has slipped 38 spots.

Young has come to the $50,000 ATP Challenger for the sixth time to gain more self-belief. The left-hander has used ATP Challengers to propel his career in the past.

In 2007, he won the Aptos Challenger and made the final in Tulsa, Calabasas, Louisville and Champaign. That same year he cracked the Top 100 for the first time. In 2011, Young won the Tallahassee Challenger and made the Savannah Challenger final. During that four-week stretch, he also improved his ranking 28 spots.

“(Challengers are) a great springboard to get on to the (ATP World) Tour,” Young said. “It’s very important to come back down, win some matches, and winning begets winning. You win at any level, you start feeling good.”

He won on Monday night in straight sets against his 20-year-old compatriot Noah Rubin 7-5, 7-6(3). Last week, at the Sarasota Challenger, Rubin upset the No. 1 seed Denis Kudla. On Wednesday, Young, the No. 2 seed in Savannah, will look to reach the quarter-finals against Russian Daniil Medvedev.

“Tennis is weird… You need to win to get confidence but you can’t have confidence without winning,” Young said. “I’m here to get confidence.”

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares are into the doubles quarter-finals at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell after saving a match point in a 6-4, 4-6, 14-12 win over Henri Kontinen and John Peers. The third seeds were a point from losing at 11-10 in the Match Tie-break, but recovered to claim victory in 85 minutes. The British/Brazilian duo advanced despite winning five fewer points than their opponents (64-69) and will face Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez.

Moving into the semi-finals are second seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who eased past Poles Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski. The Americans only lost two first-serve points (27/29), did not face a break point and prevailed in just 50 minutes.

“We played a very sharp match and we’re especially happy with the way we served today,” Mike Bryan said. “To lose only four points on serve against two great returners speaks volumes to our great serving performance. I think we’re both in a really good place physically, mentally, and game wise and we’re very optimistic for our upcoming matches.”

Fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Jean-Julien Rojer are into the quarter-finals after dismissing Spanish wild cards Pablo Carreno Busta and David Marrero 7-5, 6-3. Bopanna/Rojer fired eight aces and saved all four break points faced.

In his free time he likes playing chess and reading classic Roman novels. He’s studying long-distance for a degree in Physical Education at the University of Moscow. And on Tuesday he recorded his first Top 20 win over Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. Did we mention he also played basketball at a national level when he was in high school? 

Meet 19-year-old #NextGen star Karen Khachanov.

Having picked up a racquet for the first time aged three, the Russian grew up watching and idolising Marat Safin. And at 6’6’’, with booming groundstrokes of his own, and a mature head on his shoulders, Khachanov could well emulate two-time Grand Slam champion Safin one day. 

“It’s strange feelings right now,” Khachanov told ATPWorldTour.com in Barcelona. “I’m happy to be here (on the ATP World Tour). In my first few matches I was a little bit nervous, playing in big events. But I want to be here as much as I can and to play these kind of tournaments. It’s a big pleasure for me.

“I have a big serve and my style of game is to play more aggressive. The backhand down the line is my favourite shot and also running around my forehand. In general, it’s aggressive.”

Now 19, Khachanov first left home when he was 15 years old to go and train in Croatia with Goran Ivanisevic’s former coach, Vedran Martic. Aged 17, he announced his arrival on the ATP World Tour on home soil when he reached the quarter-finals in Moscow, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Janko Tipsarevic before losing to Ivo Karlovic.

Since he was 18, Khachanov has been based in Barcelona, where he now trains with Galo Blanco – former coach of Milos Raonic. Already fluent in English, Khachanov is now learning Spanish, and already understands almost everything, even if he lacks confidence in speaking it. 

Fellow Russian Next Generation player Andrey Rublev, whom Khachanov has known since he was eight, is a regular training partner in Barcelona.

Currently at No. 138 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Khachanov is working hard to improve his game this season with the hopes of cracking the Top 100 soon. If his performance against Bautista Agut, one of the toughest competitors on tour, is anything to go by, that landmark won’t be far off. 

Follow all the latest off-court action on MyATP! Download the app for iPhone or Android or visit MyATP.com.

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – Barcelona, Spain

Two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori was joined by home favourite Nicolas Almagro for a hit on a mini tennis court on the MSC cruise ship. Read More

“I love Barcelona,” said Nishikori. “The view of the city from the ocean is fantastic.”

Eight-time former champion Rafael Nadal and Nishikori launched the tournament in style, playing mini tennis on top of Tibidabo Mountain overlooking the beautiful city. Read & Watch

Almagro was joined by Pablo Carreno Busta and Roberto Carballes Baena for the Peugeot kids’ clinic (Watch), while Roberto Bautista Agut was put on the spot by children in a kids’ press conference (View Photo). 

David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet were the lucky stars to get a private visit of one of the most impressive football grounds in the world – the Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona. Read & Watch  

Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski participated in a doubles clinic with locals. View Photo 

Marcel Granollers made a live appearance on TV3 ‘EsportsClub’ to promote the tournament. View Photo  

Inigo Cervantes and Albert Montanes visited local La Boqueria Market. View Photo  

Philipp Kohlschreiber, Pablo Cuevas and Alexandr Dolgopolov made visits to sponsor suites, while Pablo Carreno Busta and Inigo Cervantes participated in Q&A’s with kids.

BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy – Bucharest, Romania

Top doubles seeds Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea treated their hometown fans to an autograph signing with a huge turnout. View Photo 

Ivo Karlovic (View Photo) and Fernando Verdasco (View Photo) also met with fans, while Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (View Photo) and Bernard Tomic (View Photo) did live-stream interviews with Andrei Pavel for the tournament title sponsor.

Rafael Nadal brought his winning form to the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. Last week’s Monte-Carlo champion dismissed fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2 in 91 minutes in the second round on Wednesday. Nadal, who had won 41 consecutive matches in Barcelona between 2005 and 2014, is seeking a ninth title at the event.

“Marcel started very strongly and broke me in the first game. It was a difficult match, very windy, which made his game tough to read. He took the initiative from the beginning,” Nadal told BarcelonaOpenBancSabadell.com. “I am playing really well. It was a complicated first round against a player who had just reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo, beating three good rivals.”

Nadal, No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was broken in the opening game by Granollers, but struck back with two breaks of serve to take the opening set. The left-hander continued to overwhelm the unseeded Granollers with his power and court coverage in the second set, breaking Granollers twice while not facing a break point. In the match, Nadal won 49 per cent (28/57) of return points. He improved to 4-0 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against his countryman and is now 10-2 on clay this year.

Next up for the top seed is another Spaniard. Wild card Albert Montanes defeated Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-3 to book a third-round meeting with Nadal. He had never won a set against Nadal in three previous tour-level encounters.

On his 19th birthday, #NextGen star Alexander Zverev booked his spot in the third round of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell with a battling 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5 victory over 15th seed Thomaz Bellucci.

The German, who won the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates award last year, is on the verge of the Top 50 and improved to a 13-9 match record on the season after prevailing in two hours and 28 minutes.

“This is the best birthday present. I have never played a tournament on my birthday before,” said Zverev, who received a birthday cake from tournament director, Albert Costa, during the post-match press conference.”

Zverev served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not close it out as Bellucci fought back to force a decider. Zverev then rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third set, breaking Bellucci to love in the 12th game to seal victory.

“Bellucci is a great player on clay and this will give me confidence. It will be difficult, but I hope to achieve a great result and continue winning here in Barcelona.”

Zverev goes on to face Malek Jaziri, who defeated Renzo Olivo 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

Zverev’s countryman, 10th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, cruised through, dismissing Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 6-1 in just 69 minutes.

Italy’s Fabio Fognini fought from a set down to finish strongly in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Mikhail Youzhny. He goes on to face Viktor Troicki, who defeated qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 in one hour and 49 minutes.

Second seed Kei Nishikori opened his title defence at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Thiemo de Bakker.

The Japanese star has won 11 straight matches at this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament and continued his winning run with victory over de Bakker in 69 minutes. Nishikori claimed his second win of the season over the No. 102-ranked de Bakker as he won 74 per cent of his service points and broke serve three times.

“I’m happy to be back in Barcelona,” said Nishikori. “Today’s conditions were tough with the wind and I’m happy to be in the next round.”

The 26-year-old Nishikori is playing his first clay-court tournament of the season and improved to 20-6 in 2016. The right-hander is coming off a runner-up showing at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (l. to Djokovic) and captured his 11^th title in Memphis (d. Fritz) in February.

The two-time defending Barcelona champion goes on to face Jeremy Chardy.

Seventh seed Feliciano Lopez edged Ivan Dodig 7-6(5), 6-4 to move into the third round. Lopez dropped serve twice but went 3-for-9 on break points to advance in one hour and 46 minutes. He moved ahead 3-2 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and will now face tenth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who eased past Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour.

Ninth seed Pablo Cuevas saw off Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-5. Cuevas failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but swept the last two games to set up a third-round clash against sixth seed Benoit Paire.