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‘Does this little guy also want to try a ball?’

That was the question that started it all for Alexander Blockx, who began playing tennis at age four. Blockx’s brother Maxime, three years his senior, was taking tennis lessons and while Alexander was watching courtside, coach Philippe Cassiers uttered the phrase that kickstarted the Belgian’s journey in the sport.

To this day, Blockx is coached by Cassiers, a 15-year partnership that has featured great success. Blockx became the junior No. 1 in singles and doubles in 2023, the same year he won the Australian Open boys’ singles event.

Competing mostly on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, the 19-year-old is living out his dream as a professional tennis player, a pinch-me moment for someone whose start in tennis was nearly accidental.

“It wasn’t planned for me, I was just going with to see [my brother] a bit,” Blockx recalled to ATPTour.com. “Eventually when we got there, the coach asked my parents, ‘Does this little guy also want to try a ball?’ I said, 'Yes', and I started playing and never stopped.”

Greek duo Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari will team once again when the United Cup kicks off the 2025 season on 27 December.

Paris Olympics gold medallist Zheng Qinwen and World No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings Casper Ruud will also return to lead China and Norway, respectively. 

Tsitsipas and Sakkari have helped Team Greece to the knockout stages in the previous two editions of the tournament, without tasting ultimate success. 

Tsitsipas is hoping the strong team culture he and Sakkari have built so far at the United Cup will hold Team Greece in good stead for 2025. 

“The team we have built with Maria over the last few years is definitely one that gives us a lot of opportunities to go big and create a lot of damage on the field,” he said. “Getting the opportunity to have a lot of good individuals within one team gives us a lot of motivation and a lot of reasons to go out there and fight for our best.”

ATP Tour stars from the past and present stood before an iconic landmark on Wednesday evening in Berlin for the official pre-event photograph of the 2024 Laver Cup.

Captains and players partaking in this year’s edition of the teams event headed to the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate for a spectacular sunset shot. Former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are this year captaining Team Europe and Team World, respectively, for the seventh and final time, and they will have some of the current day’s finest talent to choose from across 20-22 September at Uber Arena.

Borg’s Team Europe lineup includes home favourite Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, with Flavio Cobolli and Jan-Lennard Struff in Berlin as alternates. The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz is looking forward to making his bow in an event that pits six of the best European stars against six players from the rest of the world.

“I think it’s a unique event,” Alcaraz told media after the photoshoot. “I’m supporting my opponents from the rest of the year, so it’s going to be a little bit weird for me but I think it’s going to be fun. The format is unique as well, so I’m super excited to start the event and see how it’s going to be on Friday and at the weekend. Really happy to be here at the Laver Cup.”

Always a pleasure to have @rogerfederer in town ?@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/WwqPtunJCM

Wu Yibing was around 14 years old when he noticed a strange swelling on his left foot. The on-and-off pain was the result of a slight fracture that did not require immediate surgery, but doctors advised that it would likely need treatment in the future.

After nearly a decade of waiting, Wu opted for surgery late last year. It was a tough moment for the Chinese star who was in the form of his life. A fierce competitor with a fierce forehand, Wu triumphed at the Dallas Open to become China’s lone ATP Tour titlist in February 2023. He later hit a career-high No. 54 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

But shortly after the US Open, Wu was forced to put an early end to his dream year.

“I felt like it bothered me a lot last year after the grass season. Maybe the surface change and also the shoes, I didn’t feel really used to,” Wu told ATPTour.com at the Hangzhou Open, where he is competing in front of his home fans this week. “So I started to feel it more after grass and that’s why I decided to do the surgery after the US Open.”

Since undergoing surgery, Wu has competed in just one ATP Tour event (Houston this year). Then he missed an additional four-and-a-half months. Wu did not compete from March 2019 until January 2022 due to several injuries, including issues with his elbow, which required surgery, his lower back, shoulder and wrist.

Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli may be in Berlin this week primarily to play tennis, but that didn’t stop the ATP Tour stars from testing their football skills with some local experts on Wednesday afternoon.

Ahead of the 2024 Laver Cup in the German capital, Team Europe’s Alcaraz and Cobolli challenged members of Bundesliga team FC Union Berlin to a game of football and tennis at Uber Arena. Both tennis stars are big football fans: Alcaraz supports Spanish giant Real Madrid, while Italy’s Cobolli is a huge fan of AS Roma.

? x ⚽️@carlosalcaraz and @cobollifla challenged members of @fcunion to a friendly competition.@LaverCup | #LaverCup | ?: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/VbKTrXea5O

Alcaraz and Cobolli also visited Berlin’s renowned East Side Gallery in its historic Friedrichshain district, where they swapped football jerseys and Team Europe jackets with their footballing counterparts. The representatives from FC Union Berlin included Head Coach Bo Svensson and co-trainers Babak Keyhanfar and Tijan Njie.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz is the only Laver Cup debutant on Team Europe’s six-man roster at this year’s edition of the teams’ event. Cobolli is in Berlin as an alternate for captain Bjorn Borg’s team, which will take on the Team World roster captained by John McEnroe.

Robert Lansdorp, the pioneering coach based in California who mentored four World No. 1s and impacted countless players at all levels throughout his career, has passed away aged 85.

Lansdorp, who was born in Indonesia and then moved with his family to the Netherlands before they relocated to the United States, played college tennis at Pepperdine University. The All-American will not be remembered for his competitive achievements, though. He became a legend as a coach, inspiring several generations of stars to reach their potential.

Lansdorp mentored both ATP and WTA greats from an early age, developing them into the international icons they became. Notable legends he coached include Tracy Austin, Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova.

Lansdorp began working with eventual World No. 1 Austin at the Jack Kramer Club in California when she was seven. In 1979, aged 16, she won the US Open.

“As a coach, it didn't matter whether he was coaching a No. 1 in the world or someone that was hoping to make the high school team, he gave 100 per cent,” Austin told ATPTour.com. “He just loved the challenge of trying to make that person on the other side of the court the best tennis player that they could be. He enjoyed that. He actually enjoyed that challenge of making that person a better tennis player with the half an hour or the hour that he had.

Marin Cilic secured his first win on the ATP Tour since January 2023 on Wednesday, finishing with a flourish to complete a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 comeback over Zachary Svajda in the first round of the inaugural Hangzhou Open.

The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been hampered by injuries over the course of the past two seasons, eventually undergoing a second knee surgery in May this year. After a spell on the sidelines, Cilic returned to action on the ATP Challenger Tour last month and has worked his way back to record an impressive triumph over Svajda.

"It means a lot," Cilic said of his return to winning ways. "It means a lot for me, for my team who have been with me through this extremely long, boring and difficult period. Two surgeries, lots of recovery, rehab and training. [I'm] just extremely happy that I am healthy, enjoying myself on the court, and physically back to 100 per cent."

A winning return ? for @cilic_marin ?@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/CtN17wrNzj

The 35-year-old, who clinched his maiden Grand Slam at the 2014 US Open, won 92 per cent of first-serve points in the deciding set according to Infosys ATP Stats to cruise to victory and book his spot in round two, where he will face Maximilian Marterer or Yoshihito Nishioka for a place in the quarter-finals.

A host of tennis greats is gathering in Berlin.

Roger Federer on Tuesday headed to the city’s Uber Arena to help welcome his fellow former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings and Laver Cup captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe to the German capital.

“The king!” exclaimed Team Europe captain Borg upon seeing Swiss great Federer, who is a co-founder of the Laver Cup and featured in a victorious Team Europe lineup at three editions of the teams’ event.

“No, you are the king!” replied Federer to Swedish legend Borg, who will captain Team Europe for the seventh and final time in Berlin.

Roger Federer arrives at the Uber Arena ahead of Laver Cup Berlin 2024. pic.twitter.com/f5TAfPlYDl

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard survived a scare on Wednesday, when he rallied from a set down to defeat Chinese wild card Fajing Sun 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 and advance to the second round of the Chengdu Open.

The Frenchman, who has experienced an eye-catching breakthrough year, dug deep to outlast the No. 359 in the PIF ATP Rankings in a gripping contest that lasted two hours, 28 minutes. The win was just Mpetshi Perricard’s second hard-court triumph on the ATP Tour this season but will be a welcome one as he quashed a four-match drought to advance in China.

The 21-year-old enjoyed a dazzling run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year, becoming just the seventh man in history to hit more than 50 aces in a match (51). Seeking a second title of the season, the Lyon champion will next play Yannick Hanfmann or Shintaro Mochizuki. 

34 aces ?

Mpetshi Perricard closes the day with a 6-7 7-5 6-4 win over sun to advance into the second round!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/3o4EaNdgLD

Taro Daniel bounced back from his gut-wrenching five-set defeat in the US Open first round to Tristan Schoolkate to secure his first Top 50 win since January, upsetting sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5 to progress to the second round.

Andy Murray has wasted little time in getting his competitive juices flowing again following his retirement from tennis last month. The Scot swapped his racquet for golf clubs on Wednesday in England, where he competed in the celebrity Pro-Am event ahead of the DP World Tour tournament in Wentworth.

The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings retired following the Paris Olympics last month and has since spent time improving his golf game. The Scot will put his newfound skills to the test at the celebrity warm-up event in Surrey, where he will team with countryman and professional golfer Robert MacIntyre in the exhibition event.

Ahead of his round, Murray caught up with four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, with the pair in high spirits as they shared a laugh.

Andy Murray ? Rory McIlroy #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/TVeOBqMgPm

Murray will feature in the Pro-Am alongside a host of other celebrity names, including former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and English cricketers James Anderson and Ollie Pope.

American teen Learner Tien and Briton Jacob Fearnley are two of the most dominant players on the ATP Challenger Tour right now.

The #NextGenATP Tien added his name to elite company in American tennis history Sunday when he won his second Challenger title at the Las Vegas Tennis Open. Fearnley, 23, lifted his third trophy in just his fourth appearance at that level this year.

Tien, seeded third, overcame Tristan Boyer 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the Las Vegas Challenger final, during which Tien won 65 per cent of his second-serve return points, compared to Boyer’s 37 per cent.

“I put a lot more importance on return points. I know how much pressure winning a couple points in someone’s service games can make them feel,” Tien told commentator Bryan Fenley.

By triumphing on the Las Vegas hard courts, Tien became the fifth-youngest American to win multiple Challenger titles, only behind Taylor Fritz, Andy Roddick, Frances Tiafoe, and Sam Querrey.

Returning to the London apartment he was sharing with coach Craig Boynton after finally closing out his epic 11-hour Wimbledon victory over Nicolas Mahut in 2010, John Isner was feeling good about life.

“I actually felt okay physically, not knowing I was going to feel awful the next day,” Isner recounted to ATPTour.com this week. “So I told CB, ‘I feel like a million dollars’.”

“Yeah, in quarters,” Boynton quipped back, knowing full well that the 70-68 fifth-set victory would take a toll.

“And he was right. I did feel like a million dollars in quarters the next day, just awful,” Isner laughed. “He is so witty; he is one of the wittiest guys I know. He always has a quick quip to come back at you with. Ask anyone, the guy is hilarious.”

Boynton, one of the most respected voices in the game who is also known for his Santa Claus beard and congenial personality, is the subject of ATPTour.com’s ATP Coach Spotlight this month.

Jiri Lehecka has parted with coach Tomas Berdych after 18 months. The 22-year-old Czech announced the news on social media on Monday.

Lehecka started with countryman Berdych at Monte-Carlo last year, with the former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings helping guide Lehecka to his maiden tour-level title in Adelaide in January.

As of today, by mutual agreement, I have ended my cooperation with Tomas Berdych, with whom I have been working since the Monte-Carlo 2023 tournament. Our paths are not diverging, though. We will continue to work with Tomáš within the Davis Cup team.

“As of today, by mutual agreement, I have ended my cooperation with Tomas Berdych, with whom I have been working since the Monte-Carlo 2023 tournament,” Lehecka wrote in Czech on social media. “Our paths are not diverging, though. We will continue to work with Tomas within the Davis Cup team. I wish him much success and many victories in his new role as the Davis Cup team captain.

“My team otherwise remains the same, with coach Michal Navratil, fitness coach Radek Stepanek, and physiotherapist Carlos Manuel Baptista Carvalho. The general manager of the team is Roman Vik and the agent is Pierre Christen.”

The Asian swing commences on the ATP Tour from Wednesday, with 250 hard-court events at the Chengdu Open and the Hangzhou Open. In Berlin, the seventh edition of the Laver Cup will take place from 20-22 September in Germany.

Italian Lorenzo Musetti is the top seed in Chengdu, where Nicolas Jarry and Alexander Bublik compete, while Holger Rune leads the field in Hangzhou. Chinese stars Zhizhen Zhang, Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing and Bu Yunchaokete lead home hopes across the two events.

Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev will lead Team Europe's quest for glory at the Laver Cup against Team World.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at all three events.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN CHENGDU
Can Musetti boost slim Turin hopes? Lorenzo Musetti arrives at the hard-court event in Chengdu with an outside chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian is 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the highest-ranked player in action this week, but is 1080 points behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who occupies the final qualification spot. If Musetti is to make his move, he will need to start with a deep run in Chengdu, where he reached the semi-finals last year.

Jannik Sinner has added fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio to his team ahead of the Asian swing. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who won his second major title at the US Open earlier this month, broke the news on social media on Monday.

Panichi and Badio both join the Sinner camp having worked with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the past.

Panichi worked with Djokovic from 2017 until May this year, when the Serbian ended his partnership with the Italian. Badio left the Djokovic camp at the end of 2022 after more than five years together.

Panichi and Badio had their first session with Sinner on Monday in Monte-Carlo, where the Italian is practising. They will then travel with Sinner to the ATP 500 event in Beijing in September and the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai next month. The 23-year-old will continue to work with osteopath Andrea Cipolla during the upcoming Asian swing.

With less than two months to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, all eyes will be on Asia during the next four weeks when the battle for Turin qualification will take further shape.

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have already booked their spots at the prestigious year-end event, to be played from 10-17 November, while Carlos Alcaraz (6,010 points) is close to joining them.

Behind that trio, five spaces are left to be filled, with many stars aiming to gain points in Asia to boost their hopes. Taylor Fritz (3,890) is fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after he reached his maiden major final at the US Open and is now in strong contention to qualify for the second time after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.

Fourth-placed Medvedev (4,420), sixth-placed Casper Ruud (3,795) and seventh-placed Andrey Rublev (3,480) have all competed in Turin on more than one occasion, with Medvedev lifting the trophy in 2020. Medvedev and Rublev will take to court at the ATP 500 in Beijing, starting in nine days time, with none of the Top 14 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin in action this week at ATP 250 events in Chengdu and Hangzhou.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

With the pressure on, Denis Shapovalov delivered for Canada on Sunday to fire the former champion to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga. Needing one point from its winner-takes-all tie against Great Britain, Shapovalov moved past Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5 to give Canada a 1-0 lead in its Group D tie.

Argentina advanced from Group D in Manchester on Saturday, with its 3-0 victory against Finland leaving Great Britain needing to defeat Canada by the same scoreline to join Guillermo Coria’s side.

However, Evans struggled to impose himself on Shapovalov, who fired 25 winners and saved both break points he faced to earn the crucial point for his nation.

Felix Auger-Aliassime then put the icing on the already-qualified cake when he overcame US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper 7-6(8), 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes. Auger-Aliassime, who avenged his Cincinnati defeat to British lefty Draper, has impressed on the hard courts in Manchester this week, not dropping a set in all three matches.

In the doubles, British pair Neal Skupski and Henry Patten defeated Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau 7-6(4), 6-4.

When you are searching for your first win of the season, a visit from Frances Tiafoe could be just what you need.

NFL team Washington Commanders lost it's opening match of the new campaign last week but were given a boost ahead of their second match against New York Giants when Tiafoe surprised the team on Saturday during their pre-match meeting.

Amazing energy in the room after bringing Frances (@FTiafoe) as a surprise to the @Commanders team meeting today! pic.twitter.com/vtjiIhr4fy

The team were watching a motivating video of Tiafoe enjoying success at the US Open when the two-time Flushing Meadows semi-finalist made an appearance. The 26-year-old received a raucous reception from the players before he spoke to the team.

Tiafoe, who is from Hyattsville, Maryland, is an avid supporter of the Commanders and regularly supports the team from afar when travelling on the ATP Tour. He will be hoping his words of encouragement will help guide the Commanders to their first win of the season on Sunday night.

A familiar face was in the stands to watch Italy’s Davis Cup Group Stage Finals tie against Netherlands on Sunday.

Recently crowned US Open champion Jannik Sinner was present in Bologna to cheer on his countrymen as they played their final group stage tie.

The defending champions became the first team to qualify from Group A for the Final 8 in Malaga after Brazil clinched its tie against Belgium on Saturday. Despite the absence of the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Italy won both of its ties against Belgium and Brazil, thanks to two singles victories from Matteo Berrettini.

Sinner’s last match was his 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the US Open final against American Taylor Fritz. The Italian picked up his second major after winning his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.

These two ??? @MattBerrettini and @janniksin celebrate together after Berrettini's win ?#DavisCup https://t.co/hU7f8WBFqv pic.twitter.com/FiIfTe6gXH

Novak Djokovic and Hamad Medjedovic sealed Serbia’s Davis Cup World Group 1 tie against Greece with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the doubles rubber against Aristotelis Thanos and Petros Tsitsipas on Sunday in Belgrade.

The Serbians served 13 aces and won 75 per cent (42/56) of their first-serve points en route to closing out the match in two hours and 10 minutes.

The former champion led 2-0 at the start of Day 2 play following singles wins from Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday. They entered Sunday's action in Serbia requiring just one win to advance.

Serbia now progresses to the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers for a chance to return to the Davis Cup Group Stage Finals. The country won the Davis Cup in 2010, defeating France 3-2 in the final.

Medjedovic made just his second Davis Cup appearance after his three-set victory against Norway’s Viktor Durasovic last year. The 21-year-old won the NextGen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year and made a final at an ATP Challenger Tour event last week.