#fourth era lill

[fireintheforest]

Penance, part I

There was no time for him to say anything at all. Immediately after the fight happened, Lillandril dragged Saufinril up the stairs to the private apartment, dumped him in the chair and sat opposite the younger Altmer, one leg folded over the other and staring at Saufinril. Saufinril stared back. The sound of merriment from below was heard; apparently, the Den went back to its usual shows as if nothing had happened. All Lillandril said, with his air of cold anger that his face didn’t portray, was, “Explain.”

Saufinril pressed his lips for a couple seconds, having his own exploding, hot lashing out died drastically from the moment his arm had been grabbed to the moment he sat down here. He made a clicking sound on his mouth and asked, "...from the beginning?" Stupid question.

Lill narrowed his eyes slightly. When he spoke, his lips barely seemed to move. “From. The. Beginning.” Fine, he wanted to know all about the fight. Naturally. It was his bar, he’d scared clients away and others had gotten in the fight, not to mention how Samin and the other two girls could’ve gotten hurt, and it just, overall, was a fight in his Den. Of course he’d be mad.

"He started it." Saufinril blurted, only surprised in the back of his mind to feel the irritation was rising again, "One was doing one's job here and he couldn't shut his gob up towards one, was one supposed to let him badmouth one in front of everyone, as if one were some-some-some goblin servant or a dog? He'd been pushing it enough! One couldn't stand to hear him say how one is useless when all one was doing was one's job!"

Lillandril suppressed a frown at the word “gob”, but otherwise didn’t react. He paused a moment after Saufinril finished. “And?”

"And?" Saufinril leaned forward, then leaned back. Did he hear right, ‘and?’, as if it were some trivial matter being called knife-ears or insulted in front of people? Was Lillandril serious? "No. No! One doesn't-he'd been at it since bef-alright, before tonight one ran into him, accidentally on the way to the market and there he started to throw slurs back at one, but nothing happened. S-why does he get a pass at being an asshole and one has to bite one's tongue? If he's going to be throwing threats, at least he has to be able to back them up!" ‘And?’. Really?? The old mer was going to come with that? Yes, it was his damn bar but ‘and?’??

Lillandril allowed another long moment to pass without moving. A peal of laughter was distantly heard from below. “At least. Quite. And?”

There it was again. By the Divines, he knew he was furious about this but to go this route? That was low. That was low and-was he even listening? He was right! As far as he knew, he was right. He was right to have beaten this guy and despite the bruises and busted knuckles, he would do it all again. What ‘and?’ was he even asking about, ‘and?’ as in what? As in ‘and? I don’t care, you’re ruining my business’ or in-

Wait, was it an ‘and?’ as in ‘is there anything else to say?’? All the rising anger in Saufinril died at once. He knows. Of course he knows, why wouldn’t he? It always seemed to him that both he and Rialas had eyes and ears everywhere where their own didn’t reach, otherwise it was impossible that they knew so much. The events of the morning came to him; the tall Thalmor, the hand with magic-anulling spell on his own, the cold frown on both of their faces and how he narrowly left…he had to spare him this. It’s not like he’d been taken anyways. He cleared his throat and said, "And...that's it." he licked his lips and looked at his right hand briefly. Knowing Lillandril, there was a reason behind these questions, as mad about the fight and the Den as he was. His leg bobbed up and down for a couple of times before he stopped it. Wellp, time to do damage control. "One...fine, one didn't want to absolutely fight everyone or make a mess. One just-had to make him stop. One is-one was done."

Lillandril made a small noise in the back of his throat, an uncommitted grunt. He continued staring at Saufinril in the same position, held still. “And there is nothing else you can think of that you should be telling from? From earlier in the evening, perhaps?”

Saufinril held his gaze steadily, until he lowered his eyes. Change of plan, lying to Lillandril would only make this worse, "At the market one was going to fight him because he threw a rock at one but he had two bodyguards, which is no problem usually but it...the fight got stopped by two Thalmor. One was given a warning, and that's it. Nothing else happened." he clentched his jaw. Fuck. Fuck. Today was not his day, that’s all. At least he hoped that the last part would ease the tension in the room.

It didn’t. Lillandril’s face shifted ever so slightly as he grit his teeth. “That’s. It?” He narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice becoming more clipped. “You drew the attention of the Thalmor, and then caused a ruckus in one’s establishment, and that. Is. It?”

“Oh wow. I’m fucked. I’m really fucked.” Saufinril's leg bobbed again, though the rest of his face’s demeanor stayed the same as he looked at Lillandril. "It was..." He was about to say “It was all that guy’s fault!” but blaming someone else right now was not just a bad strategy, it was plain immature, especially when he was the one that smashed his face on a glass. Truly, the guy had instigated it and he fell for it. He fell for it completely. He reconsidered what he was going to say, "Forgive one, serah. One didn't control oneself in either scenario."

“No.” For one second Saufinril thought his face had gone cold, assuming that Lillandril hadn’t accepted the apology. Lillandril leans forward ever so slightly. “You did not. Not even remotely. You acted like a fool, like a rash and irresponsible, immature, child. You acted no differently to that boy who broke into one’s shop years ago. You brought shame and dishonour into this place. Onto one. You ...” Lillandril stopped and paused, visibly collecting his thoughts. He shifted slightly, swapping his legs over. “Do you know what the Thalmor are capable of? Do you have even the basest, most minute inclination?”

Saufinril was half expecting more to come out of his mouth, but instead lowered his gaze, sitting perfectly still through Lillandril's words. A wave of heat was raised to his face as he said in a low volume, "One...one does, yes." He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. He’d just come back from the Isles, of course he knew. He had to share a house with one after all. Even if you never saw them do anything concrete, their air of military stoicism and their coldness seeped outwards, almost announcing their cruelty that they were so proud of.

Lillandril narrowed his eyes again. “Do you? Truly? It seems to one you do not, or you would have conducted yourself in a manner other than as a common thug.” He shifted again to lean in closer, unfolding his legs. “But maybe one is wrong. Perhaps you know all about the inquisitions. About the demands of purity. About the seizures. The disappearances. The purges.”

Saufinril felt a knot on his stomach. 

“Perhaps” Lillandril continued, “you know all about how they harnessed national pride into a weapon. About how even the slightest reason can be taken as reason for suspicion. About how none but the most stringent loyalists may now leave the Isles. You know, surely, that the Artists are now controlled, what they can make dictated to them. You know, of course, that Merchants who have ever even put into a foreign port have had their ships seized. You know, naturally, that mainlander Mer have to prove unbreakable blood ties to a Thalmor family, or be unable to return at all.”

All true, of course. His papers were the reason why he was even allowed to set foot on port a month ago, as much as he hated to admit it. Life in the Isles was insanely different from when he grew up. And insanely scarier.

“You know, of course, that they have seized control of our most ancient institutions. That the military is now entirely theirs. The College, the Labyrinth, the gryphon riders, all now are barred to all but the Thalmor themselves.”

"One does. Well, not-not..." Saufinril exhaled, unconsciously rubbing his hands. What does any of this have to do with his fight? Why couldn’t Lillandril just say ‘don’t be an idiot’ and that’s it? Why was he even thinking about them? The big issue here was the fight in the Den, wasn’t it? Still, being reminded of what the Thalmor were was enough reason to settle unease in Saufinril. He hadn’t considered that the fight in the market could’ve gotten their attention in anything more than two morons arguing in public, "One didn't mean to get their attention, one didn't mean to let them see one's face or-or get on their wrong side. It was just a stupid fight, one just-..." he cleared his throat again and closed his eyes for a second, "One wasn't thinking of any of that. One didn't think at all, one's sorry."

“You didn’t think.” Lillandril paused again, unblinking. “How shocking. You didn’t think. Not about what they could do to you. About what it means to get their attention. About what you did by attracting their attention, and then causing commotion here, under one’s roof. About drawing their attention here. Do you care to think now, perhaps, what that means? About what you have done to one? To one’s family?”

Saufinril clentched his jaw, looking away. No, he hadn’t. And now it made sense. Great, Saufinril. He felt the anger rise back, but this time directed at himself, how could he have not seen this? How did he not consider what it meant to catch the Thalmor’s eye? He was so much more focused on smashing that freckled face…the tone came out more snappy than intended when he said, "It's not like they'll listen to-" he bit the inside of his cheek and took a deep breath (because, again, saying “it’s not like they’ll listen to an Imperial” seemed like waving away the seriousness of the situation. A situation HE created), "One-" he let out a huff, as if frustrated by the lack of what to say, "One did not mean to disrespect you, serah. You or Rialas or the Den or to bring shame to it, but when he started to sound like-" he cleared his throat. Nope, no reason why he was worth being mentioned, "It's-" another huff. And Graywatch suddenly appeared in his mind, complete with his cruel gold eyes and the smile. The smile was the worst part.

“I travel a lot more now, Finn. There’s no reason why I can’t go thank whoever looked after you personally, preferrably honor this...mysterious mer in the Embassy, officially, with the other Thalmor. And if you were going to ‘end locked’ anywhere, it would be somewhere else. Somewhere pretty. Smaller, even , so it’s cozy. You’d be in a much better place.” He said those three last words as he gently stroke the urn with one finger.

He wouldn’t stop there. Not with his gaze back in the dinner."...is there a chance they'd arrest us all because of one?" he asked, much more softly, the warmth that had covered his face red now leaving and being replaced with coldness that lightened his skin tone.

Lillandril waited a moment, and in the quiet, another peal of laughter was heard from downstairs. Eventually, the older Altmer let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat, raising a hand to his brow. “No. It is unlikely. Compared to their aims, a bar brawl is beneath their interest. It is more ...” He sighed again before resuming, “Consider what you know about one, Saufinril. Consider what that makes one to the Thalmor. The last thing one needs is another reason for them to look at one. One is already a blood traitor, an aberration who has married a lesser species, who has  called Men - of all things! - family. If one could not trace an unbroken line back through the ages, one rather suspects ...” He trailed off, shifting his gaze to a point in the distance, “One’s family lacks the influence they once had, perhaps. After Kalaron, and Grandmother’s withdrawing ... Calina salvaged it, of course. But now .... with the Thalmor in power? Our blood may be old, true, and we were far from the only family to embrace Imperial rule and the wealth it brought, but even so ....”

Lillandril took a breath before looking back at Saufinril. “The Thalmor are dangerous, Saufinril. You do not want their attention. And one cannot allow their attention to linger on one, not for oneself, not for this place and the people within, and not for one’s family.”

Saufinril could only stay in silence, listening to Lillandril's words. He swallowed hard and nodded. He'd rested his forearms on his legs as he listened, leaning forward. His brow was furrowed in worry and the leg had finally stopped its bobbing rhythm. This was bad. This was so bad. And this was all his fault. He should’ve dropped his stupid ego and just continued his way to meet Amara. At least then the Imperial pig would’ve made a fool of himself and he would’ve attracted the Thalmor’s attention. He could’ve redirected the order to Lienil, who could’ve easily kicked the man out if he got too rowdy. But NO. He had to insert his face on glass. And now for his imprudence, he’d just plastered a huge target on the Den and everyone in it. Right for the Thalmor to see.

Lillandril watched Saufinril for a moment. A smile played on his lips. “You do realize that one includes you in that category, yes? As much as one may seem ... harsh, and yes, one is less than best pleased at present, one has enough faith that you can understand the reasons why. You have your own reasons to avoid drawing the Thalmor’s attention, after all.”

That was more than unexpected, and Saufinril blinked quickly and nodded again."One-one understands." he says hoarsely, in a low volume, "And one does. Serah...one is so sorry. One is so sorry, this was not what one wanted. One just jumped into a fight and one didn't-one doesn't know what else to say. This is all one's mess, one didn't want to drag you or anyone else into it."

Lillandril tilted his head to one side. “You are young. You don’t think things through. And sometimes, events happen. It is up to us to consider how best to respond to those events, and how to best protect those we care for.” He stood up, walking towards Sau a few steps and opening his arms in invitation. “Your apology is accepted. Your mess is, after all, one’s mess. And curse the Divine who made it so.”

His mess? Since when? As far as Saufinril knew, Lillandril had never been part of the mess. He was part of the solution. Saufinril was the problem. Saufinril stood up and shook his head, "It's not your mess." he whispered, because he didn’t know how to say everything, then sheepishly walked to Lillandril, hoping the bobbing of his Adam's apple went unnoticed. He put his arms around Lillandril, resting his chin on Lillandril's shoulder and hugged tight. Lillandril put his arms around Saufinril and gave him a gentle squeeze.

“It is all of our mess, boy. The Thalmor hold our people hostage. It is up to those of us who can see it to respond as best we can. Now.” Lillandril paused a moment, running fingers gently over the back of Sau’s head before placing his hands on the younger Altmer’s shoulders to break the hug. “One said your apology was accepted, not that the foolishness was forgotten. One rather thinks some unpleasantly menial or otherwise undesirable tasks may help teach you a cooler head. We need another pot washer, if memory serves - one’s flame retardant stick insect frightened the last one off with some of his knife tricks. One thinks you can start there, hm, while one considers where else your youthful energies might be better applied.”

This was a very tender moment. But the second Lillandril spoke the words 'pot washer', Saufinril sighed, closed his eyes and tilted his head back, a face that indicated that this task wasn't one he was looking forward but he wasn't going to complain or not do it (this was his divine punishment, if it even existed, not just for the fight and this Thalmor business but also for laughing along when the trick happened). He instead nodded and reopened his eyes, accepting his fate. "Yep. Yes serah. One can start tonight."

[mancitynoise]

SoccerSouls European Power Rankings

Terms and Criteria

The SoccerSouls power Rankings are a weekly compilation of the 20 best teams in Europe, ranked on the basis of form and performances over the week alone.

Teams from all of the major European leagues will be included. The rankings will be updated every week. The first set of rankings are based exclusively on the results from the last gameweek.

Historical achievements and the prestige of the players in the club play no part whatsoever in the criteria for the selection of teams. The positional changes that are made will be based on current form, the value of the results, progress in competitions and any other footballing achievements.

These rankings are set as per the opinion of the writer and do not hold any official value. Do feel free to comment regarding any disputes about your team’s position or if you think a team doesn’t deserve the place that they’ve been allotted.

Based on the fixtures, these rankings will be updated every weekend so be sure to check back.

Quick Look 

UEFA Champions League 

Europe’s premier club competition is now down to its final four competitors and is slowly drawing to a close.

Tottenham were the surprise package of last week, as they triumphed over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and set up a semifinal tie against Ajax. The other fixture in this tournament will see Liverpool face off against Barcelona.

It's interesting as things stand in the PL, with 3 games to play, Chelsea are a point clear in fourth & also through to the semis of the Europa League. Without knowing what was going to happen in-between the start of the campaign & now, I'd have taken this scenario back then.

— Mark Worrall (@gate17marco) April 24, 2019

UEFA Europa League 

The tournament is down to its final four and the 2 English clubs in Chelsea and Arsenal are in pole position to win it. The Gunners will face La Liga side Valencia, while Chelsea will have to deal with Luka Jovic’s Eintracht Frankfurt side.

Premier League

The Premier League’s biggest games saw Manchester City go past their two biggest roadblocks for the remainder of the season – Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

While Tottenham did bounce back, United and Arsenal both faced back-to-back defeats in the week. Liverpool comfortably won their fixtures, while Chelsea stumbled and dropped points at Turf Moor.

La Liga 

The Spanish League is looking at the possibility of Barcelona running away with the title once again, as they are already 9 points clear at the top of the table, with Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid currently occupying the 2nd place.

Both of them were deserved winners this week, with Real Madrid not having a midweek game to deal with.

Juventus are the first team in Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 or Premier League history to win the title in eight consecutive seasons.

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19 Absolute dominance. pic.twitter.com/OTN7wmIhax

— Coral (@Coral) April 20, 2019

Serie A 

The surprise result of the Italian weekend came in the from Napoli, who were handed a lesson by Atalanta. Milan played Parma, while Inter faced off against AS Roma. Both matches ended in 1-1 draws. Juventus went on to win their 8th consecutive Seria A title.

Bundesliga 

The Bundesliga season has entered its final leg and as this memorable season draws to a close, Bayern Munich will be looking to make their presence felt in the final stages of the season.

They were 1-0 winners over Werder Bremen, while Borussia Dortmund dispatched Freiburg 4-0. RB Leipzig beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, as the latter try to enter the Champions League spots.

Ligue 1 

Paris Saint Germain battered Monaco with a 3-1 scoreline to extend their lead at the top of the Ligue 1. Lyon and Marseille had regular wins on the week, while Toulouse and Lille played out a sticky 0-0 draw.

Other European Leagues 

Ajax dispatched Vittese Arnhem by a 4-2 scoreline to extend their lead at the top of the Eredivisie table to 3 points until PSV face off against Willem.

The battle at the top of the Liga NOS is getting heated up as Porto and Benfica are separated just by goal difference. In Scotland, league leaders Celtic played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Hibernian.

Here are the club rankings after the April 6-8th set of fixtures: 

20. Lyon (Stay!) 

19. Manchester United (-5)

Unsure why pundits acting so surprised over #ManUtd. Their fans need to accept they aren’t a top 4 club any more. IMO they are a top half team who’s aim will be Europa League. The Fergie era of league domination is well and truly over and has been since he left

— Ben (@somersetseahawk) April 25, 2019

18. Napoli (-5)

17. Eintracht Frankfurt (+2) 

16. Paris Saint Germain (+2)

Why does Kylian Mbappe have no ambition? Playing for PSG, being a big fish in Ligue 1, may as well be playing for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.#PSG #RealMadrid

— SYMMETRY (@symmetry73) April 23, 2019

Chelsea will stay fourth tonight and a Champions League place now in their hands… but I still have no idea how that’s happened!

#CFC

— Oliver Harbord (@ojharbord) April 24, 2019

15. Chelsea (+2)

14. Porto (Stay!) 

13. Real Madrid (+2)

12. Juventus (+4)

11. Lille (-1)

10. Arsenal (-5)

The English side had a week to forget, as they backed up their impressive away win in Naples with a couple of embarrassing defeats at the hands of Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Wolves, who have put their European prospects for next season under massive risk.

A REMINDER:#OnThisDay 2004 Arsenal wrapped up the Premier League title with a 2-2 draw against Spurs at White Hart Lane. The Gunners had four games left to play. What a squad this was

pic.twitter.com/lOL1F0V0eQ

— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) April 25, 2019

9. Ajax (-1) 

The Dutch side had an amazing midweek, as they were able to triumph over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus in the Champions League. They came back and won their league game on the weekend and opened up a 3-point gap between themselves and PSV on the table.

8. Benfica (+1)

The Portuguese giants have been in sensational form since the start of the campaign and it doesn’t look like the Liga NOS title race is going to be decided until the final day of the season. Level on points at the top with Porto, Benfica destroyed Maritimo 6-0 to send a strong message.

STATS | João Félix More reports of Benfica's João Félix being wanted by Liverpool today after some speculation in recent weeks.

We've put together some of his stats below, 20 goal contributions in 22 games for a 19-year-old!

#LFC Would you take him at Anfield?

pic.twitter.com/sG6oyMvwXE

— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) April 23, 2019

7. Atletico Madrid (Stay!) 

Atletico Madrid are currently 9 points off the top of the La Liga table and catching up to Barcelona in the few games that remain seems like an impossible task. Despite this, they were able to dispatch Valencia by a 3-2 scoreline.

6. Tottenham Hotspur (-2) 

Mauricio Pochettino’s men surpassed the test put forth by Manchester City in the Champions League before losing out to the same City side in the league a few days later. They are currently at 3rd place in the league.

Tottenham’s 100% winning record in their new stadium continues and they’re yet to concede a goal. Fortress.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 23, 2019

5. Borussia Dortmund (+1) 

The German club are still hot on the rails of Bayern Munich and will be hopeful of beating them to the title. With just a single point separating the two sides at the top of the Bundesliga table, the next few fixtures are must-win games for both clubs.

4. Manchester City (+7) 

Guardiola’s men were knocked out of the Champions League by Tottenham in the last round but they bounced back from this letdown by beating Tottenham and Manchester United within the space of a few days in the Premier League. With Liverpool hot on their tails, they have done well to maintain the lead.

Man City have scored 157 goals in all competitions this season – the most by an English top-flight side in a single season in history pic.twitter.com/jrZkVrERKx

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 24, 2019

3. Bayern Munich (Stay!) 

The German giants faced off against Werder Bremen in the DFB cup on the weekend and secured their place in the final of the competition.

Still battling it out with Dortmund at the top of the table, Munich will be hoping to close the season off at the earliest.

2. Barcelona (Stay!)

Barcelona overcame the threat posed by Manchester United in the Champions League and progressed to the semi-final.

27/4 Levante (H) 4/5 Celta (A) 12/5 Getafe (H) 19/5 Eibar (A) Win just ONE of those FOUR games and the Liga title is ours! #ForçaBarça

https://t.co/8fAWtPQm1t

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 25, 2019

In La Liga, they have been running away with the title for quite a while now and despite the best efforts of Diego Simeone’s Atletico side, it doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon.

1. Liverpool (Stay!)

Liverpool were able to dispatch Porto over two legs to set up a semifinal date against Barcelona in the Champions League.

It's in Man City's hands. If they win, they deserve it. Regardless, we should be proud of what we've achieved this season. So amazing pic.twitter.com/PfriIsjPNY

— Cindy

(@cindymonel) April 25, 2019

They were comfortable winners in the league too, as they passed the test put forth by Cardiff City on the weekend, keeping them in the #1 spot for yet another week.

The post SoccerSouls European Power Rankings after the latest round of games – Man City climb up, Arsenal go plummeting down appeared first on .

[giantsfootball0]

Scouting Report: Indoor Swing Gets Underway | ATP World Tour

The indoor hard court swing commences this week at the St. Petersburg Open, where Roberto Bautista Agut is the top seed, and the Moselle Open in Metz, where Pablo Carreno Busta leads the charge and Lucas Pouille returns to defend his title.

View Draws: St. Petersburg | Metz

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ST. PETERSBURG (1) Into the Indoors: As the season changes from summer to fall, the ATP World Tour transitions from outdoor to indoor hard courts with the St. Petersburg Open and Moselle Open. One million dollars is on the line in St. Petersburg, the third-largest purse of the 40 ATP World Tour 250 events behind the season-opener in Doha ($1,237,190) and next week’s tournament in Chengdu ($1,028,885).

(2) #NextGenATP Duo: Russian Daniil Medvedev and Croat Borna Coric are among the Top 7 players in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan. But No. 8 Hyeon Chung is only 22 points behind Medvedev and 181 points behind Coric among the 21-and-unders trying to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. Medvedev and Coric will look to gain ground on Chung this week in St. Petersburg.

(3) Milestone Year: Medvedev, 21, reached his first final at Chennai, while Coric, 20, won his first title at Marrakech. Both earned Top 10 wins at Grand Slams, with Medvedev ending Stan Wawrinka’s year at Wimbledon and Coric upsetting Race to Milan leader Alexander Zverev at the US Open.

(4) Simply the Best: Medvedev’s countryman Mikhail Youzhny returns as the winningest player in St. Petersburg Open history. Youzhny is 33-13 and making his 16th straight appearance at the tournament (2001-13, 2015-17), which did not take place in 2014. The former World No. 8 is the last Russian finalist (2010) and champion (2004), also reaching the final as a 20-year-old in 2002.

(5) Hero’s Welcome: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga makes his St. Petersburg debut as a wild card and the No. 2 seed. Tsonga swept Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic of Serbia this past weekend to lead France into the Davis Cup final. The 32-year-old has won titles at Rotterdam, Marseille and Lyon in 2017.

(6) Consistency is Key: No. 1 seed Roberto Bautista Agut has also captured multiple titles this year (Chennai, Winston-Salem). The 29-year-old Spaniard is 41-16 in 2017, surpassing 40 wins for the fourth straight season. Bautista Agut is up to a career-high No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

(7) Trio to Watch: No. 3 seed Fabio Fognini, No. 4 seed Adrian Mannarino and No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber are in form entering St. Petersburg. Fognini won the Gstaad title on July 30 and Kohlschreiber captured the Kitzbuehel title six days later. Mannarino is 16-7 since June 26.

(8) Record-Setter: No. 6 seed Paolo Lorenzi made history at the US Open earlier this month. The 35-year-old Italian became the oldest player in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Lorenzi is also the oldest first-time champion in ATP history (2016 Kitzbuehel).

(9) On the Rise: Lorenzi’s first-round opponent Damir Dzumhur is 22-7 overall since June 19, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour final at Winston-Salem, second semi-final at Los Cabos and seventh Challenger title at Blois, France. Dzumhur also advanced to the US Open third round.

(10) Double the Russians: The only Russians in the doubles draw will meet in the first round when Youzhny and Evgeny Donskoy face fellow wild cards Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN METZ (1) Into the Indoors: As the season changes from summer to fall, the ATP World Tour transitions from outdoor to indoor hard courts with the Moselle Open and St. Petersburg Open. Frenchmen have won seven of the last eight Metz titles and nine of 14 overall since the inaugural event in 2003.

(2) Heroes’ Welcome: No. 3 singles seed Lucas Pouille and No. 1 doubles seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut arrive in Metz from Lille, where they helped France beat Serbia in the Davis Cup semi-finals. After Pouille lost the opener, Herbert and Mahut earned the doubles win. Pouille defeated Dominic Thiem to capture his first of three ATP titles at the 2016 Moselle Open.

(3) Enemy of the State: France will host Belgium, led by No. 2 seed David Goffin, in the Davis Cup final. Goffin is 19-3 in Davis Cup singles matches, including victories over John Millman on Friday and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday. The Belgian has not won an ATP title since the 2014 Moselle Open.

(4) French Seeds: Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, Benoit Paire and Gilles Simon are seeded sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Gasquet returned to the ATP Challenger Tour last week for the first time since 2010, capturing his ninth Challenger title in Szczecin, Poland. Simon, the 2010 and 2013 Metz champion, has not reached an ATP World Tour final since the 2015 Moselle Open.

(5) Eye on London: No. 1 seed Pablo Carreno Busta broke into the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on September 11 after reaching the US Open semi-finals. The Spaniard is eighth in the Emirates ATP Race to London, with the Top 8 finishers ensured a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

(6) Career Year: Also receiving a first-round bye is No. 4 seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Muller reached a career-high No. 21 on July 31 after capturing his first two ATP World Tour titles at Sydney and ’s-Hertogenbosch, then upsetting two-time champion Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

(7) Career Year, Too: Like Muller, No. 5 seed Mischa Zverev broke into the Top 25 this season for the first time. The 2010 Moselle Open finalist reached the third round at Wimbledon, fourth round at the US Open and quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he upset then-No. 1 Andy Murray.

(8) Veteran Presence: Three 35-year-old Frenchmen are in the field: Mahut, Julien Benneteau and Paul-Henri Mathieu. Benneteau and Mahut won the inaugural Metz doubles title in 2003, while Mathieu reached the Metz singles final in 2008. Mathieu plans to retire at the end of the season.

(9) Double the Frenchmen: Eleven Frenchmen are in the doubles draw, including the teams of Herbert/Mahut, Mathieu/Paire and Pouille/Simon. Also in the field are Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who lost to Herbert and Mahut in a historic All-French final at 2016 Wimbledon.

(10) Wild Cards Again: Romain Arneodo of Monaco and Hugo Nys of France are playing their first tour-level event as a team since Monte-Carlo in April, when they upset Grand Slam champions Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau and Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares en route to the semi-finals.

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Scouting Report: Indoor Swing Gets Underway | ATP World Tour

The indoor hard court swing commences this week at the St. Petersburg Open, where Roberto Bautista Agut is the top seed, and the Moselle Open in Metz, where Pablo Carreno Busta leads the charge and Lucas Pouille returns to defend his title.

View Draws: St. Petersburg | Metz

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ST. PETERSBURG (1) Into the Indoors: As the season changes from summer to fall, the ATP World Tour transitions from outdoor to indoor hard courts with the St. Petersburg Open and Moselle Open. One million dollars is on the line in St. Petersburg, the third-largest purse of the 40 ATP World Tour 250 events behind the season-opener in Doha ($1,237,190) and next week’s tournament in Chengdu ($1,028,885).

(2) #NextGenATP Duo: Russian Daniil Medvedev and Croat Borna Coric are among the Top 7 players in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan. But No. 8 Hyeon Chung is only 22 points behind Medvedev and 181 points behind Coric among the 21-and-unders trying to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. Medvedev and Coric will look to gain ground on Chung this week in St. Petersburg.

(3) Milestone Year: Medvedev, 21, reached his first final at Chennai, while Coric, 20, won his first title at Marrakech. Both earned Top 10 wins at Grand Slams, with Medvedev ending Stan Wawrinka’s year at Wimbledon and Coric upsetting Race to Milan leader Alexander Zverev at the US Open.

(4) Simply the Best: Medvedev’s countryman Mikhail Youzhny returns as the winningest player in St. Petersburg Open history. Youzhny is 33-13 and making his 16th straight appearance at the tournament (2001-13, 2015-17), which did not take place in 2014. The former World No. 8 is the last Russian finalist (2010) and champion (2004), also reaching the final as a 20-year-old in 2002.

(5) Hero’s Welcome: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga makes his St. Petersburg debut as a wild card and the No. 2 seed. Tsonga swept Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic of Serbia this past weekend to lead France into the Davis Cup final. The 32-year-old has won titles at Rotterdam, Marseille and Lyon in 2017.

(6) Consistency is Key: No. 1 seed Roberto Bautista Agut has also captured multiple titles this year (Chennai, Winston-Salem). The 29-year-old Spaniard is 41-16 in 2017, surpassing 40 wins for the fourth straight season. Bautista Agut is up to a career-high No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

(7) Trio to Watch: No. 3 seed Fabio Fognini, No. 4 seed Adrian Mannarino and No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber are in form entering St. Petersburg. Fognini won the Gstaad title on July 30 and Kohlschreiber captured the Kitzbuehel title six days later. Mannarino is 16-7 since June 26.

(8) Record-Setter: No. 6 seed Paolo Lorenzi made history at the US Open earlier this month. The 35-year-old Italian became the oldest player in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Lorenzi is also the oldest first-time champion in ATP history (2016 Kitzbuehel).

(9) On the Rise: Lorenzi’s first-round opponent Damir Dzumhur is 22-7 overall since June 19, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour final at Winston-Salem, second semi-final at Los Cabos and seventh Challenger title at Blois, France. Dzumhur also advanced to the US Open third round.

(10) Double the Russians: The only Russians in the doubles draw will meet in the first round when Youzhny and Evgeny Donskoy face fellow wild cards Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN METZ (1) Into the Indoors: As the season changes from summer to fall, the ATP World Tour transitions from outdoor to indoor hard courts with the Moselle Open and St. Petersburg Open. Frenchmen have won seven of the last eight Metz titles and nine of 14 overall since the inaugural event in 2003.

(2) Heroes’ Welcome: No. 3 singles seed Lucas Pouille and No. 1 doubles seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut arrive in Metz from Lille, where they helped France beat Serbia in the Davis Cup semi-finals. After Pouille lost the opener, Herbert and Mahut earned the doubles win. Pouille defeated Dominic Thiem to capture his first of three ATP titles at the 2016 Moselle Open.

(3) Enemy of the State: France will host Belgium, led by No. 2 seed David Goffin, in the Davis Cup final. Goffin is 19-3 in Davis Cup singles matches, including victories over John Millman on Friday and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday. The Belgian has not won an ATP title since the 2014 Moselle Open.

(4) French Seeds: Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, Benoit Paire and Gilles Simon are seeded sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Gasquet returned to the ATP Challenger Tour last week for the first time since 2010, capturing his ninth Challenger title in Szczecin, Poland. Simon, the 2010 and 2013 Metz champion, has not reached an ATP World Tour final since the 2015 Moselle Open.

(5) Eye on London: No. 1 seed Pablo Carreno Busta broke into the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on September 11 after reaching the US Open semi-finals. The Spaniard is eighth in the Emirates ATP Race to London, with the Top 8 finishers ensured a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

(6) Career Year: Also receiving a first-round bye is No. 4 seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Muller reached a career-high No. 21 on July 31 after capturing his first two ATP World Tour titles at Sydney and ’s-Hertogenbosch, then upsetting two-time champion Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

(7) Career Year, Too: Like Muller, No. 5 seed Mischa Zverev broke into the Top 25 this season for the first time. The 2010 Moselle Open finalist reached the third round at Wimbledon, fourth round at the US Open and quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he upset then-No. 1 Andy Murray.

(8) Veteran Presence: Three 35-year-old Frenchmen are in the field: Mahut, Julien Benneteau and Paul-Henri Mathieu. Benneteau and Mahut won the inaugural Metz doubles title in 2003, while Mathieu reached the Metz singles final in 2008. Mathieu plans to retire at the end of the season.

(9) Double the Frenchmen: Eleven Frenchmen are in the doubles draw, including the teams of Herbert/Mahut, Mathieu/Paire and Pouille/Simon. Also in the field are Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who lost to Herbert and Mahut in a historic All-French final at 2016 Wimbledon.

(10) Wild Cards Again: Romain Arneodo of Monaco and Hugo Nys of France are playing their first tour-level event as a team since Monte-Carlo in April, when they upset Grand Slam champions Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau and Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares en route to the semi-finals.

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