After the US Open, the ATP Tour does not get as much attention, but the intensity level certainly does not drop. Most readers will be aware of the big headlines, most notably Novak Djokovic remaining undefeated in Beijing with his fifth title at the tournament, and France and Switzerland setting up a meeting in the Davis Cup final. But there were also plenty of other noteworthy things that happened in the men’s tennis world over the past month or so. Here are a look at some notable results and highlights from Metz, Shenzhen, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, and Tokyo.

Nishikori dominates Asian swing with titles in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo

After announcing his arrival as a top player by making the US Open final, Kei Nishikori wasn’t deflated in the slightest after losing that match, and he now sports a new nine-match winning streak. He won the Kuala Lumpur tournament after dropping just a lone set to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals. Nishikori then won his second Tokyo title in front of a sellout home crowd, dropping just two sets all tournament. Nishikori has wins over Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic, and Grigor Dimitrov this season, and he is making a strong push to finish the year ranked in the top five. A case can be made that he’s the ATP player of the year overall. The only thing that has really slowed down Nishikori’s season at any point has been injuries and fatigue.

Goffin and Raonic notch noteworthy winning streaks

David Goffin has been playing some insane tennis since Wimbledon, at both the ATP and Challenger level. The Belgian has won 12 straight matches since his third-round exit at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open. He won the title in Metz, scoring a notable win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga along the way. Goffin skipped the Asian swing and opted to play a strong Challenger in Mons, Belgium, on home soil. He won the title there as well, along with leading Belgium to a Davis Cup tie victory over the Ukraine before Metz took place. Goffin is making a push to reach the top 25 before the season ends, and he is an impressive 62-19 this year overall.

Milos Raonic improved his record to 45-15 on the season by making his third consecutive final in Tokyo. Before falling to Nishikori, he was riding a six-match winning streak between Davis Cup and Tokyo, and he had quality wins over Santiago Giraldo and Gilles Simon in that stretch. The Canadian did not drop a single set in any of those six matches, and his serving has been impeccable all season. His consistency all season has been his strong suit, and he is likely to make a push for the top five next year. 

Berdych and Murray regain form

Both Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray have had less than stellar seasons by their normally high standards, but they both found some form late in the year, and that should give them some positive vibes going into next year. Berdych snapped a two-match losing streak and reached the final in Beijing, demolishing Feliciano Lopez and John Isner before getting crushed by Djokovic in the final. He did not drop a set before the final in Beijing and did not surrender more than seven games in any single match, or more than four games in a single set.

Murray has found resurgent form in China, winning Shenzhen for his first title of the year. He saved match points against Tommy Robredo in that final. He also reached the semifinals in Beijing and had quality wins over Jerzy Janowicz and an in-form Marin Cilic en route. Djokovic easily handled him as well, but Djokovic is a machine in Beijing, so Murray has nothing to be ashamed of with that routine loss.

Matches of the month: Tokyo R1, Gilles Simon d. Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6 7-6(7) 2-1(ret.); Metz QF, Joao Sousa d. Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6 6-3 7-6(4)

Two great matches this month are worth a watch on replay if you have the time. Gilles Simon staved off six match points to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut in Tokyo. Simon was down a set and 4-5, and the Spaniard had four match points but gave them all away, some with simple unforced errors and others with Simon outgrinding him in rallies. Bautista Agut was stunning on the forehand side, and his shot placement was excellent, but Simon was like a defensive backboard. This match was all about rallying, both from the baseline and in net exchanges, and the serve was basically meaningless. After Bautista Agut put everything he had into winning the match in the second set, he wilted quickly in the third and retired with exhaustion under the hot Tokyo sun. Their game at 4-5 in the second set lasted over 11 minutes and was one of the games of the year in men’s tennis. Simon gritted out a gutsy comeback by winning the long rallies when the match was on the line.

In Metz, Joao Sousa saved four match points to defeat the veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu on home soil. After trading the first and second set almost equally, Mathieu was up 5-2, and also 6-5 with a pair of match point chances on his opponent’s serve in the third set. Sousa clawed back from both deficits, taking an aggressive approach on the match points. Mathieu could not convert with the pressure on, and he had a pair of double faults when serving for the match. Sousa eventually wore him down and went on to grab an edge in the tiebreak and not look back.

Benneteau drops to 0-10 in his career in ATP finals, loses third consecutive Kuala Lumpur final

On the one hand, Julien Benneteau should be commended for reaching his 10th career ATP final, given that many talented players are lucky to reach half that number in their careers. On the other hand, Benneteau remains one of the most skilled players to never win an ATP title, as he lost his third consecutive Kuala Lumpur final to Nishikori. Benneteau has never lost in Kuala Lumpur before the final, and this loss was not as close as the previous two finals, but it still must sting.

Ferrer, Wawrinka suffer upsets, struggles continue for Gasquet

Top-10 players David Ferrer and Stan Wawrinka are both struggling at the moment, along with formerly top-10 player Richard Gasquet, who has fallen from the top 20 after a poor 2014 season.

Ferrer lost two straight ATP matches for the first time since 2008, a remarkable feat that is a testament to his normal consistency. He struggled with the serve of Viktor Troicki in Shenzhen, losing in straight sets to the Serbian on the comeback trail, and then he lost to Marcel Granollers in three sets in Tokyo, a player he had never lost to before in a multitude of meetings. Ferrer has had a disappointing season, and he’ll need to retool some things going into 2015 if he is going to hang onto his spot in the top 10.

Wawrinka was shocked by challenger journeyman Tatsuma Ito in Tokyo. Although he’s established himself as a top-five player this year, Wawrinka has had problems with consistently performing from week to week, and Ito played perhaps the match of his life to defeat the Swiss 7-5 6-2 in round 1. The undersized Japanese counterpuncher dominated Wawrinka and kept him in an ineffective defensive rally position the entire match. Wawrinka never really seemed engaged with the match and meekly bowed out after going down a set and a break.

Richard Gasquet had losses to Juan Monaco in Shenzhen and Nadal in Beijing over the past two weeks. While the Monaco loss is the only bad loss of those two, he was run off the court by Nadal, who was just coming back from an injury, giving up a second-set bagel and not showing any sort of effort. It’s understandable given the head-to-head discrepancy that Nadal would win, but more has to be expected out of Gasquet.

American contingent has success in Tokyo and Beijing

The American trio of Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, and John Isner didn’t make a lot of headlines, but all three put together solid tournaments for themselves away from home soil. This is a big step in the maturation of Johnson and Sock, and it shows Isner still appears to be committed to playing hard late in the year.

Sock reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo after demolishing Alex Dologpolov, along with fighting off Andrey Golubev. Sock has been much more consistent at the ATP level this year compared to last year/ He has four ATP quarterfinals, and two semifinals. Outside of the U. S., his best success has come in the Asia-Pacific region. He made the quarterfinals in Auckland at the beginning of the year as well as Tokyo last month. He has notable wins over Isner and Tommy Haas this season.

While Sock has joined the ranks of the top 70, Steve Johnson has joined the top 50. He also reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo. The USC product who sports a big forehand like his countryman Sock defeated Marcel Granollers in the Japanese capital. He has four quarterfinals and a semifinal showing at the ATP level this year, along with notable wins over Tommy Haas, Kevin Anderson, Ernests Gulbis, and Isner.

Isner reached the quarterfinals in Beijing with a gutsy three-set win over Tommy Robredo. He also defeated the in-form Santiago Giraldo in round 1. This week in Beijing has been one of his best off home soil as he remains in the top 15.