Ben McLachlan now gets to sleep more in the bed than on the couch.
Having spent the past few years on the ITF Futures tour, the 24-year-old graduated to the ATP Challengers tour and his world doubles ranking has risen to 192.
The Queenstown native got his first taste of the Challengers level in April, before making the jump consistently in July. His world ranking was 397 at the beginning of the year, and he broke into the top 200 in October.
''I enjoy it a lot more. It's fun playing the Challenger level. It's a lot more enjoyable than the Futures level tournaments,'' McLachlan said.
''The level's higher, you get treated better and all that kind of stuff. Just little things, like being at the courts and things always being provided for you. You don't have to worry about transportation, a lot of the time the hotels are covered, there's always new practice balls for you and water and towels.
''It ends up making a difference when you're there.''
It was at home in New Zealand where he came up against his toughest opponents, though. At the New Zealand Championships last week in Auckland he met Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak in the doubles final, ranked 50th and 62nd in the world respectively. He and Finn Tearney were beaten 6-1, 6-4. He also made the semifinals in the singles, where Sitak got the better of him 6-2, 6-1.
''My main focus was the doubles and we ended up losing in the final, to obviously a really strong team. So it was a good experience and it was fun to play against them. Those were the highest-ranked guys I've ever played against.
''They're ranked around 50 and 60 in the world. They'll sometimes play the Challenger tournaments that I play as well, but I haven't come across them. You sometimes see guys at that level, but they're pretty good.''
While back in New Zealand he was making the most of getting some rest and training with his older brother, Riki, who coached him in Queenstown. He is set to play a tournament in Te Anau after Christmas, and one in Noumea, New Caledonia.
It was a change after spending most of the year travelling, which he said could become a grind at times.
''I don't really have a base ... just travelling a lot. I try to come here [New Zealand] if I can, if it's not too far.
''If I'm in the States, I have a couple of friends I can stay with around San Francisco, like around where I went to school [university]. So I don't really base myself there. If I'm there I'm just staying on couches.
''I only spent a couple of months at home this year. You're basically travelling out of one suitcase for six or seven months.''
That brought the challenge of being away from his coach for much of the year, as it was expensive to have a coach on tour. However, the Challenger tour matches were all streamed, so he was able to talk things through with his brother over Skype.
The Monterrey Challenger in Mexico was a highlight of the year. There he made the final in the doubles with his regular partner, Jarryd Chaplin. It was one of two finals McLachlan played on the tour this year.
After leaving Wakatipu High School, McLachlan attended the University of California (Berkeley) where he played top-level college tennis. He left at the same time as Chaplin, an Australian who was at the University of Tennessee and whom he had known since about the age of 12, from playing junior tournaments. After going on a couple of trips together, they decided to focus on doubles rather than singles.
''Part of it was I think my game's a little more suited to the doubles. I enjoy the doubles a lot more. I enjoy the team aspect of it.
''I was trying singles for a year or so, but it started to wear me down mentally. It's pretty tough out there on the singles tour.''
His eyes are firmly on cracking the world top 100. From there he hopes to step up another level, which would allow him to compete in tournaments such as Auckland's ASB Classic.
-By Jeff Cheshire
