Lima, Peru
(3) Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG) def (7) Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG) 6-2, 7-6(4)
Argentinian Camilo Ugo Carabelli defeated compatriot Agustin Tirante to claim the third ATP Challenger title of his career.
Carabelli’s triumph will see him enter the Top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career.
In the semifinals, Carabelli overcame top seed, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, in a tough three-set battle. In an impressive week, that was the only set he lost on route to the title.
Carabelli will be particularly pleased with his performances after being knocked out of his last two ATP Challenger tournaments in the Round of 32.
After entering the Top 100 in the ATP rankings, the Argentinian can now look forward to making his second appearance in a Grand Slam main draw when the US Open commences later this month.
San Marino, San Marino
(2) Pavel Kotov def (8) Matteo Arnaldi (ITL) 7-6(5), 6-4
Pavel Kotov defeated Italian Marrwo Arnaldi in a tense final to win the title in San Marino.
Kotov would have been grateful to be in the final after his stunning comeback in the semi-final. In the semi-final, he was a set and 2-5 (two breaks) down against Marco Cecchinato and somehow managed to survive and pull off a miraculous victory.
The final was a more straightforward match his semi-final but Kotov was still challenged by his Italian opponent. After winning a tight first-set tiebreak, Kotov gained a match-winning break of serve in the tenth game of the set.
In the live ATP rankings, Kotov is at a career-high ranking of 115 and just over 30 points away from being ranked inside the Top 100 for the first him in his career.
Chicago, USA
(7) Roman Safiullin def (WC) Ben Shelton 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Roman Safiullin claimed his second ATP Challenger title in his last three tournaments, defeating American wildcard Ben Shelton in seesawing three set contest.
On the current ATP live rankings, Safiullin is inside the Top 100 for the first time in his career Safiullin, who started the year at the ATP Cup with some promising form and then qualified for the Australian Open has struggled to maintain that form on the ATP Tour. Since then, he has largely played ATP Challenger tournaments.
Shelton broke in the first game of the deciding set to race to a 2-0 lead. In the eighth game of the set, Safiullin managed to break back.
Shelton’s lack of experience proved costly as he was broken in the twelfth game of the set to gift Safiullin the set and the title.
Safiullin will look to build on his strong form on the ATP Tour.
Meerbusch, Germany
(1) Bernabe Zapata Miralles (ESP) def Dennis Novak 6-1, 6-2
Bernabe Zapata Miralles easily accounted for Denis Novak to win the fourth ATP Challenger title of his career.
Playing on his preferred clay-court surface, Zapata Mirallesonly dropped one set on his way to the title. The top seeded Spaniard lost a combined seven games in the semi-final and final.
2022 has been a tremendous year for Zapata Miralles. He stunned the tennis world by making the fourth round at the French Open, including his first Top 15 victory (Taylor Fritz) and entered the Top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career.
The challenge for Zapata Miralles will be to translate his strong clay-court form on to the hard courts.
The Spaniard will have his sights set on bettering his second round performance at last year’s US Open.
Aussie ITF Wrap
Rinky Hijikata was no match in the final of the ITF tournament in Columbus, going down to American Murphy Cassone 6-3, 6-0.
Matthew Dellavedova fell agonizingly short of the title in Tunisia, going down 3-6, 5-7 in the final to fifth seed, Mark Lajal.
Brandon Walkin and Jason Taylor triumphed in Padova, defeating the Croatian pairing of Duje Ajdukovic and Frane Nincevic 7-6(3), 6-0 in the final.
Lima, Peru
Comments