Tecnifibre player Constant Lestienne is inspired by Gael Monfils, but seems to have naturally picked up his penchant for flashy hitting. The World No. 183 hit the Hot Shot of the week so far on Wednesday night at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Szczecin, Poland.

With second seed Inigo Cervantes of Spain serving at 3-4 in the opening set of their second-round clash, a strong backhand return from Lestienne set up an easy smash. It appeared he would drive the ball for a winner, but the Frenchman faked out his opponent and instead hit a delicate drop shot. The crowd roared their approval as Lestienne waved his arms to get them even more involved in the match.

“I don’t know where I learned that shot from, but it’s a shot I like to do. When I see an easy ball coming, my mind automatically wants to make a Hot Shot. I’ve tried this one at practice many times,” said Lestienne. “But the best player at these shots is Gael Monfils. I want to do all the same shots as him.”

Lestienne went on the win match, 6-4, 7-6(5). The victory gave him the first Top 100 win of his career. He will play seventh seed Albert Montanes of Spain on Friday for a place in the semi-finals. 

Casper Ruud decided to forgo this year’s US Open junior events in order to play his first ATP Challenger Tour tournament. Less than two weeks later, the Norwegian teenager has already graduated to the ATP World Tour.

The 17 year old will make his ATP World Tour main draw debut later this month after receiving a wild card into the Chengdu Open, held from 26 September to 2 October. Ruud’s father, Christian Ruud, competed on the ATP World Tour throughout the ‘90s, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 39 in October 1995.

“You have to take it day by day and I’m just trying my best every day and working hard,” said Casper. “Anything can happen, but I’m going to stay humble and just try to work every day.”

The teenager came through qualifying to win last week’s $75,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Seville, Spain. He became the fourth youngest player to win an ATP Challenger Tour event in their debut, joining prestigious champions including Michael Chang, Richard Gasquet and Jonathan Stark. Ruud is also the youngest ATP Challenger Tour winner since Alexander Zverev in 2014.

“Given his recent Challenger, it was an easy decision to give him the coveted wild card,” said Tournament Director Nick Freyer. “He was outside the top 1000 in the [Emirates] ATP Rankings at the start of the year, but his results have taken him to a career high ranking of 274 this week. [It’s] outstanding by any measure, especially so given his young age.”

Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov and Pablo Carreno Busta are among the top players competing in the inaugural edition of the Chengdu Open.

After six months on the sidelines with a right elbow injury, Tommy Robredo is set to make his comeback on the ATP World Tour next week at the Moselle Open in Metz.

The 34-year-old Robredo last competed on the ATP World Tour in February at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in the first round. Since then, the Spaniard has endured a tough spell away from the court after having surgery.

“It’s been hard,” Robredo told ATPWorldTour.com. “Firstly having to make the decision to have surgery, because after Dubai I had a tear in the tendon and I tried to avoid the operating theatre. I spent some time doing rehabilitation, but after a month and a half, we saw that it hadn’t mended at all so we opted for the surgery.”

After first detecting the injury in Dubai, Robredo initially hoped to return in April at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. But the doctors confirmed that surgery would be the best way to get back on the court. As such, there followed a lengthy stretch of recuperation and rehabilitation.

“Technically it’s been four months of recuperation,” said Robredo. “The first two months were hard because you have to come to terms with not training or competing. The third and fourth months, when you know you’re getting close, are when you put your foot down a bit. You’re excited to get back.”

Robredo’s 19 years of experience as a professional, the team he has around him and the people closest to him have been an important an important part of his recuperation. “The dream of coming back has always been there, working day after day with my team, with the physio, with my coach. It all helps,” said Robredo. “It’s all gone well. Also being at home with my family, with my friends, with my girlfriend has meant my return has been faster and more enjoyable.

The Spaniard, who has received a wild card into the Moselle Open, where he lifted the trophy in 2007 (d. Murray), made a tentative comeback on the ATP Challenger Tour last week in Genova. “I was really looking forward to playing again. Now in Metz, I think I will play better.”

After playing just six matches so far in 2016, Robredo is keen for as much court time as he can get as the season draws to a close in the coming weeks. “The goal is to play as many matches as possible so that my arm improves and I can start 2017 in top form,” said the Spaniard.

“There are going to be some difficult months ahead because having to start playing with pain is annoying and it isn’t easy. The goal is to get back to 100 per cent next year and give my all to see if we can have another great run, another great comeback and get back to where I really want to be on the ATP World Tour.”