Jeremy Chardy saved two set points in the opening set on Monday before eliminating Italian Alessandro Giannessi, 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour, 53 minutes at the Shenzhen Open. The Frenchman will attempt to reach his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season against the winner of fifth-seeded Donald Young and the youngest player in the draw, #NextGenATP 17-year-old Nicola Kuhn.

ATP World Tour veteran Steve Darcis ended the hometown hopes of Ze Zhang 7-5, 7-6(3). The 27-year-old Zhang, who captured his first ATP Challenger Tour title earlier this year in San Francisco, broke the Belgian immediately and earned four more break points in Darcis’ second service game. From 1-4 down, World No. 77 won six of the next seven games, saving four set points on his serve at 4-5, to claim the opening set.

While Darcis earned the first break of the second set and held for a 4-2 lead, Zhang fought back and forced a tie-break. But from 2-2, the third-oldest player to debut in the Top 40 of the Emirates ATP Rankings (No. 38 in May 2017) won five of the final six points to clinch the victory against the wild card.

In the only other singles contest of the day in Shenzhen, Dudi Sela used an 18-minute opening set to catapult past qualifier Matthew Ebden, 6-0, 7-6(8), in their second career meeting. The Israeli saved four set points in the second set tie-break to squeak past the Australian.

Three seeded players will begin their campaigns at the event on Tuesday.

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Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric explored some Sichuan culinary treats on Monday, during time out from the Chengdu Open. The duo, closely guided by Nelson Ong, the Executive Chef at the St. Regis Chengdu, tried their hands at making traditional Chinese meat dumplings.

Coric said, “The chef told us that we were very good for our first time – I doubt it, but if he says so, I believe him! I’m not really a big fan of spicy food, but I don’t mind having this for lunch today.”

“At the beginning it was tough,” said former World No. 8 Baghdatis. “I didn’t realise you needed to put some water so that the dough sticks together, but once the chef helped us out and told us his little secrets it became easier. Personally, I like trying different kinds of food so it’s a pleasure to be here cooking something different. I enjoyed my time here. I love this tournament actually, I like the people that organise it – they provide very good facilities for the players and do everything for us.”

Baghdatis opens his Chengdu Open campaign against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, while Coric starts against Guido Pella of Argentina.

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American Jared Donaldson fought hard on Monday, weathering a late comeback from fellow #NextGenATP and Greek qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Chengdu Open for a 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 victory over two hours and 25 minutes.

World No. 58 Donaldson, now 19-17 on the year, led 5-2 in the deciding set, before losing 10 of the next 13 points to ensure a tense end to the pair’s first meeting. Tsitsipas, 19, dropped to 0-7 lifetime in tour-level matches, while Donaldson will next face sixth-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund or Bernard Tomic of Australia.

“I think the entire match was very close and Stefanos played a great match,” said Donaldson. “Obviously, at 5-2 in the third set I didn’t play a great service game. It happens sometimes. I gave myself an opportunity to win, I just didn’t take it and I also thought I got a little unlucky.”

Elsewhere, fifth-seeded Japanese Yuichi Sugita was leading 6-1 when Croatian qualifier Mate Pavic after 22 minutes of play. This year’s Antalya Open titlist (d. Mannarino, who is now 16-10 in a career-best year, awaits the winner of Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro or Chinese wild card Yibing Wu.

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Australian Akira Santillan has forged a memorable 2017 – and as a bonus, he’s picked up a few pointers as to how to make his 2018 season on the ATP World Tour even more constructive. At just 20 years old, the #NextGenATP star is still learning how to balance his training regimen with tournament play.

If the 2017 season has taught him something, it’s to pace himself, and to put in the time on the practice courts. “I’ve played too many tournaments in a row this year and it doesn’t suit me,” Santillan said.

“I usually play better when I go practise, play my first tournament and get a good result. I’ll learn from that and go and play three or four tournaments, practise, do the same thing over and over, instead of playing many tournaments in a row.”

Currently No. 20 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, Santillan enters this week’s Shenzhen Open event well rested and with hopes of maintaining his form. He is coming off a busy and productive summer run – he won the Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship Challenger in July, then claimed his first ATP World Tour match win a week later at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island.

And despite falling in the third round of the US Open qualifying, Santillan hardly considers the loss a setback. In that match, Santillan battled back from a set down to force a third set before ultimately falling to American JC Aragone 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

“It was a bit of a tough loss, but it was also a good result,” Santillan said. “It was also a confidence [booster] for the rest of the season.”

The Australian opens his Asian swing campaign as a wild card and plays Evgeny Donskoy in the first round in Shenzhen. Taking his own advice, Santillan decided to take a break from tournament action after the US Open in an effort to be at full strength to close out the year.

“I had a good three-week break before coming to Shenzhen,” Santillan said. “Just to recover, practise and have some time off to be ready for the next swing in Asia.”

When it comes to ending the year, Santillan has a target but is also careful not to look too far ahead. “I still haven’t made my goals for next season; I’m focusing on now,” Santillan said.

“My goal [for this season] is to break the Top 100 [in the Emirates ATP Rankings]. If I achieve my goals for this season, I’ll focus on a Top-50 finish next season.”

How does it feel to be standing with the trophy and a first-time ATP World Tour winner?
It feels great, obviously first title for me and having that trophy with me. It’s really a great feeling and the best memory of my life definitely.

Was this something you dreamed about growing up and playing tennis as a junior?
It was definitely one of my dreams when I was young, when I was playing as a kid. Playing big tournaments and winning one of them, which the St. Petersburg Open definitely is. Yeah, it was one of my dreams. And now when that that dream has come true I will probably try to get something bigger.

Did you go in with a different approach from your first ATP World Tour final a month ago in Winston-Salem?
It was definitely a different approach from my first ATP World Tour final in Winston-Salem. In Winston-Salem I was a little bit more nervous. I was a little bit more tight than for the match against Fabio Fognini in St. Petersburg. I just knew that any of the finals are not easy to play. You are going to be nervous in the start. But as the match will go on, you’ll get more relaxed and you’ll have chances. So I used my chances in the second set and turned that match, and definitely the first final helped me a lot to win this final.

You only dropped one set going into the final and broke opponents 20 times. Was this the best you have returned in a tournament?
Yes, I can say that this was definitely a tournament when I was returning the best. I just felt good on return, especially that match against Jan-Lennard Struff in the semi-finals, where I needed a return against a big server like him. So I can say this was the best returning tournament for me.

You have a 15-3 record since 31 July. What have you been doing so well to get to this level?
My record since July is really great, and I hope I will continue like that. I think mentally I was very strong, I was very tough. After a few wins, I got my confidence back, and when I got that confidence I was playing tennis on a higher level. Being very strong on the court mentally made the difference from the results that I had before.

How does it feel to be the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title?
Being the first Bosnian to have an ATP World Tour singles title is really great, and I am so proud of myself and of my country. I’m really happy that my country, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has a winner of an ATP World Tour title.

Now that you won your first ATP World Tour title and have cracked the Top 50, what are the goals for the rest of the season?
I think the biggest goal until the end of the season is to stay really healthy so I can have some good rest at the end of the season and prepare well for next year. Of course now that I’m No. 40 my goals are bigger and I want to get close to No. 30 until the end of the year. Hopefully I will continue with the good results in the next few weeks, in China and then after in Europe. My goal is to be close to No. 30.

You have had a lot of support in your career. Who are the people that have allowed you to get this level and you would like to acknowledge?
Support is always important and my biggest support was all the time from my family, my mother and father, especially my father, who was my coach since I was 5. He was always with me, helping me and definitely I can say he brought me here to where I am right now. As a family it’s really important. I always play for them and all my results I give to them.

Also, in the last few months, my girlfriend was really helping me a lot, travelling with me to the tournaments. The last few months I haven’t had a tennis coach. She was always there and helping me. And of course my fitness coach, who I’ve been working with the last year, helped me a lot. My fitness is at a great level. Big thanks goes to him.

Big support of the media from Bosnia-Herzegovina, of the people from Bosnia, who were always giving me a lot of power and energy to go for more and to try to do something more in my tennis.

Read More: A Change In Approach Leads To A Change In Fortune For Dzumhur

Is there a player (or players) you looked up to and admired while growing up?
For a long time, my idol has been Roger Federer. Everything he did on the court and off the court was really great. He was always inspiring so many people for so many years and I’m definitely one of the players who Roger inspired and he’s definitely my biggest idol.

There is one more player who really helped show us from the Balkans that we can do so much more than we really think we can and that’s Novak Djokovic, who showed us that… we can make so much more. We can have great results on the tennis scene.

When you’re not playing tennis what are your other interests?
When I’m not playing tennis I like watching movies a lot. I like watching series. I watch a lot of series. I like playing football. And if I have a chance to be home for a few days when it’s winter I like skiing.

A LOOK BACK
TEB Izmir Cup (Izmir, Turkey): Illya Marchenko gave himself the perfect birthday gift, celebrating his first tournament as a 30 year old with the title in Izmir, Turkey. The Ukrainian defeated Stephane Robert 7-6(2), 6-0 in just 73 minutes on Sunday, lifting a trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour for the sixth time. Former World No. 49 Marchenko is looking to return to the Top 100 after falling on tough times in 2017. He is up 65 spots to No. 222 in the Emirates ATP Rankings with the title.

Title title title!!! ????? #izmircup2017

— Illya Marchenko (@imarchello) September 24, 2017

Sibiu Open (Sibiu, Romania): Cedrik-Marcel Stebe continued his stunning ascent in his comeback to the pro circuit, taking his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the year on Sunday. Champion in Poprad, Slovakia and Vancouver, Canada, Stebe added a trophy in Sibiu, defeating Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-3. Following three years on the sidelines with a slew of injuries, the German returned to the Top 100 after reaching the US Open second round as a qualifier, and is now just eight spots off his career-high of No. 71.

?? @cedrikstebe continues his stunning comeback, claiming his third #ATPChallenger title of the year 63 63 over Carlos Taberner @OpenSibiu. pic.twitter.com/ES8lSPF3az

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 24, 2017

Gwangju Challenger (Gwangju, Korea): Speaking of comebacks from injury, Matthias Bachinger completed an impressive run to the title in Gwangju. The German defeated qualifier Tsung-Hua Yang 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday, streaking to his first Challenger crown in six years without dropping a set all week. Bachinger, who reached a career-high of No. 85 in 2011, was recently sidelined after undergoing knee surgery. At No. 495 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to open the 2017 season, he is up to No. 205 with the victory.

Columbus Challenger (Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.): Croatia’s Ante Pavic became the second-oldest first-time winner on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, claiming his maiden title in Columbus. At 28 years, six months, he defeated Alexander Ward 6-7(11), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes. Pavic is up a staggering 135 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings with the title, rising to No. 290.

What a moment for 28-year-old Ante Pavic, claiming his maiden #ATPChallenger title with a 67(11) 64 63 win over Alex Ward in Columbus. pic.twitter.com/rwYJ0bGx68

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 24, 2017

A LOOK AHEAD
Three tournaments are on tap this week, headlined by the prestigious Open d’Orleans. The indoor hard-court event features defending champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert as its second seed and two-time champ Nicolas Mahut (2008, ’10) seeded eighth.

In Tiburon, California, defending champion Darian King is seeded sixth, while #NextGenATP stars Quentin Halys, Michael Mmoh and Felix Auger-Aliassime are also seeded. In Rome, Laslo Djere leads the field, with Tommy Robredo, Casper Ruud and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez also in action.