Arnaldi Claims Fourth Challenger Title To Reach Career High

Italian Matteo Arnaldi continued his 2023 breakthrough Sunday when he captured the ATP Challenger Tour 125 title in Heilbronn, Germany. The fast-rising 22-year-old, who is one of four Challenger champions this week, is at a career-high No. 72 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his triumph at the NECKARCUP.

Fifth seed Arnaldi ousted Facundo Diaz Acosta 7-6(4), 6-1 in the final after winning 30 of 35 first-serve points to end the Argentine’s 14-match winning streak at the Challenger level. En route to the title, Arnaldi twice rallied from a set down, including against second seed Jaume Munar in the quarter-finals.

“Winning the tournament means a lot to me,” Arnaldi said. “I didn’t start the tournament very well, but I improved from match to match and was able to celebrate my third Challenger success of the year. Victory here should now bring me towards 70th in the rankings.”

A four-time Challenger Tour champion, Arnaldi has enjoyed a strong clay-court swing. The Sanremo native first cracked the Top 100 last month after his run to the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he upset third seed Casper Ruud as a qualifier.

In other Challenger Tour action, #NextGenATP star Dalibor Svrcina was crowned champion at the Unicredit Czech Open in Prostejov.

The 20-year-old Czech defeated countryman Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2 in the Challenger 100 final to earn his second Challenger title. The Ostrava native Svrcina, who was a finalist last year in Prostejov, went one step further to win on home soil and rise to 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

Earlier this season, World No. 192 Svrcina qualified for his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open, where he made it to the second round.

At the Tyler Tennis Championships in Texas, American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran survived a three-hour, nine-minute marathon final, where he defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7(8), 7-6(0), 6-4 to earn his second Challenger trophy.

^{Mikhail Kukushkin (left) and Nicolas Moreno De Alboran at the Tyler Challenger trophy ceremony. Credit: Tyler Tennis Championships}

“It’s very special, that’s why I came here,” Moreno de Alboran told commentator Mike Cation. “I’ve been wanting to come to the United States and play more. After [Roland Garros], I was like, ‘I’m going to head over there and play more on hard court and play at home.’ It worked out pretty good.”

At a career-high No. 142 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the 25-year-old Moreno de Alboran, who played college tennis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, earned his first Challenger title last year in Braga, Portugal.

Three-time major champion Andy Murray won on home soil at the Surbiton Challenger to open the grass-court swing. The 36-year-old defeated Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 6-2 in the final to become the oldest grass-court champion in Challenger history (since 1978).

Murray, who won the Aix-en-Provence Challenger 175 title last month, is the sixth player to win Challenger titles on both clay and grass in the same season.