Following in the footsteps of Santiago champion Thiago Seyboth Wild, Miomir Kecmanovic on Sunday became the second #NextGenATP player this year to capture his maiden ATP Tour crown. The 21-year-old claimed his fifth victory of the week against Yannick Hanfmann to capture the Generali Open trophy in Kitzbühel.

Kecmanovic had already shown signs that he was ready to claim his first tour-level crown earlier this year. The 2019 Antalya runner-up reached semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha and the New York Open.

ATPTour.com caught up with the World No. 47 after his victory to talk about his title run, what he learned after his first final appearance last year and what he got up to during his time away from the ATP Tour.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means a lot [to win my first ATP Tour title]. I worked so hard for this. I am definitely happy that I was able to achieve it so quickly.

Miomir Kecmanovic is the second #NextGenATP player to capture an ATP Tour title this year.” />

Did the experience of already playing an ATP Tour final in Antalya help you at all today?
Mentally it was a tough one [in Antalya]. I had match point and didn’t end up winning so it was really a heartbreak. I have had a lot of experiences since then, played a lot more tougher matches and I think that definitely paid off.

Your best results have typically come on faster surfaces. Are you doing anything differently on the clay this year?
I am surprised. Usually I play a lot better on faster surfaces. Here it is a little bit faster than normal clay courts, because we are at altitude. I think that worked to my advantage a little bit. I am really happy that I am able to win my first title on clay.

Are you surprised to pick up where you left off with your game after six months of no matches?
Maybe a little bit, because two months ago I broke an arm. I didn’t think I was going to come back so quickly and play such good tennis. I am really happy that I was able to bounce back from that in a relatively short period of time.

Has the time away made you view your career or life on Tour any differently?
I think it made me just appreciate it a bit more because, when we play, everything happens so quickly and you don’t really think about it. We had such a long time of not doing anything and you really appreciate the opportunities we get as tennis players.

Talk about what you did during the ATP Tour suspension. How did you manage to keep working on your game and fitness?
I just practised the whole time. I took some breaks between, but I was usually just practising. Nothing too crazy, just keeping in shape and staying ready for when the Tour resumed.

Did you pick up any new interests or skills during those five months?
I have done a lot more reading back home than I normally do. I tried to do as much of the things that I couldn’t do while I was playing, from cleaning up the house to random things like going outside and learning how to ride a motorcycle. Some crazy stuff.

Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor captured their maiden ATP Tour trophy as a team on Sunday, beating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(5), 7-5 at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel.

The American-Croatian team saved seven of 10 break points across the two-hour, five-minute contest to triumph in their first tour-level championship match as a pairing. Krajicek and Skugor entered the tournament with a 4-4 team record, having joined forces at the ASB Classic in January.

“It has been an awesome week,” said Krajicek. “It was a great way for us to start the clay-court season and we are working hard as a team. I think it is coming together a little bit, so hopefully we can keep going in Rome and at Roland Garros.”

The fourth seeds were made to work hard from their first match at the ATP 250. In each of their three matches en route to the final, Krajicek and Skugor clinched victories in Match Tie-breaks.

This is Krajicek’s fourth victory in nine ATP Tour doubles finals. Skugor has now lifted six trophies from nine tour-level doubles championship matches.

“It was a very strange match with a lot of breaks, but I still thought the quality was pretty good. We were all returning very good. There were a lot of ups and downs, but I am happy we managed to win this one,” said Skugor.

Granollers and Zeballos were aiming to become the first doubles pair to win three ATP Tour titles this year. In February, the top seeds won back-to-back trophies on clay at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Krajicek and Skugor earn 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €8,840 in prize money. Granollers and Zeballos earn 150 points and split €6,450.

New York City is the theatre capital of the world, so it’s a fitting location for some of the most dramatic moments in Dominic Thiem’s career during the US Open.

From devastating losses to milestone moments, ATPTour.com looks at the Austrian’s memorable highlights in New York ahead of his championship match on Sunday against Alexander Zverev.

2018: Late Night With Rafa
Thiem struck 74 winners and won more points (171 to 165) than Rafael Nadal in their US Open quarter-final, but it still wasn’t enough for victory. The Spaniard prevailed 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) in an epic four-hour, 49-minute marathon that finished at 2:04am.

The 11th match in their ATP Head2Head rivalry was their first on a hard court. Thiem made it clear from the first point that he would look to control the rallies, standing well behind the baseline to take massive cuts at topspin-heavy groundstrokes. He became the first player in 18 months to hand Nadal a 6-0 set and the first since Andy Roddick (2004) to do so at the US Open.

Nadal was forced to play defence for much of the match, but managed to win more of the points that mattered most. A heartbroken Thiem admitted that the loss would sting for awhile despite being proud of his performance.

”It’s going to be stuck in my mind forever,” Thiem said. “I’m going to remember this match, for sure. Tennis is cruel sometimes because I think this match didn’t really deserve a loser. But there has to be one.”

2017: Devastating Defeat To Del Potro
Thiem found himself on the receiving end of Juan Martin del Potro’s comeback of the year in their fourth-round clash. After sprinting through the first two sets against a fever-ridden del Potro, the Argentine dug deep and saved two match points in the fourth set to score an incredible 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 win.

The Austrian needed just over an hour to score a two-sets lead as a woozy del Potro received medical treatment late in he second set. It appeared at one stage that the 2009 US Open champion might retire. But as a heavily partisan Argentine continent urged him on and chants of “Del-Po! Del-Po!” rang out through the Grandstand, he became energised and found the range on his shots. Thiem failed to serve out the match at 5-3 in the fourth set and del Potro saved two match points with aces at 5-6.

After well over three hours, Thiem double faulted on match point and dropped his head as Del Potro raised his arms in triumph. But despite the loss, Thiem was able to appreciate the incredible atmosphere inside the stadium.

”I was really pumped to play in front of a packed Grandstand,” Thiem said. “I enjoy playing more in a packed stadium, even when it’s more for the opponent, than in front of 500 people cheering for me.”

Illness, Injury & Breakthroughs
Thiem has had other moments of pain and pleasure in his previous visits to New York. After pulling out of Cincinnati last year due to Illness, he arrived in New York short on fitness and match preparation. The end result was a shocking first-round loss to Thomas Fabbiano in which Thiem declared that his performance was “not the real me.”

His highly-anticipated fourth-round showdown with Del Potro in 2016 was short-lived after the Austrian was forced to retire due to a knee injury midway through the second set. Thiem said he struggled to bend his knee for three days and the volume of matches he played that year – 69 in total – finally caught up to him.

New York is also the sight of Thiem’s Grand Slam breakthrough. In 2014, the then-20-year-old reached the second week of a major for the first time with upset wins over No. 11 seed Ernests Gulbis and No. 19 seed Feliciano Lopez.

Nick Kyrgios has pledged to provide programming support to a new tennis facility in the Australian Captial Territory.

A few weeks ago, Kyrgios showed his support for the Gungahlin tennis facility on social media and he has since extended his commitment to the project through the NK Foundation. The ACT Government will commit to the project — which will support a minimum of 24 new jobs during construction and five ongoing jobs — if re-elected in October.

“It’s going to give a chance for disadvantaged kids. Funding to get them out here and play together,” said Kyrgios. “To have another facility like this, hopefully my foundation can give kids a shot to get out there and play and hopefully they fall in love with it and something great happens. I just want to come down here and see people happy.”

Nick Kyrgios plans to establish the NK Foundation Squad at the Gungahlin tennis facility.” />

Canberra native Kyrgios also announced that he would establish the NK Foundation Squad at the new venue to support youths in need in the Gungahlin region.

The NK Foundation will provide and fund free coaching clinics at the facility throughout the year. Off the court, there will be a range of activities that will bring the squad together such as social outings and team experiences. The squad will be open to both boys and girls aged 18 and under, with no tennis experience required.

“Nick is always supportive of the local tennis landscape here in Canberra and we are excited that his generosity will provide kids the opportunity to get on court through the NK Foundation,” said Tennis ACT CEO Kim Kachel.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA and ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation Yvette Berry MLA announced that they would support approximately AUD $8 million in investment for the project as a pre-election commitment.

The plans for the facility include 12 ITF specified hard courts, two Tennis Hot Shots courts, along with a multi-lined and multi-use centre court that can be utilised for other sports.

“Tennis in the ACT continues to grow with over 32,000 participants,” said Berry. “This facility will not only help the sport continue to grow – through initiatives like Book-a-Court and the Tennis in Schools Program – but will also support the ACT to host bigger tennis events.”