The ATP today announced a new partnership that will see J. P. Morgan become a Platinum Partner and Official Banking Partner of the Nitto ATP Finals beginning in 2017. The news follows May’s announcement that the world’s biggest indoor tennis tournament would remain at The O2 in London through 2020.

“Our season finale in London has enjoyed great success since 2009, and continues to grow on a global level, attracting more than 100 million broadcast viewers in 2016. Today, we’re delighted to welcome J.P. Morgan as partner to our prestigious showcase event,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “This new agreement is a testament to what we have built over the last eight years at The O2, and we look forward to growing the tournament’s success even more with the support of such a world-renowned brand.”

“The Nitto ATP Finals tournament is the perfect fit for J.P. Morgan. The competition features the world’s best singles and doubles players at the top of their game. Earning a coveted spot at the season showdown is a result of hard work, focus and success throughout the year – all values we share at J.P. Morgan,” said Vis Raghavan, J.P. Morgan’s Head of Banking for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa and Deputy CEO of the region.

“The Nitto ATP Finals will be an exciting show for tennis fans everywhere, but especially for those who get to experience the action live here in London. We’re thrilled to help bring the best-of-the-best to The O2,” said Alessandro Barnaba, J.P. Morgan’s Co-Head of International Sales and Marketing.

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To be held 12-19 November, the Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena each year, as well as generating a global TV viewership of more than 100 million, as the ATP’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams compete over eight days at the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have secured the first two singles berths to this year’s tournament. The players are locked in what appears to be a two-way battle for the coveted year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking, which could be decided in London for the second consecutive year. In 2016, Andy Murray needed to beat Novak Djokovic in the final to become the 17th man in history to finish the year No. 1.

One year ago, Kevin King was on the sidelines recovering from hip surgery. On Sunday, he became an ATP Challenger Tour champion.

King stormed past Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-1 to earn his maiden title at the Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary, North Carolina. The 26-year-old entered the week outside the Top 400 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and has soared 181 spots to a career-high No. 253 with the victory.

The American had never reached a Challenger final coming into Cary, but he would score impressive wins over top seed Ernesto Escobedo, Noah Rubin and Norrie to clinch the crown.

King, a native of Peachtree City, Georgia, starred for Georgia Tech University before turning pro in 2012. He graduated with a degree mechanical engineering.

What a week for Kevin King! World No. 434 stuns Cam Norrie 64 61 for his first #ATPChallenger title at the @AtlanticTireCh in Cary. pic.twitter.com/CFp0yqw12m

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 17, 2017

This was your first semi-final in two and a half years. Then your first final. It looked like you came out and were ready to go aggressively from the start. Was that the gameplan?
I definitely wanted to come out and be aggressive and dictate. I know he’s a great player and when he starts getting control of points, he’s very tough to beat. I was not going to let that happen.

For a lot of people playing in their first Challenger final, nerves show up. You had a great approach of just going after some shots really early.
When you start swinging out a little bit, you feel more free. I found more of a rhythm from the start of the match.

You won a Futures last week in Canada and came down here to take a Challenger title. It’s rare to have that progression in back-to-back weeks. What’s been working for you?
I’ve been focusing on one match at a time. In Toronto last week I was able to work on a few things. I was able to get some good momentum with my game and translated that into this week. I pulled out a few tough matches and that helped me gain some confidence to go out and play well today.

Talk about your journey over the past couple of years. Being out for almost the entirety of 2016, do you have a better appreciation of the game and also of your game and what you’re able to do well?
Absolutely. Being out for a year makes you realize how special it is to be able to do what you love and play tennis at the highest level. It was good for me in that sense. I was able to do some coaching in the year I was out, with the Georgia Tech men’s team. Coaching tennis can give you a better understanding of the game in trying to get different people to improve in different areas. That helped me in taking the information I learned into this year.

In terms of the technical aspect, what has been the biggest difference for you?
I would say I was focusing on the fundamentals in all areas of my game. Going back to those basics and details really helped me progress at a faster rate when I was coming back. Focusing on those small details were huge in my game.

It also seems like there’s more intent now, in terms of your gameplan heading into a match. Is that part of the coaching factoring in there? That’s something you definitely have improved on in the past couple of years.
Yeah, absolutely. When I first started out, right out of college, I didn’t have an identity of how I wanted to be playing. I had different options in my game and I didn’t stick to one. Having the year off allowed me to take a look at my game and what I want to be doing out there. I was able to really find a game plan and stick to that and get better each week.

It’s pretty rare that you have a tournament director, Sean Ferreira, that’s also serving as the coach for one of the players. Your girlfriend is here as well. You said that Cary is almost like a second home. It had to be pretty emotional there to get that trophy in front of some people you love very much.
It was very special. There are so many people here that care about me and support me. To be able to have them here and cheering for me was very special.

You are now at No. 253 [in the Emirates ATP Rankings]. The Australian Open qualies cut last year was 249. What would that mean to you, at this point of your career?
That’s definitely one of the long-term goals in this comeback, to make it to one of the Grand Slams. I’m getting closer to that goal. Still more concerned with taking care of my game and trying to get better. We’ll let those goals take care of themselves. Looking forward to the rest of the year.

Two-time former champion and eighth seed Gilles Simon defeated Italian Andreas Seppi, the 2012 runner-up, 6-3, 6-0 on Monday at the Moselle Open. Former World No. 6 Simon, the 2010 and 2013 titlist, was broken in the fifth game of the first set, but immediately regrouped and went on to extend his perfect 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Seppi. The Frenchman now faces Slovak Norbert Gombos or German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in the second round.

In one other main draw match, Romania’s Marius Copil lost just three of his first service points and hit 12 aces to beat Alessandro Giannessi 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes for a meeting against third seed and defending champion Lucas Pouille.

Gojowczyk, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Vincent Millot and Simone Bolelli all qualified on Monday for the main draw.

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Sixth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber, a quarter-finalist at the St. Petersburg Open 10 years ago, booked his place in the second round on Monday with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory over Russian wild card Evgeny Tyurnev in 61 minutes. Kohlschreiber, now 29-17 on the season and seeking his first ATP World Tour indoor title, will next face fellow German and qualifier Daniel Masur or Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania.

Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, a former World No. 8 who is currently at No. 122 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, struck 18 aces to knock out 2009 runner-up Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes. He’ll now challenge Damir Dzumhur, who defeated sixth-seeded Italian Paolo Lorenzi 7-5, 7-5 in just under two hours.

John-Patrick Smith, Ernests Gulbis, Liam Broady and Masur all booked their places in the main draw as a result of coming through the qualifying competition.

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#NextGenATP star Borna Coric and local favourite Evgeny Donskoy marked the launch of the St. Petersburg Open on Monday with a visit to Peter and Paul Fortress, founded by Peter the Great in 1703.

The duo took a guided tour of the cathedral and grounds before setting off the cannon to mark midday in the Russian city.

“It was very, very nice,” said Coric. “This is my first time here. I heard from many people that it’s actually a very nice city. I’ve been really enjoying it. I think this is one of the best 250’s in the whole year.

“I feel quite good. I’ve had a week and a half of preparation. I’m in very good shape and I’ve been playing very well. I hope I can play well here.”

“It was pretty nice,” said Donskoy. “This is my favourite city and I’m from Moscow! I’ve never been to this place and seen these things. I really enjoyed it. My favourite part was firing the cannon.

“It’s a local tournament for me and it’s my favourite tournament because they really do a good job. I really like the city. I have some of my friends here. I’m feeling good in practice, enjoying the place and preparing for the tournament. I’m just trying to do my best. I enjoy being here every year,” added Donskoy, who is making his sixth main draw appearance at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament.

After 17 years on the ATP World Tour, doubles specialist Mariusz Fyrstenberg has decided to call it a career.

At the ATP Challenger Tour’s Pekao Szczecin Open in Poland, Fyrstenberg announced on Sunday that he would be retiring from professional tennis, having completed a successful doubles career, most notably competing beside fellow Pole Marcin Matkowski in the pairing best known as “Polish Power”.

“This is a special place for me, because in Szczecin I started my doubles career,” said Fyrstenberg. “I won here three times and always love the atmosphere at this tournament and the people, who always support me. I stopped playing tennis half a year ago, but I decided to announce it in Szczecin. I’ve never thought about any other place to finish my career.”

After officially turning pro in 2001, the left-handed Fyrstenberg developed a greater penchant for doubles over singles, a discipline in which he only peaked at No. 317 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Deciding to focus on doubles exclusively in 2007, the Pole, who hails from Warsaw, reached a career-high of No. 6 in August of 2012 and won 18 ATP World Tour doubles titles in a career spanning two decades.

Career title triumphs for the 37-year-old Pole include a maiden ATP Challenger doubles title on home soil in Szczecin in 2001, followed by a first ATP World Tour doubles title – also at home – in Sopot. (2003), and Masters 1000 crowns in Madrid (2008, 2012), all with Matkowski.

“Looking into the past, I can say that victories in Szczecin and in Sopot gave me the biggest happiness, although the biggest success was reaching the final in 2011,” reflected Fyrstenberg.

Alongside Matkowski, Fyrstenberg reached the US Open final in 2011, falling just short to Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner. As a result, team “Polish Power” qualified for their fifth and final appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals in London, where they made it all the way to the championship match before bowing out to Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor.

Representing Poland in Davis Cup, Fyrstenberg produced some of his best results, posting a record of 29 wins and 14 losses across 28 tie nominations. With a 22-7 record overall in doubles, he and Matkowski (19-6 together) combined for the best doubles team in Poland’s Davis Cup history.

The Pole played his last match this past February, reaching the semifinals of the Garanti Koza Sofia Open with partner Martin Klizan.

What’s next for Fyrstenberg? His wife Marta Fyrstenberg had an idea. “I’m glad that Mariusz said ‘goodbye’ to professional tennis,” she said. “Now he will be often at home!”

A LOOK BACK

Pekao Szczecin Open (Szczecin, Poland): Frenchman Richard Gasquet capped a brief return to the ATP Challenger Tour with a triumph in the Szczecin final, defeating former World No. 18 Florian Mayer 7-6(3), 7-6(4). Gasquet had entered the event to pick up some valuable match play having struggled recently with injuries. It was his first appearance in Szczecin since 2004 and improved his record in Challenger finals to 9-1. This was Gasquet’s first Challenger title since Bordeaux 2010. The Frenchman had saved a match point to beat Guido Andreozzi in the quarter-finals on Friday and did not drop a set thereafter. The World No. 30 is the highest-ranked Challenger winner since then No. 20 Benoit Paire won in Mouilleron le Captif, France, in 2015.

.@richardgasquet1 closes out the title at @PekaoSznOpen with back-to-back winners, defeating Florian Mayer 76(3) 76(4) in Sunday’s final. pic.twitter.com/ZFcVfYTe8U

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 17, 2017

Road To The Shanghai Rolex Masters (Shanghai, China): A week after lifting the US Open junior singles and doubles trophies, Wu Yibing made history on home soil, becoming the youngest Chinese champion on the Challenger circuit. Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu was bidding for a record 30th ATP Challenger Tour title but was forced to retire with a right shoulder injury after Yibing won the first set in a tie-break, 7-6(6). The Chinese teenager did not drop a set all week and is projected to rise 177 spots to a career-high No. 319 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He is the 12th teenage winner of the year and fourth aged 17 and under, joining Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nicola Kuhn.

Learn More About Yibing’s Victory

American Express Istanbul Challenger (Istanbul, Turkey): Top-seeded Tunisian Malek Jaziri won four straight three-set matches to successfully defend his Istanbul crown. After defeating Israel’s Dudi Sela in last year’s final he repeated his triumph with a 7-6(4), 0-6, 7-5 victory over Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in what was the tournament’s 30th edition. Jaziri becomes the fourth repeat winner this year on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Malek Jaziri goes back-to-back in Istanbul, defeating Matteo Berrettini 76(4) 06 75 to retain the title in the tournament’s 30th edition. pic.twitter.com/CWD56dQkfh

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 17, 2017

Banja Luka Challenger (Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina): German Maximilian Marterer picked up the third Challenger title of his career with a routine 6-1, 6-2 result over 20-year-old Spanaird Carolos Taberner. The 22-year-old Marterer needed 59 minutes to claim his first title of the season, converting all four break chances. He did not drop a set all week. Taberner was appearing in his first Challenger final.

Maximilian Marterer claims his third #ATPChallenger title and first of the year, streaking past Carlos Taberner 61 62 in Banja Luka. pic.twitter.com/aBJ4prO1VJ

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 17, 2017

Atlantic Tire Championships (Cary, U.S.A.): Kevin King’s comeback continues to gather steam with the American winning his first Challenger title. Having missed the entire 2016 season due to hip surgery, the 26 year old defeated Brit Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-1 in what was his maiden appearance in a Challenger final. King had beaten top seed Ernesto Escobedo in the second round for his biggest career win. His triumph makes him the sixth different American Challenger winner of 2017, joining Frances Tiafoe, Tennys Sandgren, Ryan Harrison, Noah Rubin and Michael Mmoh. Victory also ensures he will surge 181 spots up the Emirates ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 253.

What a week for Kevin King! World No. 434 stuns Cam Norrie 64 61 for his first #ATPChallenger title at the @AtlanticTireCh in Cary. pic.twitter.com/CFp0yqw12m

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 17, 2017

LOOKING AHEAD

Four Challenger events will take place this week, headed by $75,000 events, the TEB Izmir Cup in Turkey and the Columbus Challenger, in the United States. Tunisian Malek Jaziri is top seed in Izmir and will look to continue his winning streak in Turkey, after claiming the Challenger title in Istanbul on Sunday. #NextGenATP Kazakh Alexander Bublik is seeded second. Unseeded Marsel Ilhan returns to defend his title. Last year, he defeated Cem Ilkel in an all-Turkish final after finishing runner-up three times previously.

French No. 127 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Quentin Halys, heads the seeds in Columbus, ahead of Indians Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri, with American Denis Kudla fourth. Stefan Kozlov downed Tennys Sandgren in an all-American final last year. 

Canada’s Peter Polansky leads the seedings for the second Gwangju Challenger after top-seeded Australian Jordan Thompson’s withdrawal. Polansky has made three successive ATP Challenger Tour finals already this year. Australia’s Matthew Ebden and #NextGenATP Korean local Duckhee Lee are seeded No. 3 and No. 4 respectively for the $50,000 event in South Korea. Lithuanian Ricadas Berankis defeated Grega Zemlja for the inaugural Gwangju Open title last season. 

Finally, the $50,000 Sibiu Open in Romania returns for the sixth year with German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe continuing his long comeback from injury. Fresh from Davis Cup semi-final duties for Serbia, Laslo Djere will be the No. 2 seed with former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo and #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud also in the draw. Dutchman Robin Haase won last year’s event.