Italian Mattia Bellucci and Australian Li Tu will never forget this week on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Bellucci, 21, advanced through qualifying and dropped just one set en route to claiming the Saint-Tropez Challenger while Tu triumphed at the Seoul Challenger and dedicated the victory to his mother, who recently passed away. Bellucci and Tu were among five champions on the Challenger Tour this week.

On the hard courts nestled in southern France, #NextGenATP star Bellucci defeated countryman Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-3 to capture the Saint-Tropez Open.

“It was an amazing week,” Bellucci said. “I started on Monday, I played every day, seven days, seven matches and with each match, I felt better and better.

“Today, I stayed focussed as much as possible on every point, on every ball. I’m super happy because I won my first Challenger and the first time is always special. When I arrived here, I couldn’t have imagined that I would win the tournament.”

Bellucci is the seventh #NextGenATP Italian champion this season. The lefty joins Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Francesco Maestrelli, Lorenzo Musetti, Luca Nardi, and Francesco Passaro. The title at the Challenger 100 event lifts Bellucci to a career-high 186 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Arnaldi, 21, strengthens his hopes of qualifying for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals following his runner-up finish in France. The Sanremo native climbs to 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan.

At the FILA Seoul Open Challenger, Aussie qualifier Tu capped off an emotional week by defeating Wu Yibing 7-6(5), 6-4 to earn his first Challenger title.

Tu, 26, returned to professional tennis in February 2021 after a six-year hiatus. During his time away from pro tennis, he earned his college degree and coached junior players. Now making a sudden impact on the Challenger Tour, the Adelaide native rises to a career-high 190 following the title in Seoul, which he dedicated to his mother.

The winning moment for 🇦🇺 @LiTuTennis 💪#ATPChallenger | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/BykrR3mj59

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 16, 2022

“My mom passed away three weeks ago and tomorrow is her birthday,” Tu said during the trophy presentation. “So this is for her.”

Wu, who boasts a 23-4 match record at the Challenger level this season, climbs to a career-high No. 115. The 23-year-old has won three Challenger titles this year and now looks to become the first Chinese man to break through the Top 100. His countryman, Zhang Zhizhen, who is a four-time Challenger finalist this season, is the highest-ranked Chinese player (No. 109).

In Ismaning, Germany, top seed Quentin Halys ended home favourite Max Hans Rehberg’s dream week in the final. Halys fired 24 aces in the championship match, claiming a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory to win the Wolffkran Open by Tannenhof.

“I was playing really great during the whole week,” Halys said. “I was serving amazing, I’m super happy about my performance. In the final, we had chances to break each other, I was lucky to get a break in the second. It was very tough.”

Frenchman Quentin Halys lifts the trophy at the Ismaning Challenger. Credit: Juergen Hasenkopf

The Frenchman boasts a Challenger season-leading 43 match wins. Halys joins Constant Lestienne, Nardi, and Wu as three-time Challenger champions this year. Only Pedro Cachin and Jack Draper have captured four Challenger titles this season.

Players from France have combined for a season-leading (tied w/ Argentina) 19 Challenger titles. Both nations are one title shy of tying the Challenger Tour record for most titles won by a single country (20), which Argentina has collected three times (2021, 2016, 2007) and France has claimed once (2005).

Rehberg, 18, was given a wild card and upset second seed Tomas Machac and third seed Vasek Pospisil en route to his first Challenger final.

American Michael Mmoh, who didn’t drop a set all week, took down college standout Gabriel Diallo 6-3, 6-2 in the final at the Taube-Haase Pro Tennis Championship in Fairfield, California.

Mmoh has won 12 of his past 13 matches, including claiming the title this past month at the Cary Challenger. The American believes his success has come after a newfound mindset.

“The toughest loss for me this year was at the US Open [qualifying],” Mmoh said. “I was up 6-2, 5-2 against Gilles Simon and ended up losing that. That was a heartbreaker, it really crushed me. I really took time to say, ‘What can I do outside of tennis?’ I tried to challenge myself after that horrific loss.

“I started reading books, started talking to psychologists, broadening my horizons. I was challenging myself to get better. Whenever you have some of those losses, you look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘There’s a reason that happened, how can I fix it?’”

The 24-year-old, who boasts seven Challenger titles (all on home soil), rises to No. 110 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and sets his sights on surpassing his career-high mark 96, which he reached in October 2018.

Diallo, who is a senior at the University of Kentucky, climbs to a career-high 250 following his runner-up finish in California. The 21-year-old claimed his first Challenger title at the Granby Challenger in August.

Italian Marco Cecchinato, seeded third, was crowned champion at the Challenger Dove Men+Care Rio de Janeiro after he rallied from a set down to defeat German Yannick Hanfmann 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Italian Marco Cecchinato celebrates his second Challenger title this season. Credit: Luiz Candido

Cecchinato has won 10 of his past 11 matches, including triumphing at the Lisbon Challenger this past month. The 30-year-old is a three-time Tour titlist (Budapest, Umag, Buenos Aires). Following the title on the Brazilian clay, Cecchinato launches back into the Top 100.

In 2019, the Italian reached a career-high 16 shortly after winning the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. Cecchinato reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2018, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals before falling to Dominic Thiem. As the-then World No. 72, Cecchinato became the lowest-ranked Roland Garros semi-finalist since Andrei Medvedev (No. 100) in 1999.

The top three seeds in the Tennis Napoli Cup qualifying draw all secured their main-draw spots on Monday, with Nicolas Jarry, Zhang Zhizhen and Francesco Passaro all advancing in Italy.

Third seed Passaro overcame a bagel opening set to defeat fifth seed Filip Misolic 0-6, 6-3, 6-2. The #NextGenATP Italian is in ninth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan and could move into eighth with an opening-round win against Mackenzie McDonald, depending on other results.

China’s Zhang also battled through three sets in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win against seventh-seeded Italian Giulio Zeppieri. Seeking to become the first Chinese man to break the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Zhang would accomplish that historic feat with two main-draw wins in Naples. He opens against Marton Fucsovics, who sits at No. 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as of Monday evening.

Jarry, the top seed in qualifying, earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Italy’s Raul Brancaccio. The Chilean will meet Roberto Carballes Baena in the opening round.

Also advancing through qualifying on Monday was Borna Gojo, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Italian wild card Stefano Napolitano.

Main-draw play begins Tuesday at the Naples ATP 250 event, with fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic, seventh seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas and eighth seed Adrian Mannarino all set to feature on centre court.

#NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper boosted his Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals chances on Monday in Antwerp, where he cruised past American Jenson Brooksby 6-1, 6-2.

In a dominant performance, the 20-year-old struck 17 winners and committed just three unforced errors to reach the second round at the European Open after 61 minutes. Draper, who now leads Brooksby 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, will next face top seed Hubert Hurkacz.

“On my service games I was hitting my spots really well,” Draper said in his on-court interview. “I wasn’t missing many returns as well. Jenson is someone who competes really well, so I felt that it was important to get on the front foot and not let him play his game because he is so awkward. I am glad with the way I played.”

With his victory, Draper has consolidated his fifth-placed position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan. Draper is currently on 945 points, 43 points ahead of sixth-placed American Brandon Nakashima. Draper is aiming to make his debut at the 21-and-under event, to be held at the Allianz Cloud in Milan from 8-12 November. Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune have already qualified.

Earlier this season, the Briton captured four ATP Challenger Tour titles, before he reached his first tour-level semi-final in Eastbourne. Draper also upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, while he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open. Monday’s meeting against Brooksby was Draper’s first match since the seasons final major.

Felix Auger-Aliassime moved into a qualifying position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin by winning the UniCredit Firenze Open. Now the Canadian has an opportunity to consolidate his standing as he pursues a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The 22-year-old is the second seed at this week’s European Open in Antwerp, where he extend his lead over his closest challengers. Auger-Aliassime (3,065 points) leads eighth-placed Taylor Fritz (2,885) by 180 points and ninth-placed Hubert Hurkacz (2,725), the top seed in Antwerp, by 340 points in the Live Race.

“The plan right now is to play every week, to play in Antwerp, Basel and Paris because there are still tournaments to play and the Race is very close,” Auger-Aliassime said after his victory in Florence. “There [are] players like Taylor [Fritz] and Andrey [Rublev], and many others are competing hard right now to try and qualify, so I’m going to try to put myself in the best position possible to try and make it to Turin.”

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

Eight players qualify for the season finale, which will be played from 13-20 November at the Pala Alpitour. Tenth-placed Novak Djokovic (2,720) has claimed his spot in Turin under the Grand Slam champion provision, making seventh place key. The Grand Slam champion provision awards a Nitto ATP Finals entry to a current-year major winner who finishes between eighth and 20th in the Live Race. 

Eighth-placed Fritz, who held seventh place after winning the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, is not in action this week. Hurkacz, who made his Nitto ATP Finals debut last year, can draw closer to Auger-Aliassime with 250 points awarded to the winner in Antwerp.

Sixth-placed Andrey Rublev (3,440) is also positioned well as he tries to earn his third consecutive Nitto ATP Finals qualification. The 24-year-old is not playing this week, but he 375 points ahead of Auger-Aliassime. Fifth-placed Daniil Medvedev (3,555) is trying to earn his place at the year-end championships for the fourth straight year.

Players who can move into contention this week include 12th-placed Cameron Norrie (Stockholm), 13th-placed Pablo Carreno Busta (Naples) and 15th-placed Matteo Berrettini (Naples). 

There will be three ATP 250 events this week, with plenty at stake as singles and doubles players alike battle to position themselves for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Hubert Hurkacz and Felix Auger-Aliassime lead the way at the European Open in Antwerp, Matteo Berrettini headlines the field on home soil at the Tennis Napoli Cup and Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed at the Stockholm Open.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each tournament.

Draws: Antwerp | Naples | Stockholm

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ANTWERP
1) Felix’s Turin Push: It is another critical week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, with Felix Auger-Aliassime currently in the final qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Canadian, seeded second in Antwerp, will have an opportunity to add to his advantage over eighth-placed Taylor Fritz in Belgium. Auger-Aliassime will play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech or a qualifier in the second round. He arrived with momentum after lifting his second ATP Tour trophy on Sunday in Florence.

2) Hurkacz Top Seed: Hubert Hurkacz, who is ninth in the Live Race, is the top seed at the European Open, where he will begin his tournament against #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or American Jenson Brooksby. The Polish star, who competed in the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, needs a big surge at the end of the season if he is to return to Turin. He won his fifth ATP Tour title earlier this year in Halle and holds a 37-18 tour-level record on the season.

3) Grand Slam Champs In Action: Two players who have lifted Grand Slam trophies, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, will try to find their best tennis this week in Antwerp. Both former World No. 3s in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings will pursue their first title of the season. Wawrinka has enjoyed success at the ATP 250 before, advancing to the final in 2019, when he lost to Andy Murray in an emotional final. He will play former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet in the first round. Thiem will make his Antwerp debut against Belgian wild card Michael Geerts.

4) Goffin Going For Glory: Will this be the year David Goffin triumphs on home soil? The 31-year-old will make his fifth appearance in Antwerp, where he advanced to the semi-finals in 2016. Goffin has twice tasted tour-level glory on indoor hard courts (2014 Metz and 2021 Montpellier) and will try to do so again this week at home. Geerts and Goffin’s first-round opponent, wild card Gilles Arnaud Bailly, are the other Belgians in the singles draw.

5) Cabal/Farah Top Seeds: Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will try to claim their first title of the season and 20th as a team this week. The Colombians are the top seeds in Antwerp, where recent Tel Aviv champions Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop are seeded second. Xavier Malisse, the retired 42-year-old Belgian who reached the doubles semi-finals last year in Antwerp with Lloyd Harris, will partner Diego Schwartzman.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN NAPLES
1) Berrettini Trying To Bounce Back: Matteo Berrettini suffered a tough opening-round loss to Roberto Carballes Baena in Florence, but he is keen to bounce back this week in Naples, where he accepted a wild card. The Italian has earned seven ATP Tour crowns and is pursuing his first on home soil. The 26-year-old is 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and needs a big push in the next three weeks if he is to move closer to a qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals.

2) Musetti Magic: #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti showed some of his best tennis in Florence, where he made his third tour-level semi-final of the year. The reigning Hamburg champion will attempt to claim his maiden hard-court trophy this week in Naples. Musetti has already qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where he will compete for the second consecutive year.

3) PCB Top Seed: The top seed in the singles draw is Pablo Carreno Busta, who is trying to claim multiple titles in a season for the third time. The Spaniard lifted the biggest trophy of his career in August when he claimed ATP Masters 1000 glory in Montreal. The 31-year-old will play home favourite Fabio Fognini or Frenchman Hugo Grenier in the second round.

4) Bautista Agut Pushing For Another Title: Roberto Bautista Agut has won two titles in a season five times in his career, including this year. This week, the Spaniard can claim his third crown of the season for the first time. Eleven-time tour-level champion Bautista Agut has lifted eight of his past nine trophies on hard courts, the surface being utilised in Naples. 

5) Italians Pursuing Doubles Glory: There are four all-Italian doubles teams in the Tennis Napoli Cup field, led by second seeds Simone Bolelli and Fognini. Bolelli and Fognini have earned five tour-level crowns together, including two this year. The top seeds in Naples are Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN STOCKHOLM
1) Tsitsipas At Site Of First Title: When Stefanos Tsitsipas made his first appearance in Stockholm in 2018, he had not yet lifted an ATP Tour trophy. That week the Greek broke through, losing just one set en route to the trophy. The 24-year-old returns to the historic event for the first time since, and he arrives with momentum. This year’s Monte Carlo and Mallorca champion has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals and just reached his sixth final of the season in Astana. Tsitsipas will play Maxime Cressy or Ilya Ivashka in the second round.

2) Norrie’s Race Hopes: Cameron Norrie, seeded second in Stockholm, is in 12th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The lefty needs a big week in Sweden to close the gap on the rest of his competitors who are also pursuing a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, where Norrie competed as an alternate last year. The 27-year-old will make his Stockholm debut against Aslan Karatsev or a qualifier.

3) In-Form Americans: There are three Americans competing in Stockholm and they all have enjoyed the best season of their career in 2022. Frances Tiafoe has shown the best form in recent weeks, reaching his first major semi-final at the US Open, clinching Team World’s Laver Cup victory and making the Tokyo final. Tommy Paul climbed to a career-high World No. 28 last month and he returns to the event where he lifted his first ATP Tour trophy last year. Cressy claimed his first tour-level crown in Newport and will try to earn another one this week in Sweden.

4) Home Hopes: Brothers Mikael Ymer and Elias Ymer lead the home hopes at the ATP 250. Both Swedes have advanced as far as the Round of 16 at their home event. Mikael is fresh off a run to the Florence semi-finals as a qualifier. Leo Borg, the 19-year-old son of former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, is also in the field. Borg will try to earn his first tour-level win when he faces eighth-seeded Paul in the first round.

5) Arevalo/Rojer Lead Doubles Draw: Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, but the Salvadoran-Dutch duo will try to gain momentum this week in Sweden. The second seeds are Turin hopefuls Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, who are eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

It took Felix Auger-Aliassime nine finals to lift his first ATP Tour trophy. In just his second championship match since, the Canadian added another trophy to his collection.

Auger-Aliassime defeated American J.J. Wolf 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the UniCredit Firenze Open. The top seed lost just one set en route to the trophy, defeating World No. 75 Wolf in one hour and 41 minutes to claim the crown.

“It never gets old. Winning, it always feels like the first time,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “It’s so special to win, especially here. I had a fantastic week and it’s been amazing.”

It was a critical week for Auger-Aliassime’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played in Turin from 13-20 November. One week after Taylor Fritz moved into the final qualifying position by triumphing in Tokyo, Auger-Aliassime surged past the American into seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He now has a 180-point lead over the American. Tenth-placed Novak Djokovic has claimed his spot in Turin under the Grand Slam champion provision, which awards entry to a current-year major winner who finishes between eighth and 20th in the Live Race.

Auger-Aliassime arrived in Florence following a straight-sets loss to Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round of the Astana Open, but quickly regained his confidence. The Canadian lost his serve just four times at the ATP 250, powering past opponents with a wide variety of game styles — the aggressive Oscar Otte, big-hitting Brandon Nakashima, all-around Lorenzo Musetti and baseliner Wolf — to earn his second trophy (also Rotterdam).

“Every final is tough, it’s the two best players of the week,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Of course you try to win more than you lose the finals and that’s why I came out here today ready to give everything. We had some very tough rallies in the second set, feeling tough physically. But you keep pushing, try to keep the level high.

“But there’s no magic. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but of course I’m really happy because I came here [as] the first seed. I was the favourite in all of my matches on paper. It’s never an easy position, so to come out and win my four matches with confidence and conviction, it’s really good for my confidence.”

Sunday’s final began with three consecutive service breaks as both players searched for rhythm on the indoor hard court. But it was Auger-Aliassime who consistently earned more opportunities on his opponent’s serve. After losing his first service game of the match, Felix did not face another break point.

“I had a good start first game and then a bit of a tight first service game,” Auger-Aliassime. “But then after I felt like I was playing really good tennis, serving unbelievable. Probably the best [I served] all week, so just really happy right now.”

Wolf saved nine of the 12 break points he faced, but it was not enough. The American tried to trade powerful blows with Auger-Aliassime, showing no fear of striking from right on the baseline, or stepping into returns against the big-serving Canadian.

But Auger-Aliassime maintained too high of a level throughout the match and was more comfortable in those power-filled rallies. The 22-year-old sealed his victory with his 11th ace, after which he quickly turned to his team to show his joy.

Wolf was trying to win his first ATP Tour title. The American will climb to a career-high No. 56 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.

Did You Know?
Auger-Aliassime will return to the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he climbs to World No. 10 on Monday. The Canadian ascended to a career-high World No. 8 in August.

Gael Monfils and WTA star Elina Svitolina have become parents after they welcomed their first child into the world, they announced on Saturday morning.

Monfils and Svitolina, who married in July 2021, announced the birth of their daughter Skaï Monfils on social media on Saturday.

“What a night,” Svitolina posted on Twitter and Instagram. “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Skaï Monfils … Can’t thanks enough my husband to live [through] this unforgettable moment with me.”

What a night !!!
Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Skaï Monfils 🥹🥰❤️

Can’t thanks enough my husband to live thru this unforgettable moment with me ❤️ pic.twitter.com/m6CQVDdBV6

— Elina Monfils (@ElinaSvitolina) October 15, 2022

Former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev also joined the fatherhood club when his wife Daria gave birth to their first child on Friday. Medvedev, who married Daria in 2018, wrote on Twitter: “14.10.2022 Welcome to the world baby girl.”

14.10.2022
Welcome to the world baby girl ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dXFBq7t1FW

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) October 15, 2022

Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin clinched their first tour-level title of the season as a team on Sunday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, where they defeated third seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-6(4), 6-3.

The Frenchmen saved both break points they faced in the first set before they rallied from a break down in the second set to triumph at the ATP 250 event in Florence after one hour and 31 minutes.

“We had a great week on the court and off the court,” Mahut said. “It was the first time for me in this city and I enjoyed every moment. I think it was a great event for the first year. Everything was perfect. It is a great achievement to have an eighth title together.”

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin have now won their past eight matches as a team, having lifted the trophy at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Orleans last week.

In a dominant week in Florence, Mahut and Roger-Vasselin did not drop a set en route to their eighth tour-level title as a team. Before this week, the tandem last tasted success together on Tour in 2019 in Tokyo.

Earlier this season, Mahut clinched the title in Montpellier with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, while Roger-Vasselin reached the final in Indian Wells with Santiago Gonzalez.

Dodig and Krajicek were aiming to win their second tour-level title of the season as a team after winning the crown in Lyon. The Croatian-American pair is currently 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. They are trying to make a late push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 13-20 November.

Andrey Rublev captured his fourth tour-level title of the season on Sunday when he overcame Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-3 in the Gijon Open final.

In an entertaining clash, the top seed played aggressively to pull Korda from corner to corner. Rublev struck 29 winners, broke his opponent’s serve three times and committed just four unforced errors to triumph after 77 minutes.

The 24-year-old has boosted his Nitto ATP Finals qualifications chances by lifting the trophy in Gijon. Rublev is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he aims to compete at the prestigious end-of-year event – to be held from 13-20 November – for the third consecutive season.

Rublev enjoyed a strong week at the hard-court event in Spain, defeating Ilya Ivashka, Tommy Paul and Dominic Thiem en route to the final. He then played with confidence against Korda, outlasting the 22-year-old in heavy-hitting exchanges to secure his 47th tour-level win of the year. He now leads the American 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Earlier this season, Rublev lifted titles in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade. He has now captured 12 tour-level crowns in his career.

Korda was aiming to win his second tour-level trophy and first of the season, having triumphed in Parma in 2021. He is up to No. 36 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run to the final.