It’s never too late to make your mark on the ATP Challenger Tour’s doubles circuit. At the age of 30, Ariel Behar is discovering that with authority.

Behar picked up where he left off before the COVID-19 break, adding yet another title to his burgeoning haul. He teamed with Andrey Golubev to triumph in Todi on Saturday, as the Uruguayan-Kazakh duo did not drop a set all week.

Projected to rise to a career-high of No. 68 in the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings, Behar is the hottest player on the Challenger doubles circuit. His victory at the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi marked his fifth title in his last eight Challenger appearances. In that span, he has amassed a staggering 26-3 record, mostly with Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar.

“It’s very important that we’re back playing now,” said Behar during Saturday’s trophy ceremony. “The safety measures and security in Todi were very well organised and I thank the tournament for that. We hope that the circuit will be this successful in the coming months.”

Behar has now lifted seven Challenger trophies in the last 12 months. Exactly one year ago, he triumphed in Prague and proceeded to prevail in Genova, Santo Domingo, Lima, Guayaquil and Newport Beach – all with Escobar.

Hanfmann, Zapata Miralles To Battle For Singles Crown
The singles final at the Tennis Club Todi 1971 will feature Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Hanfmann, a former World No. 99 and ATP Tour finalist at the 2017 Swiss Open Gstaad, has dropped just one set in reaching the championship match. He dismissed home hope Gian Marco Moroni in Saturday’s nightcap, needing one hour and 36 minutes to prevail 7-6(4), 6-1. Hanfmann, who is hoping to rediscover his Top 100 form as 2020 rolls on, is back in a Challenger final for the second time this year. He finished runner-up to Taro Daniel in Burnie in January. The former University of Southern California standout owns a 5-2 record in Challenger finals.

Photos: Marta Magni/MEF Tennis Events

Zapata Miralles, meanwhile, is enjoying a breakout week at the age of 23. The World No. 212 is into his second Challenger final, having previously fallen to Botic van de Zandschulp in Hamburg last year. The Spaniard has dropped just 15 games en route to the final, culminating with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Antoine Hoang in the semi-finals. Earlier in the week, he routed top seed and countryman Roberto Carballes Baena for his third Top 100 win.

“I really like Todi’s playing conditions,” said the Valencia native. “I love this clay and I am happy with the balls we use. The results show that it was easy from the first round, but the truth is that I gave my best to reach the final. At this point, to win the title I will have to do this once again, putting aside the tension of the final and without thinking about the result.”

Hanfmann and Zapata Miralles will meet for the first time, with the final scheduled for 8:30pm CET in Todi.

As tennis returns at the Western & Southern Open, will Daniil Medvedev shine brighter than ever before?

The World No. 5 made waves beginning with last year’s American hard-court swing, reaching the final of six consecutive tour-level events he played. The Russian won his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles (Cincinnati, Shanghai) and made an incredible run to the US Open championship match, in which he pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets. But after winning his first four matches of 2020 at the ATP Cup, Medvedev’s momentum slowed, losing three of four matches before the ATP Tour was suspended due to COVID-19.

According to former World No. 4 Brad Gilbert, the time off might have been a blessing in disguise.

“Maybe the break will help him regroup because he didn’t look like the same player he was last summer,” Gilbert said. “I think maybe the break will help him because he played a lot of tennis last year. He was one I thought about [who can do well as tennis returns]. He makes a lot of balls, moves well and maybe he had overplayed.

“He’s somebody who definitely wouldn’t surprise me if he won the tournament. It will be a good opportunity to regroup and he had such a great run last summer. He’s definitely someone who I put in the mix as one of the favourites to win it now, definitely.”

Patrick McEnroe, the former doubles World No. 3, believes that while Medvedev’s abilities are clear, it might take time for him to get into a rhythm because of his physical, grinding game style.

“He strikes me as the kind of guy who needs matches and needs to play a lot… Obviously he’s got unbelievable upside, we know that,” McEnroe said. “He reminds me a little bit of Jim Courier where Courier needed to play a lot of matches. He’s got a little more feel for the ball, he’s not quite as physical. That’ll be interesting to see. To me he’s more of a guy who could get upset than a Djokovic or a Thiem early on. If he gets a couple matches in, then look out.”

In a normal year, Medvedev would be facing the pressure of needing to defend the points he earned last year. The FedEx ATP Rankings traditionally operate on a “Best 18” results basis over 52 weeks, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now covering a period of 22 months (March 2019 – December 2020).

“All of a sudden maybe psychologically he’ll be able to relax more and just go out there and try to win matches,” Gilbert said.

Medvedev isn’t looking too far ahead and thinking about lifting titles. He is taking it one match at a time at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, starting with his opening-round match at the Western & Southern Open against Marcos Giron or Mackenzie McDonald.

“I just want to see first where my game is at a tournament level, competitive level in ‘Cincinnati’, because we’re going to almost 100 per cent see some unbelievable results, maybe some really bad games or some really good ones,” Medvedev said. “I don’t know what to expect, because it’s not usual that there are 150 players that didn’t play a match in six months… I’m really curious [what will happen] and I am going to do my best to win as many matches as possible.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame a nervous start at the Western & Southern Open on Saturday as the ATP Tour returned after a five-month suspension due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The 20-year-old Canadian extended his winning streak to 3-0 against big-hitting Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over 76 minutes, but he didn’t have things all his own way in a match that featured no line judges or fans at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

“I am the first winner of 2020 part two, post COVID… I am happy to be playing again and to get a win,” Auger-Aliassime told ATPTour.com. “I felt really good. Even though I had some nerves, starting again in different conditions than we are used to, I did the work in the last month and I felt like I had the resources in me to get the win today.”

Auger-Aliassime, who has reached two ATP Tour finals in 2020 at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (l. to Monfils) and at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille (l. to Tsitsipas), will next challenge Lorenzo Sonego or wild card Tennys Sandgren in the second round.

Auger-Aliassime started his first match since 27 February with an ace, but then proceeded to hit three double faults to fall behind. While the No. 15 seed recovered to win three straight games from an 0-2 deficit, including an 11-minute fifth game, Basilashvili came within one point of taking a 5-3 advantage in the first set.

Two double faults from the Georgian at 4-5 handed Auger-Aliassime the 48-minute opener and Basilashvili made the same mistake at 1-2 in the second set to hand his opponent a crucial advantage. Auger-Aliassime grew confidence on serve and finished the match having won five straight games.

“Nerves got to me a little bit in the first [set],” said Auger-Aliassime. “I didn’t have such a great start… It was nerve-racking because I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“The feeling I was missing was really the winning feeling. That is what you play for. Obviously we love to play, compete, hit good shots but, at the same time, we are competitors. We want the final result. We want the win. To be able to get that from my first match back, there is no greater feeling. That confidence, that feeling inside of you, there is nothing that compares to it.”

Elsewhere, Jan-Lennard Struff recorded his first win in his third meeting against Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in 81 minutes.

Struff, who awaits the winner of No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov and 2016 champion Marin Cilic, broke serve twice in a first set that ended with De Minaur hitting a backhand into the net. The German took advantage of a double fault from De Minaur at 3-3 in the second set to break with a powerful forehand.

Stan is the man in Prague!

For the first time in 2020, Stan Wawrinka has his hands on a trophy. The Swiss dismissed Aslan Karatsev to capture the title at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Prague on Saturday, earning a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-4 victory.

Having entered the I.CLTK Prague Open by Moneta in search of match play and confidence following the COVID-19 hiatus, Wawrinka made the most of his time in the Czech capital. The former World No. 3 claimed his first title since 2017, when he triumphed on home soil at the ATP Tour stop in Geneva.

“I’m really happy,” said Wawrinka. “It was the best match of the week and the level was good. The focus was there, I was serving well and I’m really happy to get the trophy today. It was nice to come back here and play a Challenger at the Prague Open, especially after so many months away.”

Competing in his first Challenger tournament in more than a decade, Wawrinka added a seventh title at that level and a 23rd professional crown in total (Tour-level and Challenger combined). It did not come easy for the Lausanne native, who rallied from a set down on three occasions during the week, before earning a more routine victory in Saturday’s championship.

Wawrinka faced a break point immediately as proceedings got underway against Karatsev, but the Swiss would settle into a groove from there. He reeled off 18 of his last 20 service points in the first set, before eventually taking the opener in a tie-break. The only break of the match came early in the second set, when Karatsev sent a volley into the net. Wawrinka edged ahead 2-1 and never looked back, emerging victorious after one hour and 44 minutes.

“I feel good, but I know I’m not at my best yet,” Wawrinka added. “But that’s the reason why I came here. I wanted to get some matches. Every match I was playing better and this was the best of the week. I’m happy to keep going next week.”

Highest-Ranked Challenger Champions (since 2000)

At No. 17 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Wawrinka is the highest-ranked player to win on the ATP Challenger Tour since 14th-ranked Ivan Ljubicic in Zagreb in 2005. Moreover, he is one of just eight players inside the Top 20 to win on the Challenger circuit since 2000.

As he continues his quest to find his top form and gather momentum entering the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome and clay-court Grand Slam at Roland Garros, Wawrinka will next compete at the second Prague Challenger, starting Monday. He is the top seed at the RPM Open by Moneta and will open against either Malek Jaziri or Goncalo Oliveira.

Karatsev, meanwhile, was competing in his sixth Challenger final and second of the year. Also the runner-up in Bangkok in January, the World No. 253 is projected to rise 58 spots to return to the Top 200.

“I played against a big champion today,” said Karatsev. “I started well, but he was better today in the end. I made too many mistakes today. To beat this guy, you have to play your best. I will take a lot from this week for the future and the end of the year.”

Frenchmen Win Doubles Title
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Arthur Rinderknech did not drop a set all week, culminating in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zdenek Kolar and Lukas Rosol on Saturday. It was the first team title for the French pair.

Herbert, a four-time Grand Slam doubles champion alongside Nicolas Mahut, claimed his second trophy of the year. In February, he triumphed with Mahut at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.

Rinderknech, who leads the Challenger circuit in singles wins this year (16), added a second doubles title to his haul. He previously prevailed with another Frenchman, Manuel Guinard, in Drummondville, Canada, in February.

Players returning to action at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Todi, Italy, understand that it’s taken a team effort to make this all come together.

Operating a professional tournament amid a global pandemic is no simple task. From establishing protocols and policies to make everyone feel safe and secure, while maintaining world-class Italian hospitality, credit goes to the organisers for making this a possibility.

With frequent temperature checks, mask wearing enforced throughout the grounds and social distancing in effect, players have shown their appreciation for the tournament’s efforts. After booking his spot in Saturday’s semi-finals, Yannick Hanfmann had nothing but praise for the 12th edition of the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi.

“I think that for the first tournament of the ATP Challenger Tour restart, you guys are doing a fantastic job,” Hanfmann exclaimed. “Everybody feels pretty safe here. All the players are following the protocols and we’re just lucky that it’s possible to play here with all the rules in place.”

Doubles finalist Andrey Golubev added: “We’re all excited to be back on the court and I’m very thankful for the organization of these Challengers. We know that organizing these events is the hardest part and especially with these protocols, everyone needs to be careful. Hopefully it will be better and better in the coming weeks.”

Hanfmann defeated second seed and former World No. 16 Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second semi-final of the season. He will face the last remaining Italian hope, Gian Marco Moroni, on Saturday. Moroni overcame Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 later in the day.

“He was the second seed and playing at home in Italy, so I expected to be the underdog,” added Hanfmann. “The conditions today were very hot, so my serve was going to have a good effect. I know that he struggles a bit on the backhand side, so I just tried to convert as much as I can from my serve and play really aggressive. I think that worked today.”

In the other semi-final, Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles will square off against Antoine Hoang of France. Zapata Miralles advanced when Facundo Bagnis was forced to retire due to a leg injury, while Hoang prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 over third seed Federico Gaio.

“It was a really tough match and a really tough week, winning in the third set in each match,” said Hoang. “I’m really happy to win in the end. Today, I was 4-2 down and I fought and found a way to win. It’s really satisfying. I kept a good mindset to fight until the end.”

American youngsters Sebastian Korda, 20, and J.J. Wolf, 21, secured their first main-draw berths at the ATP Masters 1000 level after remarkable victories in the final round of qualifying at the Western & Southern Open Friday in New York.

World No. 224 Korda, the 6’ 5” son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda, won 11 straight games after dropping the opening set to stun veteran Frenchman Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. Korda’s only tour-level main draw appearance to this point was a first-round loss at the 2018 New York Open.

With his father flying in for his next match, Korda will play fellow qualifier, Finnish 21-year-old Emil Ruusuvuori, in the first round.

“It’s definitely awesome, especially after all the time off,” Korda said. “It wasn’t easy mentally. I’m super happy to get through. It’s a big opportunity for me and I’m really excited to get out there and keep fighting.

“The first set was really close. We both had some break points. Second and third sets I played a little better and I think he was struggling a little bit on serve.”

Wolf, a native of Cincinnati, the traditional home of the tournament, will see his tour-level debut happen at the elite Masters 1000 level. The World No. 144 rallied from a set down Friday to beat highly rated 23-year-old Spaniard Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. The match was a stark contrast to his emphatic 52-minute dismissal of Belarusian Egor Gerasimov on Thursday.

“It means the world to me, especially being the Cincinnati tournament, even if it’s not based in Cincinnati this year,” said Wolf, who fell in the final round of qualifying at the tournament the past two years. “It’s still very close to my heart and I wouldn’t want it to be anywhere else. To get over this hump is a big breakthrough for me.

“That’s what I practise for. I’ve always wanted to play against the best guys in the world. They know exactly what their game is and how to execute it. I want to one day be up there.”

Wolf will play veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the first round.

Americans went four-for-four Friday, with Orlando-based MacKenzie McDonald clawing out a 6-7(0), 7-5, 7-6(5) win over German Dominik Koepfer. Californian World No. 102, Marcos Giron, who has just five tour-level wins, also rallied from a set down to defeat Frenchman Gregoire Barrere 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

In a cruel twist of fate, McDonald and Giron were drawn to play each other in the first round.

Ruusuvuori will also make his Masters 1000 main-draw debut after Brazilian opponent Thiago Monteiro retired trialing 4-6, 1-2. Just 14 months ago Ruusuvuori was outside the Top 400. But after winning four Challenger titles he is now just one place away from cracking the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. In the first round of qualifying he ousted veteran Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-0, 6-4.

“It’s a good achievement. My team and I chose to play all the big tournaments as much as possible, just to be around with these top guys and play against them,” Ruusuvuori said. “I played well in my first two matches here, so I’ll try to do it again and we’ll see how it goes.”

Main draw play begins 11 a.m. Saturday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with the men’s singles final set for Friday, 28 August. The US Open will follow, beginning 31 August.

Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime headline the opening day of the Western & Southern Open, as the ATP Tour returns from its Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the final match of the day on Grandstand, Shapovalov will face 2016 champion Marin Cilic in his first tournament appearance since the Open 13 Provence in February. At that event, Shapovalov claimed his second victory in three ATP Head2Head encounters against Cilic. The 21-year-old is excited to see the return of the ATP Tour, not just for himself but also for tennis fans around the world.

”It is really awesome to see sports coming back, especially at a time like this,” said Shapovalov. “I feel like fans and people around the world are waiting for something to get a hold of, watch and support at this time.”

Auger-Aliassime will aim to build on his strong start to the 2020 ATP Tour season when he opens the day on Court 17. The Canadian, who finished as a runner-up in Rotterdam and Marseille earlier this year, will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round.

Andy Murray will compete at his first ATP Tour event since lifting his 46th tour-level singles trophy at the European Open in Antwerp last October. The two-time Western & Southern Open champion will meet fellow wild card Frances Tiafoe in the third match on Grandstand. Murray and Tiafoe will be meeting for the first time in their ATP Head2Head series, with Alexander Zverev awaiting the winner in the second round.

Other notable matches include Sam Querrey and Milos Raonic’s clash on Court 17 and Benoit Paire’s Court 10 meeting with Borna Coric. Alex de Minaur and Jan-Lennard Struff will contest the first match of the day on Court 11.

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY 22 AUGUST 2020
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA Match

Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA Match
[WC] Frances Tiafoe vs [WC] Andy Murray

Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
[12] Denis Shapovalov vs Marin Cilic

COURT 17 start 11:00 am
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs [15] Felix Auger-Aliassime
Kyle Edmund vs [PR] Kevin Anderson
WTA Match
Sam Querrey vs Milos Raonic

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA Match

COURT 10 start 11:00 am
WTA Match
Benoit Paire vs Borna Coric
[Q] Lloyd Harris vs Taylor Fritz
[Q] Ricardas Berankis vs [WC] Tommy Paul

Click here to view the full Day 1 schedule.

If one comeback win wasn’t enough, Stan Wawrinka is embracing the flair for the dramatic this week in Prague.

For a third straight day, the former World No. 3 stormed back from a set down to advance at the I.CLTK Prague Open by Moneta. He overcame 20-year-old wild card Michael Vrbensky 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final on a sun-kissed afternoon in the Czech capital.

Wawrinka entered the ATP Challenger Tour event in search of match play, as he seeks to find his rhythm on the court and gain much-needed confidence after the five-month COVID-19 break. With a combined 12 sets played and seven hours and 23 minutes on court this week, the Swiss says it’s exactly what he needed.

“It was a tough match and a tough battle for sure,” said Wawrinka. “I’m happy to have won the match, but I’m not playing the way I wanted to play. I’m just trying to win matches to get more time on the court, so for that I’m doing a great job.

“I started making less mistakes [after the first set] and we were playing longer rallies. I started feeling a little better and I’m just happy to now be in the final. It was the goal when I came here. I’m hoping to play better tennis every day and hopefully that will come again tomorrow.”

All four of Wawrinka’s victories in Prague have gone to a deciding set, with his most recent wins over Oscar Otte, Sumit Nagal and Vrbensky coming from a set down. He needed two hours and 21 minutes to defeat the home hope Vrbensky on Friday. After conceding two breaks of serve in the first set, Wawrinka saved all three break points faced from then on.

The World No. 17 will seek his first ATP Challenger Tour title in 10 years (Lugano 2010) when he battles Russia’s Aslan Karatsev in Saturday’s championship. It will be Wawrinka’s 39th professional final, having reached 30 title matches at the Tour-level and an additional nine on the Challenger circuit.

In the second match on Court 1, Karatsev defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-5, 7-6(7) in two hours and 14 minutes. The 26-year-old saved a set point in the second set tie-break, rallying from 1/5 down to earn the victory.

Photo: Martin Sidorjak/Prague Open 2020

“We played a good match,” said Karatsev. “He’s a tough opponent. A Top 100 player with a lot of experience. In the second set, I was down 5/1 in the tie-break, but I played every ball and had some success. I tried to play my game and just found a way. Against Stan, I will try to enjoy the match and do my best.”

Sitting at No. 253 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Karatsev is appearing in his sixth Challenger final and second of the year. In January, he finished runner-up to Attila Balazs in Bangkok. The Russian’s lone title came on home soil in Kazan in 2015.

Dominic Thiem believes that the lack of fans at the Western & Southern Open and at the upcoming US Open will play a big factor in the fortunes of every player over the next few weeks in New York.

“Tennis is such a mental sport, and I guess it makes it way more difficult without fans, because I just imagine playing in the fifth set on Arthur Ashe, night session, way past midnight, and in a normal year you get so much energy from the fans,” said Thiem during a virtual press conference over Zoom on Friday.

“They give you so much, all this atmosphere. And now, in an empty stadium, maybe your coach and your team there, that makes it, I guess, very, very lonely, very, very tough. That’s going to be a very interesting thing to experience. But it’s the same for everybody. The one who will do it the best, who will manage these special circumstances the best, will be the one who lifts the trophy at the end.”

Second seed Thiem, the 2016 and 2017 Western & Southern Open quarter-finalist, will play Filip Krajinovic or a qualifier in the second round. It will be his first match since 22 February at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

“Honestly, I’m zero per cent nervous or scared about travelling here,” said Thiem. “I think we are safer than anywhere else on the whole planet. It’s different. The one who wins the title here definitely deserves it, and players-wise or draw-wise, it’s worth the same like every year…. The draw is still super, super strong.

Looking ahead to the resumption of the ATP Tour, after a five-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Austrian says, “You have to play your cards smart there… Definitely until the end of the season, it’s super busy and also not going to be easy to make a good schedule, to play all those tournaments physically and mentally 100 per cent. But I will try to do my best now.”

Thiem has a big opportunity to consolidate his position at No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings with a big run, having just 10 points to defend over the next few weeks.