One week ago, Peter Gojowczyk was not in the main draw of the Moselle Open. On Sunday, he became the last man standing, claiming his maiden ATP World Tour title in emphatic fashion.

Gojowczyk dominated the Metz final, streaking past seventh seed and home hope Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-2 in 67 minutes. The German qualifier claimed seven matches in eight days to lift his first trophy, completing a stunning run to the title with 14 of 15 sets won.

Gojowczyk’s victory is the first for a qualifier in an ATP World Tour final this year, ending an 0-5 skid. He is the first to clinch a title since Nicolas Mahut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2015.

The 28 year old is also the sixth first-time champion on the ATP World Tour in 2017. Damir Dzumhur added a seventh maiden title with his triumph at the St. Petersburg Open just hours later on Sunday.

First-Time Winners In 2017

Gojowczyk refused to concede an inch from the back of the court at Les Arènes de Metz. He would fire 18 winners in the first set, breaking Paire in the 11th game before serving out the opener. The German rolled from there, earning an immediate break to open the second as a forehand struck the net cord and dribbled over. He would pounce on a second serve return down the line for a second break for 3-0, and eventually sealed the win on his first match point as a Paire forehand found the net.

Gojowczyk did not face a break point throughout the encounter, launching a total of 28 winners, including three aces. He takes home €85,945 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points, rising to a projected career-high of No. 66

It has been a dream season for the 28-year-old Dachau native. He kicked off his 2017 campaign at World No. 189 and would not drop a set en route to the ATP Challenger Tour title in Happy Valley, Australia. 

Another final in Quimper, France, would follow in early February, and he continued his Top 100 ascent with a first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match win in Indian Wells. Gojowczyk later excelled on the grass in July, reaching the second round at Wimbledon as a qualifier and battling to the semis in Newport. It was just his second tour-level semi-final, after a run to the last four in Doha in 2014 (l. to Nadal).

Paire, meanwhile, was bidding for his second career title, having previously prevailed in Bastad in 2015. A Frenchman had lifted the trophy in Metz in seven of the past eight years, entering Sunday’s final.

“He didn’t miss many shots and it was tough for me,” Paire said. “But I’m happy for my week and I’m happy for him because he’s a good guy. If I play like I did this week, I think I can do something good [going forward]. There are a lot of positives. And the crowd was unbelievable, supporting me all week.”

Damir Dzumhur captured his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday as he completed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback victory over Fabio Fognini in the final of the St. Petersburg Open.

The Sarajevo native is the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title. Hot on the heels of Peter Gojowczyk’s victory at the Moselle Open in Metz (read more), Dzumhur is the seventh first-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season.

“I was very nervous today, even though it was my second final. I was very nervous at the start,” said Dzumhur. “I couldn’t find my best rhythm, couldn’t find my best game. But the experience of playing one final already helped me a lot and in the end I won. In the end I found my game and played good. It was the best day of my life.”

The 25-year-old Dzumhur has gone 15-3 in tour-level matches since 31 July in a career-best run that will see him move to around No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to break the Top 50. Dzumhur received 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $178,480 in prize money.

Coming into St. Petersburg, Dzumhur had been on a strong run of form that saw him make the semi-finals in Los Cabos (l. to Querrey), reach his first ATP World Tour final in Winston-Salem (l. to Bautista Agut) and make the third round of the US Open (l. to Rublev).

Dzumhur overturned a 0-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Fognini as he upset the third-seeded Italian in one hour and 54 minutes. Fognini had battled into his 14^th ATP World Tour final after saving two match points against Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals, and strolled to the first set against Dzumhur with two breaks of serve.

But the tide turned against the Italian from 4-4 in the second set as Dzumhur seized the initiative with a run of four straight games to level the match and break at the start of the third set. A second break for Dzumhur in the seventh game sealed victory for the right-hander.

“In the second set I started to serve better,” said Dzumhur. “After one break (at 2-2 in the second set), he broke me back. But I knew that I could break him again and I was returning better. That first break was very important for the whole match.”

The 30-year-old Fognini had been bidding to win his second ATP World Tour of the season, following victory on clay in Gstaad in July (d. Hanfmann). The Italian drops to a 5-9 record in finals, having also finished runner-up in the 2012 edition of the St. Petersburg Open (l. to Klizan). 

Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin delighted the home fans on Sunday at the Moselle Open, capturing the doubles title 7-5, 6-3 over Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak.

It was the third tour-level triumph for the French tandem, with all victories coming on home soil. They previously lifted trophies in Marseille and Roland Garros in 2014.

The third seeds dropped just one set all week, capping the strong run in Metz with the 74-minute win over Koolhof and Sitak. They fired five aces and saved eight of nine break points.

“We stayed solid in the big moments today, especially at 30/40 on my serve in the second set,” said Benneteau. “We forced them to make some mistakes and that was the key in the end.”

Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin claim 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €26,110 in prize money. For Benneteau, the victory in Metz comes 14 years after capturing the title in the inaugural edition of the ATP World Tour 250 event (w/Mahut). It is title No. 12 for the 35 year old.

Roger-Vasselin, meanwhile, notched his first crown of the year and 14th in his career. He has now claimed the Metz title with three different partners, also prevailing with Nicolas Mahut in 2012 and Lukasz Kubot in 2015.

“Every match was difficult,” added Roger-Vasselin. “The first against Bolelli and Seppi was a tough one. We played well all week and we’re very happy to have the trophy at the end. Today it was a good match again and we played very well. Almost a perfect week.”

Koolhof and Sitak were appearing in their second ATP World Tour final together, having finished runners-up to Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in Atlanta earlier this year. They were coming off a title run at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Szczecin, Poland, last week.

#NextGenATP players Jared Donaldson and Mikael Ymer took the opportunity to experience the local culture in Chengdu on Sunday as they visited ‘Wangjian Lou’, one of Chengdu’s cultural attractions that roughly translates as ‘river view pavilion’.

The American and Swede took part in a game of mini-tennis in the park before learning the ancient local art of calligraphy from a ‘sifu’ (master).

“There are not a lot of similarities between American and Chinese culture – we don’t have bamboo and cultural places like this,” said Donaldson. “It’s a really beautiful setting. I remember learning calligraphy in the fourth grade, but I haven’t practised it since – I think I did a good job though!

“I’m lucky to have this opportunity to visit places like these as a professional tennis player; my friends would be jealous! I love playing tennis in Asia and in China. The atmosphere is great and it’s very cool to experience all these different cultures.”

Ymer added, “It’s my first time in China and Asia, so it’s really amazing. This place is very special and I’ve never seen anything like this. The bamboo is beautiful and the master was very nice to show us how to paint the calligraphy. I’m quite amazed we managed to do it quite well.

“Everyone is so nice here in China; the people and the tournament staff are all amazing. It’s very well organised. To explore places like this at 18 or 19 is really a privilege.”

The 20-year-old Donaldson, who is currently sixth in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, will open his campaign against another #NextGenATP player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who came through qualifying. Donaldson is looking for a strong run at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament to keep up his momentum in the bid to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

The 19-year-old Ymer, a wild card entrant, will face Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round as he looks to claim his sixth tour-level win. 

Roman Jebavy and Matwe Middelkoop captured their first ATP World Tour doubles together on Sunday as they defeated top seeds Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4 in the St. Petersburg Open final.

It is the 27-year-old Jebavy’s second ATP World Tour title after lifting the Istanbul trophy with Czech countryman Jiri Vesely in May. Middelkoop claimed his fourth career crown and second of the year, following victory in Sydney with Wesley Koolhof.

“We always wanted to play together but it was about finding the right moment,” said Middelkoop. “We first played in Gstaad a few months ago and then decided to play here and it was an excellent choice. We had great energy and I think that gave us this result.

“My mom is Russian and my grandmother is Russian. I was raised Russian and I lived there for a year. I have a nice feeling playing here. St. Petersburg is my second second city and to bring my grandmother to the middle of the centre court and see everyone cheering for her is an emotional moment.”

Against the top seeds in the final, the Czech/Dutch duo converted two of their seven break points to prevail in 62 minutes, winning 75 per cent of their service points.

“Last Saturday, I played Davis Cup against Matwe and then Monday morning we flew here,” said Jebavy. “We played our best and did really well. This is just a great tournament. I hope to be back next year.”

Jebavy and Middelkoop were playing together for just the second time this week, after making the Gstaad semi-final in July, and only dropped one set en route to the title at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tournament. 

Against the top seeds in the final, the Czech/Dutch duo converted two of their seven break points to prevail in 62 minutes, winning 75 per cent of their service points. They received 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and shared $54,220 in prize money.

Peralta and Zeballos were bidding for their fifth title together and dropped to a 4-3 finals record.