Pablo Cuevas and Guillermo Duran earned their first team title in dramatic fashion at the Generali Open, surviving a thrilling Match Tie-break for the Kitzbühel crown.

Fourth seeds Cuevas and Duran saved one match point to defeat Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 in one hour and 26 minutes. It was the third victory in a Match Tie-break for the Uruguayan-Argentine duo this week.

“We’ve known each other for a long time but we never had the chance to play together,” said Cuevas. “It’s a pleasure to play with a friend and it feels even better if you end the tournament in this way. We are very happy.”

Podlipnik-Castillo and Vasilevski did well to handle the pressure of their first individual ATP World Tour finals, saving eight of nine break points faced. They would also battle back from 7/4 down in the decider and earned a championship point at 10/9, but the Chilean-Belarusian tandem were unable to convert.

Cuevas and Duran denied the opportunity and capitalised on the second match point of their own, claiming a thrilling exchange two points later. Cuevas pummeled a short-angled backhand return to set up the clincher, which Duran would seal with a beautifully dug volley off a Vasilevski smash.

“I think it was important to remain calm during the Match Tie-break,” said Duran. “We were 7/4 ahead and then we lost three points in a row, but still managed to win.”

Individually, it was 31-year-old Cuevas’ eighth tour-level doubles title and third of the year. He previously prevailed with Pablo Carreno Busta in Rio de Janeiro and with Rohan Bopanna at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

Duran sealed his fourth ATP World Tour doubles crown, all with different partners. It was his second victory of the year, having teamed with Andres Molteni to lift the Umag trophy last month.

Cuevas and Duran split €26,110 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points.

It was home cooking for Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Generali Open, as the local resident captured his second Kitzbühel crown on Sunday.

In what was the final clay-court match of the year on the ATP World Tour, Kohlschreiber dismissed Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 22 minutes to take his eighth tour-level title. It was an emotional victory for the 33 year old, who was forced to retire from his Hamburg semi-final just one week ago with a leg injury.

But Kohlschreiber would bounce back strong in Kitzbühel, fighting back from a set down to defeat Dusan Lajovic in the quarters and ousting Gstaad champion Fabio Fognini in the semis before downing Sousa on Sunday. The local resident, who rides his bike to the site all week during the tournament, previously lifted the trophy in 2015 (d. Mathieu).

“It was an amazing week for me,” said Kohlschreiber. “I never expected to win this title when the tournament started. I really enjoy playing here, it is such a nice event. Everyone is doing a great job and the crowd loves to come here.

“I started to play more aggressive and offensive tennis. He is a very good mover on the court. He’s a great fighter and takes the ball early, so I tried to play faster and more aggressive. I was also very focused in the crucial moments and the two breaks I made was at 30/0 up for him.”

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, in the shadow of the famous Hahnenkamm Mountain in the Austrian Alps, Kohlschreiber would rally from a break down in both sets to overcome Sousa. A chipped forehand that landed wide gave the Portuguese the initial break for 2-1 in the first set, but his German opponent stormed back to snatch the opener, reeling five of the next six games.

Sousa was once again on the front foot in the second set, edging ahead 3-1, but could not maintain the advantage, as Kohlschreiber broke back immediately and cruised to the finish line. He would take his first championship point as a Sousa backhand sailed wide.

It marked the fourth consecutive year in which Kohlschreiber has won an ATP World Tour title. He earns €85,945 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points, rising a projected 10 spots to World No. 37. Following two defeats to open their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, Kohlschreiber has rebounded to draw level with Sousa at 2-2. He most recently earned a three-set win at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last month.

Sousa, meanwhile, takes home €45,265  in prize money and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points for reaching his ninth ATP World Tour final. The 28 year old was bidding for his third title and first since 2015, when he triumphed in Valencia.

“Even if I lost today it was a great week,” said Sousa. “I haven’t been playing that well for a while, so I’m very happy with how I played here in Kitzbühel. Philipp was the better man today and deserves to win the title. He played great tennis.”

#NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis continued his remarkable run this week by reaching his first ATP World Tour singles final on Friday at Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex, rallying to defeat top seed Tomas Berdych in Los Cabos 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

“I showed some glimpses of good tennis this year, so to do that consistently this week in Los Cabos means a lot,” said Kokkinakis. “I’ve had great support from the fans here all week. I love it here and I’ll definitely be coming back a few more times.”

The 21-year-old was sidelined from singles competition for 18 months with a laundry list of injuries, but returned to singles action this past May. In just his fourth tournament back, he defeated Milos Raonic at the Aegon Championships. Kokkinakis is currently No. 454 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after six tournaments, but will move to around No. 225 when the newest standings are released on Monday. A win in the final will put him around No. 165.

Berdych grabbed the lone break of the opening set at 4-3, but Kokkinakis regrouped in the second set by storming to a 6/2 lead in the tie-break before eventually forcing a decider. The Aussie led by 5-2 in the final set, but nerves began to take over trying to close out the match. He dropped his serve and squandered four match points, but ultimately regrouped to prevail in two hours and 18 minutes.

Kokkinakis celebrated the milestone moment by holding an impromptu autograph session to thank the fans in Los Cabos for their support all week.

Standing between Kokkinakis and the title is second seed Sam Querrey, who defeated Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that ended well after midnight. Querrey is enjoying an outstanding run of form that recently saw him defeat World No. 1 Andy Murray to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. The American has already enjoyed success in Mexico this year by defeating Rafael Nadal this past March in the Acapulco final.  

“I’m going to move here,” joked Querrey. “I really love this tournament and hope I can win both tournaments in Mexico this year.”

Querrey won his lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with Kokkinakis at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open, but said the rising Aussie is a different player compared to the one he faced two years ago.

“He’s obviously playing much better now. He’s hitting his forehand big and played really well against Berdych,” said Querrey. “He’s playing loose and tournaments don’t get any easier from here, so it’s going to be a tough match.”

Cabal/Huey Move Into Doubles Final

Second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Treat Huey outlasted fourth seeds Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 to move into Saturday’s final. Cabal/Huey will take on Sergio Galdos and Roberto Maytin, who upset third seeds Marc Lopez and David Marrero 6-3, 2-6, 11-9.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga helped out with the draw ceremony Friday at the Coupe Rogers, but the draw didn’t do the 2014 champion any favours. The Frenchman was placed onto line 32, opposite Sam Querrey and Gilles Muller.

“I’m playing the winner of the last two players to beat me,” he told the crowd in French with a laugh.

Tsonga, indeed, lost to Querrey and Muller respectively during Wimbledon and the Aegon Championships, victims of his opponent’s memorable runs. Querrey went on to reach the semi-finals at the All England Club, knocking out defending champion Andy Murray in the process, while Muller ran up a seven-match winning streak that included the Eastbourne title.

Flash back to three years ago at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, and it’s easy to remember Tsonga’s inspired run on the hard-courts of Toronto. During that dream week, he upset four straight Top 10 players – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (3R), No. 9 Andy Murray (QF), No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov (SF) and No. 3 Roger Federer (F) – to claim the title.

Looking ahead to his campaign this week, Tsonga said he didn’t feel any differently about his chances now at age 32.

“I’m feeling good,” said the World No. 12. “I’m in good shape. I did a good start this season. I won three tournaments, and today I’m still in the game to play a Masters. For me it’s a big challenge to play here in Montreal, try to beat these guys and try to get some important [Emirates ATP Rankings] points for the end of the season.”

And though his three titles (Rotterdam, Marseille, Lyon) are the most he’s won in a single season since turning pro 13 years ago, Tsonga also commented that the quality of the field – particularly at the Masters 1000 tournaments – continued to improve with each passing year.

“Every year the first round is tougher. It’s more difficult,” he said. “We are lucky because at this time tennis is great. I think it’s good for the fans.”

Third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares scored a monumental comeback win on Friday at the Citi Open, saving seven match points to advance into the semi-finals over qualifiers James Cerretani and #NextGenATP Aussie Marc Polmans 2-6, 6-3, 19-17.

Murray/Soares saved match points at 8/9, 9/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 and 16/17. The British-Brazilian pair ultimately made good on their third match point to prevail in one hour and 37 minutes.

Next up for them are top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who also fought back from the brink by saving two match points to topple Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 7-5, 4-6, 14-12. Kontinen/Peers erased match points at 9/10 and 11/12.

Second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo were also pushed to the brink before moving into the last four over Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-7. Kubot/Melo are on a 19-match win streak dating back to their flawless grass-court season, in which they prevailed at the Ricoh Open, Gerry Weber Open and Wimbledon.

Awaiting them are fourth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who had the least dramatic match of the day in defeating wild cards Rohan Bopanna and Donald Young 7-5, 6-4. 

Fifth seed Alexander Zverev wasted no time getting down to business on Friday at the Citi Open, prevailing in an all-#NextGenATP battle over Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-4 in 57 minutes to reach the semi-finals.

“I love the atmosphere and the people in Washington. It’s a young crowd and they’re very loud, so it’s always fun to play here,” said Zverev. “I’m just happy to be through to the semi-finals, but obviously don’t want to stop here.”

The German broke Medvedev twice and maintained control throughout the opening set to grab the early advantage. Medvedev, who upset fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday night, found his range in the second set and made it a far more competitive affair. Zverev was not to be denied, though, grabbing the lone break of the set at 4-4. He improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Medvedev to 2-0.

“I think Medvedev has a huge game, like a lot of the Russian players who are playing very aggressively,” said Zverev. “He looks much stronger in the past year and moves very well, so his game is coming along.”

Next up for the World No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings is second seed Kei Nishikori or wild card and #NextGenATP American Tommy Paul. Zverev has never faced either player.