A LOOK BACK

Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby (Granby, Canada): Fourth seed Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia won his second Challenger title in Canada over the past month by defeating second seed and local favourite Peter Polansky 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. The 30 year old also defeated Polansky in the Winnipeg final. Meanwhile, Polansky has finished runner-up in three consecutive Challengers on home soil (Winnipeg, Gatineau, Granby) and is inching closer to a debut inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Binghamton Challenger (Binghamton, New York): Cameron Norrie of Great Britain picked up his first Challenger title with an upset victory over top seeded Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. Norrie turned pro in June after an outstanding college tennis career at Texas Christian University. Thompson was aiming for his first title of the year after a dominant 2016 season on the ATP Challenger Tour that saw him rack up four titles.

Internazionali di Tennis di Cortina (Cortina, Italy): Fourth seed Roberto Carballes Baena saved his best tennis for the final, with the Spaniard recording a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over third seed Gerald Melzer of Austria. Carballes Baena picks up his first Challenger title since 2015, with all three victories at this level coming on red clay.

Advantage Cars Prague Open (Prague, Czech Republic): Fourth seed Andrej Martin of Slovakia continued his solid season by taking the title 7-6(3), 6-3 over Yannick Maden of Germany. The 27 year old Martin also prevailed this March in San Luis Potosi. Despite the loss, Maden can take heart in reaching his first Challenger final of 2017.

Aamulehti Tampere Open (Tampere, Finland): Eighth seed Calvin Hemery of France scored his first Challenger title by ousting top seed Pedro Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-4. The 22 year old reached his first Challenger final this past June on home soil in Blois. Sousa was seeking his second Challenger title after winning his maiden crown this past April in Francavilla.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Kavcic: “I was feeling tired a while back, but it was my coach who convinced me to come and play in these Canadian Challenger tournaments. I know that the fans today were cheering for Peter, but thank you for also cheering for me when I made good shots. Congratulations to Peter on a great match. We played about two weeks ago in the final in Winnipeg and both matches were long and hard fought. I hope that we don’t have to play against each other soon, because it is very tough to play against him.”

Polansky: “It was a pretty high level final. The match could have gone either way. The margins were really small and he got that last break at 5-6. He played well and made some tough shots. I thought it was a great match.”

Carballes Baena:  “I’m very happy. It was a special week for me. It was a tough week against Andrea Arnaboldi (in the second round) and yesterday against Marcel Granollers. But I played better in the final and left it all out there.”

A LOOK AHEAD

There are five Challengers on the schedule this week, with the $125,000 event in Biella, Italy, taking top billing as it returns for the 13^th year. Local favourite Marco Cecchinato is the top seed and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is the second seed. Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, who emerged as a lucky loser to win the ATP World Tour event in Hamburg this past week, is the third seed. Carballes Baena looks for another title as the eighth seed and Hemery is also in the draw.

The $125,000 tournament in Chengdu, China, is back for the second year. Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei is the top seed and Evgeny Donskoy of Russia is the second seed. A pair of #NextGenATP South Koreans, Duckhee Lee and Soon Woo Kwon, are the third and sixth seeds, respectively.

Segovia, Spain hosts a $100,000 Challenger event for the 27^th consecutive year. Local favourite Marcel Granollers is the top seed and Peter Gojowczyk of Germany is the second seed. A pair of #NextGenATP players, Alex De Minaur of Australia and Christian Garin of Chile, are also in the draw.

The $75,000 event in Lexington, Kentucky, celebrates its 23^rd consecutive year on the calendar. #NextGenATP player Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan is the top seed and American Denis Kudla is the top seed. Another #NextGenATP player, American Michael Mmoh, is the fourth seed, while Norrie looks for another title on U.S. soil.

Lastly, the $50,000 Challenger in Liberec, Czech Republic, returns for the fifth consecutive year. Local favourite Adam Pavlasek is the top seed and Oscar Otte of Germany is the second seed. Former Top 5 player Tommy Robredo is the seventh seed.

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: The ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallenger at twitter.com/ATPChallenger.

No. 49 Leonardo Mayer, +89
The Argentine (pictured) soars back into the Top 50 for the first time since May 2016 after becoming the second lucky loser in as many weeks (following Andrey Rublev’s triumph in Umag) to clinch an ATP World Tour title, with victory in the German Tennis Championships 2017. Despite bowing out in the final round of qualifying to 16-year-old Rudolf Molleker last Sunday, Mayer received a call-up to the main draw and went all the way as he held off German Florian Mayer to claim his second title in Hamburg. Read Report & Watch Highlights

No. 25 Fabio Fognini, +6
The former World No. 13 welcomed his first child in May and on Sunday, he celebrated his first ATP World Tour title as a dad with victory in the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad final. The Italian took down first-time finalist Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 7-5 to land his fifth ATP World Tour title, his first since Umag in 2016. The 30-year-old Fognini is coming off third-round showings at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and a quarter-final finish in Umag. Read Report

View Latest Emirates ATP Rankings

No. 47 Philipp Kohlschreiber, +11
A left leg adductor strain cost the former World No. 16 the chance of reaching a 17th career final last week when he retired while leading countryman Florian Mayer 6-4, 2-3 in the German Tennis Championships 2017 semi-finals. Kohlschreiber’s run, which included a second-round win over No. 4 seed Gilles Simon, was enough to see him return to the Top 50. The German finished runner-up on clay earlier in the season in Marrakech.

No. 59 Florian Mayer, +42
Florian Mayer surged back into the Top 100 with a run to the German Tennis Championships 2017 final, where he fell to Leonardo Mayer (not related). He was bidding to become the first German to win in Hamburg since Michael Stich in 1993. The 33 year old triumphed at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last year, ranked No. 192 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

No. 61 Federico Delbonis, +20
The left-handed Argentine rode a five-match winning streak through qualifying to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final of the season in Hamburg. He took down third seed and #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov before he fell to eventual champion Leonardo Mayer. It was the 26 year old’s best result of the year, having reached the quarter-finals in Sao Paulo.

Other Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 8 Alexander Zverev +3
No. 48 Jiri Vesely, +7
No. 78 Nicolas Kicker, +18
No. 84 Blaz Kavcic, +16

Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan got their American hard-court swing off to a flying start, taking the doubles title at the BB&T Atlanta Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak.

“After a tough first-round which we could have lost, I thought we played really well,” said Mike. “The support from the fans here has been great and it feels good to win our second title here.”

The Bryans required a single break in each set to prevail in just 54 minutes. The victory gives them a staggering 114^th ATP World Tour title as a team and their second title in Atlanta (2015, 2017). It’s also their second title of the season after prevailing last month in Eastbourne (d. Bopanna/Sa).  Their solid 2017 currently has them at fouth in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London.

“This is huge momentum going into the hard-court swing for us here in the U.S.,” said Bob. “It’s really important for us in the [Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London] and going into the last Grand Slam of the year.”

Koolhof/Sitak were playing together as a team for just the second time, with their debut last week yielding a quarter-final finish in Newport. Sitak was aiming for his first ATP World Tour doubles title of 2017, while Koolhof has prevailed with fellow Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop in Sydney and Rotterdam.

The Bryans pick up 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split a cheque for $34,810. Koolhof/Sitak walk away with 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $18,300.

It was a good day for the Bryans’ coach, David Macpherson, who saw his charge John Isner win the singles title earlier in the evening. 

Second seed John Isner reigned supreme once again at the BB&T Atlanta Open, saving set point in both sets to pick up a 7-6(6), 7-6(7) win over fourth seed and fellow American Ryan Harrison.

“It was a battle. I needed every ounce of my energy out there, but I’m so happy to win this tournament again. This tournament has meant everything to me,” said Isner. “This is always going to be my favourite time of year. I seem to play well in America every single year, so I couldn’t have asked for a better start.”

Isner, who also prevailed last week in Newport (d. Ebden), earned his fourth title in Atlanta (2013-2015, 2017). He has reached the final in seven of the eight years this tournament has been held, and the semi-finals in all eight years. The victory gives Isner his 12^th ATP World Tour title, 10 of which have come on U.S. soil. He’ll move up to No. 18 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday and surpass Jack Sock as the top-ranked American player.

Harrison was seeking his second ATP World Tour singles title after winning his maiden crown this February in Memphis (d. Basilashvili). Despite the loss, the week in Atlanta was a major boost for the fourth seed, who hadn’t reached an ATP World Tour final prior to this season.

“Being back in the final again is a good result,” said Harrison. “I think I can put myself in this position more and more often. It was a great week and I’m looking forward to next week too.”

Isner picks up 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for $114,595. Harrison leaves Atlanta with 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for $60,355.

Both men traded service holds throughout the opening set to force a tie-break. Isner went down set point at 5/6, but erased it with a big serve. He then earned a set point of his own at 7/6 and took full advantage with a forehand return winner to grab the early lead.

After 75 consecutive service holds dating back to last week in Newport, Harrison finally broke Isner for a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Isner broke right back in the next game and the two Americans continued to comfortably hold serve for another tie-break.

Harrison saved a championship point at 5/6 with a forehand and earned a set point opportunity at 7/6, but Isner responded with a huge ace to level the score. The second seed made good on his second championship point, cracking a forehand up the line to end the contest in one hour and 47 minutes.

Juan Carlos Ferrero and #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev will work together in person for the first time this week at the Citi Open in Washington, DC. But the former World No. 1 has already helped Zverev have success on the ATP World Tour this season.

Ferrero and Zverev have been talking almost daily since the 20 year old personally approached Ferrero at the Mutua Madrid Open about joining his team.

“He told me that maybe he wants to work a little bit with me because I have the experience to be there on the top and I have the experience to win Grand Slams,” Ferrero exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com on Sunday in Washington.

Since that first discussion, Zverev has continued his banner 2017 season, which has seen him win three ATP World Tour titles. On 21 May, he became the only player not named Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title this season, beating Novak Djokovic for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia crown in Rome.

Ferrero, who won four Masters 1000 titles and 2003 Roland Garros, hadn’t been thinking about joining the team of a top ATP World Tour player. The 37-year-old Spaniard runs his own academy, JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy, in Alicante, Spain, and is married with two young children, 3-year-old Vega and 5-month-old Juan Carlos. But working with Zverev was too good of a match.

“Once he came to me and showed me the whole team – I know Hugo [Gravil], his physio, I know Jez [Green], his physical trainer, from a long time ago. So I know everybody on the team,” said Ferrero, who is also working with Zverev’s regular coach, his father, Alexander Zverev Sr. “It was a great opportunity for me to be a part of his team.”

Ferrero spent the past week with the group in Tampa, Florida, where Zverev trains for part of the year. Zverev, the fifth seed in Washington and No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has surprised and impressed Ferrero during their three-month partnership, which will last through the remainder of the season.

Ferrero had seen the 6’6” Zverev on TV and wondered how much strength the lanky right-hander possessed. But his power – and his work ethic – have squelched any questions.

“He surprised me with how strong he is. When you see him on the court, he is very thin. But then I saw him practise, work in the gym. He likes to practice a lot on the court, like four hours today, and then work in the gym,” Ferrero said. “I think he’s ready to grow up a little bit and try to improve the things that he has to improve. It’s a good start.”

Ferrero played the typical coach role during Zverev’s practice set against Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday afternoon. The Spaniard stood nearby the fence, mostly staying quiet but occasionally offering bits of encouragement. “Be aggressive, man. Let’s go!” Ferrero said.

After the set, Ferrero became much more active, grabbing his racquet and hitting with Zverev for about 10 minutes.

The Spaniard wouldn’t share any top-secret intelligence about Zverev’s game – “I cannot say secrets. I cannot say secrets,” he said.

But he hinted at what he will be working on with Zverev, who leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan and is in sixth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

“His attitude on the court sometimes is up and down. [He needs to] stay more on the regular line. He’s young and he has to grow up, and he has to control his emotions on the court, but day by day,” Ferrero said.

The Spaniard plans to attend at least one of the upcoming Masters 1000 tournaments and the US Open during the North American hard-court swing. He will travel with the team from there as well, tagging along for the Asian swing and the European indoor circuit before possibly concluding the year at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

The Zverevs obviously approve of the partnership, but, perhaps more importantly, so does Ferrero’s wife, Eva Alonso, who’s at home with the two children under 3. She’s not angry with Ferrero… yet.

“Not for the moment,” Ferrero said in between laughs. “No, she’s ok with it. She knows I love this world and it was a great, special location for me to come back on the tour. So, yeah, she’s happy.”