Davis Cup Finals 2023: Manchester to host group stage in September
Manchester will host one of the group stages of the Davis Cup Finals in September, bringing the competition to the city for the first time in almost 30 years.
Manchester will host one of the group stages of the Davis Cup Finals in September, bringing the competition to the city for the first time in almost 30 years.
If a picture is worth a thousand words the smile on Christopher Eubanks’ face Monday evening was worth a million.
With the American railing ⅖ in the second-set tie-break of his match against Gregoire Barrere, rain forced the players off the court. When they returned after one hour and 55 minutes, the Frenchman won the first point before Eubanks saved five set points en route to a 6-3, 7-6(7) victory for a place in the fourth round of the Miami Open presented by Itau.
How did it feel?
“Really good. Really good. Really good,” Eubanks repeated to the media in Miami.
But it was more than just a win. It signified a milestone that the 26-year-old had been working towards. Eubanks climbed to No. 96 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, and he is projected to crack the world’s Top 100 for the first time next Monday.
“The past few weeks have been really, really tough just because I’ve been kind of thinking about Top 100 and everything,” Eubanks said. “I had some losses that I shouldn’t have [had] and I was really second-guessing a lot about my game and everything.”
Chris Eubanks is now into the top 100 in the @PepperstoneFX #ATPLiveRankings for the first time in his career 👏#partner pic.twitter.com/oxeQ7hl7eQ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 28, 2023
Eubanks this week decided to delete tennis apps off his phone to avoid looking at the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He had been disappointed with his recent play and set a goal for himself.
“I’m just going to focus on playing every single match and I did that,” Eubanks said before choking up with emotion inside the bowels of Hard Rock Stadium. “Wow, it feels good. It feels good.”
The Atlanta native followed the college route, competing for Georgia Tech from 2015-17 and twice earning ACC Player of the Year (2016-17). He broke into the Top 200 in April 2018, but the Top 100 proved elusive.
In February, Eubanks ascended to a career-high World No. 102, but four consecutive losses proved a roadblock. A three-set loss in Indian Wells qualifying to Maximilian Marterer gave him a bit more confidence that the Eubanks train was rolling in the right direction, and that has played out here in Miami.
The home favourite qualified before ousting Denis Kudla, 17th seed Borna Coric and Barrere to earn his place in the Top 100 and the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
Eubanks admitted he was never the best player in his state, section or the country growing up. But his hard work has paid off and coach Ruan Roelofse was happy to confirm for his charge after Monday’s match that he had made his long-desired breakthrough.
“For him it’s very special of course. You saw what it meant to him on the court,” Roelofse told ATPTour.com. “He didn’t know that it was [guaranteed] Top 100. He thought it was, but I told him afterwards.
“It’s special for me to help him because he’s been playing for a few years on Tour and everyone knows he has the capability of doing it. So to help him get there means a lot to me, too.”
What was most telling was how happy people were for the American. Eubanks has plenty of fans in the locker room and around the tennis world.
During the rain delay, Eubanks spoke in the locker room to Frances Tiafoe, whose match had also been suspended. Tiafoe gave him plenty of encouragement. After the victory, Eubanks FaceTimed with friend Coco Gauff. Others including Darren Cahill, Rennae Stubbs and Brad Gilbert congratulated him on social media. It is Eubanks’ special moment, but everyone is happily sharing in it.
“It’s amazing. He’s an amazing person on and off the court. He’s obviously got a lot of character,” Roelofse said. “People love seeing him play, he’s entertaining to the crowd and personally one on one he’s been great with me. It’s been fun helping him and I’m happy with where we’re heading.”
It is such an emotional moment that it is easy to forget Eubanks is one of the final 16 players remaining in the year’s second Masters 1000 event. A match against unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino separates him from a spot in the quarter-finals.
For now, Eubanks is understandably soaking it all in.
“Damn it’s crazy man,” Eubanks said. “Wow this is weird. Sorry, it’s just wild.”
As the 26-year-old continued providing the media insight into his accomplishment, Eubanks could not help but take a fun jab at himself.
“Why am I crying?” Eubanks asked himself rhetorically. “This is so embarrassing! But no, it feels good.”
A host of stars are in action on one of the most exciting days of the ATP Tour calendar Tuesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
All eight fourth-round matches feature on the schedule at Hard Rock Stadium. In the top half of the draw, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner face off for a fifth chapter of their hard-hitting ATP Head2Head rivalry. World No. 1 and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on home favourite Tommy Paul, and Holger Rune and Taylor Fritz meet in the first all-Top 10 clash of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
In the bottom half, Stefanos Tsitsipas seeks to maintain his perfect record against Karen Khachanov, while Daniil Medvedev takes on surprise package Quentin Halys.
ATPTour.com previews some of the key clashes on an action-packed Day 7 in southern Florida.
View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule
Fireworks from the baseline are guaranteed on Grandstand when Rublev and Sinner meet for the first time on an outdoor hard court. Neither player has dropped a set in Miami across their opening two matches and both have a history of success in the fast conditions at Hard Rock Stadium.
The 2021 semi-finalist Rublev’s powerful serve and sledgehammer forehand will likely be key. If he can hit through Sinner consistently, he will be confident of avenging his 2022 Monte Carlo defeat to the Italian, the pair’s only previous Masters 1000 clash. Rublev will be wary of Sinner’s ability to redirect that power to his own advantage, however, particularly at a venue where the Italian reached his only Masters 1000 final in 2021.
A 2-2 ATP Head2Head series record makes the matchup between the World No. 7 Rublev and the World No. 11 Sinner all the more intriguing. The 21-year-old Sinner was unable to complete either of his defeats in that sequence due to injury and the Italian, who is one of the best movers on Tour, will hope his body this time holds up as he bids for his third Top 10 win of the year.
The World No. 1 Alcaraz seeks to extend his eight-match winning streak against home favourite Paul, but he will be in no doubt as to the threat posed by his 16th-seeded opponent. Paul downed the Spaniard in three sets in the pair’s only previous tour-level meeting in Montreal last August, and Alcaraz is prepared for another stiff challenge on Tuesday inside Hard Rock Stadium.
“He does everything well,” said Alcaraz, who must defend his title to stay at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after Miami. “He moves well. He is fast. He hits great shots. Big forehand, big backhand. He’s going to be really, really tough.”
Paul is enjoying a stellar 2023 but the 25-year-old, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals and the championship match in Acapulco, will need to bring his best to take down the red-hot Alcaraz. The 19-year-old’s all-around game has looked in fine shape across Indian Wells and Miami as aspires to become the youngest man to complete the coveted ‘Sunshine Double’.
The opening act of Tuesday’s schedule inside Hard Rock Stadium sees Rune take on No. 1 American Fritz in a popcorn Top 10 encounter.
Although 2022 Indian Wells champion Fritz has never been past the fourth round, the 25-year-old’s combination of big serving and aggressive groundstrokes is suited to Miami, where the ball skids through the courts at speed. Fritz will hope to disrupt the rhythm of Rune, whose all-around ability has led him to a career-high No.8 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the age of 19, in the pair’s first tour-level meeting.
The Dane has excelled on his main-draw debut in Miami, defeating Marton Fucsovics and Diego Schwartzman in straight sets, and he knows how to beat the best at Masters 1000 level — he defeated five Top 10 players in a row, including Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, en route to the Rolex Paris Masters title last November.
Clinical performance 👏@holgerrune2003 executes some very attacking 🎾 as he moves on in Miami 📈#TennisInsights | @atptour | @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/DffAhUNijo
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 26, 2023
Tsitsipas would do well to look to his past meetings with the 14th-seeded Khachanov ahead of the pair’s fourth-round clash on Grandstand. The nine-time ATP Tour titlist holds a 6-0 ATP Head2Head series lead against the World No. 16, with four of those wins coming at ATP Masters 1000 events.
That suggests the outcome of the pair’s fourth-round clash rests on the Greek’s racquet, but Tsitsipas knows he needs to be vigilant if he wants to maintain his perfect record against Khachanov. The second seed’s third-round victory against Cristian Garin was his first match for a month due to an ongoing shoulder issue, and Tsitsipas will need to be serving at full strength in order to nullify his opponent’s sharp return game.
The 2018 Rolex Paris Masters champion Khachanov has gone some way to rectifying his pre-tournament 2-6 Miami record with his run to the fourth round. The 26-year-old has thrived on the big stage in recent times: he reached the semi-finals at the 2022 US Open and then again at the Australian Open in January, when it was Tsitsipas who proved too strong in the final four in Melbourne. Can Khachanov handle a successful revenge mission in Florida?
Medvedev bounced back from his Indian Wells final defeat to Alcaraz in style in his Miami opener. The fourth seed dropped just three games against Roberto Carballes Baena as his relentless baseline hitting seamlessly transferred to the faster conditions at Hard Rock Stadium.
That extra pace in the courts will also suit his fourth-round opponent in Florida, however. Halys charged past Pedro Martinez, Alex de Minaur and Mackenzie McDonald with some devastating serving displays, making Tuesday’s matchup with return wizard Medvedev an intriguing battle.
The World No. 5 will hope to exploit Halys’ relative inexperience at this level. The No. 79-ranked Frenchman had not won a Masters 1000 main-draw match prior to this event, and he will need to maintain his best form if he is to prevail in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting. A third consecutive Miami quarter-final appearance is on the line for Medvedev, who is chasing his first title at this level since 2021.
The 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp aims to back up his third-round upset of Casper Ruud when he takes on World No. 54 Emil Ruusuvuori. The Dutchman has never been past the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event, while it is a second fourth-round appearance for Ruusuvuori in Miami — the Finn defeated Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev en route to the last 16 in 2021.
The 2022 semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo looks to back up his third-round upset of Felix Auger-Aliassime against Lorenzo Sonego, while home qualifier Christopher Eubanks seeks to extend his dream run in Florida when he takes on France’s Adrian Mannarino.
Miami 2023
Open Gallery
Matija Pecotic’s run earlier this year in Delray Beach was an early contender for story of the season. The 33-year-old, who works full-time for a real estate investment company, entered the ATP 250 as an alternate in qualifying, reached the main draw and then eliminated former Top 10 star Jack Sock to reach the second round.
The Croatian’s tennis journey is not over yet. Pecotic has committed to the goal of playing 25 tournaments this year, beginning with the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, where he received a qualifying wild card.
“I feel excited and pretty relaxed for now. I don’t know what my match is going to be like. I think it’s really cool that the tournament decided to give me a wild card. I’m not American, I’m not a junior, I’m not signed with some agency,” Pecotic told ATPTour.com. “I emailed the tournament director a couple of days ago and they were kind of excited to hear from me. They said, ‘We followed your story in Delray’, and for them to give me the wild card, big respect to them. So that’s really cool, I really can’t wait to go there.”
The lefty had accomplished plenty in tennis before becoming a finance titan, climbing as high as No. 206 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2015. Now he is excited to give professional tennis another shot.
“I took a couple of days [after Delray Beach] to put things into perspective and asked myself what I wanted to do. I said you know what, too many domino pieces came together for this to be just a giant coincidence,” Pecotic said. “I was looking for a reason to come back to the game and compete again while I still can, and the sequence of events for everything to happen the way it did was like a sign from the tennis gods. The tennis gods have spoken and it’s time to listen, so I’m going to play.”
That does not mean Pecotic is leaving his company. He will still be based in West Palm Beach, Florida, and work remotely while traveling to tournaments.
“The firm seems to be supportive, we certainly got a lot of exposure from Delray and people that I hadn’t spoken to, some of the guys at work, people were reaching out,” Pecotic said. “I have a bit of flexibility and I have two supportive mentors who say I should go for it.”
Pecotic explained that his new adventure is similar to what life was like as a student-athlete at Princeton University. Instead of completing homework and other assignments around training, he will work remotely.
“You train for two, three hours if you’re in between matches, in between tournaments. So I can get everything done. It’s not like I’m getting suffocated by work,” Pecotic said. “There’s enough time in the day to do a lot of stuff. You just spend less time on Instagram and more time with your laptop. You start checking off the things on your to-do list, you don’t stop until you get them done and then you go to bed.”
Before the Delray Beach tournament was over, Pecotic was already hungry for more action.
“I was like, ‘I want more’,” Pecotic recalled. “Taylor Fritz invited me for a practice session in Boca before he went to Acapulco. I had a great training session with him there and I said, ‘Okay come on’. I was pretty pumped.”
Pecotic, who enjoyed a hit with Fritz before the American’s match in Miami Sunday, recently faced a tough moment when his grandfather passed away. He flew to Belgrade to attend the funeral and returned to the United States late last week.
“That was a big blow to the stomach after Delray. Trying to put things in perspective and draw from the lessons, use that as inspiration,” Pecotic said. “He watched it on TV and he called me up, we FaceTimed. It’s even more special knowing that he got to see me — I’m tearing up a little bit — do something on the ATP Tour.”
While in Belgrade, Pecotic visited Novak Djokovic’s academy, where he spoke to the 93-time tour-level titlist. The Serbian had made an Instagram post in support of Pecotic the week of Delray Beach.
“He said, ‘Business can be put on pause. You should go out, go play,’” Pecotic said. “I was in Belgrade last week in Serbia, so I went over there to his tennis club and he was very excited and he said, ‘Great story, I hope we get to play a real match.’”
Emil Ruusuvuori has quickly established himself as a consistent performer on the ATP Tour. The Finnish star, who is No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, has a powerful baseline game that has propelled him to success.
Off the court, he has plenty of interests, from hockey to music. ATPTour.com caught up with Ruusuvuori before his fourth-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau against Botic van de Zandschulp.
If you could choose any three people to go to dinner with, who would they be and why?
Let’s put Michael Jordan. This one is pretty tough! Roger [Federer] I never really met. It’s a pity that he stopped too early, so I never got to practise with him or anything, I’ll take him. Then some artist, a big rock star.
How much are you into music?
I can listen to anything, but my dad is really into music and he was a young kid who was playing all the rock classics, Led Zeppelin, stuff like this. I used to listen to it, too.
Which is your favourite band?
Probably Red Hot Chili Peppers is one. I remember the first CD that I ever had was from them. I wish I would [play drums] more because I don’t have them any more. We actually have one set at the summer house, so if I have the chance in the summer to go there maybe once a summer [I enjoy it]. Too little. I should find a way.
Who would be in your ATP band?
For the singer I would take my country fellow Harri Heliovaara. He’s a very good singer, actually. He is. He actually did a crazy thing. In his first Davis Cup [tie] as a rookie he sang the national anthem of Finland alone without any guitar, piano, anything, in front of a couple hundred people on court.
Maybe I’ll take Frances Tiafoe to be the hype man. I don’t know who else is pretty musical. We need maybe a bassist. For bass we will take some big fellow with a beard, but there are not too many!
How well do you remember meeting fellow Finn Teemu Selanne, the NHL legend?
I met him I think in Finland a couple of times… it must have been in Finland. Then in the States we spent a couple of nights at his house and at his restaurant. I think they actually just got a Michelin star, the restaurant.
How much do you still follow hockey?
I’ve been even following the Finnish league. A friend of mine came [to] the States, he went back to Finland for this season, so I’ve been following that. He plays for the club where the stadium is right next to where I live, so I’ve been following.
There are actually playoffs going on, so that’s what I’m going to do tonight, watch the game. Here with the time change you just put the TV on, watch the game and it’s fine. When you’re in Europe it’s tough with the times.
What is something interesting fans might not know about you?
I’ve been getting into watch collecting a little bit. I’ve been following watches a lot and that’s something that traveling, you can always have them with you so it’s easier to do.
And then I think everybody should experience the endless summer nights somewhere in Finland at the summer house. That’s the best place to relax in the world.
What makes Finland so happy?
I have to say if you ask people at the moment with this weather, they’re probably struggling! Things just work so well there. Everything from the schools, medical care and everything like this, it just works perfectly. Can’t complain about any of those things, so it’s just a very good place to live, except for the weather [right now]!
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is through to the Miami Open quarter-finals after beating Elise Mertens in straight sets.
Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin continued their impressive season on Monday when they moved past Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
In a dominant serving performance, the Mexican-French team won 92 per cent (33/36) of points behind their first delivery and did not face a break point to advance after 69 minutes.
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin now hold a 13-6 record as a team this season, highlighted by their run to the title in Marseille and the semi-finals in Indian Wells. They will continue the quest for their second trophy of the year against top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski or Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp.
Fifth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara also advanced, moving past Alexander Bublik and Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-2. The British-Finnish pair, who are now 15-4 on the year, will next meet Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.
Glasspool and Heliovaara have won three tour-level titles as a team but are seeking their maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in South Florida.
Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni swept into their sixth quarter-final of the season, clawing past Marcelo Melo and John Peers 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-6 in one hour and 53 minutes. They will next play Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut.
Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
Simply seeing Tommy Paul on the other side of the net on Tuesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau will be a reminder to Carlos Alcaraz of the meteoric rise he has enjoyed since his loss to the American last August in Montreal.
After that tournament, where Alcaraz was one of the top seeds for the first time at an ATP Masters 1000 event, the Spaniard admitted that he had never felt pressure like that day on court against Paul. “I have to be ready to deal with that pressure, to have these kinds of moments and learn to handle them,” he said at the time. But Alcaraz has always been a quick learner.
Despite the fact that only seven months have passed since then, this bump in the road seems to be well behind him. His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero can attest to that.
“I don’t think that Carlos being No. 1 or No. 2 influences him too much in terms of how he approaches matches,” the Spanish coach explained before Tuesday’s tie in Miami. If one person has helped him get to that point, it is the former World No. 1 and 16-time ATP Tour champion.
“It’s true that as you get higher, you often feel the pressure around you, of being a favourite, that you have to win almost all your matches. But if Carlos has his mind on that all the time, his tennis won’t flow. That’s why we’ve tried to focus on this aspect of his growth so that everything goes well in terms of flowing on court,” Ferrero added.
His progress in dealing with being one of the favourites is clear. The 19-year-old Spaniard is now in the midst of his second spell as No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Ranking, and he has won his past eight matches without dropping a set. Although he must now mount a successful defence of his Miami title if he is to stay at the top, so far he has played fearless, nerveless tennis in the Hard Rock Stadium.
In fact, he has won a 6-0 set in each of his two victories this fortnight. “I think he has learned his lesson about his approach in Montreal, with the added pressure, especially after what happened at the US Open,” added Ferrero. “Now Carlos is playing much more freely, and concentrating more on his game than things that are going on around him. And I think that will make him play better than he did last time against Paul.”
However, the 25-year-old American Paul has also taken giant strides since his only previous encounter with Alcaraz. Last August he was yet to break into the Top 30, now he has a place in the Top 20 and is enjoying a great season that includes a semi-final at the Australian Open and a final in Acapulco.
“He’s working well and he’s focused, and he looks more mature on court. That’s making him play better. He’s gained quite a lot of confidence in his game,” says Ferrero. “And apart from serving and returning well, for me his mobility is among the best on tour at the moment. That means he covers the court very well and makes him difficult to beat.”
Paul’s current rich vein of form has allowed him to win his past 12 matches against Spaniards, a streak that includes victories over Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, whom he beat on Sunday in the third round in Miami.
“I know he plays at a very high level against Spaniards, but I’m here to try and end that run,” explains Alcaraz. The top seed is well aware of the magnitude of the challenge he is facing. “Paul is doing everything well. He moves well, he’s fast, he hits great shots. He makes it all look easy. I’ve seen many of his matches and I enjoy watching him play. He’s very talented, so it’ll be a very tough match.”
Ferrero agrees with his understudy. “It’s going to be a match in which Carlos will have to go out on full alert and, from there, create a good match and make the most of his speed on the baseline to try and undo Paul.”
The last Spaniard to do that? Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals in Acapulco in 2022. An inspired Alcaraz will be looking to replicate the feat this Tuesday in the Hard Rock Stadium to earn himself a place in the quarter-finals in Miami.
A surprise semi-finalist in 2022, Francisco Cerundolo is once again bringing his best to the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The 25th-seeded Argentine powered to a 6-2, 7-5 third-round victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Monday at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Florida. Cerundolo took control early with some blistering baseline play against the World No. 6 and dug deep in the face of a late Auger-Aliassime resurgence to wrap a one-hour, 44-minute win on Grandstand.
“I’m very happy to be back again in the round of 16 here, in a Masters 1000, here in Miami,” said Cerundolo after his 10th tour-level win of the year. “I’m super happy that I’m playing as well as last year, super happy with my level, and [hope] to keep going.”
The pair had last clashed just two weeks ago in the third round at Indian Wells, where Auger-Aliassime ran out a straight-sets winner. On Monday, Cerundolo expertly used the faster Miami conditions to engineer his revenge, constantly pressuring the fifth seed with a barrage of fizzing forehands.
Even after Auger-Aliassme reclaimed a break to level at 4-4 in the second set, the 24-year-old continued to strike the ball confidently. Cerundolo ended with 12 winners to Auger-Aliassime’s seven and converted four of six break points he earned for his third Top 10 career victory. The Argentine now holds an 8-1 record in Miami, and he will look to improve that further on Tuesday when he takes on 12th seed Frances Tiafoe or Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round.
“One key was that I read his serve better,” said Cerundolo, reflecting on how different Monday’s match had been to his losses against Auger-Aliassime at January’s Australian Open and in Indian Wells. “I think I played much better than the other two matches.
“I had more confidence today than the previous months, so probably that was another key. My level was super high today. I served well, only one game that I made two double-faults, and I only faced [one other] break point. So I’m super happy.”
As good as Cerundolo was, Auger-Aliassime will be disappointed with an error-strewn performance. The Canadian’s 19 unforced errors proved costly as he let slip the opportunity to play for a seventh straight Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Cerundolo will next meet 27-year-old Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who advanced to the Miami Open fourth round for the second time in three years with a 6-3, 6-4 upset of American Frances Tiafoe. Sonego is up 12 places to No. 47 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.
Sonego dropped just five points on serve during the match and fired eight aces.
Another player enjoying a dream run in Miami this year is Quentin Halys. The Frenchman had not won a Masters 1000 main-draw match prior to this year’s tournament, but on Monday he downed Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach the fourth round at Hard Rock Stadium.
Halys’s serve was integral to his one-hour, 41-minute win in his maiden tour-level meeting with McDonald. The 26-year-old sent down 15 aces and won 81 per cent (38/47) of points behind his first delivery en route to victory, and he has now won four sets via a tie-break across his three matches in Florida.
Now 8-8 for the 2023 season, Halys next takes on Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday. The fourth-seeded Medvedev advanced to the fourth round without stepping on court in Miami after his opponent Alex Molcan withdrew (right hip).
Miami 2023
Open Gallery
It was a weekend of comebacks and thrilling championship matches on the ATP Challenger Tour, three of four tournaments were decided in final-set tie-breaks.
Ricardas Berankis and Hugo Grenier survived three-set finals to claim Challenger titles while Alessandro Giannessi fended off a championship point in Zadar, Croatia to win his fourth Challenger crown. In Switzerland, Jurij Rodionov successfully defended his title at the Biel Challenger.
Berankis survived home hope Dan Added in the St. Brieuc Challenger final to win his 14th Challenger title. Despite having two match points in the second set, Berankis was pushed to a decider but ultimately prevailed 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) to win the Open Saint-Brieuc Armor Agglomeration.
En route to his first Challenger title since August 2019 (Vancouver), the 32-year-old Berankis ousted top seed Antoine Escoffier in the quarter-finals.
In Las Franquesas Del Valles, Spain, second seed Grenier rallied from a set down in each of his final three matches to claim his fourth Challenger title.
In the championship match, the Frenchman completed a comeback from 2-5 in the deciding set to defeat British qualifier Billy Harris 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) and win the Challenger Club Els Gorchs.
Hugo Grenier (left) and Billy Harris at the Las Franquesas del Valles Challenger trophy presentation. Credit: Jordi Ramos
“This week was amazing for me because the beginning of the season hasn’t been easy for me,” Grenier said. “I won [the semi-final and final] in a third-set tie-break so for me it’s an amazing week. It’s always good to win those long matches.”
Harris was competing in his first Challenger final after upsetting top seed Max Purcell in the final four to end the Aussie’s 18-match win streak.
On the clay courts of Croatia, Giannessi saved a championship point at 5/6 in the third-set tie-break to escape Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6) and win the Falkensteiner Punta Skala Zadar Open.
Despite holding a 4-0, 40/0 lead in the deciding set against Ofner, the 32-year-old Italian was forced to a tie-break before scoring his fourth Challenger title and first since May 2019 (Vicenza).
At the FlowBank Challenger Biel in Switzerland, fans were treated to a final between the 2021 champion Liam Broady and the reigning titlist Rodionov, who dropped just one set en route to defending his title. The Austrian Rodionov led Broady 6-3 before the Brit retired with a wrist injury.
Jurij Rodionov in action Sunday at the Biel Challenger. Credit: Meierhans Fotografie
The 23-year-old Rodionov, who is No. 126 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, earned his sixth Challenger title and first of this season.
“[Biel] is like home to me,” Rodionov said. “I haven’t lost a match on this soil, it just feels great. I hope I can continue my momentum into the next few weeks and gain a lot of points before Roland Garros and Wimbledon to hopefully get into the main draw.
“Unfortunately [Sunday’s] final didn’t end the way I wanted it to. I wish Liam a quick recovery.”
