#NextGenATP youngster Timofey Skatov made his ATP Challenger Tour breakthrough this past week, when he lifted his maiden Challenger trophy in Parma, Italy.

The 21-year-old defeated Slovakian Jozek Kovalik 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4 in the Parma Challenger final to become the first Kazakh Challenger champion this season. Skatov has reached at least the semi-finals in four of his past five Challenger tournaments and the title in Italy launched him to a career-high No. 152 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

ATPTour.com spoke to Skatov following his title to learn more about the rising star.

Timofey, congratulations on winning your first Challenger title. Can you describe your emotions?
I was really happy when I won the tournament, I didn’t even expect to win it. I played just one Challenger final before and I lost it. This one was a bit surprising for me. Maybe because of that, I was more happy because when you are having tough times and then finally you win a Challenger, it feels good.

The final was just over three hours long, were you nervous?
I was more or less okay, I was feeling nervous but I was also feeling confident because the past few matches I was playing well. I was comfortable on court. There were some tough moments, especially in the first set, I was 5-0 up and then suddenly it was 5-4. For sure I was nervous though, in a three-hour match, you get tense.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned stepping up to the Challenger level?
Hard work always pays off. Especially this summer, it was tough for me, I was losing many first rounds. But I was always believing in myself. But then I got some wins which gave me some confidence and I just know you have to work, whatever it takes, doesn’t matter if you’re winning or losing, you have to always keep the same attitude.

Has your success come as a surprise to you at all?
I was feeling that I was playing well and I was getting close to a final. A few times in the semi-finals, I was like, ‘Okay, this is really good’. But in my last semi-final, I said, ‘Now, the semi-final is not enough! The goal is to go full!’ In the end, I was playing really well for a month and at the end of those few tournaments, I got the win.

Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov is crowned champion at the Parma Challenger. Credit: Daniele Combi

You’re approaching the Top 150, was that a goal at the start of the year?
When I started the season, I didn’t think anything about that. Suddenly, two months ago, I said to myself, ‘It would be nice to finish the season in the Top 150!’ I was kind of thinking about it and I think it also helps me realise what I have to do to get to this point. It’s kind of funny that I’m at 152, the jump is near and I have many more tournaments to work.

How would you describe your game?
Before I started to practice at the Lozano-Altur Tennis Academy in Valencia, Spain, I was practising in Russia, playing with Russian players and we were playing crazy, where you do whatever you have in mind. Then I moved to Spain, where I started working with my coach, Jose Altur. He gave me some rules, like basics that I have to use, and the past three years I’ve really been learning about them.

Now, I’m trying to mix what I had from my youth and what I’ve learned in Spain, with a bit more control. Many times I play kind of different, I run a lot, I like it, sometimes it’s funny. It’s a mix of everything but for sure I’m not a big server.

In your opinion, what’s the importance of the ATP Challenger Tour?
It’s kind of a transition tour, from ITF to ATP. First, you get the experience, and then also you see how strong you are. The Challenger Tour is kind of like university, if you pass it, then you go to ‘real life’.

What is your biggest passion outside of tennis?
Before I would say football but now I don’t have much time, it’s really tough to say. I like fashion things, like clothes and shoes. If I have the opportunity in big cities, I like to go shopping.

Is there a moment you look back on where you realised you wanted to be a professional tennis player?
First, when I was like 12 years old, it was time to choose between more school and tennis. And then my first time I went to the USA to play the Orange Bowl junior tournament, I was really surprised to see many players playing much better than me. After that, I sat with my parents and my coach and I said, ‘Okay, I like tennis and I don’t like school!’

When I moved to Spain at 17, this was the point where I had to go away from home and become more like a man, and take more responsibility myself, like start practising and working harder than I was.

You’ve said that Roger Federer is your idol. What was your reaction to his retirement and did you watch his last match at the Laver Cup?
I didn’t see the match but I think everyone was expecting it when he didn’t play for more than one year. I was on Instagram and I suddenly saw a post from Roger and I saw, ‘To my tennis family…’ I was like, ‘Okay, he is saying bye-bye.’ It’s kind of sad but he played as long as possible.

When you’re at Challenger tournaments, do you get much time to sightsee? And if so, what’s a memorable spot you’ve been to while on the road?
When I played at the Seville Challenger, Sevilla FC was playing Barcelona and we went to see the match. Then a couple days later, on Tuesday, they were playing a Champions League game against Manchester City. So, I watched more football in two days than I have in the past three years.

Felix Auger-Aliassime boosted his Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances on Friday in Florence, where he moved past #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4.

In a dominant display, the Canadian fired 23 winners and won 90 per cent (35/39) of his first-serve points to set up a semi-final meeting with #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti at the UniCredit Firenze Open.

“I am very pleased with my level,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “It was a great two sets of tennis. I think I served well. I could have been better on the second serve, he was winning a lot of points. I had to stay very focused until the end because you never know, matches can change quickly.”

With his 89-minute victory, Auger-Aliassime has climbed one place to seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, moving past American Taylor Fritz, who lifted the trophy in Tokyo last week.

“There is still a lot of work to do to qualify for Turin,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The race is still very close, very tight. I am going to try my best to go all the way this week. But tomorrow already it will be another tough opponent. It won’t be easy to win any match. But with the way I am playing now I have more chances of qualifying [for the Nitto ATP Finals].”

The 22-year-old is aiming to make his debut at the prestigious end-of-year event, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November. Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic have all already qualified.

The top seed has now advanced to five tour-level semi-finals this season following his 42nd tour-level win of the year. Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Oscar Otte in his opening match at the ATP 250 event in Italy, lifted his maiden tour-level trophy on hard in Rotterdam in February.

Nakashima leaves Florence in sixth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan. The 21-year-old is looking to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive season after reaching the semi-finals last year.

#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti lit up the UniCredit Firenze Open Friday when he produced a stunning display to reach the semi-finals on home soil in Florence.

In front of a packed Italian crowd, the 20-year-old opened his shoulders to fire an array of winners past Mackenzie McDonald, advancing 6-3, 6-2 at the ATP 250 event.

Musetti lost just three games in his opening round win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles and played with confidence against the American, striking 23 winners to earn his 26th tour-level win of the season in 77 minutes.

The third seed, who has already qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, will next face top-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or eighth-seeded American Brandon Nakashima in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Musetti is aiming to win his second tour-level title this week at the hard-court event, having triumphed on clay in Hamburg in June.

In other action, Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer defeated Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-2 to reach his third tour-level semi-final of the season. The 24-year-old, who is up to No. 79 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, fired 27 winners to improve to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Carballes Baena.

Ymer will next play J.J. Wolf after the American edged seventh seed Alexander Bublik 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in two hours and 14 minutes. With his victory, Wolf has advanced to his first tour-level semi-final and is up to No. 63 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Sander Gille and Fabrice Martin reached the semi-finals at the Gijon Open on Friday when they downed Sander Arends and David Pel 6-4, 7-6(5).

In a tight clash, the Belgian-French tandem raised their level at the crucial moments, saving all three break points they faced to advance after 89 minutes at the ATP 250 event.

Gille and Martin, who upset top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the first round, are teaming for the first time this week. The 31-year-old Gille has lifted five tour-level trophies in his career, while Martin has triumphed seven times. They will next play Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.

In the other match in Spain, Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni moved past Nikola Cacic and Hugo Nys 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the championship match. Gonzalez and Molteni did not face a break point to triumph after 71 minutes.

Doumbia/Reboul Advance In Florence
Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul overcame Nicolas Barrientos and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 7-6(4), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence.

In a strong serving display, the Frenchmen fired nine aces and won 91 per cent (30/33) of points behind their first deliveries to seal victory after 86 minutes. Doumbia and Reboul are aiming to win their first tour-level title as a team this week in Italy and will next meet Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Dominic Thiem moved to within two wins of capturing his first tour-level title since 2020 on Friday when he moved past fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3 at the Gijon Open.

The Austrian played with confidence throughout the one-hour, 34-minute clash in Spain, riffling his groundstrokes with heavy topspin and pace to advance to his second tour-level semi-final of the season. Thiem reached the last four on clay in Gstaad in July.

“From the first match on, I have felt great on this court,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “A lot of control. A super nice atmosphere and I have enjoyed playing a lot since Monday. I am super happy that I am still in the tournament at the weekend and I can play another match. It is very important for me as I am trying to climb up the rankings. The semi-finals at an ATP [Tour] event is helping a lot.”

Thiem, who moved past Joao Sousa and Marcos Giron in his opening two matches at the ATP 250 event, is up to No. 132 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his 14th tour-level win of the year. He will climb back into the Top 100 if he wins the title in Gijon.

The 29-year-old will be aiming to reach his first tour-level final since the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020 when he next plays Andrey Rublev or fifth seed Tommy Paul on Saturday. Thiem’s last tour-level title came at the US Open in September 2020.

Andres Molteni has won four ATP Tour titles alongside Santiago Gonzalez. This week, the Argentine is pursuing glory with another Gonzalez.

Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez defeated Portugal’s Francisco Cabral and former doubles World No. 1 Jamie Murray 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Gijon Open. They will next play Serbian Nikola Cacic and Monagesque Hugo Nys, who upset second seeds Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2.

In other Gijon action, Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow eliminated third seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 6-7(8), 6-4, 10-6.

Italians Thrill Home Fans In Florence
Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori earned the doubles upset of the day Thursday when they ousted second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-1, 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the UniCredit Firenze Open.

Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 win against American Maxime Cressy and Australian John-Patrick Smith. Mahut and Roger-Vasselin are pursuing their eighth tour-level crown as a team this week.

With his back against the wall Thursday, Andy Murray showcased his trademark fighting spirit to reach the quarter-finals at the Gijon Open.

After losing a 56-minute first set, the former World No. 1 rallied to edge Argentine Pedro Cachin 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

In their first ATP Head2Head meeting, the Scot raised his intensity and refused to go away, twice rallying from a break down in the third set to eventually seal his 25th tour-level win of the season after two hours and 49 minutes.

“I think I served well in the second and third sets. I fought very hard,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “In the first set I wasn’t playing my best and Pedro was serving very well for the first set and a half. I was really struggling to break serve. I changed the way I was returning to give myself more opportunities to break. I fought very hard to come back from a break down twice in the third set.”

Murray struck his flat groundstrokes consistently, hitting 31 winners and committing just 19 unforced errors, while he held his nerve in the third-set tie-break to advance to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

The 35-year-old, currently No. 46 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is aiming to win his first tour-level title since he triumphed in Antwerp in 2019. Earlier this season, Murray reached finals on hard in Sydney and on grass in Stuttgart.

The 46-time tour-level titlist will next face third-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut or American Sebastian Korda.

Also on Thursday, top seed Andrey Rublev prevailed in a hard-hitting second-round clash against Ilya Ivashka. The 24-year-old clinched a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win as he began his bid for his fourth tour-level title of the season.

Rublev kept his composure after letting slip a 4-2 lead in the second set as both players played aggressively throughout the two-hour, 28-minute encounter. It was Rublev who found something extra in the decider, however, as he frequently hit through Ivashka with his powerful groundstrokes to improve to 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Rublev finished the match having hit 51 winners to Ivashka’s 13. The 11-time tour-level titlist is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and will be targeting a deep run in Gijon as he aims to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third consecutive year. He will next meet fifth-seeded American Tommy Paul in Gijon.

In other action, fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo moved past French qualifier Manuel Guinard 7-6(5), 6-2 to earn his first tour-level win since July, when he advanced to the last four in Hamburg.

The Argentine, who lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Bastad in July, will next play Austrian Dominic Thiem as a result of his one-hour, 48-minute victory.

Lorenzo Musetti put on a show for his home fans Thursday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, where the #NextGenATP Italian dispatched Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-0 with a scintillating opening display in Florence.

Musetti displayed confidence in all facets of his game in the second-round clash at the indoor ATP 250 event. The third seed delighted a vocal home crowd with an array of classy winners to close out victory against Zapata Miralles in just 69 minutes.

Musetti hit 21 winners to the Spaniard’s eight in the pair’s first tour-level meeting. With the win, the Italian is into his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season and his third on indoor hard courts (after Rotterdam and Sofia). The 20-year-old, whose excellent season has also included his maiden ATP Tour title in Hamburg, has already qualified to compete at November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan for the second consecutive year.

Musetti will meet Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-finals in Florence after the American downed another #NextGenATP Italian, Francesco Passaro, 6-4, 7-5. The No. 79-ranked McDonald broke Passaro’s serve twice in each set to clinch a 95-minute win and reach his third tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Brandon Nakashima joined his countrymen McDonald and J.J. Wolf in the last eight with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Altug Celikbilek. The San Diego champion Nakashima will take on top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Oscar Otte next as he looks to join Musetti in reaching the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. The 21-year-old is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan.