Ugo Carabelli, Safiullin Crack Top 100 With ATP Challenger Tour Titles

Two players have cracked the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after winning ATP Challenger Tour titles this week.

Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli went on an impressive run, dropping just one set this past week en route to winning the Directv Open Lima while Roman Safiullin continued his hot streak, during which he has won 12 of his past 13 matches to claim his third Challenger title at the Chicago Men’s Challenger.

Ugo Carabelli, 23, defeated three of his countrymen back-to-back-to-back in Lima, Peru, including a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory against 21-year-old Thiago Agustin Tirante in the final to claim his third Challenger Tour title and second this season (Buenos Aires). The third seed’s title extends Argentina’s lead to 16 Challenger titles this year and lifts Ugo Carabelli to 96 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

In a two-hour, 47 minute semi-final battle, the Buenos Aires native avenged his two previous losses to Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Santiago and Concepcion 2), ending the top seed’s hopes 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Ugo Carabelli made his Grand Slam debut in May by qualifying for the Roland Garros main draw, where he then took out World No. 41 Aslan Karatsev in the first 10-point match tie-break in Roland Garros history, a format that all four Grand Slams have recently adopted.

Safiullin’s title in Chicago, Illinois, propels him to a career-high 97 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after ge defeated 19-year-old Ben Shelton in the final 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

In the past four weeks, Safiullin has captured two Challenger titles, the first coming in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Earlier this season, the 25-year-old earned a pair of victories at the season-opening ATP Cup before achieving his career-best win in February, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in Marseille.

Chicago finalist Shelton has been building upon his NCAA singles title in May, reaching two Challenger finals and climbing to a career-high 229 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The University of Florida standout has received a wild card into the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and the US Open.

Bernabe Zapata Miralles claims his fourth Challenger Tour title in Meerbusch.

Bernabe Zapata Miralles went on a ruthless run in Meerbusch, Germany, taking down Austrian Dennis Novak 6-1, 6-2 in 50 minutes to claim the Rhein Asset Open. The top seed dropped just one set all week to win his first title of the season and fourth overall, climbing to a career-high 74 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

After advancing through the Roland Garros qualifying draw in May, Zapata Miralles took out three Americans: Michael Mmoh, Taylor Fritz, and John Isner to make the Round of 16 before falling short to third-seed Alexander Zverev. The 25-year-old became the first Spanish qualifier to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Pavel Kotov en route to his second Challenger Tour title.

Pavel Kotov edged home favourite Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(5), 6-4 to win the San Marino Tennis Open, earning his second Challenger title of the season.

However, it didn’t always look promising for the 23-year-old in San Marino, Italy. In his semi-final match against Italian Marco Cecchinato, the Russian was down a set and a double-break before rallying to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Kotov’s run to the title brings him to a career-high mark of 115 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Kotov has earned three Challenger trophies, all in Italy.