A LOOK BACK Internazionali di Tennis Citta' di Vicenza (Vicenza, Italy): The hottest player on the ATP Challenger Tour continued his dominant run of form. Hugo Dellien notched a tour-leading third crown of the year with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Matteo Donati in Sunday's Vicenza final. With the partisan Italian crowd firmly in his opponent's favour in both the semi-finals and final, Dellien earned new fans with his impressive performances. Wins over home hopes Gian Marco Moroni on Saturday and Donati on Sunday vaulted the Bolivian to the winners' circle at the Tennis Palladio 98. It has been a rapid rise for the 24-year-old, with all of his three titles - on the green clay of Sarasota and...
A LOOK BACK Loughborough Trophy (Loughborough, UK): There were plenty of intriguing storylines at the inaugural ATP Challenger Tour event in Loughborough. The home faithful were on their feet throughout the week, as local favourite James Ward advanced to his first final since 2015 in his comeback from knee surgery. Meanwhile, Japanese 20-year-old Yosuke Watanuki stunned top seed Lukas Lacko in the first round, en route to the semi-finals, while fellow #NextGenATP Jurij Rodionov, a qualifier from Austria, also made a splash in reaching the quarters. In the end, it was Japan's Hiroki Moriya who emerged with the title without dropping a set, streaking past Ward 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday. The Tecnifibre player scored his third Challenger trophy, surging 77...
A LOOK BACK BNP Paribas Primrose (Bordeaux, France): For the 11th time, the ATP Challenger Tour descended on the French city of Bordeaux. And the prestigious €106,000 event would celebrate its first American champion on Sunday. Reilly Opelka rallied from a set down to defeat home hope Gregoire Barrere 6–7(5), 6–4, 7–5 in two hours and 20 minutes, firing 22 aces and saving five of six break points faced. "I served great, served a lot of aces from the first match and competed really hard," said Opelka. "I love it here. Even off the court I've been hanging out in the city a lot and enjoying my time. The architecture is incredible." The title marked Opelka's first clay-court crown at...
A LOOK BACK Open du Pays d'Aix (Aix-en-Provence, France): John Millman is a man on a mission in 2018. The Aussie secured his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year on Sunday, defeating countryman Bernard Tomic 6-1, 6-2 at the prestigious tournament in southern France. At the age of 28, he rises to a career-high No. 58 in the ATP Rankings. Just two weeks after reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Budapest, Millman continued his strong form on the dirt with his first clay-court title. Entering Budapest, the Tecnifibre player had not won a match on the surface since 2015, as he worked his way back from a series of injuries, including shoulder and groin. Now, playing...
A LOOK BACK Vitro Seoul Open Challenger (Seoul, Korea): Mackenzie McDonald has found his groove as we enter the month of May. The American returned to the winners' circle with an impressive performance on the hard courts of Seoul, capped by a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback victory over Jordan Thompson in Sunday's final. McDonald lifted his second ATP Challenger Tour crown and first since October, when he prevailed at home in Fairfield, USA. This time, however, the California native found his top gear more than 5,000 miles away from home to take the title at the $100,000 event. Most importantly, he jumps 32 spots in the ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 114. "I'm thrilled about my win," said McDonald....
