A LOOK BACK East Hotel Canberra Challenger (Canberra, Australia): Australia has been a home away from home for Italian veteran Andreas Seppi. A trio of Round of 16 appearances at the Australian Open included upsets of Marin Cilic in 2013, Roger Federer in 2015 and Nick Kyrgios in 2017. The 33-year-old's success Down Under has continued in 2018, picking up his eighth ATP Challenger Tour title on Saturday in Canberra. It was his first title at any level since 2014, when he won on home soil in Ortisei. Seppi overcame sixth seed Marton Fucsovics 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the final and is primed for another run into the second week at Melbourne Park. He will open the first Grand Slam of...
Jason Kubler was sitting in his hotel room at the City of Playford Tennis International, a $75,000 event on the ATP Challenger Tour, when the phone rang. "I didn't expect it at all, but Lleyton called me and there were so many emotions. Six months ago I would have never guessed that I'd be in this situation." Lleyton Hewitt was on the other end, awarding his 24-year-old countryman with a main draw wild card into the Australian Open. As Kubler admits, the call was not expected, but, having finally found consistent success after years of physical struggles, it was more than well-deserved. "I didn't have Lleyton's number saved on my phone, so I said 'ok, I'll just answer this one'....
A LOOK BACK Internationaux BNP Paribas (Noumea, New Caledonia): Noah Rubin will be the first to admit that 2017 was a struggle, having missed nearly four months due to a sprained right wrist and bone bruise. Playing the best tennis of his young career, the 21-year-old was coming off a second round meeting with Roger Federer at the Australian Open and ATP Challenger Tour title in nearby Launceston when he sustained the injury. Rubin would conclude the season outside the Top 200 and was in search of a much-needed confidence boost as 2018 got underway. It did not take long for the New York native to find exactly that. A third Challenger crown would jump start his campaign, dropping just...