A LOOK BACK

ZS-Sports China International Challenger (Qingdao, China): Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia took a major step forward in his injury comeback by coming through qualifying and winning the title over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. The win gives the 32 year old his first title of any kind since 2013 and his first Challenger since winning in 2009 in Mons, Belgium. Tipsarevic had never previously won a Challenger coming through qualifying.

Ramirez Hidalgo drops to 0-3 in Challenger finals in 2016. The 38 year old was also a runner-up last week at the Challenger in Chengdu, China.

Tilia Slovenia Open (Portoroz, Slovenia): Top seed Florian Mayer of Germany continued his comeback from injury with a dominant win in the final over Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 6-1, 6-2.  The 32 year old was in top form during the latter stages of the tournament, dropping 10 games in his final three matches. The 20 year old Medvedev was competing in his first Challenger final and will reach a new career-high Emirates ATP Ranking on Monday.

Nordic Naturals Challenger (Aptos, California): Top seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain lived up to his billing with a win over qualifier and fellow Brit Cameron Norrie, 6-3, 6-4. Evans has now won three Challenger titles this year, moving him into a five-way tie for the Challenger titles lead with Radu Albot, Facundo Bagnis, Gerald Melzer and Mikhail Youzhny. Norrie, a rising junior at Texas Christian University, was competing in his first Challenger final.

Challenger Banque National de Gatineau (Gatineau, Canada): Local favourite Peter Polansky captured his second-career ATP Challenger Tour title by defeating fifth seed and defending champion Vincent Millot of France, 3-6, 6-4, retired. Millot led by a set and a break, but was eventually forced to stop play due to a leg injury. Both player had to play their semi-finals on Sunday due to rain the previous day.

Polansky’s other Challenger title came in 2013 in Tiburon, California.  He’s the first Canadian to win a Challenger since Frank Dancevic prevailed in 2014 in Kosice, Slovakia. Millot is still looking for his first Challenger title of 2016, having finished runner-up in June in Ilkley, Great Britain.

Strabag Challenger Open (Trnava, Slovakia): Fifth seed Steve Darcis won his second ATP Challenger Tour title this summer and seventh overall by defeating Jordi Samper-Montana of Spain, 6-3, 6-4. The 32 year old Belgian was also a runner-up last week in Liberec, Czech Republic, and in June at the Challenger in Blois, France. Samper-Montana was competing in his first Challenger final, having previously gone 0-5 in Challenger semi-finals.

Adriatic Challenger (Fano, Italy): Fourth seed Joao Souza of Brazil needed eight championship points, but won his second consecutive Challenger title and ninth overall over third seed Nicolas Kicker, 6-4, 6-7(12), 6-2.  Souza also prevailed last week in Cortina, Italy. Kicker drops to 1-2 in Challenger finals in 2016.

A LOOK AHEAD

Two Challengers are on the calendar this week, with the $50,000 event in Cordenons, Italy, taking top billing as it returns for the 13^th consecutive year. World No. 41 and local favourite Paolo Lorenzi, the champion here in 2012, is the top seed, while Taro Daniel of Japan is the second seed. Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain, the 2012 runner-up, is the fourth seed. NextGen star Elias Ymer of Sweden, whose two Challenger titles have come in Italy, is the seventh seed.

The $50,000 event in Meerbusch, Germany, is back for the fourth consecutive year. Mayer looks to continue his form from Portoroz as the top seed, while World No. 98 Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain is the second seed. Former Top 15 player Jerzy Janowicz of Poland also continues his comeback from injury as the fifth seed.

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

All-Star Line-up in Cincinnati: The seventh ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season, the Western & Southern Open, features 18 of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Leading the way is World No. 2 and two-time champion (2008, ’11) Andy Murray, who is the top seed for the first time in a Masters 1000 tournament. The other former champion in the field is 2013 winner Rafael Nadal, who also reached the semi-finals in 2008-09. In 54 of the past 58 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments (since 2010 Monte-Carlo), a member of the Big Four has captured the title.

2016 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Finals: The Big Four have accounted for all six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this season, with Djokovic leading the way with four crowns and Murray and Nadal with one. Here is a look at this year’s finals:

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic d. Milos Raonic 62 60

Miami: Novak Djokovic d. Kei Nishikori 63 63

Monte-Carlo: Rafael Nadal d. Gael Monfils 75 57 60

Madrid: Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 62 36 63

Rome: Andy Murray d. Novak Djokovic 63 63

Toronto: Novak Djokovic d. Kei Nishikori 63 75

2016 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Wins Leaders: Here is a look at this year’s ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match wins leaders:

Murray Streaking Along: Murray has reached the final in his past six tournaments going back to May at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Madrid. The 29-year-old Brit enters Sunday’s gold medal match at the Rio Olympics on a 17-match winning streak, equaling his career best in 2011. Since May, he has compiled a 32-2 match record, winning titles at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome, at The Queen’s Club and at Wimbledon. His only losses during that stretch have come to Djokovic in Madrid and Roland Garros. Murray has a 27-9 career record in Cincinnati. In addition to his two titles, he reached the semi-finals in 2009 and last year. Murray is also within reach of 600 career match wins (597 going into gold medal match).

Stan Eyes Strong Result: Stan Wawrinka comes in as the No. 2 seed for the first time in his career in Cincinnati. In his last tournament at the Rogers Cup, Wawrinka advanced to the semi-finals (l. to Nishikori). The 31-year-old Swiss native is making his eighth straight appearance in Cincinnati, 10^th overall (12-9 record). His best result is the semi-finals in 2012. He also reached the quarter-finals the past two years. He is a three-time ATP World Tour winner this season (Chennai, Dubai, Geneva). He has a 31-11 match record, including 18-5 on hard courts.

Rafa’s Resurgence:  No. 3 seed and 2013 champion Rafael Nadal makes his 11^th Cincinnati appearance (19-9 record). The 30-year-old Spaniard missed two months with a wrist injury before returning to the Rio Olympics where he captured the gold medal in doubles (w/M. Lopez). In singles, he reached the semi-finals (l. to del Potro) and lost in the bronze medal match versus Nishikori.

#NextGen Stars: There are five #NextGen stars (21 & under in Top 200) in the main draw, not including possible qualifiers (listed by age): 

Teenager Update: Wild card Reilly Opelka (18) is one of five teenagers in the main draw (other four above). Opelka, who reached the semi-finals in Atlanta earlier this month, is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. The five teenagers in the main draw are the most in Cincinnati since 2005 when there were six (all present or past Top 10 players): Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

Milos on the Move: Top Canadian and No. 4 seed Milos Raonic is playing in his second tournament since becoming the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon on July 10. Raonic enters with a 39-10 match record on the season (19-4 on hard) and this is his fifth appearance in Cincinnati (8-4). He reached the semi-finals in 2014 (l. to Federer) and the quarter-finals in 2012 (l. to Wawrinka). Raonic is No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. He captured his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Federer).

Berdych & Goran Team Up: This will be the first tournament No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych will play while working with former World No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic, who split with countryman Marin Cilic last month. Berdych is making his 12^th consecutive appearance in Cincinnati, the most of any player in the singles draw. His best result is the semi-finals in 2011 and 2013.

Frenchmen Lead the Way: World No. 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut come into the tournament as the top seeds. The French duo have compiled a 30-5 match record this season, winning five titles, including Wimbledon and the first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo). The No. 2 seeds are five-time doubles champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who are making their 17^th straight appearance (18^th overall). They have captured the Cincinnati title in 2003, ’08, ’10, ’13-14. Overall they have a 36-13 match record in Cincinnati. They have won three titles this season (Houston, Barcelona, Rome) and reached two other finals (Delray Beach, Roland Garros). Last year’s champions Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin are playing with different partners. Nestor is teaming with Vasek Pospisil and Roger-Vasselin with Julien Benneteau.

London Finals Preview: The season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London is three months away and this week’s tournament could be an early preview of the year-end finale. All Top 10 squads in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings (as of Aug. 8) are in the draw.

In Case You Missed It

Ivo Karlovic adds the Los Cabos title to his strong 2016 results. Read

Purav Raja and Divij Sharan take the Los Cabos doubles crown. Read

Rafael Nadal notches his 800^th career win in Rio. Read

Vote for your favourite Cincinnati Golden Moment. Watch & Vote

Birthdays

16 August – Diego Schwartzman (24)

17 August – Denis Kudla (24)

21 August – Nicolas Almagro (31)

This week’s $100,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Aptos, California, has been full of upsets, but college tennis star Cameron Norrie has been the one to take full advantage of it.

The 20-year-old from Great Britain came through qualifying to reach his first ATP Challenger Tour final on Saturday, ousting American and fellow qualifier Eric Quigley, 3-6 6-2, 6-4. Norrie’s run is even more impressive because he had never reached a Challenger quarter-final prior to this week.

“It means a lot. It’s a lot of money and [Emirates ATP Rankings] points, but mainly it’s just about improving your game,” said Norrie. “I’ve always known that I can compete with these guys and it’s nice to have a result that proves that.”

Norrie peaked at No. 10 in the ITF Junior Rankings in 2013 before deciding to play college tennis at Texas Christian University. He compiled a 28-8 record this past season and established himself as one of the top college players in the U.S. But Norrie has also continued to play pro events when he can and has been competing all summer.

“When you’re around the pro guys, you’re going to start adapting to their game a little more,” said Norrie. “I’ve learned a lot from it. It’s a big difference from college matches because they have a little bit more time and focus on their game.”

Norrie is guaranteed to move to around No. 305 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, while a win will put him around No. 260. He admitted his current success means he may consider taking a semester off from college tennis in order to focus on the ATP Challenger Tour, but is making the most of his week in Aptos for now.

“This tournament has been great. I really like the organisation and they set me up with housing this week,” said Norrie. “I’m playing my best tennis now, so I just want to keep it going for one more match.”

The Indian tandem of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan notched their second team ATP World Tour title on Saturday evening, downing Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski 7-6(4), 7-6(3) at the Abierto Mexicano Mifel.

“This is our second ATP title and we absolutely love Los Cabos,” said Sharan. “We had a great week. The crowd was amazing, playing in front of so many people that came out to watch us. It was a very tight match and I’m glad we pulled it through.”

Raja and Sharan finished strong after dropping their first set of the tournament earlier in the week, reeling off six in a row to lift the trophy in Los Cabos. Erlich and Skupski fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a tie-break, but 30-year-old Raja and 30-year-old Sharan would prevail after one hour and 42 minutes.

“We did well to hold our nerves and come out strong when it mattered,” said Raja. “It’s our strategy against theirs and who executes it better. Doubles has become so competitive these days. We deserve this after the work we’ve put in.”

Raja and Sharan’s lone previous title came in Bogota in 2013, where they also triumphed after two tie-breaks. It is a special time of year for the Indian duo, with Bogota being the predecessor to Los Cabos on the calendar.

Individually, Raja was appearing in his third career ATP World Tour final, while Sharan was contesting his second. They earn 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $38,940 in prize money. Erlich and Skupski, meanwhile, were teaming for the first time. The Israeli drops to 18-18 in tour-level finals, while Skupski falls to 3-5.