Dustin Brown has not competed in a Grand Slam main draw since the 2018 Australian Open, but the always-entertaining German made a good start towards changing that on Monday, upsetting second seed Denis Istomin 7-6(5), 6-1 to reach the second round of Roland Garros qualifying.

The 34-year-old, who has climbed as high as No. 64 in the ATP Rankings, has not played a tour-level match this year. But the eight-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist did well to win the Mouratoglou Open, a Challenger event held in April at Sophia Antipolis, France.

In the second round of qualifying. Brown will play Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez, who beat Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Taver 6-4, 6-1. Gomez claimed his first Challenger trophy in April, triumphing in Tallahassee, Florida, dropping just one set in six matches.

#NextGenATP German Rudolf Molleker ousted former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo 7-6(5), 6-3. The 18-year-old qualified for the Australian Open earlier this year, and he is trying to reach the main draw at Roland Garros in his first appearance.

Eight Frenchmen moved on during the first day of qualifying action on the Parisian terre battue. And one of those winners was Hugo Gaston, who defeated 25th seed Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 6-1. One year ago, Trungelliti gained notoriety after a 10-hour mad dash from Barcelona, where he resides, to take a lucky loser spot in the main draw in Paris.

#NextGenATP Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina continued his strong form with a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win against Brit Jay Clarke. Davidovich-Fokina qualified at the Millennium Estoril Open and advanced to the semi-finals, ultimately falling in three sets against Pablo Cuevas.

The most emphatic victory of the day went to American Marcos Giron, who blitzed countryman Donald Young 6-0, 6-1.

There’s nothing like playing at home, especially if you’re #NextGenATP Frenchman Ugo Humbert during your first full season on the ATP Tour.

The 20-year-old left-hander made his first tour-level semi-final at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille in February, and on Monday, during his debut in Lyon, the Metz native broke a four-match losing streak to make the second round at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, an ATP 250 event.

The Next Gen ATP Finals hopeful hit eight aces and converted six of nine break points to beat Brit No. 2 Cameron Norrie 6-1, 6-3.

“I stayed in my playing identity, which means hitting hard. I strike fast and play fast, so during the first rallies of the game, I knew what to do, and I’m happy for having played a complete game,” he said.

Humbert is also pleased to have started a new winning streak after such a strong start to his 2019. The left-hander qualified and beat six-time ATP Tour titlist Pablo Cuevas to make the second round at the ASB Classic in Auckland in January.

One month later, in Marseille, Humbert beat Latvian veteran Ernests Gulbis, then-No. 13 Borna Coric of Croatia for his first Top 20 win, and Germany’s Matthias Bachinger to make his first ATP Tour semi-final.

Read Flashback: Humbert Upsets Coric In Marseille | View Lyon Draw

“I think that I worked hard. It’s a moment in which everything starts to come together. It’s tough to explain with words. But my progress is rather good. And there is still plenty of room for improvement, which is great,” Humbert said.

Humbert struggled from there, however, losing his openers at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, and in Marrakech and Munich. But he’s pleased to be back in France and to be playing well.

Humbert needed only 66 minutes to beat Norrie, who’s playing at a career-high No. 41 after qualifying and making the second round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, a Masters 1000 event.

“I’m very happy as it’s been a while since I played this well on clay. I know I can do it,” said Humbert, who celebrated his first clay-court win at tour-level. “I trained well last week with a lot of serenity and confidence. I felt really good on the court.”

View The ATP Race To Milan Standings

Humbert can find serenity on the court – and away from the clay. The Frenchman relaxes after a day of training by playing the piano 30 to 45 minutes every day.

He started when he was about five years old at the urging of his parents. Now he always travels with his keyboard, and the French Tennis Federation has a piano at his training facility in Paris.

“I try to play as often as I can,” Humbert said. “I really enjoy playing, and it is very relaxing. During those moments, I don’t think about anything else.”

More On Humbert
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On the court, the left-hander has been working on playing more aggressively, the tactics that nearly carried him to the Next Gen ATP Finals last year.

“He is always positive. He knows what he wants, and he goes for it. He plays aggressively because he wants to win,” said Cedric Raynaud, who’s coached Humbert for the past five years. “He has improved because he has been working so hard. We have been working on keeping his positive mentality throughout training and matches.”

Humbert finished one spot away from making the second Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last November. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Brest to surge into the final qualifying spot and book his spot in Milan, just edging Humbert in the final ATP Race To Milan standings.

But the 6’2” Humbert has one more year of eligibility, as he was born in 1998 and will turn 21 in June. This year, he’s determined to be one of the eight best 21-and-under players who compete in Milan from 5-9 November. Humbert is currently in eighth place in the Race. The top seven players on 28 October will qualify automatically, with the eighth place reserved for a wild card.

“It is one of my goals this year to participate and be one of the best young players,” Humbert said. “I will give everything in order to be there this year.”

Rafael Nadal might have taken longer to win his first title in 2019 than he did in any season since 2004, the year he earned his maiden tour-level crown. But after an impressive performance against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday to lift his ninth Rome trophy, Nadal left the Italian capital with not just another victory to his name, but a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title.

With his triumph, Nadal clawed closer to Djokovic and Roger Federer in the race for the most Big Titles — a combination of Grand Slam, Nitto ATP Finals and Masters 1000 crowns. The 32-year-old Spaniard now has 51 of them, trailing Djokovic by two and Roger Federer by three.

Watch Highlights Of The Rome Final:

Roland Garros, the year’s second Grand Slam, is less than a week away. So Nadal has put himself in a position to turn up the heat on Federer and Djokovic, potentially moving to just one back of Djokovic and two behind Federer in Paris. Five players (excluding Nadal) have won at least 10 Big Titles overall (since 1990), and Nadal has lifted just the Roland Garros trophy 11 times.

Nadal has now won at least one Big Title in 14 of the past 15 years. And with his five victories at the Foro Italico last week compared to Federer’s two, the Spaniard is on the verge of surpassing the Swiss’ record for most Masters 1000 wins. Federer leads Nadal 378-377 entering Roland Garros.

Nadal also moved closer to Djokovic for the rate of Big Titles won record. The rivals have both played a combined 178 Grand Slams, Nitto ATP Finals and Masters 1000 tournaments. Djokovic has triumphed once per 3.4 tournaments at those levels, while Nadal has been victorious once per 3.5 events. Both players are well ahead of Federer in that category, as the 37-year-old has won once per 4.2 tournaments.

“What means most to me is this trophy,” Nadal said. “Rome is one of the most important tournaments of the year. Part of the history of our sport. To be able to win here again is the main thing.”

Did You Know?
Nadal has also turned up the heat on Djokovic in the race for the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking. 

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.

Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic got off to a good start at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open on Monday, defeating German Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 7-5 after one hour and 43 minutes.

The 34-year-old Serbian, who has undergone seven surgeries on his lower body over the years, is now 4-3 at tour-level this year. Tipsarevic began the season without an ATP Ranking, as the Australian Open was his first tournament since the 2017 US Open.

The four-time ATP Tour titlist who now has 285 tour-level wins, will next face Hugo Dellien, the first Bolivian to win an ATP Tour match at Rio de Janeiro in February. Dellien knocked out the experienced eighth-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes.

Fifth seed Radu Albot, this year’s Delray Beach champion, battled past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(6), 7-6(3) after one hour and 54 minutes, winning just two more points than his opponent in the match. The Moldovan will play Cordoba winner Juan Ignacio Londero, who advanced on Sunday, for a spot in the quarter-finals.

American Denis Kudla recorded just the fifth clay-court match win of his career in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory, which featured 24 break points, against Jordan Thompson of Australia over two hours and 33 minutes. Kudla now plays Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who ousted seventh-seeded Australian Matthew Ebden 6-2, 7-6(4).

Elsewhere, Japan’s Taro Daniel overcame Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 56 minutes to set up a second-round clash against Houston and Munich champion Cristian Garin.

Former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet saved two match points on Monday to reach the second round of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, battling past his French countryman Maxime Janvier, a qualifier, 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(2) after two hours and 44 minutes. Gasquet saved 19 of the 22 break points he faced in the match.

“It was very tough. He’s a good player. He’s very powerful, he played well, he served good. So of course it was very tough for me,” Gasquet said. “But I tried my best. It’s only my fourth match in 2019 so of course it’s tough for me, but I’ll try to recover as soon as I can. And of course I tried my best and it’s great for me to win.”

The 32-year-old, who underwent groin surgery in January and only played three matches this year before his win against Janvier, will face American Taylor Fritz for a spot in the quarter-finals. Fritz didn’t face a break point in a 7-5, 7-6(3) win over qualifier Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic in one hour and 38 minutes.

“I’ll have to recover well and we will see,” Gasquet said. “Of course I’m a little bit tired now.”

Seventh seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert continued his strong form on the spring European clay-court swing when he lost just five of his first-service points in a 6-2, 7-5 victory over fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. 

Herbert, who advanced to the recent Hungarian Open semi-finals (l. to Krajinovic), will next play American Steve Johnson, who was a 6-2, 7-6(2) winner over South African lucky loser Lloyd Harris in just over 90 minutes. Harris gained his spot in the main draw when Slovakian Martin Klizan withdrew due to stomach problems.

France’s Ugo Humbert, who is currently at a career-high No. 61 in the ATP Rankings, swept past last year’s semi-finalist Cameron Norrie 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes. He will next challenge third-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

French lucky loser Tristan Lamasine, who gained entry to the main draw when Mikhail Kukushkin withdrew due to right shoulder pain, took advantage of his opportunity by defeating #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner, a 17-year-old, 6-0, 7-6(5). Canadian qualifier Steven Diez led Bernard Tomic 6-4, 4-1 when the Aussie retired due to illness.

In just 48 hours, Filip Krajinovic experienced a full spectrum of emotions at the NECKARCUP in Heilbronn.

In Saturday’s semi-finals, the top-seeded Serbian trailed 1-6, 1-4 against Stefano Travaglia. Down a set and a double break, it was all but done and dusted. His Italian opponent was dialed in and he was struggling to find any rhythm. But Krajinovic would mount one of the greatest comebacks of the year, clawing back to force a decider and eventually book his spot in the championship.

Elated and relieved, Krajinovic entered Sunday’s final in search of a second title at the ATP Challenger Tour event. In 2017, he emerged victorious and history would repeat itself on a warm yet overcast afternoon. With the trophy on the line, he would concede an early break to Belgium’s Arthur De Greef, but streaked to the finish line from there. The Serbian reeled off 12 of the next 14 games to take the title 6-3, 6-1.

It was Krajinovic’s 10th Challenger title in total and first in two years. The 27-year-old is back in the Top 60 of the ATP Rankings, capping a dominant six-week stretch that also included a Challenger final in Sophia Antipolis and run to the title match at the ATP 250 in Budapest. He is 15-2 since the beginning of April.

But the drama was not finished after Krajinovic lifted the Heilbronn trophy. Sitting one spot out of the Roland Garros main draw cut and having missed the deadline to sign in for qualifying, anxiety was high in the Serbian’s camp. He needed one more withdrawal ahead of the 10am deadline on Monday (when qualifying begins) to punch his ticket to the second Grand Slam of the year. And with just hours to spare, Andrey Rublev would oblige, pulling out with a lingering back injury. Krajinovic’s dream week proved to be extra special.

In other action, Joao Menezes became the 18th first-time winner this year, claiming his maiden Challenger title on the clay of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. He defeated Corentin Moutet 7-6(2), 7-6(7).

Jason Jung lifted a trophy for a fourth straight year, prevailing on the hard courts of Gwangju, South Korea, on Sunday. Jung defeated Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, capping an impressive week that saw him drop just one set.

And in Lisbon, Roberto Carballes Baena earned a second title of the season with a stunning comeback over Facundo Bagnis. Trailing by a set and a break, he fought back for a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win. Also the champion on home soil in Murcia, Spain, last month, he is now 7-3 in Challenger finals.