Two years. Back-to-back awards.

It is not an easy feat to earn ‘Tournament of the Year’ honours on the ATP Challenger Tour. It takes years of hard work, dedication and commitment to growing the game and providing a world-class experience for the players and fans.

That said, to take home the award on multiple occasions is an extraordinary accomplishment. The NECKARCUP in Heilbronn, Germany, did just that in 2017 and 2018, culminating with a special celebration on Thursday evening at the TC Heilbronn Trappensee E.V. 1892.

In front of a packed crowd on Center Court, ahead of the Day 4 night session, the tournament was presented with the 2018 Challenger of the Year award. Tournament founders and directors Metehan and Mine Cebeci received the crystal trophy along with event organiser Tom Bucher.

Congratulations, Heilbronn! ????

The @neckarcup receives its ? for a second straight year, this time in front of the home fans. pic.twitter.com/PAeMv1YqHP

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 17, 2019

“It’s a pleasure for us to get the award for the second time,” said Metehan. “We work all year for this tournament and it’s especially nice that the players acknowledge this. Our efforts are for them and the NECKARCUP team as well.”

“To receive this award is really emotional for us and we’re really proud of it,” Mine added. “From the beginning, we planned everything really well. When players and the ATP provides feedback, we always work with them to find a solution. We’ve increased the prize money step by step and improved the ambiance of the centre court. It’s very important for us to make it better every year.”

Last year’s doubles finalists and this year’s top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies were also on court during the ceremony. With impressive crowds all week and a pristine facility, it’s easy to see why the tournament has become a favourite among all competitors. The Cebecis have put the players first, providing a massive indoor area, including a lounge, private areas for warm-up and cool down, dining centre and activities (table tennis, billiards, darts, etc.). And with a premier fan experience, featuring top food vendors from the region and live entertainment every night, it’s truly a world-class event top to bottom.

A 45 minute drive north of Stuttgart into the sprawling German countryside will lead you to the TC Heilbronn am Trappensee, a tennis club founded in 1892. Over a century has passed but the 600-member club is steeped in tradition in the tranquil rural surroundings.

The Challenger Awards are a recognition of excellence, selected by players from the global Challenger Tour of 160 events staged in 40 different countries. In its sixth edition, the NECKARCUP was once again recognised as being outstanding in terms of facilities, organisation, imagination, promotion and player welcome.

The commitment and hard work of the tournament team, the support of the municipality, local authorities, sponsors, the press and the public produced a wonderful week of professional tennis. Moreover, the tournament joined the Sparkassen Open in nearby Braunschweig, as well as the Odlum Brown VanOpen in Vancouver, Canada, and the former Ethias Trophy in Mons, Belgium in winning the award on multiple occasions.

In 2018, three tournaments were recognised with the Challenger of the Year award, with Heilbronn accompanying the Puerto Vallarta Open presentado por La Aficion in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the Odlum Brown VanOpen in Vancouver, Canada, in the winners’ circle. Puerto Vallarta was presented with their trophy two weeks ago, with Vancouver holding their ceremony in August.

Diego Schwartzman, competing on his favourite surface, out-hit fellow baseliner Kei Nishikori on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for a place in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

In a match of several momentum shifts, Schwartzman used his forehand to great effect in a 6-4, 6-2 win over the sixth-seeded Japanese star, who had reached the 2016 semi-finals at the Foro Italico in Rome. It was Schwartzman’s first win over Nishikori in their fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

The former World No. 11 will now look to advance to his second ATP Tour final of the season (after the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires) on Saturday when he faces World No. 1 and four-time former champion Novak Djokovic or his Argentine compatriot, seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro.

Schwartzman capitalised on Nishikori’s willingness to attack the net to take a 5-0 lead, breaking serve on his fourth break point chance in the second game, then to 15 in the fourth game. However, in hot, but windy conditions, Nishikori returned to his natural baseline game, posing a greater threat on his forehand and the short mis-court balls to win 18 of the next 22 points to leave Schwartzman sweating with a 5-4 advantage. Soon, Nishikori let his concentration slip with a forehand into the net on Schwartzman’s second set point to clinch the 48-minute opener.

Greater depth of groundstrokes from Schwartzman caught out Nishikori in the sixth game of the second set, when Nishikori’s mis-timed a forehand wide at 15/40. There was to be no respite from Schwartzman, who was moving well on the dry clay and powered his way to an 18th victory of 2019. Nishikori over-hit two forehands in the final game, and struck his second double fault to end the 87-minute match.

Nishikori, who broke a nine-final losing streak in January at the Brisbane International, where he captured his first ATP Tour title in 51 tournaments with victory over Daniil Medvedev. The 29-year-old is now 19-9 on the season.

The Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, held the week before Roland Garros, is one of five ATP Tour events held in France, along with Montpellier, Marseille, Metz and Paris. 

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the inaugural edition, and will look to reclaim the Lyon crown in 2019. Tsonga will be joined in the field by John Isner, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Roberto Bautista Agut and #NextGenATP Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Here’s all you need to know about the Lyon tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more. 

Established: 2017

Tournament Dates: 19-25 May 2019 

Tournament Director: Thierry Ascione

Draw Ceremony: Friday, 17 May

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday & Sunday from 10:30am
* Main draw: Sunday at 10:30am, Monday – Thursday at 11:00am, evening matches at 5:45pm, Friday at 12:30pm
* Doubles final: Saturday, 25 May at 12:15pm
* Singles final: Saturday, 25 May not before 2:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Parc de la Tete d’Or
Main Court Seating: 3,500

Prize Money: €524,340 (Total Financial Commitment: €586,140) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Dominic Thiem, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (1)
Most Titles, Doubles: Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock, Andres Molteni, Adil Shamasdin (1)
Oldest Champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 32, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Dominic Thiem, 24, in 2018
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2017
Most Match Wins: Gilles Simon (6)

2018 Finals
Singles: [1] Dominic Thiem (AUT) d Gilles Simon (FRA) 36 76(1) 61   Read & Watch
Doubles: Nick Kyrgios (AUS) / Jack Sock (USA) d Roman Jebavy (CZE) / Matwe Middelkoop (NED) 75 26 11-9 – saved 1 MP  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #OpenParc
Facebook: @openparcauvergnerhonealpes
Twitter: @OpenParcARA
Instagram: @openparcara

Did You Know… Lyon hosted an indoor hard-court event from 1987-2009, before returning to the ATP Tour calendar as a clay-court tournament in 2017. 

The Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open returned to the Swiss city in 2015 for the first time since 1991. Swiss players have won the event on four occasions, with Stan Wawrinka notably claiming back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.

Wawrinka will look to win his third Geneva title in 2019. He faces a field that includes Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini, Daniil Medvedev, Laslo Djere and defending champion Marton Fucsovics. 

Here’s all you need to know about the Geneva tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more. 

Established: 1980

Tournament Dates: 19-25 May 2019 

Tournament Director: Thierry Grin

Draw Ceremony: Friday, 17 May at 6:30pm

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday at 10:00am, Sunday at 11:00am
* Main draw: Sunday at 11:00am, Monday – Thursday at 12:00pm and 6:00pm, Friday at 1:00pm
* Doubles final: Saturday, 25 May at 1:00pm
* Singles final: Saturday, 25 May not before 3:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Tennis Club de Geneve Eaux-Vives
Main Court Seating: 3,700

Prize Money: €524,340 (Total Financial Commitment: €586,140) 

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Stan Wawrinka, Mats Wilander (2)
Most Titles, Doubles: Tomas Smid, Balazs Taroczy (2)
Oldest Champion: Stan Wawrinka, 32, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Aaron Krickstein, 17, in 1984
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 157 Marc Rosset in 1989
Most Match Wins: Tomas Smid (18)

2018 Finals
Singles: Marton Fucsovics (HUN) d Peter Gojowczyk (GER) 62 62   Read & Watch
Doubles: [1] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) d [2] Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Rajeev Ram (USA) 36 76(3) 11-9 – saved 1 MP  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #banqueericsturdzagenevaopen
Facebook: @genevaopen
Twitter: @genevaopen
Instagram: @banque_eric_sturdza_genevaopen

Did You Know… The ATP 250 tournament is staged at the Tennis Club de Genève at the Parc des Eaux-Vives, the oldest and largest tennis club in Switzerland. 

Novak Djokovic plays Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas as part of a blockbuster quarter-final lineup on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Rounding out the action is an all-Spanish affair pitting Rafael Nadal against Fernando Verdasco and Kei Nishikori squaring off with Diego Schwartzman.

More to come…

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY MAY 17, 2019

CENTRALE start 12:00 noon
WTA match
Not Before 2:30 pm
ATP – Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [3] Roger Federer (SUI)
Not Before 7:30 pm
WTA match
Not Before 9:00 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [7] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – [6] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (NZL) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
Not Before 1:30 pm
ATP – Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [6] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
WTA match

PIETRANGELI start 11:00 am
WTA match
Not Before 2:30 pm
WTA match
ATP – [3] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs [7] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)

COURT 1 start Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – Court & Time TBA – Guido Pella (ARG) / Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [8] Henri Kontinen (FIN) / John Peers (AUS)
ATP – Court & TBA – [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs Guido Pella (ARG) / Diego Schwartzman (ARG) or [8] Henri Kontinen (FIN) / John Peers (AUS)

COURT 2 start 12:00 noon
Two WTA matches
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – Court & Time TBA – [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN) / Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
ATP – Court & TBA – [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) or Denis Shapovalov (CAN) / Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Kyle Edmund (GBR) / Neal Skupski (GBR)