A LOOK BACK
Andria e Castel del Monte Challenger (Andria, Italy): After 159 tournaments and nearly 5,000 matches, the 2018 season came to a close on Sunday evening in Andria. The traditional season-ending tournament saw Ugo Humbert claim the final match of the year, blasting to his third ATP Challenger Tour title.

Top seed Humbert defeated Filippo Baldi 6-4, 7-6(3) in Sunday’s championship, completing a dominant week on the carpet courts. The #NextGenATP Frenchman did not only win the title without dropping a set, but he conceded just one break of serve throughout the entire tournament.

Humbert entered the week on the bubble of the year-end Top 100 and he would blast to a career-high No. 84 in the ATP Rankings. After opening the season at No. 378, it was quite the breakout campaign for the 20-year-old from Metz. He finished in fifth place among win-loss percentage leaders, behind a 39-13 record (.750) and titles in Segovia, Spain and Ortisei, Italy, in addition to his victory in Andria. He also had a trio of runner-up finishes in Granby, Gatineau and Cassis.

It was a critical finish to the season for Humbert, whose ATP Ranking will drop after ITF Futures points come off on January 1. Starting in 2019, all points earned at the level will be applied to the newly formed ITF transition tour. Only points earned on the ATP Challenger Tour, ATP World Tour and Grand Slams will go towards a player’s ATP Ranking.

The last title of the year goes to… Ugo Humbert!

The #NextGenATP ?? streaks to his third crown of the year in Andria, d. Baldi 64 76(3).

Broken just ONCE all week. pic.twitter.com/FwjOeKX4vm

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 25, 2018

KPIT – MSLTA Challenger (Pune, India): Few can say that their last match of the year was a title clincher. Elias Ymer capped his 2018 campaign in impressive fashion on Saturday, lifting the trophy on the hard courts of Pune. The 22-year-old Swede defeated home favourite Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-2, 7-5 to claim the title, which was his second of the year.

The season finale in Pune marks the conclusion of a two-week Indian swing. A week ago, it was Gunneswaran who emerged victorious at the $150,000 event in Bengaluru. 

“It’s a great tournament in Pune,” said Ymer. “Everything from the hotel to the food and physio and the stringers. It is a nice arena too. Nothing to complain about. I love India. The people are super friendly. I had an unbelievable week.

“I’m especially happy I managed to win the quarter-final and the semi-final. I was not playing my best tennis. I fought every point and I won the tournament in the end. This is what you have to do when you’re not feeling your best. Every match is tough. At this level, in the Challengers, there are no easy matches. You don’t win just showing up. It’s tough for everybody.”

It was a dominant month of November for Ymer, who carries significant momentum into the 2019 season after posting a 10-1 record and notching a pair of titles. He also captured the crown on the indoor hard courts of Mouilleron-le-Captif, France. The Stockholm native extends his perfect mark in ATP Challenger Tour finals to 6-0 and he has not lost a set in any of those championship matches.

While Ymer rises 16 spots to year-end No. 116 in the ATP Rankings, Gunneswaran surges to the precipice of the Top 100 at a career-high No. 104.

A LOOK AHEAD
We’ll see you in 2019! The ATP Challenger Tour is on a one-month hiatus, before returning with a trio of events beginning 1 January – Noumea, New Caledonia; Playford, Australia and Waco, United States.

Kicking off our ‘Best of 2018 Series’  is a look Monday and Tuesday at the five best ATP World Tour matches of the season. (The best Grand Slam matches of the season will follow Wednesday and Thursday.)

5) Rafael Nadal d. Stan Wawrinka, Rogers Cup, Toronto Third Round, 10 August 2018 (Match Stats)
With Stan Wawrinka still searching to recapture his best form after two surgeries on his left knee in August 2017, the Swiss made a statement against Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Having managed to secure back-to-back match wins for just the second time in 2018, the three-time Grand Slam champion produced some of his best tennis to push Nadal to his limit in Canada. 

Wawrinka brought the power, rejecting Nadal’s attempts to pick on his backhand with dazzling one-handed missiles up the line. Chasing a record 33rd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, Nadal found all the angles and covered the court impeccably, leaving the crowd – and Wawrinka across the net – gasping. The Spaniard stood up to the Swiss’ fierce test, defeating his rival 7-5, 7-6(4) after two hours and eight minutes. Read & Watch Highlights.

“It was a good match. Of course, a very positive victory for me against a very tough opponent. Happy to see Stan playing that well again,” said Nadal. “So I am very pleased.” 

Nadal escaped a 0/40 deficit at 4-4 in the first set when Wawrinka dumped a backhand into the net on his final break-point opportunity. The two were delayed by 46 minutes at 6-5, and after the wait, Nadal broke for the set. To start the second, Wawrinka fell behind 0-2 and looked in danger of fading away. But his trademark one-hander brought him back into the set as he broke with a pinpoint stroke up the line, the start of four straight games that carried him to 5-4.

Under pressure, Nadal quickly responded with a mix of defence and power. The 32-year-old fired a forehand pass before jumping and pumping his fists in celebration as he broke for 5-5. Two games and a tie-break later, Nadal earned his 17th FedEx ATP Head2Head victory against Wawrinka (17-3) to reach another Masters 1000 quarter-final. It may have been Rafa who advanced, but perhaps it was Stan who made the biggest progress that night.

4) Dominic Thiem d. Rafael Nadal, Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Quarter-Final, 11 May 2018 (Match Stats)
Entering the match with 21-match and 50-set winning streaks on clay, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal needed to defeat Dominic Thiem at the Mutua Madrid Open to avoid his six-week reign at the top of the ATP Rankings from ending. The only man to defeat Nadal on the surface since Novak Djokovic’s triumph at the 2016 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Thiem entered the match looking to avoid another one-sided loss to the Spaniard, after picking up just two games in a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Nadal at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

But, three weeks on from that humbling defeat in the Principality, Thiem played with greater aggression as he stood on top of the baseline, overpowering the five-time Madrid champion to triumph 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 56 minutes. Read & Watch Highlights.

“I had to play an extraordinary match, and that’s what I did,” said Thiem. “It takes a really good match to beat Rafa on clay, but I think a very important thing was that I went in with the attitude that I can beat him. Obviously, two weeks ago in Monte-Carlo, he killed me love and two. It was very important I went into the match with a positive attitude, with an attitude to win.”

Thiem maintained his baseline position, putting Nadal under pressure right from the start of their ninth clash. A repeat of last year’s final in the Spanish capital, Thiem took his forehand and backhand early and found extra pace and depth to rush the recently crowned 11-time Monte-Carlo and Barcelona champion.

After failing to convert a set-point opportunity when serving for the opener at 5-4, 40/30, Thiem made no mistake at the second time of asking after breaking Nadal for a 6-5 lead. Thiem continued to push Nadal behind the baseline, with deep returning, and stepped into the court to fire short replies from his opponent into the corners. With an ace out wide, Thiem moved into a one-set lead after 75 minutes.

When Thiem opened up a 3-1 lead in the second set, the Austrian still wasn’t safe. In front of his home fans, Nadal kept fighting and got back to 3-3. Yet the momentum quickly shifted back to Thiem, who showed patience before firing backhand winners in crucial moments. From 3-3, Thiem won 10 of the following 11 points before deservedly becoming only the third player – after Gaston Gaudio and Djokovic – to score three or more clay victories over Nadal.

3) Marin Cilic d. Novak Djokovic, Fever-Tree Championships, Queen’s Club Final, 24 June 2018 (Match Stats)
After a 6-6 start to the 2018 ATP World Tour season, Novak Djokovic entered his first tour-level final in 51 weeks at the Fever-Tree Championships in June. Following on from improved performances in Rome and at Roland Garros, Djokovic dropped just one service game heading into a final clash against Marin Cilic.

The Croatian, who lifted the trophy for the first time in 2012, was aiming to secure just his second victory over Djokovic in their 16th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, but found himself on the brink of defeat, facing championship point at 4-5, 30-40, in the second set. However, after landing a booming serve out wide, Cilic then overcame a 1/4 deficit in the ensuing tie-break before eventually triumphing 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 57 minutes. Read & Watch Highlights.

“I was just trying to stay mentally in it. And definitely, it was an extremely tough match,” Cilic said. “No breaks for me until that last [return] game. I definitely feel relieved that I won it and what a great week.”

Djokovic, competing at The Queen’s Club for the first time since 2010, was seeking his 69th tour-level title. In 2008, Djokovic reached his maiden final at the grass-court event, falling to Rafael Nadal in a tight two-hour, 16-minute battle.

“He deserved to win,” Djokovic said. “It’s a tough loss for me today, obviously. But I have to see it from a positive side. I haven’t played a final at any event in almost a year, so this felt great.”

Djokovic’s run to the championship match at The Queen’s Club proved to be the springboard to a remarkable second half of the 2018 season. The 31-year-old won 35 of his remaining 38 tour-level encounters in 2018 after leaving the Fever-Tree Championships, picking up his fourth Wimbledon title and completing the Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open. Djokovic also triumphed at the US Open and the Rolex Shanghai Masters in a run which contributed to the 14-time Grand Slam champion becoming the first player to be ranked outside the Top 20 to finish the same season at No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings.

– Coming Tuesday: The best two ATP World Tour matches of 2018

FRANCE 1, CROATIA 3
Lille, France (Indoor Clay)

Marin Cilic ended Croatia’s 13-year wait for a second Davis Cup title on Sunday, beating Lucas Pouille 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.

The World No. 7 needed two hours and 19 minutes to secure victory for the visiting nation, winning 89 per cent of first-serve points and landing 16 forehand winners. Cilic has now won a record 39 Davis Cup rubbers for Croatia (39-17), which includes 29 wins from 40 singles encounters.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion,” said Cilic. “For us it’s a dream come true, for this nation, we are so passionate, you can see the fans are enjoying themselves. I feel that in Croatia it’s going to be incredible too.”

Cilic ends his season with 44 tour-level wins for the second straight year. The World No. 7 lifted his 18th tour-level title at the Fever-Tree Championships in June, saving one championship point to overcome Novak Djokovic. Cilic has claimed at least one tour-level title in each of the past 11 ATP World Tour seasons.

After falling to a 3-2 loss against Argentina in the 2016 final, Croatia was appearing in its third Davis Cup final. In 2005, Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic led Croatia to its maiden title in the team competition against Slovakia in Bratislava.

France was aiming to become only the second team ever to recover from a 2-0 deficit in a Davis Cup final. Captain Yannick Noah’s decision to replace Jeremy Chardy with Lucas Pouille proved to be unsuccessful, with Pouille falling short in his attempt to recreate his 2017 final heroics. Last year, the 24-year-old defeated Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 in his first live fifth rubber to earn France its 10th Davis Cup title.

FRANCE 1, CROATIA 2
Lille, France (Indoor Clay)

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut earned France its first point of the Davis Cup final on Saturday, beating Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3).

The Frenchmen, who reached the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals last week, improved to 6-1 as a team in Davis Cup after three hours and 38 minutes, firing 41 forehand winners and saving seven of nine break points en route to victory. With an 11th Davis Cup title in its sights, France is aiming to become only the second team ever to recover from a 0-2 deficit in a Davis Cup final, following Marin Cilic and Borna Coric’s straight-set triumphs for Croatia on Friday. In 1939, Australia became the first nation to achieve the feat, recovering from 0-2 down to defeat the United States.

Herbert and Mahut, who own 12 tour-level doubles trophies as a team, once again showed their best form this season in front of a home crowd on clay. In June, Herbert and Mahut became just the third all-French team in the Open Era to clinch the Roland Garros doubles title, beating Oliver Marach and Pavic in straight sets.

Croatia and France are meeting for the third time in Davis Cup, with both nations triumphing on home soil in previous encounters. France is aiming to become the first nation to successfully defend the Davis Cup title since the Czech Republic lifted back-to-back trophies in 2012 and 2013. Croatia is appearing in its second final in three years after falling to a 3-2 defeat against Argentina in 2016.

In Sunday’s first reverse singles rubber, Marin Cilic will have the chance to earn Croatia its second Davis Cup crown when he faces Jeremy Chardy. The World No. 7 leads Chardy 3-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but the pair are tied at 1-1 in clay meetings. If Chardy manages to earn his third victory over Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Borna Coric will contest a live fifth rubber for the trophy.

FRANCE 0, CROATIA 1
Lille, France (Clay Indoor)

Seeking just its second crown, Croatia made a flying start against France in the Davis Cup final at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on Friday.

Currently ranked No. 12 in the ATP Rankings, Borna Coric needed just two hours and 19 minutes to overcome Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The Rolex Shanghai Masters finalist won 80 per cent of first-serve points and saved both break points he faced against the 31-year-old to earn the first point of the final.

Coric, who now owns 40 victories from 60 tour-level encounters this season, levels his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Chardy at 2-2. Croatian No. 1 Marin Cilic will now attempt to double the visiting nation’s advantage in the second rubber. The World No. 7 will meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their eighth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, with Cilic leading their series 5-2.

Croatia and France are meeting for the third time in Davis Cup, with both nations triumphing on home soil in previous encounters. France is aiming to become the first nation to defend the Davis Cup title since the Czech Republic lifted back-to-back trophies in 2012 and 2013. Croatia is appearing in its second final in three years after falling to a 3-2 defeat against Argentina in 2016.