A LOOK BACK
Challenger Banque Nationale de Gatineau (Gatineau, Canada): Surging #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov lifted his second ATP Challenger Tour trophy on home soil in Gatineau, defeating countryman Peter Polansky 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. It marked just the third all-Canadian final in Challenger history and the first since 1999.

“Peter has so much experience under his belt and so many matches, so I knew it was going to be incredibly tough.” said Shapovalov. “I tried to stay focused throughout the second and third sets. It was a couple points in the end that made the difference.”

Having claimed his maiden crown in Drummondville in March, Shapovalov is the second teenager to win multiple titles this year, joining Frances Tiafoe. It has been another strong year for the #NextGenATP contingent on the Challenger circuit, with the 18 year old’s title marking the 10th for the group. Shapovalov soars 31 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 130 and is up to No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan.

“Winning two titles in Canada is huge and it shows how important the home tournaments are and how much they help. Every match is a battle at this level and it was a really long week. I’m happy to come out with one more win and I’ll look ahead to next week.”

The Hague Open (Scheveningen, Netherlands): Sixth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez turned back the clock on the clay of Scheveningen, claiming his second tournament title and first in 11 years. It was a vintage week for the 34-year-old Spaniard, who battled to a trio of three-set wins, including a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory over Ruben Bemelmans in the final.

Also the 2006 champion in Scheveningen, Garcia-Lopez notched his first professional title in two years, when he prevailed at the former ATP World Tour event in Bucharest in 2015. With his sights set on a Top 100 return, the former World No. 23 rises 32 spots to No. 131 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

.@GuillermoGLopez continued his quest to return to the Top 100 with his second ? at @TheHagueOpen, 11 years removed from his first victory. pic.twitter.com/yjzbMdUbxD

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 24, 2017

San Benedetto Tennis Cup (San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy): Matteo Berrettini bolstered his ambitions to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals on home soil in Milan, claiming his maiden Challenger title on Sunday. The 21-year-old did not drop a set all week, defeating fourth seed Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Berrettini, who moves into the Top 200 for the first time, up 56 spots to a career-high World No. 173, is the sixth different Italian winner in the tournament’s 13-year history.

President’s Cup (Astana, Kazakhstan): Fifth seed Egor Gerasimov battled past home favourite and two-time champion Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-4 for the title in Astana. It marked the fourth ATP Challenger Tour title for the 24 year old, who is a three-time winner in 2017.

Gerasimov, who also lifted the trophy in Saint-Brieuc, France, and Karshi, Uzbekistan, this year, is a dominant 20-4 in Challenger matches. He has risen more than 300 spots since February to a career-high No. 123 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. In addition, players from Belarus are now 5-0 in Challenger finals this year, with Uladzimir Ignatik and Ilya Ivashka also earning trophies.

Poznan Open (Poznan, Poland): What a way to win your first ATP Challenger Tour title! Russia’s Alexey Vatutin registered arguably the comeback of the year on Sunday, saving six match points to defeat Guido Andreozzi 2-6, 7-6(10), 6-3 in Poznan. Vatutin saved a pair of championship points while serving at 6-5 in the second set and another four in the ensuing tie-break.

It was the second-most match points saved in a Challenger final since such records began in 2014. Sergiy Stakhovsky turned aside seven in the 2016 Seoul final. Paolo Lorenzi also denied six in the 2016 Caltanissetta title match.

Russia's Alexey #Vatutin turns in the comeback of the year, saving 6 MP to claim his maiden #ATPChallenger title in Poznan. pic.twitter.com/TPk4Smj58t

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 23, 2017

A LOOK AHEAD
The $100,000 event in Granby, Canada headlines the calendar next week, with home hope Denis Shapovalov looking to go back-to-back. Three former champions are in the draw, with 2003, ’06 & ’13 winner Frank Dancevic, 2014 champ Hiroki Moriya and 2015 titlist Vincent Millot.

The U.S. hard-court summer swings to Binghamton, New York, with Aussie Jordan Thompson leading the pack. #NextGenATP star Alexander Bublik is seeded second and American teen Michael Mmoh is fifth. Akira Santillan is looking to carry the momentum from his maiden title in Winnetka a week ago.

At the scenic €64,000 event in Cortina, Italy, Alessandro Giannessi leads the charge, with Marcel Granollers seeded second. In Tampere, Finland, at one of the longest-running events in Challenger history – the Tampere Open – Garcia-Lopez looks to go back-to-back, while Kimmer Coppejans seeks to defend his title. Finally, in Prague, home hope Adam Pavlasek is the top seed.

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10 THINGS TO WATCH IN HAMBURG

1) 500 Time: This is the eighth ATP World Tour 500-level tournament of the season and the top four seeds are Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Pablo Cuevas, Karen Khachanov and Gilles Simon. This is the fourth ATP World Tour tournament of the year in Germany (also Munich, Stuttgart, Halle).

2) Former Champions: The lone former champion in the field is 2011 winner Simon. Cuevas (2016), David Ferrer (2014), Federico Delbonis (2013) and Tommy Haas (2012) are former finalists.

3) German Title Hopes: The last German champion in Hamburg was current tournament director Michael Stich in 1993. There are eight Germans in the draw, led by Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Jan-Lennard Struff, wild cards Daniel Altmaier, Haas and Maximilian Marterer, and qualifiers Rudolf Molleker and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

4) Haas’ Anniversary: It was 20 years ago that 39-year-old Haas made his hometown tournament debut, reaching the semi-finals (l. to Mantilla). He has an 18-11 record with a runner-up finish in 2012 (l. to Monaco). His last appearance was in 2013 when he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Fognini).

5) Ramos-Vinolas Top Seed: Ramos-Vinolas is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the first time in his career. The Spaniard is making his seventh Hamburg visit (5-6 record) with his best result being the quarter-finals in 2012. He is a two-time finalist this year (Sao Paulo, ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo) and 22 of his 27 wins in 2017 have come on clay.

6) Ferrer Breaks Drought: Ferrer, who has a 17-8 record in Hamburg with a runner-up finish in 2014, comes in after winning the title in Bastad, his first ATP crown since Vienna in October 2015.

7) One to Watch: Last year’s finalist Cuevas has a 10-4 record in Hamburg, reaching the semi-finals in his 2009 main draw debut and the quarter-finals in 2015. Of his 18 wins this season, 14 have come on clay.

8) #NextGenATP Stars: Russians Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, who earned his first ATP World Tour title in Umag, are making their Hamburg debuts. Khachanov picked up his career-best 20th win of the season in Bastad where he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Dolgopolov).

9) Kohli Looks to Breakthrough: Kohlschreiber is making his 13th Hamburg appearance (12-12 record) and is looking to get past the semi-finals (2014) for the first time. The 33-year-old German has won five of his seven ATP World Tour titles in Germany (Munich three times, Halle, Duesseldorf).

10) Doubles Draw: The seeded teams are Croats Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic, Pablo Cuevas and Marc Lopez, Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos, Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic, who is attempting to win his 700th career doubles match.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN GSTAAD

1) Scenic Gstaad: This is the 102nd anniversary of the picturesque tournament and this year’s field features four of the Top 30 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, led by David Goffin, Roberto Bautista Agut, defending champion Feliciano Lopez and Fabio Fognini.

2) Goffin Returns: Goffin, who reached the final here two years ago (l. to Thiem) in his previous appearance, is playing his second-straight week (QFs in Umag). He suffered a right ankle injury at Roland Garros that forced him to miss the entire grass-court swing. In February, he became the first Belgian to break into the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

3) Former Champs: Besides Lopez, there are two other former champions in the field: Mikhail Youzhny (2013) and Thomaz Bellucci (2009, 2012).

4) Reigning Champion: Lopez is making his 11th visit to Gstaad. Last year he won his first title (d. Haase), 10 years after reaching the final (l. to Gasquet). He has a 20-9 record in Gstaad. This season Lopez won his biggest career ATP title at Queen’s Club (d. Cilic). He also was runner-up in Stuttgart (l. to Pouille).

5) Switzerland Second Home: Bellucci has captured three (of four) career ATP World Tour title in Switzerland, the last coming in Geneva in May 2016 (d. Sousa). He is making his eighth Gstaad appearance in the past nine years (except ’11) and has a 15-5 record. In 2009, he qualified and captured his first ATP World Tour title (d. A. Beck). In 2012, he won the title again (d. Tipsarevic).

6) Fognini Makes Debut: Fognini is making his main draw debut 10 years after losing in the final round of qualifying. The No. 1 Italian reached 20 match wins on the season for the seventh consecutive year by reaching the quarter-finals in Umag.

7) Dolgo on a Roll: Top Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who is making his Gstaad debut, hopes to come in with his second ATP title of the season. He is playing in the Bastad final (vs. Ferrer). He has never won two ATP World Tour titles in a season.

8) Wild Cards: Fognini joins Swiss natives Marco Chiudinelli and Antoine Bellier as wild cards. Chiudinelli is 2-7 in Gstaad and Bellier is making his second straight showing (1R last year).

9) Swiss Title Hopes: Swiss No. 3 Henri Laaksonen is the highest-ranked local player in the draw. This past week he broke the Top 100 for the first time in the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 100 and he reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in Bastad. Federer was the last Swiss champion in 2004.

10) Doubles Draw: The top seeds are Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner and No. 2 are the Austrian duo of Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald. Marach is playing his first tournament since reaching the Wimbledon final (w/Pavic).

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ATLANTA

1) Hard Court Circuit Opens: The first ATP World Tour North American summer hard court tournament is led by the top two Americans in the Emirates ATP Rankings Jack Sock and three-time champion John Isner. The other seeds with first-round byes are Gilles Muller and Ryan Harrison.

2) Sock Top Seed: This is the second time (2017 Houston SF) Sock is the No. 1 seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. Sock is 5-4 in Atlanta, advancing to the semi-finals in 2014 and quarter-finals in 2012 (l. to Isner in both). Sock comes in with a 23-10 record and two ATP World Tour titles this season.

3) Isner Eyes Fourth Title: Isner, who is making his eighth-straight Atlanta appearance (23-4 record), has never lost before the semi-finals. He won titles in 2013-14-15 and reached finals in 2010-11 and last year. On Sunday, Isner captured his third Newport title (d. Ebden) and he went through his four matches without facing a break point. It was his first ATP World tour title since 2015 Atlanta.

4) Muller Moving Up: Muller comes into Atlanta with a 27-13 match record on the season, including 11-2 on grass and 11-7 on hard courts. He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (d. Nadal, l. to Cilic) and afterwards jumped to a career-high ranking of No. 22. He is 11-4 in Atlanta with a runner-up in 2012 (l. to Roddick) and semi-finals in 2011 and 2015.

5) #NextGenATP in ATL: Nine #NextGenATP players are in the draw, including wild cards Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz, who reached the quarter-finals last year. The others are Hyeon Chung, Jared Donaldson, Ernesto Escobedo, Frances Tiafoe and qualifiers Quentin Halys, Stefan Kozlov and Tommy Paul. Donaldson-Escobedo, Halys-Kozlov and Chung-Paul all meet in the first round.

6) Opelka Breakthrough: Last year, Opelka came into Atlanta ranked No. 837 and en route to his first ATP World Tour semi-final he beat No. 28 Kevin Anderson and Donald Young before falling to Isner in three sets. Last month he reached a career-high No. 125.

7) Local Watch: No. 6 seed Donald Young and wild card Christopher Eubanks, who will be a senior at Georgia Tech University, are two Atlanta residents in the draw. Young reached the quarter-finals last year and Eubanks is looking for his first career ATP singles match win (0-2).

8) Ryan Time: Two-time Atlanta semi-finalist (2011, 2013) Harrison is compiling his best pro season with his first ATP singles title in Memphis and first Grand Slam doubles crown at Roland Garros.

9) Special Exempts: By reaching the semi-finals in Newport last week, Bjorn Fratangelo and Peter Gojowczyk earned a spot in the main draw as special exempts.

10) Brotherly Love: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who won the doubles title two years ago in their Atlanta debut, are the top seeds. Another brothers duo, wild cards Eric Sock and Jack Sock, will make their pro debut together. The Ratiwatana brothers are also in the draw, with different partners (Sanchai with John Millman and Sonchat with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi).

John Isner captured his third title in Newport on Sunday, beating first-time finalist Matthew Ebden 6-3, 7-6(4) for the Dell Technologies Hall Of Fame Open crown. The American adds to his 2011 (d. Rochus) and 2012 (d. Hewitt) titles in the Rhode Island city as he claims the 11th title of his career, all at the ATP World Tour 250 level.

“It’s hard to win a tournament. It’s no small feat to come out here and be the last man standing. I’m very happy about that,” said Isner, who is expected to return to the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. “It’s been two years since I won a tournament, so I had that weighing on my mind.

“I’m very happy with how I played all week. It was a perfect week and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Isner broke Ebden on his first service game for a 2-0 lead and carried that momentum to capturing the first set after 25 minutes. The 29-year-old Perth native pushed harder in the second set, taking the American to a tie-break, but the match went the right way for Isner, who sealed victory after 74 minutes. The North Carolina native became the second player to win an ATP title without facing a break point since records began in 1991 (also Tommy Haas in Memphis 2007).

Isner, who improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head against the Aussie to 3-0, took home $95,495 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points. The American is now 11-12 in tour-level finals.

Ebden, who entered the tournament ranked No. 249 and played his way through qualifying to reach his first tour-level final, earned $50,295 and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

“I’m not that tired to be honest. I definitely didn’t lose because of anything physical, which is great,” said Ebden, who was the lowest-ranked finalist since No. 866 Sluiter at 2009’s ’s-Hertogenbosch. “It’s a lot of reward for a lot of hard work, a lot of years of sacrifice. It’s disappointing, but at the same time I have to be happy with my week.”

#NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev captured his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday as he defeated fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

“It’s amazing. I have no words to explain it, especially after this tough week,” said Rublev. “Now I’m here and it’s amazing.”

It caps a dream week for the 19-year-old Rublev, who had beaten third seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals and home hope Ivan Dodig in the last four to reach his first ATP World Tour final. The Moscow native had fallen in the final round of qualifying, but earned a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser when Borna Coric was forced to withdraw.

Rublev is the seventh lucky loser to win an ATP World Tour title and the first to do so since Rajeev Ram triumphed in Newport in 2009. The right-hander earns 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points, which will take him to a new career-high on Monday.

World No. 74 Rublev has been rapidly on the rise in recent weeks, reaching his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on grass in Halle (l. to Khachanov) and making the second round as a qualifier at Wimbledon (l. to Ramos-Vinolas). Just four months ago, Rublev was placed at No. 130 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

The Russian is set to break into the Top 3 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, which determines who will qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November. Alexander Zverev currently leads the race, followed by Karen Khachanov.

Facing Lorenzi, 16 years his senior, for the first time, Rublev controlled the match from the start, breaking twice as he raced to a 4-1 lead. Lorenzi recouped one of the breaks, but Rublev went on to seal the opener. From 1-2 in the second set, the Russian reeled off the last five games to prevail in 76 minutes.

The No. 34-ranked Lorenzi was bidding to win his second ATP World Tour crown, following victory in Kitzbuhel last year. The Italian also missed out in the Quito final earlier this year, finishing runner-up to Victor Estrella Burgos. He has a 1-3 finals record.

Julian Knowle and Philipp Petzschner were warriors all week at the SkiStar Swedish Open and the Austrian-German tandem were rewarded with their first team title on Sunday.

Knowle and Petzschner defeated Dutch duo Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 on Centre Court in Bastad, notching their fourth straight victory in a Match Tie-break. They prevailed after 70 minutes, converting three of 14 break chances.

Competing as a team for the first time, the unseeded titlists split €26,110 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points. Both ended lengthy ATP World Tour title droughts, notching their first trophies since 2014.

“It was an amazing week,” said Petzschner. “Coming in, Julian had won in Braunschweig and we just kept hanging in there. It’s a lovely tournament and it’s a great way to finish it. I wasn’t even sure if I could play tennis again (after shoulder surgery), but now I have a title which feels great. Now we’re undefeated so let’s see what happens in the future.”

“We were fighting and hung in there,” said Knowle about the four three-set wins. “We made life more difficult than it should have been, but there’s no complaints when you win. I’m very happy to get the win.”

It has been a resurgent year for the 43-year-old Knowle, who is coming off lifting the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Braunschweig two weeks ago, with Igor Zelanay. The 19-time ATP World Tour doubles champion captured a second title in Bastad, exactly 10 years removed from his first crown with Simon Aspelin in 2007.

For the 33-year-old Petzschner, it marked the seventh time he has lifted a tour-level doubles trophy and first with someone other than Jurgen Melzer. The German has enjoyed great success with Austrian partners, having also reached the final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell this year with Alexander Peya.

Meanwhile, Arends and Middelkoop were competing in their first ATP World Tour event as a team. Middelkoop fell to 3-2 in tour-level finals, while Arends was contesting his first title match.

Little by little, Rajeev Ram could feel the end coming. Last year the 33 year old played both singles and doubles at tournaments, but in practices, he couldn’t push himself as much as he would have liked. Little injuries popped up here and there, and he had so much success in doubles with Raven Klaasen, including a run to the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals title match, that Ram started playing singles less and less.

“I had a great year last year in singles even and in doubles. But I could just feel the wear and tear starting to take its toll,” said Ram, who reached the Delray Beach Open singles final and won two doubles titles last year.

Ram wants to continue lifting trophies with Klaasen, which is why he will solely focus on doubles and retire from singles competition. The two-time Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open champion played his final singles match in Newport.

“You grow up trying to be a singles player as a first thought and that’s what I have devoted my whole career to, up until now. It’s a chapter that’s ending and I definitely feel very privileged to end it here,” Ram told ATPWorldTour.com in Newport. “I’ve actually played this tournament every year since I’ve been a pro, since 2004. I can’t say that about anywhere else. It’s special. I’ve had two singles titles here, [two] doubles titles, and a number of great wins, and to top it off with playing my last singles match.”

Read More: Late To Tennis, Klaasen/Ram Revel In Strong Debut Season

Ram, who partnered with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi to win the Newport doubles title on Saturday, would have preferred a better ending to his singles career. He fell in the first round to Aussie qualifier Matthew Ebden, who plays for his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday against John Isner.

“I wasn’t doing well, but then I just stopped and thought about it for a minute. It still didn’t go my way, but really I just enjoyed the fact that I got to play on the Stadium Court again here, in front of these fans and so many familiar faces over the years. It’s just really special,” said Ram, who had shared his retirement plans ahead of time with tournament director Todd Martin, who granted him a wild card.

Yet the final loss, Ram should leave his singles pleased with what he accomplished. He has surpassed any expectations he had for his career when he was a child. Ram didn’t even take tennis seriously until he was 15.

Yet the 6’4” right-hander went onto enjoy a successful collegiate and professional career. At the University of Illinois, he was part of the 2003 national championship team and also won the 2003 NCAA doubles title.

On the ATP World Tour, he reached a career high of No. 56 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and won two ATP World Tour titles – 2009 Newport and 2015 Newport.

“Rajeev has had a great career, especially in doubles, but he’s also has a very good singles career. He’s won two ATP titles, not many people can say that,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com. “He’s done a lot with his game and he’s got a very long doubles career to look forward to.”

Ram was a lucky loser in 2009 before beating Sam Querrey of the U.S. In 2015, he outserved Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

“This venue is a little different than most,” Ram said. “It’s a low-bouncing grass court, which apparently was what it used to be like in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and I developed my game through that style; it’s how I felt the best and I felt the most comfortable playing.”

Casual tennis fans might look at Ram’s age – 33 – and think about another 30-something – 35-year-old Roger Federer – and wonder if the American is leaving years on the court. But Ram has some breaking news for everyone: Federer is a unique breed.

“If we all were comparing ourselves to Roger, I think we’d all feel badly about what we did in life. He’s a special case,” Ram said. “And it’s not like I’m stopping completely. I feel like I have a lot of goals I want to achieve in the doubles game and a great partner at the moment. We’ve had a good couple years together, and I just feel like it’s time to fully focus on that.”