John Friends’s reunion with a former doubles associate paid off in Basel, whereas Alex de Minaur made an encouraging run to a semifinal in Vienna.
Melbourne, 28 October 2024 | Dan Imhoff
In a reprisal of one of many tour’s prime doubles combos that first shaped in 2013, John Friends and Britain’s Jamie Murray took down the highest three seeds en path to the ATP 500 trophy in Basel.
A 6-3 7-5 victory over prime seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Metkic marked the pair’s first title collectively since Hamburg in 2015.
Friends/Murray had saved three match factors within the opening spherical of qualifying earlier than they claimed six straight wins for the silverware.
It was Friends’ second title this 12 months, following his Olympic Video games gold alongside Matt Ebden in Paris, and the 28th of his profession.
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This week’s most excellent performers additionally embrace…
Alex de Minaur: In a promising return to kind in his comeback from a hip cartilage tear suffered at Wimbledon, De Minaur reached his fourth semifinal of the season on the ATP 500 occasion in Vienna. Whereas the 25-year-old fell to in-form Karen Khachanov, he closed to inside 165 factors of eighth-placed Andrey Rublev within the race to the ATP Finals.
Rinky Hijikata: The 23-year-old lived as much as his prime seed on the ATP Challenger occasion in Playford, South Australia after he went all the best way to his xxxxth title at that degree. It was a welcome return for Hijikata, who claimed his first Challenger title in Playford two years in the past.
Maddison Inglis: Following two runners-up and a pair of semifinals on Australian Professional Tour stops in Perth and Cairns in latest months, the 26-year-old lastly landed the trophy on the ITF W75 occasion in Playford. The third seed pulled away from Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume for her ninth ITF title and took her report to 19-4 since US Open qualifying.
Adam Walton: The 25-year-old reached his sixth ATP Challenger closing of the season on the Taipei 2 occasion in Taipei Metropolis. In his return to the positioning of his third profession Challenger title in Could, Walton’s defeat to Japan’s Taro Daniel was his fourth defeat in a closing at that degree this season.
Hijikata repeating historical past! 🥇🔄@rinky_23 defies Shimizu to achieve a 3rd profession title in Playford, having claimed his first victory right here in 2022 🇦🇺#ATPChallenger | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/tnrzfjFd6i
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 27, 2024
Aleksandar Vukic: The highest seed in Taipei Metropolis, Vukic reached the semifinals of the ATP Challenger occasion the place he fell to compatriot Walton in three units. It took the 28-year-old’s report in any respect tour ranges to 10-3, which included a semifinal run on the Almaty ATP occasion final week.
Maya Joint: The 18-year-old closed in on her top-100 breakthrough with a quarterfinal run on onerous court docket on the Tampico ITF occasion in Mexico. Seeded eighth, Joint fell to Canada’s Rebecca Marino, in her eighth ITF quarterfinal this 12 months.
Marc Polmans: The eighth seed reached his twentieth ATP Challenger semifinal in Playford following an upset of third seed and rising Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki. The 27-year-old improved to 7-2 from his previous two occasions on house soil after he made the ultimate on the Cairns 2 match.
Omar Jasika: The left-hander’s distinctive unbeaten streak got here to an finish within the Playford Challenger semifinals after 27 straight wins. It took eventual champion Hijikata to cease the 27-year-old, who had not misplaced since August together with 4 straight title in Bali (twice), Darwin (twice) and Cairns.
> READ MORE: De Minaur, Gadecki to guide Australia towards Nice Britain in United Cup
Tristan Schoolkate: The 23-year-old reached his tenth ATP Challenger quarterfinal of the 12 months in Playford. Seeded fourth, his defeat to Masamichi Imamura too his profession report in Challenger quarterfinals to 5-11.
Li Tu: After his run via qualifying on the Shanghai Masters, the 28-year-old returned to his house state the place he made the quarterfinals on the Playford Challenger. It was the sixth seed’s fourth Challenger quarterfinal of the season.
Blake Ellis and Thomas Fancutt: The second seeds gained their first ATP Challenger title collectively in Playford. In an all-Australian closing, they denied in-form brothers Jake and Jesse Delaney their fourth title collectively since August. The win marked Ellis’ sixth title this 12 months and Fancutt’s third.
Petra Hule and Alexandra Bozovic: The unseeded duo collected the ITF W75 doubles title in Playford over fellow Australian Lizette Cabrera and Taylah Preston. Victory marked Hule’s fifth straight doubles closing win this season and took her profession haul to 10. It was additionally Bozovic’s 10th profession ITF title.
Alexandra Osborne: The 29-year-old landed the most important doubles title of her profession after she and American Clervie Ngounoue gained the ITF W100 occasion in Tyler, within the US. The largest of Osborne’s three prior doubles titles was a W40 triumph in Porto final 12 months.
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