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Gijs Brouwer and Jaume Munar saved match points en route to lifting trophies this past week on the ATP Challenger Tour.

While the 28-year-old Brouwer advanced through qualifying and went all the way to claim his maiden Challenger title, Munar triumphed at that level for a record-extending eighth consecutive season.

The Dutchman Brouwer downed home favourite and former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6(2) in Sunday’s Saint-Tropez Open final. Brouwer saved two match points in the quarter-finals against Benjamin Bonzi, who was the only player all week to take a set off the lefty.

“It feels unbelievable. I was really trying for years to get [a Challenger title] and now I finally have one. I’m super happy,” Brouwer said. “The key this week was the mentality, being good in my head, always staying positive throughout the week. I just kept playing and didn't think too much of the score. Just with a clean head every point and fight for every point.”

Munar, 27, won his 10th Challenger trophy at the Bad Waltersdorf Trophy in Austria. The top seed defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-2, 6-1 in the final, a day after Munar fended off three match points to outlast American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in the last four.

Marin Cilic is an ATP Tour champion once again. The Croatian overcame Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(5), 7-6(5) on Tuesday at the Hangzhou Open to clinch his first tour-level title since 2021.

The 35-year-old wild card was competing in his first tour-level event since Buenos Aires in February and arrived in Chengdu at No. 777 in the PIF ATP Rankings. However, Cilic looked sharp throughout his run at the ATP 250, dropping just two sets to become the lowest-ranked champion in the ATP Tour history (since 1990).

Mar-in the winner's circle ?@marincilic’s comeback is complete with his first title since 2021!@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/6Sq0UIJ7Qf

In the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, there was little to separate Cilic and home favourite Zhang, with both players saving both break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The former World No. 3 Cilic played more aggressively in the two tie-breaks and fired 34 winners in the match compared to 26 from Zhang to triumph on the ATP Tour for the first time since he won St. Petersburg in 2021.

Cilic, who missed several months of 2024 due to a knee injury, has now won 21 tour-level crowns and enjoyed title success in 13 different seasons. He is up to No. 212 in the PIF ATP Rankings following his 16th hard-court title.

The Asian swing commenced on the ATP Tour in Chengdu and Hangzhou, where Shang Juncheng and Marin Cilic won ATP 250 events, respectively.

Nitto ATP Finals hopefuls Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune were also in action, with the pair experiencing different fortunes in China. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Tuesday, 24 September.

Lorenzo Musetti - 15th (2,365 points)
The Italian remains in 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin but closed the gap on eighth-placed Alex de Minaur after reaching his second tour-level final of the season at the Chengdu Open. Musetti earned three wins at the ATP 250 event, gaining 165 points.

The 22-year-old is still 940 points behind De Minaur, who currently occupies the final qualification position for the Nitto ATP Finals. Musetti next heads to the ATP 500 in Beijing, where he will need a deep run to boost his faint Turin hopes.

View PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

If Shang Juncheng was feeling the weight of home expectation on Tuesday at the Chengdu Open, the 19-year-old certainly did not show it.

The #NextGenATP star produced a stunning championship-match performance to overwhelm top seed Lorenzo Musetti and lift his maiden ATP Tour title at the hard-court ATP 250. Shang prevailed 7-6(4), 6-1 after 99 minutes to become the first player born in 2005 or later to win an ATP Tour title.

First time feeling at home ???

Shang becomes the first player born in 2005 or later to win an ATP Tour title after taking down Musetti 7-6(4) 6-1!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/9w8t4Alnlp

By lifting the trophy on his event debut in Chengdu, Shang became just the second Chinese man to win an ATP Tour singles title after Wu Yibing triumphed in Dallas in 2023. Zhang Zhizhen could become the third player on that list later on Tuesday if he can defeat Marin Cilic in the final at the Hangzhou Open.

The key to Shang’s victory against Musetti was how quickly he recovered from the disappointment of being broken when serving for the first set at 6-5. He held firm in the subsequent tie-break to move ahead and then unleashed a series of stunning winners across the second set to accelerate to an ultimately commanding victory.

Top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will hope to boost their Nitto ATP Finals hopes this week at the China Open, where they will face Chinese wild cards Wang Aoran and Zhou Yi in the first round following Tuesday’s draw.

The Italians, currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, have won two tour-level titles in 2024. They are in the same half of the draw as fourth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus, who are competing for the first time since their quarter-final run at the US Open. The British-New Zealand team start against Italian singles stars Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Musetti.

View Beijing Doubles Draw

In the bottom half of the draw, Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten face Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Pablo Carreno Busta in their opening match. Ivan Dodig lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 hard-court event last year with Austin Krajicek. This year, the Croatian is teaming with Rohan Bopanna and the second seeds face Francisco Cerundolo and Nicolas Jarry in the first round.

Krajicek joins forces with Rajeev Ram, with the pair facing Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in a blockbuster first-round clash. Former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Stan Wawrinka teams with China’s Buyunchaokete. They play Alexander Bublik and Pedro Martinez in the first round.

Competing at the Chengdu Open seems to bring out the best in Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.

The top seeds on Tuesday clinched their second consecutive title at the Chinese hard-court ATP 250 with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 triumph against Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti. Doumbia and Reboul won the first seven points of the Match Tie-break en route to claiming their third tour-level title of the season.

With their 96-minute win, Doumbia and Reboul also avenged their defeat to Bhambri and Olivetti in the teams’ only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting earlier this season in Lyon. The French pair, which this week in Chengdu was competing together for the first time since Wimbledon, is now 31-15 for 2024.

Doumbia and Reboul have boosted their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time with their title run. The duo has risen one spot to 14th in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as a result of its triumph in Chengdu.

Nedunchezhiyan/Prashanth Triumph In Hangzhou
At the Hangzhou Open, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth rallied to their first ATP Tour title as a team with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-7 championship-match win against Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens.

For the past 20 years, Beijing has been home to the China Open, an outdoor hard-court tournament that has attracted some of the ATP Tour's biggest names.

The ATP 500, which has been a combined event since its inception in 2004 after the WTA Tour moved its WTA 1000 from Shanghai, has been won by a host of notable champions, including Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and most recently, Jannik Sinner.

Ahead of the 20th anniversary edition of the event, ATPTour.com looks back on some of the men's singles champions in Beijing.

2004: Safin, Beijing’s First Champion
There can hardly have been a more emphatic first champion in Beijing than Safin. The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings competed as the fifth seed in the inaugural edition of the ATP 500 and he did not drop a set all week.

Safin’s dominance in the Chinese capital kick-started a red-hot run on the hard courts. He won ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Paris later that year, before lifting his second Grand Slam title at the 2005 Australian Open.

Top seed Jannik Sinner will begin his China Open title defence against Chilean Nicolas Jarry, while Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are in the same half of the draw in Beijing.

Italian Sinner is competing for the first time since he won his second major title at the US Open earlier this month. The 23-year-old, who holds a standout 55-5 record on the season, has fond memories in Beijing, having defeated Medvedev in the title match last year.

Twelve months on and Sinner returns to China as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. Chasing a Tour-leading seventh title of the season, he could meet former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the second round and fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals.

View Beijing Draw

Wild card Wawrinka faces Jan-Lennard Struff in his opener, while former finalist Dimitrov takes on a qualifier. Dimitrov (2,835 points) is 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and will aim for a deep run at the ATP 500 hard-court event to close the gap on eighth-placed Alex de Minaur (3,305), who is currently injured.

The Asian swing is heating up, with excitement building as attention turns to two eagerly anticipated ATP 500 hard-court events in Beijing and Tokyo.

After clinching his second major crown at the US Open earlier this month, Jannik Sinner is back in action on the ATP Tour, bidding to successfully defend his title at the China Open against a stacked field that features Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

In Tokyo, past champions Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are among the contenders for the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships title.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BEIJING
1) Sinner’s title defence: Jannik Sinner soared to glory at last year’s China Open, defeating both Alcaraz and Medvedev as the sixth seed en route to the title. The Italian is now No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and seemingly poised to successfully defend the title in Beijing.

Alexander Zverev has withdrawn from the China Open.

The German reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 a year ago before losing to Daniil Medvedev.

Zverev leads the ATP Tour this season with 57 wins (57-18) according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He won a title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome and reached the final at Roland Garros and Hamburg.

The China Open draw will be made later Tuesday. Leading the field will be the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Medvedev. Sinner defeated Medvedev in last year's final.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Good things come to those who wait.

Flavio Cobolli has reaped the rewards of that philosophy this year on the ATP Tour. The 22-year-old Italian has enjoyed a breakout 2024, racking up 31 of his 37 career tour-level wins and rising to the brink of the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings. For someone who had won just six tour-level matches entering the season, that is quite some progress.

“Since I was young, I told myself, ‘You are good at tennis. You can do well in this sport. Stay calm, take your time and be patient, because the results will come’,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com. “This year, the results came, so I’m happy.” 

Cobolli enjoyed an extra reward for his breakout season on the ATP Tour last week, when he joined Team Europe as an alternate for its successful Laver Cup campaign in Berlin. Just eight months after he entered the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time, Cobolli spent a week in Berlin rubbing shoulders and practising with the likes of Bjorn Borg, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.

“I learned a lot from the guys. They are amazing,” Cobolli said in Berlin. “I didn’t know anyone here [except Alcaraz], but since the first day I came here they treated me well. They helped me a lot. They gave me some tips for the future, for the rest of the season. They are really nice and I enjoyed this week.

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are among the players who were announced by their countries for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga, to be played in November.

Nadal, who held No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for 209 weeks in his career, has not competed since the Paris Olympics. His doubles partner there, Alcaraz, won two of the four majors — Roland Garros and Wimbledon — this year. They will try to secure glory for Spain.

The man who triumphed at the other two majors, the Australian Open and US Open, Sinner will lead the Italian contingent, which will also include Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli.

Another intriguing team is the United States, which will feature Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.

In the Final 8, Italy will face Argentina, the United States will play Australia, Germany will take on Canada and the Netherlands will battle Spain.

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Zhang Zhizhen advanced to his first ATP Tour final on Monday at the Hangzhou Open, where he defeated countryman Buyunchaokete 7-6(3), 6-4 to become just the third Chinese man in history to reach a tour-level championship match.

Competing against wild card Buyunchaokete in the first all-Chinese ATP Tour semi-final, the sixth seed Zhang raised his level on serve at the crucial moments. The 27-year-old saved all four break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and fired 10 aces to earn the biggest win of his season after one hour and 40 minutes.

"It was a great match," Zhang said. "His performance was really good. In two sets, it was one break. It was a bit lucky but I am happy with the result today."

Zhang joins 2023 Dallas champion Wu Yibing and this week’s Chengdu finalist Shang Juncheng as the third Chinese ATP Tour finalist.

"We keep going. We try to play our best and try our best. Also for Shang, to try his best and we will see," Zhang said.

Shang Juncheng continued to show his home fans why he is a rising star for Chinese tennis on Monday at the Chengdu Open.

The #NextGenATP star eased past Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP 250 in his homeland to reach his maiden ATP Tour championship match. Shang used his lefty forehand to pull his opponent around the court throughout their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash, and he broke Hanfmann's serve once in each set en route to an 89-minute victory.

“A lot of emotions tonight," said the 19-year-old Shang. "I played some really good tennis to get some breaks on his serve and overall I just played solid tennis. I was very calm in my head and enjoyed the crowd.”

Just a teen making history ??✨

Shang becomes the 2nd ever Chinese ATP Tour finalist after getting past Hanfmann in impressive fashion 6-4 6-4!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/WAvJENVrPS

Shang was just the second Chinese man to reach a tour-level final, after 2023 Dallas champion Wu Yibing. Zhang Zhizhen shortly thereafter became the third on that list after defeating another Chinese player, Buyunchaokete, in the semi-finals at the Hangzhou Open later on Monday.

Carlos Alcaraz has developed a winning habit when competing on the biggest stages in the early years of his standout career.

The 21-year-old holds a perfect 4-0 record in major finals and earned the vital win for Team Europe against Team World in the Laver Cup on Sunday night to seal victory for Bjorn Borg’s side. The Spaniard showed little sign of nerves in his straight-sets win against Taylor Fritz in Berlin, but revealed that isn’t always the case inside his head.

“That means I'm a pretty good actor,” Alcaraz said after teammate Grigor Dimitrov felt the Spaniard showed little tension on court. “I was nervous, I'm not going to lie. After Sascha's match, he did a really good job. It was time for me to do my job. I had to win. After that comeback, I had to win.

“I had nerves, I was a little bit nervous. I tried not to show Taylor that I was nervous, but I think I played one of my best matches so far. Tried to be as match-calm as I can and hit it as good as I can.”

Alcaraz was making his Laver Cup debut and revealed that he felt a different kind of pressure during the team event to what he is used to when he competes for trophies alone on Tour.

Top seed Taylor Fritz will face #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils in a blockbuster first-round round match at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where several stars will aim for deep runs to boost their Nitto ATP Finals hopes.

The American is a former champion at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, lifting the trophy in 2022. The 26-year-old, who advanced to the final at the US Open earlier this month, arrives in Tokyo fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

If Fritz overcomes Fils, he could play former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini in the second round. The Italian, who has won three tour-level titles this year, will face a qualifier in his first match following Monday’s draw.

View Tokyo Draw

Second seed Hubert Hurkacz, third seed Casper Ruud, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth seed Tommy Paul are all in Nitto ATP Finals contention and take to court in Tokyo.

Carlos Alcaraz delivered a pair of stunning Sunday performances in Berlin to help Team Europe complete a thrilling 13-11 comeback victory at the Laver Cup.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings defeated Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5 in a winner-takes-all singles clash to ensure Team Europe lifted the teams event trophy for the first time since 2021. Alcaraz, who earlier on Sunday partnered Casper Ruud to a crucial doubles victory against Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, had too much firepower from the baseline for his Top-10 rival Fritz.

Carlitos comes up clutch ?

The 6-2 7-5 victory over Fritz secures the title for Team Europe. ?@LaverCup | #LaverCup | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/MVpi4wSxPM

Along with Ruud and Alexander Zverev, the latter of whom rallied past Frances Tiafoe 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-5 to force the deciding match, Alcaraz ensured that Bjorn Borg ended his seven-year stint as Team Europe captain with his fifth Laver Cup victory. Borg also led his men to victory at the first four editions of the event.

“It’s great. Obviously we came here with a goal, to win the Laver Cup,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “We are very, very happy about reaching our goal. We almost lost, but Sascha came with really good tennis and gave me the chance to win.”

It was only fitting that Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe’s seventh and final Laver Cup as captains culminated in a nail-biting showdown, with Team Europe defeating Team World in a competition that came down to the final match — Carlos Alcaraz's win against Taylor Fritz — on Sunday.

The intense finish mirrored the essence of their legendary rivalry on the tennis court, defined by high-stakes, dramatic twists and fierce competition.

However, their time as captains has come to an end, paving the way for a fresh duo to take the helm. Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah, both legends in their own right, will bring new energy and perspective to the tournament from 2025.

With 60 singles titles to his name according to Infosys ATP Stats, including eight major trophies, Agassi is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation. The former World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings also won the Davis Cup on three occasions with the United States as well as a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

While Noah does not boast the same numbers as Agassi, he was a standout player on the ATP Tour for many years, reaching a career-high No. 4. His most memorable achievement came at Roland Garros in 1983 when he became the first Frenchman to win his home major in 37 years.

For the third time in its seven-year history, the Laver Cup will be decided by the final match on the Day 3 schedule. Team Europe’s Carlos Alcaraz will take on Taylor Fritz at Berlin’s Uber Arena to decide the champion at the 2024 edition of the teams event.

Alexander Zverev pulled off an inspired comeback win against Frances Tiafoe to cut Team Europe’s deficit to 10-11 and set the Alcaraz vs. Fritz decider. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings had trailed by a set and a break but ultimately prevailed 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-5 to the delight of his home fans.

WHAT A MATCH! ?@AlexZverev erases the early deficit to defeat Tiafoe 6-7(5) 7-5 [10-5].@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/OIB4QL3LBV

Earlier, Alcaraz and a redemption-seeking Casper Ruud injected some early intrigue into the final day of action. The pair reduced Team Europe’s overnight deficit to 7-8 with a classy doubles victory against Shelton and Tiafoe.

The duo prevailed 6-2, 7-6(6) in a thrilling encounter to haul Team Europe close to parity at the teams event. Alcaraz and Ruud, the latter of whom had struggled in a heavy doubles defeat alongside Tsitsipas on Saturday evening, triumphed after one hour, 40 minutes in an encounter packed with high-quality shotmaking from all four players.