Cazaux and Torres make the jump with first ITF singles titles

Promising teenagers Arthur Cazaux and Juan Bautista Torres each won their first professional titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour on Sunday.

The 18-year-old duo were both strong juniors; Frenchman Cazaux finished runner-up in the boy’s singles at the Australian Open in January and reached a career-high No. 4 in the junior rankings, while Argentine Torres ranked at No. 13 after reaching the boys’ singles semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Cazaux had already had a taste of a men’s final prior to this weekend, finishing runner-up at M15 Pretoria last October, but he came away with the title this time after defeating compatriot Quentin Robert 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2 in a fiercely contested final on a Spanish hard court at M15 Torello.

Torres seized his chance at the first attempt, overcoming USA’s Toby Kodat 6-3 6-3 to win M15 Cairo.

Kodat could also celebrate his first appearance in an ITF singles final, surpassing his previous-best result – a quarter-final finish at M15 Heraklion last month. The 17-year-old American was also a strong junior, reaching No. 5 in the junior rankings and finishing runner-up in the boys’ singles event at Roland Garros in 2019.

Nick Hardt won on home soil at M15 Santo Domingo, collecting his third ITF title - and second in the Dominican Republic – after defeating USA’s Oliver Crawford in the title match.

It was a second consecutive final for Crawford, who had won his second ITF title a week previously at the same venue.

Elsewhere, Estonia’s Kristjan Tamm won his second career title at M15 Monastir – 13 months after achieving his debut triumph at the same venue. The 22-year-old Estonian beat Russian Artem Dubrivnyy 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the final.

Five men’s tournaments remain on the ITF World Tennis Tour calendar for 2020, with two events taking place in Antalya, Turkey and three in Monastir, Tunisia over the next three weeks.