Former junior world No. 8 Luciano Darderi made the first significant move in his transition to the professional realm on Sunday after collecting his first pro title at M15 Monastir.

The 19-year-old Italian, whose quarter-final runs at M15 Antalya in December and M15 Cordoba in April were his previous best results on the ITF World Tennis Tour, defeated Argentine Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna 6-3 7-5 to claim silverware on his 14th professional appearance.

Darderi brought the curtain down on his junior career at 2020 Roland Garros following a second round defeat to 2021 runner-up Arthur Fils, but he could reflect on some big wins in junior competition – claiming J1 titles in Cuenca, Lambare and Porto Alegre in 2020.

Darderi wasn’t the only young Italian to succeed at ITF-level over the weekend, with 17-year-old Luca Nardi claiming his second ITF singles crown – and first on clay – at M15 Genova.

The former junior world No. 17 had to retire due to injury in the second round of the boys’ singles event at Roland Garros earlier this month, but will have been delighted to bounce back at professional level after beating Swiss Johan Nikles in the final.

Elsewhere, Alvaro Lopez San Martin continued his fine 2021 season by collecting his third title of the year – and the 10th of his career – at M25 Grasse, which, rather misleadingly given the tournament name, saw the Spaniard continue his impressive career record at clay court tournaments.

San Martin defeated four native players en route to victory at the French tournament, including a 7-6(6) 7-5 win over Valentin Royer in the final, and has now won 18 of his last 19 matches.

Gonzalo Lama, meanwhile, ended a five-year wait for silverware in Cairo in February and has been in prolific form ever since – winning his second straight title – and fourth of the year on the ITF World Tennis Tour - at M15 Antalya on Sunday.

Lama’s 6-2 6-3 win over Russian Savva Polukhin earned the 28-year-old Chilean a 14th career title on clay.

Argentine Nicolas Kicker also continued his scintillating form, winning a fourth title in his last five tournaments at M25 Tulsa with victory over fellow Argentine Genaro Alberto Olivieri. The former world No. 76 has won 29 of his last 30 matches and, in his last two tournaments, collected his first two hard court titles to add to his 17-strong career tally.

The ITF World Tennis Tour continues with seven men’s tournaments this week. Follow all the action here.