North Macedonia’s Kalin Ivanovski claimed his first ITF World Tennis Tour title of the season – and the most significant singles title ever won by a man from North Macedonia – after triumphing on home soil at M25 Skopje.

All of the 19-year-old’s previous ITF World Tennis Tour titles had come at M15 level, but victory over France’s Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg in the final ensured he entered uncharted territory and set a new milestone for his nation. 

Just five men from North Macedonia have lifted an ITF singles title (Predrag Rusevski (11 titles), Ivanovski (4), Lazar Magdinchev (2), Dimitar Grabul (2) and Tomislav Jotovski (1) but none - until now - have triumphed at a $25,000 prize money tournament. 

Ivanovski now occupies a career high of No. 412 in the ATP Rankings.

Ivanovski shot to prominence in 2022 when he became the first player from North Macedonia to reach the quarter-finals of a Junior Grand Slam after surging into the last eight at the Junior Championships, Wimbledon.

He also hit the headlines after concluding his second-round match at those championships with a cheeky underarm serve which caught his opponent, Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco, completely off guard. His actions received a mixed reaction.

Juniors do it different 🤪

📹: @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/OBdg1NWPWT

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 5, 2022

Ivanovski was calm about the criticism he received and it certainly did not deter him from showcasing his potential as he triumphed at three ITF World Tennis Tour events – all at M15 level – in the second half of 2022.

The teenager failed to replicate such title-winning form in the early stages of 2023, although he did reach the final at M25 Kursumlijska Banja last month, hinting that an eye-catching win was just around the corner. That duly arrived on the clay courts of Skopje.

Catch up on all of the weekend's results on the ITF World Tennis Tour here