Sultanov and Durasovic back to winning ways after Davis Cup exploits

Davis Cup by Rakuten rivals last month, Uzbekistan’s Khumoyun Sultanov and Viktor Durasovic of Norway were among the title winners on the Men’s ITF World Tennis Tour this week.

Sultanov earned his second professional singles title the hard way, winning four successive three-set contests to claim the M25 Prague crown. The 22-year-old Davis Cup player completed his rollercoaster campaign with a 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory over Czech opponent David Poljak.

Durasovic was on the winning side when Norway secured a 3-1 victory in the World Group I clash in Oslo, and his fine recent form continued with victory at M25 Nevers. The No. 4 seed beat five Frenchmen in succession to win his second title of the season, sealing victory against a flagging Arthur Reymond, the 22-year-old feeling the after-effects of three consecutive three-set semi-final victories as he fell 6-2 6-4 in the final.

There was better news on the French front in Portugal, where 19-year-old Arthur Cazaux defeated Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 7-5 6-0 to claim the M25 Setubal title, his first at the higher ITF World Tennis Tour tier. In contrast, Eduard Esteve Lobato is an experienced campaigner at this level: the 27-year-old Spaniard claimed the M25 Lima crown with a 7-6(6) 6-4 win over Brazil’s Daniel Dutra da Silva for his eighth title, all won on clay.

Former world No.40 Ryan Harrison claimed his first professional singles title since the 2017 ATP Memphis Open with victory at M15 Naples FL. The 29-year-old did not drop a set all week, beating Antoine Cornut Chauvinc of France 6-3 7-5 in the final.

Fellow American Christian Langmo’s success at M15 Cancun continued this weekend, the 25-year-old claiming his third ITF World Tennis Tour singles title – all won in Mexico – with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over France’s Jaimee Floyd Angele.

Britons Charlie Broom and Billy Harris earned their first ITF World Tennis Tour titles, Broom defeating compatriot Henry Patten 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 at M15 Ithaca NY, while Harris downed Kai Wehnelt of Germany 6-4 6-1 at M15 Sozopol in Bulgaria. But Ryan James Storrie was denied the chance to seal a GB hat-trick by German Oscar Moraing, who also claimed the first professional singles title of his career with a 7-5 6-3 win.

Brazil’s Gabriel Decamps also clinched his first singles crown at M15 Sharm El Sheikh, defeating Czech opponent Petr Hajek 7-5 6-7(4) 6-0, while at the other end of the scale Russia’s Ivan Gakhov defeated Jose Francisco Vidal Azorin of Spain 6-4 5-7 6-2 to claim the M15 Platja D’Aro title, the 12th of his career.

At M15 Monastir, Dutchman Guy Den Onden downed Ugo Blanchet of France 6-4 6-2. The 19-year-old now has three titles to his name, two on clay and this, his third, on hard courts.