Gabriel Debru wins Como Challenger, joins Gasquet & Monfils in record books | ATP Tour

Challenger

#NextGenATP Debru joins Gasquet, Monfils in French Challenger history

Ajdukovic wins title at Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar

September 02, 2024

Gabriel Debru fell to his knees on the Italian clay following a gruelling 30-ball rally on championship point, which he clinched with a deft backhand drop volley. It was an emotional moment for the #NextGenATP 18-year-old as he won the Challenger Citta’ di Como, his second title in three months on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Debru, who won the Troyes Challenger in July, defeated Peruvian Ignacio Buse 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in Sunday’s final to become the youngest player to win multiple Challenger titles this season. The teen is the third-youngest Frenchman to win multiple Challenger trophies (since 1978), joining former Top 10 stars Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils.

Youngest Frenchman To Win Multiple Challenger Titles

Following his title run, Debru is up nine spots to 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In other Challenger action, Croatian Duje Ajdukovic moved closer to securing his Top 100 debut by triumphing at the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar. The 23-year-old captured his third Challenger title at the academy of 92-time tour-level titlist Nadal, whom Ajdukovic pushed to three sets in the semi-finals of July’s ATP 250 event in Bastad.

Duje Ajdukovic wins the Manacor Challenger.”>
^{Duje Ajdukovic wins the Manacor Challenger. Credit: Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar}

Ajdukovic, No. 105 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, overcame Italian lefty Matteo Gigante 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final after saving 12 of the 14 break points he faced. In the second round, the fifth seed spoiled the return of his countryman and former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, who was competing in his first event since February.

Adrian Andreev collected his maiden Challenger title at the Clube Tenis Porto Challenger, where he beat fourth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match. Andreev, 23, did not drop a set all week to become the sixth Bulgarian champion in Challenger history.

“It feels amazing. For me, it is a really big success,” Andreev said. “I really wanted to win a Challenger and this is a nice place to do it. I’m really happy. It is probably the best tournament I’ve won… It looked easy in the score, but there were many close games, and I somehow managed to win all the important points.”

Adrian Andreev wins the Porto Challenger.”>
^{Adrian Andreev wins the Porto Challenger. Credit: MoveSoundClick/FPT}

Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama returned to the winners’ circle at the Zhangjiagang International Challenger, where the 32-year-old previously triumphed in 2018. Seeded fourth, Uchiyama earned his second Challenger title of the season (Busan) and seventh overall.

In the final, Uchiyama dropped just five points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to rally past Estonian Mark Lajal 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2. 

“I struggled with the heat and difficult ball control, but I was able to win,” Uchiyama wrote in Japanese in an Instagram post. “After winning in Busan in April, I was aiming for another win this year. I want to fix my goal upwards and fight for the rest of the season.”

Yasutaka Uchiyama at the Zhangjiagang Challenger.”>
^{Yasutaka Uchiyama at the Zhangjiagang Challenger. Credit: Chinese Tennis Association}