Toby Samuel wins first ATP Challenger title in Soma Bay as Brits take home eight trophies
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Get the latest from the world of British tennis over the last week, including a first ATP Challenger Tour singles title, more doubles success and a trio of ITF singles champions.
Samuel makes ATP Challenger Tour breakthrough
It was a weekend to remember for Britain’s Toby Samuel, winning the first ATP Challenger Tour singles title of his career.
The 23-year-old ticked off his latest milestone after an impressive week at the Soma Bay Challenger in Egypt.
Samuel set the tone from the first round – defeating second seed Ilia Simakin 6-4, 6-4, before going on to beat Peter Fajta and Alexandr Binda.
Three British players featured in the semi-finals and Samuel claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win over compatriot Charlie Robertson to book his place in the final.
With the title on the line, Samuel came back to defeat top seed and fellow Brit Jay Clarke 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 and lift the trophy.
The win has seen Samuel jump 45 places in the ATP rankings to world No.436.
Paris & Willis add more Challenger success
Elsewhere, there was also ATP Challenger success for Josh Paris and Marcus Willis at the Bergamo Challenger in Italy.
The third seeds beat Czechia’s David Poljak and Germany’s Tim Ruehl 7-6(3), 6-4 in Saturday’s final.
It’s a second Challenger doubles title of the year for both players, who have seen rapid rises up the ATP doubles rankings over the past few seasons.
Paris is ranked at No.108 in the world, while Willis is now the world No.83 and one of eight British players in the top 100.
Appleton & Dudeney claim ITF doubles titles
More doubles success followed with Emily Appleton and Alicia Dudeney leading the charge with ITF World Tennis Tour titles.
Appleton combined with Belgium’s Magali Kempen to win the W75 Petange in Luxembourg – finishing with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 victory over Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Angelica Moratelli.
This was Appleton’s 22nd career doubles title and a first of the season for the world No.87.
Dudeney teamed up with Estonia’s Elena Malygina to seal the biggest title of her career and fifth of the season at the W50 Trnava.
Dudeney and Malygina came from a set down to defeat Sofya Lansere and Ivana Sebestova 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 in the final.
British trio win singles titles on ITF Tour
Lui Maxted headed up a trio of British wins at the ITF $25K level – sealing the singles and doubles crowns at the M25 Austin.
Maxted won his third singles title of the season with a dominant week in Texas, finishing with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Norway’s Andreja Petrovic.
The Brit also combined with Malaysia’s Pranav Kumar to lift the doubles title. Maxted and Kumar beat Abraham Asaba and Alex Martinez 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-8.
Alastair Gray won his second consecutive title at the M25 Vale do Lobo – extending his unbeaten record to 10 matches.
For the second week in a row, Gray beat Ukraine’s Georgii Kravchenko in the final 6-1, 7-5.
Finally, Felix Gill continued his strong form on the clay at the M25 Antalya in Tunisia.
Like Gray, Gill has now won back-to-back titles in Antalya after a 6-2, 6-1 final victory over Italy’s Samuele Pieri.
