Jordan Thompson appeared in a second ATP singles final of 2024 in Atlanta, while there was doubles success for Aussie duo Luke Saville and Li Tu on the ATP Challenger circuit.
Melbourne, Australia, 29 July 2024 | Matt Trollope
Jordan Thompson came extremely close to his second career ATP title before falling in the Atlanta decider in three sets to Yoshihito Nishioka.
After winning the Los Cabos title earlier in 2024, Thompson lost 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2 to the Japanese lefty in a rain-delayed final played late on Sunday evening.
Also in the United States, Luke Saville and Li Tu combined to win the ATP Challenger title in Chicago, while fast-rising Aussie teenager Maya Joint reached the biggest final of her career in Warsaw.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Jordan Thompson: Thompson reached his second ATP singles final of the year in Atlanta, falling in a rain-delayed three-set match to Yoshihito Nishioka. The 30-year-old improves to 23-17 for the year after reaching at least the quarterfinal stage at seven tour-level events this season. He also reached the Atlanta doubles quarterfinals alongside fellow Aussie Max Purcell.
Max Purcell: Purcell enjoyed a strong week in Atlanta, reaching the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles. The 26-year-old’s run in the singles means he has now won 10 of his past 14 matches, and he has returned to 58th in the ATP live rankings.
Maya Joint: The 18-year-old Australian reached the biggest singles final of her career at the WTA 125K event in Warsaw. She pushed Alycia Parks to three sets in the final and has now won almost 50 singles matches this season, improving her ranking to a career-best world No.140 after beginning 2024 at world No.684.
Luke Saville: Saville continued his excellent form on the doubles court, combining with fellow Aussie Li Tu to win the ATP Challenger event in Chicago. Saville has reached at least the semifinals of his past three doubles tournaments and has now won two ATP Challenger titles this year, after his victory with Alex Bolt in Burnie.
Li Tu: After reaching two ATP Challenger quarterfinals in China with Saville earlier in 2024, Tu combined with his countryman to win Chicago, coming through three consecutive matches that concluded in super tiebreaks. The win marks Tu’s first Challenger title in doubles.
Thomas Fancutt: Fancutt, 29, advanced to his first doubles final since March by reaching the title match at the ATP Challenger event in Tampere, Finland alongside Johannes Ingildsen. He has improved to world No.153 in the live doubles rankings, which would mark a career high.
Melisa Ercan: Ercan continued her impressive year thanks to a quarterfinal showing at the ITF W35 singles event in Segovia, Spain. The 18-year-old has thrived on the ITF circuit since June, winning 15 of her past 19 matches. She has risen to world No.327 after beginning the season outside the top 500.
Alexandra Osborne: At the same Segovia ITF event, 29-year-old Sydneysider Osborne reached the doubles final. After reaching six ITF doubles semifinals earlier in 2024, Osborne finally went one better to post her best result of the season alongside Anna Rogers.
Alana Parnaby: Parnaby enjoyed an impressive week at the ITF W15 tournament in Sapporo, Japan, reaching the singles quarterfinals as well as the doubles semis alongside Mana Ayukawa. It was her ninth appearance at the semifinal stage of a doubles event in 2024.
Chen Dong: The 21-year-old, who plays college tennis for Louisiana State University, is currently unranked, but in just his third tournament of the season, he won through three rounds of qualifying before going all the way to the semifinals of an ITF M15 event in Monastir, Tunisia. It is the best singles result of his professional career so far.
