Friend Wins All-Qualifier Challenger Final in Fairfield; Mandlik Claims Biggest Title of Career at W100 in Edmond; Vacherot's Improbable Shanghai Title; Gauff Wins Wuhan 1000

After a week in Texas devoted to high-level junior tennis, I've got some catching up to do on the USTA Pro Circuit and on the WTA and ATP Asian Swing in tonight's post.

Jay Friend and his All-American trophy last month in Tulsa

Jay Friend, a senior at the University of Arizona, continued the level that saw him claim the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa last month, capturing his first Challenger title today at the Fairfield 50 in California. The 21-year-old from Japan, playing in just his fourth Challenger, all since July, defeated fellow qualifier Edward Winter of Australia, a junior at Pepperdine, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 in this afternoon's final. Friend, who never won an ITF men's circuit title at any level, has moved his ranking from 743 to inside the ATP Top 500 with his 15-7 record in ITF and ATP Challenger events since completing his junior year in May.  

Like Friend, Winter, who turned 21 last month, had never advanced past the quarterfinals of a Challenger until this week, is up to 454 in the ATP live rankings thanks to his appearance in the final.

The unseeded German team of Mats Rosenkranz and Max Wiskandt defeated unseeded Spencer Johnson(UCLA) and Wally Thayne(Utah, Brigham Young) 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 in the final.

Friend is playing the ATP Challenger 100 in Lincoln Nebraska this week using the ATP College Accelerator for entry; Winter did not qualify for that program, ending his sophomore season at Pepperdine ranked 32, and is not playing Lincoln. 

At the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Edmond Oklahoma, Elli Mandlik won the biggest title of her career today. The unseeded 24-year-old defeated No. 3 seed Marina Stakusic of Canada 6-3, 7-5; the only set she dropped all week came in the first round against Fiona Crawley(UNC). With this title, Mandlik is now up to 211 in the WTA live rankings.

The doubles title went to No. 4 seeds Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine and Anastasia Tikhonova of Russia, who beat unseeded Olivia Gadecki of Australia and Olivia Lincer(Central Florida, Oklahoma State) 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-8 in the final.

The other USTA Pro Circuit women's event was a W35 in Redding California, with unseeded Francesca Pace of Italy beating top seed Lea Ma(Georgia) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in today's final. Ma had beaten qualifier Krisha Mahendran of India, a freshman at USC, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in the semifinals, while Pace had defeated No. 6 seed Akasha Urhobo 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

Unseeded Jaeda Daniel(Auburn, NC State) and Australia's Elysia Bolton(UCLA) won the doubles title, beating top seeds Kolie Allen(Ohio State) and Rasheeda McAdoo(Georgia Tech) 7-5, 7-5 in the final.

Former Texas A&M All-American Valentin Vacherot put together one of the most improbable runs this side of Emma Raducanu this month, with the 26-year-old from Monaco capturing the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 over his cousin and fellow A&M alum Arthur Rinderknech of France. 

Vacherot, who was ranked 204 coming into the tournament, only made the qualifying field as an alternate, and was two points from defeat in the second and final round of qualifying to former Kentucky star Liam Draxl. But he beat five seeds, including No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, to get to the final, and his win over Rinderknech today puts him into the ATP Top 40. He had not cracked the ATP Top 100 until now, with a 110 ranking in June his previous best.  For more on the stunning run, which resulted in the first Masters 1000 title for a player from Monaco, see this article from the ATP.

The Texas A&M tennis community was watching this developing story all last week--I heard a lot about it while in Houston, just over an hour away from College Station--and you can read all the coverage from the proud men's program here.

While Vacherot and Rinderknech garnered all the attention this week for their exploits at the top of the ATP food chain, another Aggie is making waves on the USTA Pro Circuit. France's Raphael Perot, who completed his stint with the Texas A&M in 2024, has now won two consecutive M15 tournaments with his title today in Lexington Kentucky. The second-seeded 24-year-old, who won the M15 in Ann Arbor two weeks ago, defeated former Tennessee All-American Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan 7-6(3), 0-6, 6-4 in today's final. 

Mitsui had defeated qualifier Andrej Loncarevic of France, a sophomore at LSU, 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals; Perot beat 17-year-old Jack Kennedy 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The unseeded team of JJ Mercer and Eli Stephenson won the doubles title, with the former Kentucky teammates beating unseeded Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) and Matthew Thomson(Wake Forest) 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Mercer, 25, now has three pro doubles titles; it's the first for the 20-year-old junior Stephenson.

Coco Gauff won her first title since Roland Garros in June, at the WTA Masters 1000 in Wuhan China. Gauff, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to claim her 11th WTA title and her third 1000 title. The 21-year-old, who didn't drop a set all week, has qualified for the year-end WTA Finals, where she will defend her 2024 title. For more on today's match, see this article from the WTA website.