By Jürgen Fritz, Sun 29 Aug 2021, Cover picture: ATP Tennis TV-Screenshot

Ilya Ivashka is the first Belarusian since Max Mirnyi in 2003 to win an ATP tournament. After knocking out top seed Pablo Carreno Busta, the world No. 9, in the quarter-finals, the 27-year-old gave Sweden’s Mikael Ymer no chance in the Winston-Salem final on Saturday night, beating him 6-0, 6-2 in just 55 minutes to move into the world’s top 30 for the first time.

First tournament win on the ATP Tour and in the world’s top 30 for the first time

Ilya Ivashka is the first Belarusian since Max Mirnyi in 2003 to win an ATP tournament. After knocking out top seed Pablo Carreno Busta, the world No. 9, in the quarter-finals, the 27-year-old gave Sweden’s Mikael Ymer no chance in the Winston-Salem final on Saturday night, beating him 6-0, 6-2 in just 55 minutes to move into the world’s top 30 for the first time.

Ivashka had already won two tournaments on the Challenger Tour of the F and G category at the end of 2020 (Challenger 100 and Challenger 80), now he followed up with his first ATP tournament victory (E: ATP 250). At the end of April, the Belarusian already reached the semi-finals in Munich (E), then the last 16 in Wimbledon (A) and at the Olympics in Tokyo (B). The victory in Winston-Salem (E), however, is the highlight of his career so far. With the 10 points for this tournament win, Ivashka rises from 43 to 29 in the JFB 52 Week Tennis World Ranking and is thus in the Top 30 for the first time.

”This week, I had everything,” Ivashka said during the trophy ceremony. “In the second round, I was booking my flights to New York. I was two points away from losing and now I am standing here. It is incredible how things can change in one match. It was an unbelievable pleasure to play here. I feel amazing to play in front of such a nice crowd and I really enjoyed it. It was a dream week.”

Aslan Karatsev, on the other hand, is falling a little in the JFB Ranking. The Russian won the Challenger 125 tournament (F category) in Prague II 52 weeks ago, which now drops out of the ranking. As a result, the Russian loses 5 points and falls behind Felix Auger-Aliassime, who now moves up into the Top 15. Karatsev will compete for it at the US Open, which starts tomorrow and at which he did not compete last year.

The JFB 52 Week Tennis World Rankings as of 29 Aug 2021

Here’s how the JFB 52 Week Tennis World Rankings look after Winston-Salem Open (E):

Here you can read how the JFB 52 Week Tennis World Ranking works.

Winston-Salem 2021 Final Highlights

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