Just one week after reaching the final of his first tournament back after a two-and-a-half-month absence, first-time father Michael Redlicki returned to Wake Forest and claimed the trophy that narrowly eluded him the previous weekend.
 

Redlicki defeated fellow American Tommy Paul, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to with his first professional singles title – the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Collegiate Series Futures event on the college campus at Winston-Salem, N.C.

"The tournament out there for me was obviously great," Redlicki said. "The most important thing was that I was in great spirits all week, just in a good place mentally. I'd say that was the thing that helped me the most because a lot of my matches were won by slight margins, so it wasn't like I was completely outclassing people. Every match is coming down to a couple points, and I happened to be winning those big points in those big moments."
 

Redlicki won his first three matches in straight sets before rallying from a set down to topple Skander Mansouri of Tunisia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the semifinals. ADVERTISEMENT That victory set up a showdown with countryman Paul, who is ranked No. 187 in the world and who cracked the Top 150 for the first time earlier this year.

 

It is Redlicki's second overall title, following a clay-court Futures doubles win in 2012.

The victory over Paul is sweet redemption for the 24-year-old, who narrowly lost to Petros Chrysochos of Cyprus, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, as a qualifier in the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Futures event on the same court seven days earlier. Redlicki was up a double break and serving at 4-1 but was unable to close out the match. 

 

"I went down to Orlando to the [USTA National Campus] for the first time a week before the tournament to expose myself to pretty brutal conditions and practice with one of my favorite coaches [USTA Lead National Coach] Dustin Taylor," Redlicki said prior to the first of the two tournaments at Wake Forest.

 

"And that definitely helped because it was something I hadn't done before, and the first tournament I played after such a practice tactic went pretty well. I knew he was a brilliant guy, just a great individual and happens to be an incredible tennis coach. Being around someone I appreciate so much is also really good for the tennis because I was listening with much more eager ears and taking in information better than I usually would."

 

Redlicki, who worked last with Taylor during his senior year in high school in 2012, has played nine tournaments in 2018, losing in the first round of three events and failing to make it through qualifying tournaments once.  

But following back-to-back finals, the 6-foot-8 Chicago native is up to a career-high No. 695 in the ATP rankings after climbing 154 places this week. He reached the final of a Futures event in Sherbrooke, Canada, in early March, less than a month after the birth of his first child, Jaxon, on Feb. 13.

 

Jaxon has given Redlicki a new sense of purpose.

 

"It was a change in my lifestyle, and that was essential to keep my head on straight," Redlicki said. "Just the sense of reponsibility that came over me, the sense of urgency that I'm not just taking care of myself but taking care of somebody that can't take of themselves. Being responsible for another life, it's a fundamental change just mentally for a person. It forces you to grow up. 

 

"The day he was born, I just snapped out of all my old habits completely, and it was crazy how that worked. It's not something I can really explain. It's just something I tell people they have to go through it to know what I'm talking about. But it's been incredible, and I'm going to thank the kid for helping me get my head on straight. My next goal is to string together a couple great tournaments at the Challenger level because that's when you start to get serious chunks of points, and I can buy serious amounts of diapers for my child after winning  a nice prize-money check."

 

Before his trip to Winston-Salem, Redlicki had not played since an ATP Challenger tournament in Savannah, Ga., in March. He missed Jaxon's first month while he was on the road, but with most of the next tournaments in Asia, Europe and South America, Redlicki, who was runner-up in the American Collegiate Invitational at the US Open while a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, decided to stay home and get some quality bonding time in with his son.

 

Other results of Americans competing last week on the USTA and ITF pro circuits include:
 

Men

• Henry Craig reached the semifinals at the $25,000 Wake Forest Futures, while Sam Riffice and Ronnie Schneider reached the quarterfinals. JC Aragone and Harrison Adams teamed up to win the doubles title, with Ian Dempster on the other side of the net.
• Thai-Son Kwiatkowski defeated fellow American Pau Oosterbaan to win the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures event in Calgary, Canada. Tyler Lu and Junior Ore each reached the quarters, while Alexios Halebian reached the doubles final.
• Alex Rybakov won the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit Futures tournament in Rochester, N.Y., Andres Andrade and Gianni Ross each made the final four, and Jordi Arconada, Ryan Goetz and Collin Johns reached the quarterfinals. Cannon Kingsley and John McNally claimed the doubles crown.
• Ulises Blanch captured the doubles title at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Toulouse, France. 
• Sekou Bangoura advanced to the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures tournament in Kaltenkirchen, Germany.
• Conor Berg reached the last eight in singles and finished runner-up in doubles at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures event in Kiryat Shmona, Israel.
• Garrett Johns made it to the quarters of the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Women

• Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez teamed up to win the doubles title at the $100,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Ilkley, Great Britain. 
• Maria Mateas was a finalist at the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Baton Rouge, La., a tournament which also saw Ashley Lahey reach the semifinals. Julia Elbaba, Connie Ma and Sanaz Marand were all quarterfinalists at the tournament. Hayley Carter and Ena Shibahara claimed the doubles title. 
• Hanna Chang reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Daegu, Korea.
• Gail Brodsky had twice the reasons to celebrate after winning the singles and doubles title at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit tournament in Victoria, B.C. After winning her individual crown, she teamed with Brynn Boren, who reached the quarterfinals of the singles competition, to win her second trophy of the weekend. Maegan Manasse was a singles finalist, while Alexa Graham and Pamela Montez reached the semifinals. In doubles play, Safiya Carrinton and Alana Smith were finalists. 
• Alexa Noel reached the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit tournament in Sassuolo, Italy.
• Madison Westby advanced to the quarterfinals at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit tournament in Amarante, Portugal.
  

Wheelchair

 

• David Wagner and Bryan Barten won the ITF Super Series Quad Open doubles title at the BNP Paribas Open de France in Paris. Wagner also reached the semifinals of the singles competition, while Barten and Greg Hasterok made the quarterfinals. Dana Mathewson reached the final of the Women’s Open doubles tournament.