Cordenons, Italy, 19 August 2019 | tennis.com.au

Christopher O’Connell has risen to within one place of his career-high ranking after winning his first ATP Challenger title.

The Australian beat German Jeremy Jahn 7-5 6-2 in the final of the tournament on clay in Cordenons, Italy on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/ATPChallenger/status/1163150244969943043?s=20

As a result, O’Connell has risen 93 places to world No.220 — just one below his career-best of 219th set in February 2017.

O’Connell, unseeded in Cordenons, dropped just two sets in six matches during the week to win the 10th — and biggest — title of his career.

His toughest match came in the first round when he dropped the first set against Tseng Chun Hsin of Chinese Taipei before recovering to win 1-6 6-4 7-5.

His previous best results at ATP Challenger level were semifinals in Sibiu, Romania (2016) and Fairfield, California (2017).

https://twitter.com/ATPChallenger/status/1163198347538325504?s=20

As reported on tennis.com.au last week, O’Connell has made an impressive comeback in 2019 following two years of physical health problems.

A battle with pneumonia ruined several months of his 2017 season before knee tendonitis sidelined him for six months in 2018.

He told tennis.com.au that his goal this year was to return to the world’s top 250 — something he has now already achieved.