Gilles Arnaud Bailly took his first significant stride in professional tennis after claiming a milestone maiden title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

The 17-year-old Belgian defeated German Peter Heller 6-3 4-6 7-5 in the final at M15 Antalya on Sunday – a week after finishing runner-up to Dragos Nicolae Madaras (the tour-leader for title-wins in 2023) in his first ITF men’s final at the same venue.

It is the latest landmark moment for Bailly, who earned a slice of history for his nation last December when he became the first Belgian male - across any category - to be crowned an ITF World Champion after clinching the junior year-end world No. 1 spot.

Bailly won three titles and finished runner-up in the boys’ singles at both Roland Garros and US Open in a standout 2022 season in junior competition.

His title triumph in Antalya arrived on his 12th professional appearance, having made his ITF World Tennis Tour debut at M15 Eupen last August.

Elsewhere last week, Lucas Catarina overtook Nicolae Madaras for the most match-wins on the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2023 with 29 after winning his second title in as many weeks at M15 Heraklion.

The 26-year-old's back-to-back successes in Greece marked his fourth and fifth final appearances this year, and saw him end a run of five straight defeats in ITF finals dating back to April 2022.

Click here for all the weekend's men's title winners on the ITF World Tennis Tour