Last month on the ATP World Tour was varied and exciting with action taking place on three continents and three types of surfaces (hard, indoor hard, and clay). There were four 500-level events and eight 250-level events that took place in places such as Mexico, Ecuador, France, and Dubai. While big names such as Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and David Ferrer all claimed titles this month, plenty of lesser-known talents shined as well in a memorable month on tour.

Victor Estrella Burgos wins first ATP title at 34, oldest first-time titlist in ATP history

When it comes to the question of “who is the most inspiring story on the ATP World Tour,” I suggest looking no farther than 34-year-old Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos. Estrella, who wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 until he was 33, has since then burst into the top 50, won his first Grand Slam main-draw matches, and most notably his first ATP title, which came in Quito.

At 34, he is the oldest first-time titlist on the ATP Tour, and he shows no signs of slowing down, at an age in which many players contemplate where they will play their last tournament. With a limited skill set but unlimited amounts of heart and tenacity, Estrella has achieved what many players only dream of, and he did so with very little institutional support. At one point, he even considered quitting professional tennis due to financial concerns, but it is a good thing he kept grinding because it is finally paying off for him.

Estrella in fact took a pair of titles in February, also winning a Challenger event. In Quito, he notably defeated Martin Klizan and also top-15 player Feliciano Lopez in a three-set final that ended in a tiebreak. Estrella is rarely favored in his ATP matches, but quite often he finds a path to victory regardless. In the process, he sets a great example for everyone, pro tennis players or otherwise, to never give up on your dreams and always keep working.

Qualifiers have remarkable runs in ATP events

The 2015 season has already seen a lot of success from players who entered the main draw via qualifying. In the month of February, qualifier Luca Vanni reached his first career ATP final and at the same time won his first ATP main-draw matches in Sao Paulo, in a remarkable week for the Italian. Young gun Borna Coric continued to establish himself by reaching an ATP 500 semifinal in Dubai, not as a qualifier, but rather as a lucky loser. Last, but certainly not least, the formerly promising Ryan Harrison posted his best result in quite some time and reached the semifinal at the 500-level event in Acapulco as a qualifier.

Coric, who at 18 is already well inside the top 100, has top-10 potential. Although he has faced criticism for his confident attitude, he still takes a very professional approach to the game well beyond his years. His potential continued to shine as he beat veteran battlers Malek Jaziri and Marcos Baghdatis in three sets, helped by a Baghdatis retirement with cramps before a third-set tiebreak in their match, and then he shockingly demolished a lackadaisical Andy Murray, who won just 12 return points the entire match in a 6-1 6-3 loss to the Croat. Coric did get taught a lesson by Federer in the semifinals, but the future is very bright for him.

Harrison, who slipped out of the top 150 after previously being ranked as high as No. 43 in 2012, appears to be making progress again with his game, in part due to working with new coach Grant Doyle and under the tutelage of former Grand Slam champion and world No. 1 Andy Roddick. He qualified in Memphis without dropping a set and then beat fellow in-form American Donald Young, defending champion Grigor Dimitrov, and Ivo Karlovic in a third-set tiebreak. In that match, he began to read Karlovic’s serve better with time, and the more aggressive he played the points, moving himself up beyond the baseline, the better the outcome of the points was for him.

Pablo Cuevas wins third career title and reaches career high ranking

Twenty-nine-year-old Pablo Cuevas may not be quite as inspiring as Estrella, but his comeback from injury over the past two seasons and the remaking of himself as a better, smarter player is still notable. Cuevas won his third career ATP title, all of which have come since last summer, in Sao Paulo. En route, he defeated accomplished players Nicolas Almagro and Santiago Giraldo, and he reached a career-high top-25 ranking, coming close to assuring himself a seed for Roland Garros.

Young gun Yoshihito Nishioka reaches first career ATP quarterfinal in Delray Beach

One of the most unheralded young guns, who could be the next big player on the ATP World Tour, is Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. The 19-year-old is now into the top 150, having continually risen in the rankings, and he reached his first career ATP quarterfinal in Delray Beach as a qualifier. After three qualifying wins, two of which came in three sets, he beat ATP regulars Igor Sijsling and Marinko Matosevic without dropping a set.

Nishioka is a high-quality ball-striker with speedy footwork, and he generates a lot of power for a player with his frame. There is room for him in at least the ATP top 30 sometime in the future.

Americans Austin Krajicek and Donald Young show improvement

Twenty-four-year-old former college tennis standout Austin Krajicek, who won his maiden ATP main draw match last season, has already won two of them this season, since he reached his first career ATP quarterfinal as a qualifier in Memphis. Krajicek qualified and shocked ATP veterans Mikhail Kukushkin and Ivo Karlovic in three sets before succumbing to top seed Nishikori in a quality three-set contest that was competitive in every set. Krajicek also qualified in Acapulco, dropping a relatively competitive contest against Santiago Giraldo in round 1.

Donald Young, who at 25, still has time left to fulfill his potential on tour, had the best month of his career perhaps in February. Young raced to the semifinals in Memphis, knocking off Bernard Tomic en route, and then reached his second career ATP final, and his first in years, in Delray Beach, where he beat Tomic again and also Alexandr Dolgopolov in the process. Young didn’t put up any massive results, but his gradual improvements and consistency are admirable, and he has at least assured himself that he will not have to head back to the Challenger tour anytime soon.

Simone Bolelli, Fabio Fognini, and Gilles Simon score notable upsets in February

Italian veteran Simone Bolelli, who has been a quality performer at the ATP level this year, scored his first top-10 win this month. The talented shotmaker halted Milos Raonic in three sets in the second round of Marseille, fending off 21 aces. The win is perhaps more notable because Bolelli had lost to Raonic the previous week on the same surface in Rotterdam.

Compatriot Fabio Fognini found some form for the first time in many months, toppling top seed and king of clay Rafael Nadal to reach the final in Rio. Fognini was 0-4 against Nadal in previous meetings, but he recovered from a breadstick first set to win the final two frames 6-2 7-5. Fognini was slightly better on both return and break points, and that was the difference. The win was even more shocking given that Fognini was coming off a long late-night match where he tweaked his quad muscle.

Gilles Simon, who took the title in Marseille in what was a good month for him, was the other player besides Coric to upset Andy Murray. The defensively oriented French veteran reached the semifinals in Rotterdam as he crushed Murray 6-4 6-2. Even though Murray was out of sorts in the match, he’s still a top-10 player, and it’s the best win for Simon this season thus far. He shows no signs of declining at the present, even though he just hit 30.

David Ferrer notches third title of the season, improves to 18-1

The 2015 ATP season has thus far been a great one for veteran players, and Ferrer epitomizes that as he took two more titles in February to improve to 18-1 on the year with three ATP titles in total, which is more than any other player on tour presently.

Ferrer rolled through Rio with just one set dropped as he beat a host of second-tier clay-court players, culminating with a confident win over Fabio Fognini in that 500-level final. Ju Past a couple of days later, he switched to hard courts and continued his strong play both this year and historically in Latin America with five more wins and another ATP 500 title. In the Acapulco final, he also avenged his only loss of the season at present, taking out Kei Nishikori 6-3 7-5 after previously having lost to the Japanese No. 1 in Melbourne.

While Nishikori is one of only two top-10 opponents Ferrer has beaten this year, you can only beat whom you’re drawn to play, and with Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami coming up, the revitalized Ferrer will be able to put his current form up against the world’s best.

Match of the month: Rio QF, Fabio Fognini d. Federico Delbonis 6-4 6-7(10) 7-6(9)

This was an early candidate for match of the year, at least for a non-Grand Slam match. Fabio Fognini and Federico Delbonis put it all on the line on a Friday night in Rio in a topsy-turvy, emotionally and physically demanding battle. The first set saw Fognini get a needed break to take it, but then he inexplicably had another of his emotional effort lapses and went down 1-5 in set two to the Argentine. From there, however, Delbonis was the one who choked and failed to serve out the set twice. Somehow, Delbonis managed to force a third set, saving three match points in the second-set tiebreak with fearless play. The two men pushed it to the limit in the third set with fatigue-inducing rallies, and the real drama came in the final-set tiebreak. Fognini generated five more match points in set three that he couldn’t convert, or that Delbonis saved depending on how you look at it. After more than three hours, he finally won the match on his ninth match point. Both players gave it their all in a gladiators’ contest on the clay that is worth watching, or rewatching ,if you get the chance.