Melbourne, Australia, 17 September 2013 | tennis.com.au

John-Patrick Smith has continued his recent ascent up the ATP rankings ladder, this week jumping 40 places to world No.232.

The move comes following his progression to the semifinals of the Istanbul 2 Challenger in Turkey last week.

In just two weeks, the left-hander from Townsville has vaulted 72 places in the rankings, also helped by winning an ITF Futures event in Winnipeg, Canada in late August.

It meant that prior to his semifinal loss in Istanbul to Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko, Smith had built an eight-match winning streak.

He moves to within striking distance of his career-high ranking of No.210, set in July 2012.

> see where the Aussies stand in the latest ATP rankings