ATP Challenger Roundup- 2/11

Cherbourg- ATP 80

Ugo Humbert continues his rapid rise with Challenger title #4.

Ugo Humbert took home title #1 of the year, and #4 on his career, defeating Steve Darcis on Sunday, 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3. This was the longest final on the year, at 2 hours and 23 minutes, and Humbert was just too good over the long period of time with Darcis still showing signs of rustiness from his comeback. However this was a great showing from both players this week, one they can both be proud of.

Humbert rises to a career high 75, while Darcis continues his rise, back to 288 in the world.

Bangkok- ATP 80

Henri Laaksonen brings the Swiss contingent a first Challenger title since 2016.

Henri Laaksonen romped over Dudi Sela, 6-4, 6-2 in 77 minutes to bring home his first Challenger title since 2016, coincidentally that one being the last Swiss title as well.

Laaksonen heads to 121 in the world, while Sela moves to 195.

Rotterdam, Buenos Aires, New York Review

Gael Monfils captures his first title in over a year.

Rotterdam- ATP 500

Gael Monfils defeated Stan Wawrinka in a tight three set clash to capture his first ATP title since Doha, in January of 2018. Monfils fought through a loaded field at Rotterdam Ahoy, defeating seeded David Goffin and Daniil Medvedev to make the clash with the “Stanimal”.

Monfils and Wawrinka train together constantly, so there were no surprises thrown, especially during the first set. However, Monfils captured an early break at 1-1* off a Wawrinka backhand dumped into the net, and pushed his way to a one set lead. However, it was not over at all, with Wawrinka pushing deep into the court on every shot, and taking advantage of Monfils’ physical ailments to grab two breaks and a 6-1 second set. Monfils seemed to overcome these problems during Set 3. He got a break at 1-1, and continually put extra balls back in play to hold serve at 4-2, and soon after, was able to celebrate in the footsteps of idol Arthur Ashe, the 1975 and 76 Rotterdam champion.

Monfils rises back to 23rd in the world, while Wawrinka continues his brilliant comeback by jumping 27 spots to 41.

Marco Cecchinato continues his meteoric rise with his 3rd ATP title.

It was all Marco Cecchinato on Sunday in the Argentinian capital, where he handily routed home favorite Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2 in a tidy 65 minutes.

The Italian was firing on all cylinders, taking a break at 1-1 in the first and not dropping another from there until starting the second. However it was much of the same in the second set, with Schwartzman trying and failing to find a rhythm against the much fresher Cecchinato. Quickly from 2-1 in the second, it was all over, going 6-2 to Cecchinato in the second set.

Cecchinato rises one spot to 17 in the world, while Schwartzman holds pat at 19.

Reilly Opelka blasts his way to ATP title #1.

Reilly Opelka served his way to his first ATP title this week in New York, defeating UNC Tar Heel alum and Canadian Brayden Schnur 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(7). The 6’11 Opelka fired off 43 aces in the championship match to push his total on the week to 156, an astonishing number for anyone, even him.

Opelka went to work early on, grabbing two breaks to quickly chalk up the first set in his favor, 6-1. However, no breaks would be found in the second, so the two battled it out in a tiebreak. Schnur was able to fend off the first championship point faced with a crisp forehand volley, while he got a little help in the form of a double fault from Opelka at 7-6 in the breaker. The American followed that up with a backhand error, and a point later, Schnur had evened it up at one set a piece.

The third set played out very similarly to the previous one, as Schnur had a serve at 7-7 called out on a challenge from Opelka, then proceeded to double fault. From there, the cannon-serving Opelka hit ace #43 to clinch an unforgettable week in New York.

Reilly Opelka will move up to a career high 56 in the world, while Schnur also hits a career high 107.

Sofia, Cordoba Review

Daniil Medvedev with his fourth tour-level trophy of the past 12 months.

Sofia- ATP 250

Daniil Medvedev continued his hot run over the past year with his fourth ATP title, and first of the year, in Sofia, defeating Marton Fuscovics 6-4, 6-3 in a dominant performance. The third seeded Russian only dropped one set all week, which came in his opening match to the ever-plucky Dutchman Robin Haase.

In the final, the two traded service holds until Medvedev took hold at 4-4*, sending high-arcing forehands and changing lots of pace up to force the break, then serve out the first set. He kept up the momentum from there, passing for the break at 1-1* in the second, then saving two break points against him to fully turn on the momentum that led him to finishing out the match.

Medvedev will sit tight in 16th position in the ATP rankings, while Fuscovics rises 9 spots to 38th in the world, just shy of his career high of 35.

Juan Ignacio Londero celebrates the biggest win of his career in Cordoba.

Cordoba- ATP 250

Juan Ignacio Londero had never won a tour level match prior this week. He now owns a tour-level record of 5-3, and a nice ATP title to go with it, after defeating Guido Pella 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. After beating Federico Delbonis 6-1, 6-0 in his semifinal, there was none of that easiness to his match on Sunday.

Pella broke early and commanded the first set with his penetrating groundstrokes and wicked serves, and seemed destined to take his maiden title. However, Londero was able to stay in it and strike back at 5*-6 in the second, hitting a wicked forehand to force Pella into an error and the set. From there, Pella looked lethargic and discombobulated, and Londero took control, winning the final 5 games to cap off a dream run for him.

Londero will go to a career high 69th in the world, his first appearance of any kind inside the top 100. Pella will reenter the Top 50 at 50th, after jumping 9 spots with his finalist appearance.

Tsonga gets back in the winner’s circle in Montpelier.

Montpelier- ATP 250

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued his encouraging run back from injury by storming through the field in Montpelier to his 17th ATP title in his career, defeating Pierre Hugues-Herbert 6-4, 6-2 in Herbert’s third ATP final.

The two Frenchmen traded holds for the majority of the first set, until Herbert was faced with a break point at 4-4* in the set. He put that one away with a smooth serve and volley, but wasn’t able to save the next one, and Tsonga cruised away with the first. Tsonga also cruised with the second, taking two breaks early en route to the win.

Tsonga jumps an astounding 70 positions to 140 in the world, while Herbert reaches a career high of 36, moving up 8 spots.

ITF WTT Review- Week of January 28

M25 Weston, Florida

Midtown Weston Futures Champion Dmitry Popko

(1) Dmitry Popko (KAZ) d. Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) 6-2, 6-3

M15 Sharm el Sheikh

(3) Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (EGY) d. Peter Kobelt (USA) 6-1, 7-6(2)

Maamoun’s second title in two weeks, the Egyptian is now 63rd in the Transition tour rankings!

M15 Antalya

(2) Ergi Kirkin (TUR) d. (1) Kirill Kivattsev (RUS) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

M15 Monastir

(3) Corentin Denolly (FRA) d. Skander Mansouri (TUN) 7-6(10), 3-6, 7-5

M15 Palmanova

(2) Oriol Roca Batalla (ESP) d. (3) Hernan Casanova (ARG) 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-1

ATP Challenger Review- Week of January 28

(Q) Maxime Cressy wins his first Challenger level title in Cleveland.

Cleveland 90-

(Q) Maxime Cressy (USA) d. Mikael Torpegaard (DEN) 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3

The first qualifier champion on the new Challenger Tour, UCLA senior Cressy won 7 matches in 7 days to claim his maiden Challenger title against former Ohio State standout Mikael Torpegaard. Bombing in 22 serves, the tall American born in France took advantage of many seeds in his half of the draw falling early to run to a semifinal clash with Marcos Giron, which was a tight three setter as well as his final. Cressy rises over 200 spots to a career high 313 in the world, which will help him make many main draw Challengers in the year to come.

Lloyd Harris after winning in Launceston, Tasmania.

Launceston 80-

(1) Lloyd Harris (RSA) d. (12) Lorenzo Giustino (ITA) 6-2, 6-2

Lloyd Harris was an elephant breaking free of his cage this week, absolutely romping to a first title of the year and a spot right at 100 in the world for the first time in his career. Harris did not drop a set all week against tough competition, such as youngster Nicola Kuhn and Israeli stalwart Dudi Sela, setting himself up against the Italian Giustino in the final. It was more of the same for Harris, taking four breaks from the Italian and saving all 5 break points faced for his first crown of the year.

Barrere with his trophy, his first of the calendar year.

Quimper 80-

(15) Gregoire Barrere (FRA) d. Dan Evans (GBR) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Three champions, three career high rankings; Barrere battled his way through a very tough field to avenge his French countrymen by defeating Evans in the final Sunday. Barrere, who had to defeat top seed Hubert Hurkacz, countryman Calvin Hemery, and one time Jack Sock vanquisher Jurgen Zopp to move to his third challenger final in the past 12 months, where Dan Evans stood in his way. Evans, who beat 4 Frenchmen through the week, including rising star Ugo Humbert gave Barrere a fight through the first set, firing Federer-like backhands around the court until Barrere took control in sets 2 and 3.

Next Week-

The American swing continues in Dallas, Texas, while tournaments return to Budapest and Chennai, all on hard courts.

Australian Open Takeaways

Thank you to special guest Vibhav Nandagiri for writing this!

Nadal is back, Djokovic is dominant, Federer had a lapse, and Tsitsipas is on a dramatic upswing. The major stories of the Australian Open have received plenty of coverage, however these are the five stories that may be a bit under the radar.

The danger of an in-form Raonic 

In an Australian Open filled with remarkable stories of resurgence, one particular story didn’t get as much coverage as it deserved. The story centered around Canadian big man and former World Number 3 Milos Raonic. Over the past fortnight, Raonic vanquished big names including Kyrgios, Wawrinka, and Zverev en route to a quarterfinals appearance at the Australian Open. This tremendous run of form harkened a lot of us back to his remarkable 2016 where we saw him take the title in Brisbane and make the finals of Indian Wells, Queen’s Club, and Wimbledon, along with semifinal appearances at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, and the Paris Masters. Raonic was a dominant force on the tour, making his first appearance at the Year-End Finals, and progressing to the semi-finals there as well. Though not the best mover on tour, Raonic silenced critics time and time again over the past two weeks with his deadly accurate serving and superb court vision. He also showcased his mental fortitude, as each of his first four matches had one tiebreak set at least. With these factors in mind, could we see Raonic make a push back into the Top 10 and perhaps the Top 5 this year? We’ll just have to wait and see. 

Bautista Agut poised for 2019 breakthrough? 

A stalwart of the ATP Tour, Roberto Bautista Agut has been to the cusp of the Top 10 and has fallen short time and time again. Could this be his year? The signs so far are pointing in the right direction. A title in Doha – with an added bonus of a victory over eventual Australian Open Novak Djokovic – and a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open; Bautista Agut is looking more and more like Top 10 material. The grinding Spaniard showed us his ability to sustain his level on the biggest stage through defeating big names such as Murray, Karen Khachanov, and Marin Cilic en route to his quarterfinals appearance. Adding onto the impressive showing was the fact that three of his four victories were five-setters. Bautista Agut certainly has the fire, the stamina, and the game to take 2019 by storm. 

Impressive performances from Medvedev and Coric back up Form from Last Year 

Behind the glitz and appeal of the runs of Tiafoe and Tsitsipas in Melbourne, two other young stars – and two players who had tremendous 2018s – followed up their performances last year with a stellar start to 2019. Russian Daniil Medvedev and Borna Coric – both 22 – made the round of 16 this past week, solidifying their place as forces in the Top 20. Medvedev, titlist at Sydney, Winston Salem, and Tokyo last year, racked up solid victories against Ryan Harrison and David Goffin, before putting up a stern challenge to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. Medvedev was one of two players to push Djokovic beyond three sets in the entire Australian Open, announcing yet again that he is a serious tour contender. Coric, playing in his first tournament of the year, built off of last year’s successes (winning the title in Halle and making the finals of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai) and won his first three rounds in merely 10 sets. Momentum is the name of the game for these young guys, and right now, they have plenty.  

Passing of the torch for Americans? 

The past decade of American men’s tennis has been, for a lack of better words, lackluster. The years of Agassi, Sampras, Lendl, Courier, and Chang provided the following generation of Americans with a tough act to follow. Combine the pressure with the fact that the past decade and change have been dominated by four non-American men, and the most recent/current generation of American men were given a tall order. To give some context, the last American man to win a Grand Slam was Andy Roddick back at the 2003 US Open. That leaves a whole generation of Americans, including John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, Steve Johnson, and Jack Sock – each men who have had successful careers – but will most never be considered amongst their American predecessors as amongst the greatest of all time. These past few weeks, however, we saw a glimmer of hope; not from this generation of Americans, but the future generation. I’m talking about Taylor Fritz making the third round and breaking into the Top 40, Tiafoe’s formidable run to the quarters beating giants like Anderson and Dimitrov, and perhaps most symbolic: Reilly Opelka, new member of the Top 100, beating fellow American and idol John Isner in the first round. Could we be witnessing a changing of the guard for American men’s tennis? Is it finally time “the American future” takes its rightful spot at the top of the men’s tennis game, relieving American tennis fans from the torture of the past fifteen years? The prospect is exciting, but the last thing fans of American tennis should do is get ahead of themselves.  

Kyle Edmund adds to disappointing start to 2019 

It’s been quite the emotional start to the year for fans of British tennis. From the near triumph of first-time tour finalist Cameron Norrie in Auckland to a rather unexpected potential retirement announcement from Andy Murray, it’s been a roller coaster start to the year for players from the United Kingdom. Slipping through the cracks of these headlines was a player who British tennis fans were reveling in no less than 12 months prior: Kyle Edmund. The big-hitting 24-year old made a name for himself last year with a run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, following it up later in the year with his first title at the 250 in Antwerp. However, he is 0-2 to start out 2019, with two opening-round losses in Brisbane and the Australian Open respectively. The latter hurt him in particular, losing him all of the semifinal points gained from last year, and dropping him fifteen spots to 29th in the world. This poor start isn’t entirely a result of Edmund’s play; injuries and draws have played a role in the Brit’s start to 2019. Left knee concerns coupled with a very unfortunate first round encounter with Tomas Berdych in Melbourne added onto Edmund’s tall task to perform early in the year. Though the year is still young, only time can tell whether things will look up for Edmund in 2019. 

Check back soon for Challenger Roundups and Davis Cup qualifiers review!

ITF WTT Review- Week of Jan. 21

Tournament Winners-

M25 Nussloch-

Botic Van De Zandschlup (NED) d. Peter Heller (GER) 6-2, 6-2

M25 Kazan-

Sanjar Fayziev (UZB) d. (2) Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-3, 7-5

M25 Palm Coast-

Nicolas Alvarez (PER) d. (3) Sekou Bangoura (USA) 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4

M15 Sharm El Sheikh-

(4) Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (EGY) d. Pablo Vivero Gonzalez (ESP), 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4

M15 Veigy Foncenex-

(3) Christopher Heyman (BEL) d. Maxime Tchoutakian (FRA), 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-0

M15 Palmanova-

Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) d. (5) Sando Ehrat (SUI), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3

M15 Monastir–

Skander Mansouri (TUN) d. Gilber Soares Klier Junior (BRA), 7-5 6-1

M15 Antalya-

No Winner, rained for much of the week.

Australian Open Juniors Review

Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) with Ivan Lendl and his junior AO trophy.

Lorenzo Musetti did as a top seed was supposed to do, and took home the AO junior crown on Sunday, defeating American Emilio Nava in the final. The Italian cruised through his half of the draw, not dropping a set in the face of talented opponents including Liam Draxl and Nicolas Alvarez Varona. For Nava however, he had to fight hard to make it to the final on RLA. Titanic three setters with Bu Yuanchaokete, the second seed, Jiri Lehecka, Traralgon champion, and Filip Jianu, the Romanian junior #1 left him drained of energy but not drained in stamina and courage.

Musetti’s deft touch on his backhand was on display early, spinning drop shots and flicking passing shots past Nava at the net. However, at 3-3, a lapse in concentration gave Nava a chance to break, which he eagerly took and held well to grab the first set. Musetti upped his level in the second set, however, and dug out of a 0-40 hole at 2-2, grabbed two breaks, and trotted to a 6-2 win in the second set. However, the ultimate set narrowed down to a 10 point tiebreak, which was hotly contested up until the end. At 13-12, Nava hit a good serve to set up a potential winner, but he shanked the forehand long to hand Musetti his first Junior Grand Slam title of his career.

Next Up- The Junior circuit gets on the clay, and heads to Brazil for a G1 warm up in Criciuma, and then the Porte Alegre Junior Masters.

ATP Challenger Review- Week of January 21

Taylor Fritz celebrates his second Newport Beach Challenger title with son Jordan.

Taylor Fritz (USA) continued his hot start to the 2019 season by capturing the Newport Beach Challenger title for the second year in a row, defeating Brayden Schnur (CAN) 7-6(7) 6-4 to win. Taylor said in his interview with Josh Meiseles from the ATP that his key to winning was “My serve. My serve got me through a lot of tough situations and it closed out the match for me. I knew it was going to be a close match, because he doesn’t have much to lose playing me. I expected him to come out swinging. I just tried to neutralise his serve as much as possible with deep returns. I told myself that it doesn’t really matter how well he serves, as long as I don’t get broken. In the second set, I was able to steal a break and hold my serve through the rest of the match.”

Taylor will move to a new career high of 40 in the world with the points from his third round appearance at the Australian Open, and from this title defense. Schnur will move to his career high as well, jumping 32 spots up to 164 in the world.

Other Challengers-

Berankis celebrates his 11th Challenger title of his career in Rennes.

Rennes, France- Ricardas Berankis captured his first title of the year with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Frenchman Antoine Hoang. Even though Hoang was able to make 73% of first serves, Berankis ripped him apart in his return games, converting 4/7 break points to cruise to the win. This win takes him to 104 in the world, coveting a return into the top 100 soon.

Burnie, Australia- Canadian Steven Diez took home his maiden ATP Challenger title at the third try in his career, defeating Aussie home favorite Maverick Banes 7-5, 6-1. Diez, who was able to enter the tournament due to his ITF ranking, which is 32nd in the world, will move up over 100 spots to 307 in the ATP. The Aussie swing continues this week in Launceston, Tasmania.

Punta del Este champion Thiago Monteiro.

Punta del Este, Uruguay- Thiago Monteiro was able to overcome a determined Facundo Arguello 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to capture his second Challenger title, and first since Aix-en-Provence in 2016. It was a very strong week from the Brazilian, navigating tough competition such as Gianluigi Quinzi and Gonzalo Lama, without dropping a set until Sunday’s final. However, Arguello came out punching in the first, with Thiago able to reel the match back to his control for the second and third sets. He will rise up to 107 in the world, the second winner this week to near the Top 100 once again.

Next Week- Challengers continue in Cleveland, USA, Quimper, France, and Launceston, Australia.

ATP Challenger Midweek Update- January 21

With four tournaments on the Challenger slate this week, including the first ATP 125 of the season, we take an inside look of how the week has shaped up in each tournament.

Burnie (80)Q

(16) Jay Clarke (GBR) vs. (10) Stefano Napolitano (ITA)

(WC) Harry Bourchier (AUS) vs. Steven Diez (CAN)

(5) Kamil Majchrzak vs. Sebastian Fanselow (GER)

(9) Stephane Robert vs. Maverick Banes (AUS)

Reactions-

  • Lots of upsets, including Clarke demolishing Basic in R3. This is a good chance for someone to get going on the warm weather swing on hard courts here.
  • Tasmanian native Harry Bourchier makes a QF! He definitely has a winnable match here, we will see what he can do.

Newport Beach (125)

(1) Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. (7) Miomir Kecmanovic (SER)

Enzo Couacaud (FRA) vs. (12) Darian King (BAR)

(6) Jason Jung (TPE) vs. (16) Brayden Schnur (CAN)

Donald Young (USA) vs. Colin Altamirano (USA)

Reactions-

  • Taylor Fritz has gotten off to a good start here, especially after saving match points against Giron (R2). Tough test against the Serb next.
  • Unseeded bottom quarter, with Young winning against Rubin and Altamirano winning against Lloyd Harris. Looks like someone can jumpstart their season here.

Punta del Este (80)

Emilio Gomez (ECU) vs. (10) Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)

(4) Thiago Monteiro (BRA) vs. (7) Gianluigi Quinzi (ITA)

(6) Facundo Bagnis (ARG) vs. (3) Hugo Dellien (BOL)

(11) Facundo Arguello (ARG) vs. (2) Juan Ignacio Londero (ARG)

Reactions-

  • Lots of Argentinians have played well so far, adding three quarterfinalists to the mix. However, top seed Guido Andreozzi was dumped out by Gomez last round.
  • Lots of seeds advance, not just due to good performances by them, but also by a lackluster group of unseeded players. Not enough talent here yet.

Rennes (90)

(14) Antoine Hoang (FRA) vs. (6) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)

(15) Corentin Moutet (FRA) vs. (8) Quentin Halys (FRA)

(5) Elias Ymer (SWE) vs. (4) Ricardas Berankis (LTU)

(7) Yannick Maden (GER) vs. (2) Benoit Paire (FRA)

Reactions-

  • Paire, even with his lack of effort and lots of interesting stunts on the court, has still made the quarters, where he faces German Yannick Maden.
  • Young guns Ymer and Moutet have put together good runs, where they could continue on.

Check back on Sunday for full final reviews of each tournament, and for all the latest tennis news and updates!