A LOOK BACK
Amex Istanbul Challenger (Istanbul, Turkey): Karen Khachanov rallied from a set deficit to upset top seed Sergiy Stakhovsky 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Sunday’s Istanbul final, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title. The 19-year-old Russian is the ninth teenage champion on the circuit this year. One of nine players under the age of 20 in the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, Khachanov vaults to a career-high World No. 164 with the win. Stakhovsky, meanwhile, falls to 8-8 in Challenger finals.
During the week, the tournament was honoured for 25 years on the ATP Challenger Tour. Read More
Pekao Szczecin Open (Szczecin, Poland): In last year’s Pekao Szczecin Open final, Jan-Lennard Struff came up short in his bid to claim his second ATP Challenger Tour title, falling to countryman Dustin Brown in straight sets. This year, the 25-year-old German would make no mistake in getting his hands on the trophy, downing qualifier Artem Smirnov 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday. Seventh seed Struff captured the title the hard way, rallying from a set down to defeat top seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals, before upsetting former World No. 9 Nicolas Almagro in three sets in the semis. Struff had lost his first eight finals on the circuit, but has since won two of three title matches. Smirnov is the third qualifier to reach the final in the 23-year tournament history, joining 1996 champion Jimy Szymansky and 2004 titlist Edgardo Massa.
Banja Luka Challenger (Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina): Dusan Lajovic had to wait a day to hoist the Banja Luka trophy after persistent rain washed out the final against 2012 champ Victor Hanescu. Postponed to Monday at 12:00 noon, Lajovic would prevail in a pair of tie-breaks, beating the Romanian 7-6(5), 7-6(5). The third-seeded Serb did not face a seeded opponent all week and did not drop a set in capturing his fourth title, joining Filip Krajinovic as Serbian titlists in 2015.
ATP Challenger China International (Nanchang, China): Peter Gojowczyk needed a mere 51 minutes to dispatch Amir Weintraub 6-2, 6-1 in the Nanchang final – the second-shortest final on the ATP Challenger Tour this year. Only the Guadalajara title match was shorter, when Rajeev Ram beat Jason Jung in 48 minutes. Fifth seed Gojowczyk claimed his fourth Challenger crown and first since November of last year when he hoisted the trophy in Bratislava. Gojowczyk joins Struff as German champs last week, bringing the nation’s total this year to four (Kamke, Zverev). Weintraub, meanwhile, took a significant step on the comeback trail, following a severe groin injury sustained in April 2014.
Morocco Tennis Tour – Kenitra (Kenitra, Morocco): Fourth seed Roberto Carballes Baena became the second Spaniard to win in Morocco in as many weeks, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on Saturday. One week after falling to Daniel Munoz-de la Nava in the Meknes final, Carballes Baena moved to 28-19 on the circuit this year in downing countryman Oriol Roca Batalla in exactly one hour. Roca Batalla retired trailing 6-1, 5-1 with an adductor injury. Meanwhile, Munoz-de la Nava became the first player to attain 40 match wins this year in reaching the quarter-finals.
Cary Tennis Championships (Cary, U.S.A.): American Dennis Novikov won the 14th all-countryman final on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, downing Ryan Harrison 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday at the inaugural Cary Tennis Championships. Novikov – the third first-time titlist last week – is the ninth different American to lift a trophy on the circuit in 2015. The 21 year old, who won the bronze medal at the Pan-Am Games earlier this year, was appearing in his first final.
What The Players Said
Struff: “Last week when I looked at the tournament draw and saw how strong the players would be in Szczecin, I did not believe I could win. It was hard. I had to play a lot of difficult matches, but in the end I succeeded and I’m very happy. Now I think what to do with the trophy for my victory. My girlfriend will probably find an appropriate place in the house to properly expose it. Or maybe I’ll just give it to my parents. We’ll see.”
Smirnov: “This was a great week, during which I achieved the greatest success in my life. This result allows me to make a very large jump in the ranking and it will be a great help in the coming months. For the rest of the year I have been planning to play in Challengers and the points won in Szczecin will allow me to skip qualifying and instead I’ll probably be in the main draws of these events.”
Novikov: “I’m very happy to get my first Challenger title, especially in the USA. Thanks to everyone for the support and to Cary for hosting a great event.”
WHAT’S AHEAD
For the second straight week, there are six tournaments on four continents. Tim Smyczek is the top seed at the inaugural Columbus Challenger, while Diego Schwartzman looks to go back-to-back in Campinas. Guilherme Clezar was the champ in 2013, while second seed Guido Pella hoisted the trophy in 2012. Only Argentines and Brazilians have reached the final in the four-year tournament history.
At the $125,000 event in Kaohsiung, seventh seed Luca Vanni returns to the scene of his first Challenger final a year ago. Jiri Vesely looks to kick off his Asian swing on the ATP World Tour with a deep run as the top seed. Hyeon Chung is seeded second, with Lukas Rosol third. In Izmir, three-time runner-up (2009-11) Marsel Ilhan returns as the top seed, while fourth seed Lukas Lacko claimed the title in 2011.
Dusan Lajovic leads the field in Sibiu, Romania, with 2012 titlist Adrian Ungur unseeded. Also in Europe, two former champions are in the draw in Trnava, Slovakia: third seed Inigo Cervantes (2011) and Jaroslav Pospisil (2010).
