Krstin Wins First Challenger Title In San Luis Potosi
Krstin Wins First Challenger Title In San Luis Potosi
Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come
A LOOK BACK
San Luis Open (San Luis Potosi, Mexico): The longest-running active challenger (since 1980) once again returned to San Luis Potosi. The championship match featured two unseeded players in Pedja Krstin and Marcelo Arevalo, but it was Krstin who continued his dominant form by prevailing, 6-4, 6-2. The Serbian player, who didn’t drop a set all week, was overjoyed at winning the first ATP Challenger Tour title of his career.
The week also concluded a remarkable turn in form for Krstin. After going 1-8 at the Challenger level since July, he recorded a 9-2 record over the past month in Mexico. Krstin also reached the finals of the Challenger event in Puebla.
Despite the loss, the week was a success for Arevalo. The 25-year-old became the first player from El Salvador to ever reach an ATP Challenger Tour final.
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Shenzhen Gemdale Challenger (Shenzhen, China): The ATP Challenger Tour returned to Shenzhen for the third consecutive year. No. 2 seed Dudi Sela didn’t drop a set throughout the week, defeating local favourite Di Wu in the championship match, 6-4, 6-3. The win gave Sela his 20th ATP Challenger Tour title.
Read: Sela Joins “20 Titles Club” In Shenzhen
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Krstin: “Arevalo played great. I feel wonderful because this is the first time I won a Challenger tournament this year. I feel excited because it was a hard game, but I really only played to win.”
Sela: “I am so happy to win my 20th Challenger title in Shenzhen. Winning a title here is very important. Because I didn’t play well after the Australian Open, the performance this week can boost my confidence for the rest of the year.”
“Even with all the success I’ve had in Challengers, my goal is still to win an ATP World Tour title. I’ve been a finalist two times and believe I can reach this goal one day.”
“I found my best level once the weather turned sunny. The best thing that happened to me during these three weeks in China is that I learned how to use chopsticks!”
A LOOK AHEAD
There are three tournaments on the calendar this week, with the $125,000 event in Raanana (Israel) taking top billing. The top four seeds are ranked inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with world No. 82 Evgeny Donskoy appearing as the No. 1 seed. Local favourite and last week’s winner in Guangzhou, Dudi Sela, is the No. 2 seed.
The long-standing $75,000 Challenger in Leon (Mexico) returns for the 14th consecutive year and also features four players ranked inside the Top 100. Popular Aussie and 2014 finalist Sam Groth is the No. 1 seed, while #NextGen star Taylor Fritz appears as the No. 2 seed. Malek Jaziri, who prevailed earlier this month at the Challenger in Guadalajara, is the No. 3 seed, while defending champion Austin Krajicek returns as the No. 5 seed. Fittingly, last year’s championship between match between Krajicek and Adrian Menendez-Maceiras will be repeated as a first-round encounter this year.
The highly popular $50,000 event in St. Brieuc (France) also returns for the 13th straight year. Jan-Lennard Struff is the No. 1 seed, while Daniel Evans looks to build on his Challenger title earlier this month in Rimouski as the No. 2 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former Top 50 player Grega Zemlja and 2011 champion Maxime Teixeira.
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