Monteiro Wins First Challenger Title In Aix-en-Provence

  • Posted: May 09, 2016

Monteiro Wins First Challenger Title In Aix-en-Provence

May082016

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

Open du Pays d’Aix (Aix-en-Provence, France): In a battle between unseeded players, Thiago Monteiro won his first ATP Challenger Tour title by prevailing in the final over Carlos Berlocq, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. He now rises to a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 142 , having started the year at No. 463. Berlocq was looking to win his 17th ATP Challenger Tour singles title, which would have tied him for third on the all-time titles list with Paolo Lorenzi and Go Soeda.

Busan Open Challenger (Busan, Korea): Konstantin Kravchuk won his first ATP Challenger Tour singles title in seven years with his win on Sunday over Daniel Evans, 6-4 6-4. The 31-year-old Russian was able to get revenge from Evans’ victory over him in last week’s ATP Challenger Tour final in Taipei. Kravchuk, who broke a six-match losing streak in Challenger finals, will also move up to a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 102 when next week’s standings are released. 

Despite the loss, Evans continues to be in top form this year. The Brit has compiled a 16-2 record on the ATP Challenger Tour since March.

Karshi Challenger (Karshi, Uzbekistan): In one of the biggest upsets this year on the ATP Challenger Tour, World No. 251 Marko Tepavac won his first Challenger title by shocking No. 1 seed and World No. 74 Dudi Sela, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). The 24-year-old from Serbia had won only one main draw match on the ATP Challenger Tour prior to this week. He also became the first player to beat the top two seeds on his path to winning the title since Pedro Cachin did the same last September in Seville, Spain.

Sela was bidding for his 21st ATP Challenger Tour singles title. He won his 20th title last March in Shenzhen, China.

Roma Garden Open (Rome, Italy): No. 2 seed Kyle Edmund continued his dominant form in 2016 by winning his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year, convincingly beating No. 5 seed Filip Krajinovic in the championship match, 7-6(2), 6-0. He’s now won five Challenger titles on four different continents and ties Hyeon Chung for the most titles among #NextGen players. Edmund previously prevailed on clay last November at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Kravchuk: “It’s an amazing feeling! This title means that hard work and faith allow you to achieve goals you put your mind to. It makes you stronger and proud for what you do. My goal before this trip was to get into the Wimbledon main draw directly and Seoul is the last opportunity to do that. I think I need two more match wins. I will fight for that.”

A LOOK AHEAD

There are four tournaments on the calendar this week, with the $100,000 tournament in Bordeaux, France, taking top billing. This Challenger returns for the ninth straight year and features several prominent champions including Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils. All eight seeds this year are ranked inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with world No. 62 Diego Schwartzman taking top honors as the No. 1 seed and World No. 72 Lukas Rosol coming in as the No. 2 seed.

Other notable names in the draw include No. 6 seed Jordan Thompson, a winner of two ATP Challenger Tour singles titles this year. #NextGen stars Elias Ymer, Jared Donaldson and Quentin Halys, all of whom have won Challenger titles within the last two weeks, are also in the draw. Last week’s winner in Aix-en-Provence, Thiago Monteiro, faces No. 3 seed Adrian Mannarino in the first round.

The $100,000 challenger in Seoul, Korea, is also back for the 16th year.  Three players ranked inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw, with World No. 67 John Millman taking top seed status. Other notable names in the draw include last week’s winner and finalist in Busan, Konstantin Kravchuk and Daniel Evans, with the latter coming as the No. 4 seed. Also returning is Yen-Hsun Lu, this year’s No. 5 seed and a three-time champion in Seoul, while 2009 winner Lukas Lacko is the No. 8 seed.

The illustrious $75,000 event in Heilbronn, Germany, returns for the 29th consecutive year and features a prominent list of past champions that include Robin Soderling and Magnus Larsson. World No. 55 Ricardas Berankis, a winner of two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, is the No. 1 seed, while World No. 91 Horacio Zeballos is the No. 2 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, former world No. 22 Albert Montanes, and #NextGen stars Andrey Rublev, Frances Tiafoe and Yoshihito Nishioka, with the latter coming in as the No. 5 seed .

Lastly, the $50,000 event in Samarkand, Uzbekistan holds its 20th edition this year. #NextGen star Karen Khachanov is the No. 1 seed, while Radu Albot is the No. 2 seed. Other notable names in the draw including local favourite and 2014 champion Farrukh Dustov, as well as last week’s winner in Karshi, Marko Tepavac.

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

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