Next Gen ATP Star Chung Storms To Maui Title
Next Gen ATP Star Chung Storms To Maui Title
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
Sportsmaster Tennis Championship of Maui (Maui, Hawaii): Second seed and #NextGenATP star Hyeon Chung continued his recent ATP Challenger Tour dominance by picking up another title, rolling through fourth seed Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6(3), 6-1 in the championship match. The 20-year-old didn’t lose a set throughout the week and dropped an average of less than five games per match.
Chung now has eight Challenger titles and the win in Maui is his second on U.S. soil. He has now won at least one Challenger title for four straight years. He returns to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings this week, sitting at No. 73. Chung also puts himself into contention to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
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Open De Rennes (Rennes, France): Lucky Loser Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus completed a dream week with his second chance, defeating #NextGenATP star Andrey Rublev of Russia in the championship match, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(5). Ignatik won five straight matches after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final round of qualifying, becoming the first Lucky Loser winner on the ATP Challenger Tour since October, when Norbert Gombos won in Brest, France.
The Belarusian picked up his fourth career ATP Challenger Tour title and first in more than four years. He fired 27 aces in the final, the most in a Challenger final since Reilly Opelka hit 28 on his way to prevailing in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past November.
Despite the loss, 19-year-old Rublev has gone 8-2 in his two most recent Challenger events, having also finished runner-up this past November in Mouilleron Le Captif, France.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Ignatik: “Andrey has a really big future. Of course I’m happy that I won this week. That was unexpected after losing in qualies. Thanks also to the organisers and sponsors. This was one of the best tournaments I’ve played.
“I tried to play more focused in the second set and I was a little bit lucky in the third set. I feel good! I’m tired emotionally and it’s not easy to recover, but I’ll try to be ready for next week.”
Rublev: “Congratulations to Uladzimir. He had such a great week and match today. Thanks to the organisers and the public for supporting me all week long.”
“This result isn’t bad, but you always want more. I was surprised with the way I played a few points.”
Chung: “I am really happy to win my eighth ATP Challenger title this week in Maui. It is a beautiful place and I really enjoyed my time here.”
“It was a tough match and I struggled with the wind at the beginning but I was able to settle in half way through the first set. Taro is a tough opponent and I had to fight hard for every point.”
A LOOK AHEAD
There are three Challenger events on the calendar this week, with the $125,000 event in Dallas, Texas, taking top billing as it returns for the 19th year. Americans hold the top two spots, with Texas native Ryan Harrison as the top seed and #NextGenATP star Taylor Fritz as the second seed. Other #NextGenATP stars in the draw include fourth seed Frances Tiafoe of the U.S., Opelka and Elias Ymer of Sweden.
The $75,000 tournament in Burnie, Australia, is back for the 14th year. Go Soeda of Japan is the top seed and Jason Jung of Taipei is the second seed. Two #NextGen ATP stars are in the draw, sixth seed Noah Rubin of Russia and seventh seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.
Lastly, the $50,000 event in Quimper, France, returns for the seventh year. Two local favourites take the two top spot, with Adrian Mannarino as the top seed and Jeremy Chardy as the second seed. Seventh seed Rublev is the defending champion, while #NextGenATP star and local favourite Quentin Halys looks for his first title of 2017. Other notable names in the draw include former Top 10 player Jurgen Melzer and former Top 15 player Jerzy Janowicz.
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