Janowicz Storms To Bergamo Title
Janowicz Storms To Bergamo 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
Morelos Open (Morelos, Mexico): Third seed and #NextGenATP star Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan won his first ATP Challenger Tour title with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Nicolas Jarry of Chile. At 19 years and eight months, he is the youngest Challenger winner so far this year. Bublik is the third #NextGenATP winner in 2017, joining Korean Hyeon Chung (Maui) and American Noah Rubin (Launceston). He has jumped nearly 70 spots since the start of the season to a career-high No. 137 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Jarry was also seeking his first Challenger title, reaching his first Challenger final since Quito in September 2014. His run in Morelos pushes him back inside the Top 250 and he’s closing in on the Top 200 after returning from breaking his right wrist.
Trofio Faip Perrel (Bergamo, Italy): Former World No. 14 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland continued his comeback from injury with a 6-4, 6-4 win over seventh seed and #NextGenATP star Quentin Halys of France. The win gives Janowicz his sixth ATP Challenger Tour title and first since prevailing in Genoa last September. The win over Halys also snapped the French title streak in Bergamo, following victories by Benoit Paire in 2015 and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in 2016.
The 20 year old Halys finishes with his first Challenger final of the year. He was seeking his second Challenger title, with the maiden crown coming last April in Tallahassee.
Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger (Kyoto, Japan): Local favourite Yasutaka Uchiyama delighted the home crowd with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over sixth seed Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia to win his first Challenger title. This is the second straight year a Japanese player has won on home soil in Kyoto, with Yuichi Sugita prevailing last year. The 24-year-old Uchiyama was competing in his first Challenger final since Lexington in July 2015.
Kavcic drops to 0-2 in Challenger finals this year after finishing runner-up last month in Bangkok.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Janowicz: “This is just one more good step for me because I’m already thinking of being back in the Top 15. Now I’m going to fight next week in Wroclaw. I hope I’m going to stay healthy and be back as fast as possible.”
“The organisation here is really good. I’d say this was one of the best tournament directors I’ve ever had. It was nice to be here and the crowd is always unbelievable in Italy!”
A LOOK AHEAD
There are two Challengers on the schedule this week, with the $100,000 event in Wroclaw, Poland, taking top billing as it returns for the 13th year. Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu is the top seed and Lukas Lacko of Slovakia is the second seed. Halys, the fourth seed, and Janowicz look to continue their form from Bergamo. Former Top 10 player Jurgen Melzer of Austria is also in the draw.
The $50,000 event in Yokohama, Japan, is back for the 12th year. Local favourite Sugita is the top seed and Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland is the second seed. Korean #NextGenATP star Duckhee Lee is the third seed, while Uchiyama and Kavcic aim for another successful week in Japan.
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