Best Of: From Challengers to Slam breakthroughs in 2024

  • Posted: Dec 11, 2024

The ATP Challenger Tour prides itself in being a launching pad for young players aiming to compete at the highest levels of the sport. This season, a handful of players went from the ATP Challenger Tour to making memorable breakthroughs at Grand Slam events. ATPTour.com highlights five players who exemplified that journey in 2024.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
The Frenchman won three Challenger titles in the first four months of the year and quickly became one of the ATP Tour’s breakout players this season. At Wimbledon, the 6’8” Mpetshi Perricard crushed 51 aces in the first round, upsetting 20th seed Sebastian Korda in five sets. The dramatic victory doubled as Mpetshi Perricard’s first major main-draw win.

As a lucky loser at the grass-court major, Mpetshi Perricard reached the fourth round. The 21-year-old also won two tour-level titles this season, lifting the trophy in his home city Lyon and at the ATP 500 event in Basel. Mpetshi Perricard is the first player since 2014 to win multiple ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour titles in a season.

“When he was winning those Challengers in Mexico, he was like [World No.] 140 and I was thinking, ‘This guy is going to be the best French player,’” said prominent coach and analyst Brad Gilbert.

<img alt=”Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard triumphs at the Acapulco Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/04/22/03/26/mpetshi-perricard-acapulcoch-2024.jpg” />
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard triumphs at the Acapulco Challenger in April. Credit: Jorge Reyes

Nuno Borges
The 27-year-old’s Slam season was bookended by fourth-round runs, at the Australian Open and the US Open. Now at World No. 36 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Borges added his name to the Portuguese record books, becoming just the second player — man or woman — from his country to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament (Joao Sousa, two times). Borges earned the highest-ranked win of his career in Melbourne when he defeated then-World No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov to reach the last 16.

“It’s a dream come true just being in these tournaments and belonging, feeling like I belong in these tournaments and competing with the best,” Borges said in Melbourne.

Borges successfully defended his title at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Phoenix, where he downed Matteo Berrettini in the final. Borges won his maiden tour-level title in July in Bastad.

Arthur Cazaux
Cazaux started the year on a red-hot run. In week one, the 22-year-old was crowned champion at the Noumea Challenger and he did not slow down. The Frenchman extended his match-winning streak to eight (across all levels) by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open.

A wild card in Melbourne, Cazaux stunned eighth seed Holger Rune in the second round. Cazaux powered 51 winners, showcasing clean baseline hitting and electric athleticism throughout the clash Down Under.

“It’s a show. Tennis is a show. I gave all I have in me, and I hope you enjoyed the show,” Cazaux said to the crowd after the milestone victory. Cazaux finished the season at a career-high No. 63 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Mariano Navone
Navone made Slam history this season. The 23-year-old became the first player in the Open Era to be seeded in his first major main draw, Roland Garros.

In the first half of the season, few players were in better form than Navone. The Argentine won his biggest career title at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Cagliari, where he cruised past home hope Lorenzo Musetti in the final. Navone also made his first tour-level final at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and repeated that result in Bucharest.

Navone’s success was enough to earn him the 31st seed at the Paris major, marking a historic first Slam showing. Navone, who in 2023 collected a season-leading five Challenger titles, rose to a career-high No. 29 following Roland Garros.

Francisco Comesana
While Navone earned the most Challenger titles last season, his countryman Comesana tallied a season-leading 45 match wins at that level in 2023. The 24-year-old also built off that success to mark a career-best season this year.

Comesana flourished on all three surfaces. He won the clay-court Oeiras Challenger in April to make his Top 100 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings. At Wimbledon, Comesana upset sixth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round. Comesana eventually reached the Round of 32 and matched that feat at the US Open. Comesana fell to eventual finalist Taylor Fritz at Flushing Meadows.

In Comesana’s first appearance following the US Open, he triumphed on home soil at the Buenos Aires Challenger. Comesana lifted his third Challenger title of the year in November, when he won in Sao Paulo. That triumph propelled Comesana to a career-high No. 84.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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