Fonseca, Fearnley among five Challenger player storylines from 2024
To mark the end of the 2024 season, ATPTour.com highlights five player storylines from the ATP Challenger Tour season.
Fonseca’s Fast Rise Flourishes In Lexington
Joao Fonseca, 2023 US Open boys’ singles champion, lifted his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Lexington, Kentucky at age 17. Fittingly, the #NextGenATP star’s triumph came on the five-year anniversary of Jannik Sinner’s title run at the same event. Fonseca was just one day younger than Sinner was when the Italian won the hard-court tournament.
Fonseca did not drop a set all week en route to becoming the youngest Brazilian Challenger champion. The former junior No. 1 is the seventh-youngest player from South America to claim a Challenger title and second youngest from the continent to win a hard-court tournament at that level.
“In the ceremony, they gave me the trophy and announced, ‘Lexington is the first Challenger to have three 17-year-old champions.’ He said, ‘Shang Juncheng, Jannik Sinner,’” Fonseca said. “That’s really nice.”
Fearnley Flies Through Challenger Tour
The Briton Jacob Fearnley secured one of the greatest campaigns in Challenger history this season. Coming into the year, Fearnley had played just one Challenger match in his career. The 23-year-old graduated from Texas Christian University as a four-time ITA All-American and made rapid progress starting in June, when he was No. 525 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Fearnley advanced through qualifying at the Nottingham Challenger and went all the way to the title. He rarely looked back, tallying a 27-3 season record at that level. Fearnley won four titles and became just the third player to finish a season with a win percentage of 90 per cent or greater (min. 25 matches played). Guillermo Canas and Carlos Berlocq both registered 28-3 (90.3 per cent) campaigns in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
“It’s been an amazing last year. I won my first couple Futures titles, I won a national championship with TCU with my teammates. Since then I’ve played on Centre Court at Wimbledon against Novak Djokovic, won four Challenger titles,” said Fearnley, who went on a 17-match winning streak at the Challenger level from August through October. “It’s been a pretty successful 12 months for me and a 12 months that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’m super grateful to have the opportunity to play at this level and get to the ranking I’m at now.”
A dream come true for Jacob Fearnley 💫#ATPChallenger | @the_LTA | @jakefearnley01 pic.twitter.com/8ALxMaYNqE
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 16, 2024
Nagal Notches His Place In Indian Tennis History
Just two seasons ago, Sumit Nagal was returning to pro tennis following hip surgery. Outside the Top 500 of the PIF ATP Rankings, even falling to No. 638 in October 2022, Nagal was admittedly far from where he is today, at World No. 98.
The 27-year-old lifted two Challenger trophies this year, highlighted by his dream run on home soil in Chennai, where he secured his place in the Top 100, becoming the 10th Indian to achieve that feat. Nagal, who ascended to a career-high No. 68 in July, is the first Indian to crack the Top 100 since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019.
“As a kid, everyone wants to be a Top 100 player. Everyone dreams of having that double-digit ranking,” Nagal said. “To be able to do this in front of the Indian crowd, I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better place. It was the most emotional day for me.”
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‘Fede’ Gomez Goes From Club Coach To Challenger Champ
After coaching in Miami from 2019-21, Federico Agustin Gomez gave up feeding balls to chase his professional tennis dream. The Argentine was not training regularly and any time with a racquet in hand was spent in a continental grip, feeding and coaching for 11 hours a day.
But in September 2021, Gomez’s friend, Pedro Caniza, approached him and offered financial help to kickstart his career. Gomez’s hard work reaped rewards this season, when he claimed three Challenger trophies: Milan, Trieste and Guayaquil. Now at No. 137 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Gomez has taken a non-traditional path to where he is today.
“I was just teaching and trying to make a living out of [coaching],” Gomez said when reflecting on his two years coaching, which he did after graduating from the University of Louisville. “I was trying to stay healthy just doing fitness. I don’t think I hit a two-handed backhand in two years. I was just doing fitness in the morning or late afternoon. I didn’t really have the time and also I was kind of disconnected from the entire Tour mentality.”
Naw, Syrian War Refugee, Makes Headlines In Koblenz
The 24-year-old Hazem Naw became the first Syrian to win a Challenger main-draw match in Koblenz, Germany, where he went on to reach the semi-finals. Naw shared that week his gripping refugee story.
“It’s a bad experience, but what I experienced is what makes me really tough mentally on court,” Naw said. “It doesn’t matter if I lose or win, I’m just happy to be able to play in these tournaments. It’s like a dream come true for me.
“Of course when you’re on court, you have this pressure and you forget about these things. But when I have tough times, it’s not worth it to be angry or go crazy on court. Just be thankful that you’re able to hold a racquet, play tennis, the spectators are watching and clapping for you. Enjoy that you are experiencing these kinds of things.”
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