Kovalik Prevails In Napoli; Jaziri Takes Le Gosier Title
Kovalik Prevails In Napoli; Jaziri Takes Le Gosier 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
Open De Guadeloupe (Le Gosier, Guadeloupe): In a battle pitting youth against experience, No. 3 seed Malek Jaziri defeated American teenager Stefan Kozlov, 6-2, 6-4. The win gives the 32-year-old Tunisian the fifth ATP Challenger Tour title of his career and his second in the last four weeks. Jaziri also prevailed last month at the $100,000 tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Despite the loss, Kozlov can consider this week a success. He matched his previous best career result, which came in 2014 by reaching the finals of the $100,000 tournament in Sacramento. The 18-year-old is also projected to rise from No. 295 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to a career-high standing of No. 225.
Capri Watch Cup (Napoli, Italy): In a battle of unseeded players, Jozef Kovalik easily prevailed in the championship match against Arthur De Greef, 6-3, 6-2. The win was particularly impressive since De Greef had not dropped a set all week leading into the final.
Kovalik earned his second ATP Challenger Tour singles title, with his first coming at Meerbusch in 2014. He’s also projected to move into the Top 150 of the Emirates ATP Rankings with this week, a huge climb from his ranking of No. 256 at the start of the season.
A LOOK AHEAD
Two tournaments are the on the calendar this week, with the $100,000 event in Sarasota, Florida, taking top billing. This always-popular tournament returns for the eighth straight year and has an illustrious list of past champions including Kei Nishikori, James Blake, Nick Kyrgios and Sam Querrey. World No. 59 Denis Kudla is the top seed, while #NextGen stars Jared Donaldson (No. 8 seed), Frances Tiafoe and Quentin Halys also look to make their mark this week. Another notable name in the draw is former World No. 20 Dmitry Tursunov.
The $50,000 tournament in Barletta, Italy, also returns this week after a four-year absence. This prestigious tournament features an exceptional array of past champions including Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Sergi Bruguera, Felix Mantilla and Carlos Costa. This year’s top seed is Rogerio Dutra Silva, but he has a difficult opening match in former World No. 33 Andrey Golubev. Adam Pavlasek, who has reached two ATP Challenger Tour finals this year, is the No. 3 seed, while #NextGen star Elias Ymer is the No. 8 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former World No. 25 Julien Benneteau and former World No. 58 Maximo Gonzalez.
A new edition to the calendar this year is the $50,000 event in Gwangju, Korea. World No. 83 Ricardis Berankis is the No. 1 seed, while veteran Japanese players Tatsuma Ito and Go Soeda are the No. and No. 3 seeds, respectively. Other notable names in the draw include 2012 Wimbledon men’s doubles champion Frederik Nielsen and former World No. 39 Marinko Matosevic.
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