Sandgren Strikes Hot Streak To Rule In Savannah
Sandgren Strikes Hot Streak To Rule In Savannah
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
LOOK BACK
St. Joseph’s/ Candler Savannah Challenger (Georgia, U.S.A): Tennys Sandgren capped a memorable week with his third ATP Challenger Tour title. The American ousted second seed Henri Laaksonen and countryman Tommy Paul in third set tie-breaks en route to the final. On Sunday he defeated Joao Pedro Sorgi, a Challenger final debutant, with a commanding 6-4, 6-3 performance.
Sandgren, who also won the Tempe, U.S.A, Challenger in February, rises up 20 positions to a career-high No. 114 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 25 year old has enjoyed a stellar four weeks on the clay, including a run to the final at the $100,000 Challenger event in Sarasota (l. Tiafoe). As a reward, Sandgren clinched the USTA’s Roland Garros wild card and will feature in his first Grand Slam main draw later this month.
Prosperita Open 2017 (Ostrava, Czech Republic): Stefano Travaglia lifted a maiden ATP Challenger Tour title with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 triumph over fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato. A year ago Travaglia was outside the Top 500 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, but has risen to a career-high No. 165. The 25 year old defied his ranking to defeat fifth seed Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, fourth seed Roberto Carballes Baena and second seed Adam Pavlasek to become the seventh first-time title winner of 2017.
Gimcheon Challenger (Gimcheon, South Korea): There was another Italian success after Thomas Fabbiano lifted his fourth Challenger title with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili. The Rome resident, champion in Quanzhou, China, in March, is the seventh player to win multiple titles this campaign and rises 27 positions to World No. 133.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Tennys Sandgren: “My game has pretty much stayed the same, but mentally I’ve made some adjustments, so I’m always giving myself a chance by competing hard,” said the Savannah champion. “I was relaxed going into the final, I had seen every aspect of tennis possible this week, I’ve had some of the craziest matches of my career back-to-back here this week. It’s great I could pull these victories out and gain this experience. It’s only going to serve me well at the French Open.”
A LOOK AHEAD
Four tournaments fill a busy billing this week. Malek Jaziri tops the field at the €127,000 Challenger event in Aix en Provence, France. The fourth edition of the clay tournament features a host of #NextGenATP players, with Sarasota champion Frances Tiafoe leading the charge.
Also on the red clay, the €64,000 Challenger in Rome welcomes Jiri Vesely as top seed. Alexander Bublik and Michael Mmoh lead the #NextGenATP contingent alongside wild cards for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Italian Gianluigi Quinzi.
World No. 56 Yen-Hsun Lu is the top-ranked player at the $100,000 hard court Challenger event in Seoul, South Korea. Meanwhile, two-time champion (2013, 2015) Teymuraz Gabashvili joins a strong field at the $75,000 tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan.
View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams
ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: The ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.