Sold-Out Crowd Sees Lorenzi Win 20th Title In Sopot

A LOOK BACK
Sopot Open (Gdynia, Poland): Paolo Lorenzi joined an exclusive club on Sunday in Sopot, becoming just the third player to lift 20 singles trophies on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Italian veteran outlasted Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours and 59 minutes, in what was the longest final of the year on the circuit.

Lorenzi joins 29-time titlist Yen-Hsun Lu and 22-time winner Dudi Sela as the only players in the ’20 Titles Club’. Back inside the Top 100 at No. 97, he also owns an ATP World Tour crown in Kitzbuhel in 2016.

“I think I played better and better as the match went on,” said Lorenzi. “I made him run more and more in the third set. I think that was the key to the match.”

The Sopot Open is back on the ATP Challenger Tour for the first time since 2011, under the direction of former doubles star Mariusz Fyrstenberg. It is now the third Challenger in Poland, along with the Poznan Open and Pekao Szczecin Open, which took home Tournament of the Year honours in 2016.

International Challenger Chengdu (Chengdu, China): Zhang Ze claimed a historic victory for his native China, becoming the first player from the Asian nation to claim multiple Challenger crowns. The 28-year-old, who won his maiden title last year in San Francisco, lifted the trophy when top seed Henri Laaksonen retired with a left adductor injury in Sunday’s final.

“I feel so lucky to win the title,” said Zhang. “I do feel sorry for him (Laaksonen), but I am proud that I didn’t throw the match away after a bad start from the first set. This is always one of my goals, to win a title in my country. I know I haven’t been performing well in the first half of the year, but I hope I can do much better.”

The top player from China, Zhang will rise 77 spots to No. 182. The week was a special one in the emerging tennis country, as compatriot Wu Yibing reached the quarter-finals in his return from injury. The 18-year-old is back on the rise with a fresh approach and new coaching team, led by Sven Groeneveld.

Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships (Lexington, U.S.A.): Lloyd Harris became the first player from South Africa to prevail on the ATP Challenger Tour in five years. The Cape Town native scored his maiden title 6-4, 6-3 over Stefano Napolitano, lifting the trophy without dropping a set all week in Lexington.

Harris is the first South African winner since current Vancouver tournament director Rik De Voest in 2013. The 21-year-old joins Ugo Humbert as #NextGenATP winners on Sunday – the 13th and 14th players aged 21 & under to triumph on the Challenger circuit this year. 

Lloyd Harris is the champion in Lexington, claiming his maiden #ATPChallenger title without dropping a set.

First ?? winner since @RikdeVoest in 2013.

Congrats @lloydharris63 ?? pic.twitter.com/rPC1DedR2s

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 5, 2018

Open Castilla y Leon (Segovia, Spain): The 33rd edition of the hard-court event in Segovia saw its second straight champion aged 20 & under. Last year, home favourite Jaume Munar took the title and on Sunday it was France’s Ugo Humbert claiming his maiden crown.

Humbert defeated second seed Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-3, 6-4 for the title. It marked the third consecutive week in which the 20-year-old Frenchman was appearing in a Challenger final, after finishing runner-up on Canadian soil in both Gatineau (l. to Klahn) and Granby (l. to Polansky). He rises 43 spots to a career-high No. 141 in the ATP Rankings, having sat outside the Top 300 just three months ago.

French #NextGenATP Winners

Svijany Open (Liberec, Czech Republic): Andrej Martin captured his second title on the clay of Liberec, dethroning defending champion Pedro Sousa 6-1, 6-2 in 66 minutes. The Slovak previously lifted the trophy in 2014 and was at his ruthless best this week, not relinquishing more than three games in any set. It was the ninth Challenger title for the 28-year-old.

A LOOK AHEAD
The Nordic Naturals Challenger in scenic Aptos, California, celebrates its 31st anniversary next week. Thomas Fabbiano is the top seed, with Michael Mmoh second, Quentin Halys third and Thanasi Kokkinakis fourth.

The two-week Chinese swing concludes in Jinan, with Zhang Ze looking to go back-to-back on home soil. Newport finalist Ramkumar Ramanathan leads the field at the $150,000 event. Meanwhile, at the scenic hard-court stop in Portoroz, Slovenia, defending champion Sergiy Stakhovsky is the top seed.

Finally, the IsarOpen in Pullach, Germany, makes its debut. Jan-Lennard Struff leads the home charge, with Saturday’s Kitzbuhel winner Martin Klizan seeded fifth.