June 2014 ATP Challenger Tour Recap: Ramos, Carreno Busta, Kavcic, Gonzalez Take 2, Joined by Young Guns Kyrgios & Vesely
It was an exciting month of action on the ATP challenger tour, with a lot of big name, and rising tournament champions this month Here is a look at the tournaments.
Furth Challenger (June 2-June 8, 2014)
In Germany on clay, the veteran Tobias Kamke won at home for his first challenger title of the season. Kamke defeated Spaniard Inigo Cervantes in the final, and Andreas Haider-Maurer in the semis. Cervantes beat Andrej Martin in the semis. Cervantes upset top seed Blaz Rola in round 2.
Mestre Challenger (June 2-June 8, 2014)
In Italy on clay, the veteran Pablo Cuevas improved to 2 for 3 in challenger tour finals this season with a win over Marco Cecchinato in 3 sets. Cuevas beat fellow veteran clay courter Paolo Lorenzi in the semis, while Cecchinato beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver in a third set tiebreak.
Nottingham-1 Challenger (June 2-June 8, 2014)
The veteran Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, won what could perhaps be his final tournament title, on grass in England over Marinko Matosevic. Baghdatis beat another ATP regular, Igor Sijsling in the final, while Matosevic got past the in-form Gilles Muller in 3 sets.
Prostejov Challenger (June 2-June 8, 2014)
Young gun Jiri Vesely won his fourth career challenger title, this time on clay at home over Norbert Gombos. Gombos beat wild card Adam Pavlasek, a 19 year old, in the semis while Vesely defeated his compatriot Radek Stepanek, the top seed. ATP regulars Lukas Rosol and Robin Haase were upset rather early here. Rosol lost to Pavlasek and Haase lost to Gombos.
Blois Challenger (June 9-June 15, 2014)
Top seed Maximo Gonzalez of Argentine ended the week with the title in France on clay. Gonzalez beat Gastao Elias of Portugal in the final. Elias has had a strong season and be beat qualifier Mathieu Rodrigues in the semis, while Gonzalez defeated Gianni Mina.
Caltanissetta Challenger (June 9-June 15, 2014)
Pablo Carreno Busta won this 100k challenger on clay in Italy over Facundo Bagnis in 3 sets. PCB defeated Joao Souza in the semis, while Bagnis defeated Gonzalo Lama, a young Chilean who is near the top 200 now and has had a strong season.
Fergana Challenger (June 9-June 15, 2014)
Blaz Kavcic beat Alexander Kudravtsev in the final to capture the title here on hard courts in Uzbekistan. Kavcic beat Denys Molchanov in the semis, while Kudryavtsev beat Egor Gerasimov.
Kosice Challenger (June 9-June 15)
Canadian Frank Dancevic won on clay in Slovakia, defeating the in-form Norbert Gombos in the final, as Gombos dropped to 0-2 in finals in June. He did, however, beat Uladzimir Ignatik to reach his second consectuve final, while Dancevic beat Lucas Pouille. Dancevic surprisingly had to qualify here, and he beat top seed Andreas Haider-Maurer in round 2.
Nottingham-2 Challenger (June 9-June 15, 2014)
The young Nick Kyrgios first proved his prowess on grass as a qualifier at the second Nottingham challenger in England. He defeated the big serving Sam Groth in the final and Miloslav Mecir prior in the semis. Groth beat Rajeev Ram and the 2 seed Gilles Muller in the quarterfinals.
Prague Challenger (June 9-June 15, 2014)
Jiri Vesely came close to repeating his success earlier in the month, again at home in Prague on clay, but his compatriot Lukas Rosol stole his thunder and won the title after dropping the first set. Rosol beat Michael Lammer in the semis while Vesely beat Ze Zhang.
Milan Challenger (June 16-June 22, 2014)
Former top 40 player Albert Ramos of Spain found some mojo and beat Pere Riba in the final on clay in Italy. Ramos defeated Marco Cecchinato in the semis, while Riba beat Maximo Gonzalez.
Mohammedia Challenger
Pablo Carreno Busta won again, beating Daniel Munoz-De La Nava in the final in 3 sets on clay in Morocco. PCB defeated Joris De Loore in the semis, while Munoz beat qualifier Nicolas Jarry, who upset 2 seed Roberto Carballes Baena in round 1.
Tianjin Challenger (June 16-June 22, 2014)
Blaz Kavcic beat Alex Kudryavtsev, who fell short in his second challenger final this month, and before that he beat Di Wu of China at home on hard courts. In an all-Russian semi, Kudryavtsev beat Valery Rudnev.
Marburg Challenger (June 23-June 29, 2014)
In Germany on clay, Horacio Zeballos beat Thiemo De Bakker after beating German Andreas Beck in the semis. De Bakker defeated Joao Souza in the same stage. 2 seed Thomaz Bellucci was defeated by Henri Laaksonen in round 2.
Nanchang Challenger (June 23-June 29, 2014)
Japanese veteran Go Soeda beat Blaz Kavcic and denied him a third title this month. The tournament took place on hard courts in China. Soeda beat Ze Zhang in the semis, while Kavcic beat Hyeon Chung.
Padova Challenger (June 23-June 29, 2014)
In Padova, Maximo Gonzalez beat Albert Ramos to take the title on Italian red clay. Gonzalez beat Nikola Cacic, a qualifier, in the semis, while Ramos beat Jordi Samper-Montana.
—Steen Kirby
Tennis Atlantic 