2015 Aptos, Prague and Portoroz Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Aptos
Aptos brought us something that is only very rarely achieved, on the Challenger tour as well as the main tour. Every single seed made it to the quarterfinal. There were some close calls, however. Fifth seed Taro Daniel beat Farrukh Dustov 6-7(5) 7-5 6-0 in the second round, sixth seed Matthew Ebden beat Tommy Haas 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in the same round and seventh seed Austin Krajicek beat Dennis Novikov 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(7) in the first round, to name the three closest encounters. Top seed John Millman was unbothered and barely dropped games in those rounds, continuing that trend against Daniel in the quarterfinal, 6-1 6-3. Millman was put to the test a round later, when he barely beat third seed Kyle Edmund 3-6 6-4 7-5.
You have probably seen it already since it went viral quickly, but of course I have to mention Yoshihito Nishioka’s spectacular behind the back shot during his second round victory over Jared Donaldson, which will easily go down as one of the shots of the year. Special thanks to @hotdog6969, without whom it probably wouldn’t have reached such a big audience.
In the bottom half fourth seed Bjorn Fratangelo dismissed Ebden relatively easily, 6-4 6-2, while Krajicek beat second seed Malek Jaziri with a similar scoreline, 6-3 6-4. Their semi-final encounter ended in two sets as well, with Krajicek prevailing 6-3 7-6(2). In the final Millman survived his second three-set match in a row, ousting Krajicek 7-5 2-6 6-3 to win back to back Challenger titles, having won Lexington two weeks earlier. It’s the seventh Challenger title of his career and propelled him to a new career high ranking of #71, rising fourteen spots. Krajicek gets closer to his own career high ranking of #61, rising four spots to #68.
Prague
There were four players in the draw who were far above the rest ranking wise, being the only players ranked inside of the top 70, with fifth seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov following at #92. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (#54), Andreas Haider-Maurer (#58), Simone Bolelli (#60) and Steve Darcis (#65) all failed to live up to the expectations, however, with the top two seeds crashing out in the second round, while Bolelli and Darcis only lasted one round longer. Ramos-Vinolas fell 6-4 7-5 to Filip Krajinovic, Haider-Maurer 6-4 7-6(6) to qualifier Nikola Mektic, Bolelli 6-2 4-6 7-6(4) to qualifier Axel Michon and Darcis 6-2 6-7(0) 6-4 to Adam Pavlasek. Pavlasek already handed another seed an enormous beating in the first round, trashing eighth seed Jan-Lennard Struff 6-0 6-1. Michon had a similar scalp, beating seventh seed Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-3 6-2 in the second round.
The player to profit the most was qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva. The 31-year-old is having a remarkable ressurection, having dropped out of the top 500 in June, but has since then reached a Challenger final and managed to qualify for two ATP events in Bastad and Kitzbühel. Here he beat Krajinovic 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinal and Pavlasek 7-6(4) 6-4 in the following round. His opponent in the final would be sixth seed Radu Albot, who avoided the other seeds and beat Michon 7-5 7-5 in the semi-final. He couldn’t stop the Brazilian’s dream run, however, with Dutra Silva winning a hard-fought battle in the final, 6-2 6-7(5) 6-4, to win his sixth Challenger title and get back into the top 200 at #187, rising a hundred-and-one spots. Albot reached a new career high ranking of #86, rising seven spots.
Portoroz
Top seed Marcel Granollers got upset in the first round by Evgeny Donskoy, 7-6(4) 6-2. Third seed Kimmer Coppejans managed to do even worse, only winning three games against lucky loser Jonatan Eysseric, 6-1 6-2. Sixth seed Luca Vanni on the other hand was cruising through the draw, only dropping eleven games on his way to the semi-final, where he faced fifth seed Norbert Gombos. This was harder for the Italian late-bloomer, but he prevailed 5-7 6-4 6-3. His opponent from the bottom half was decided in a match between two unseeded players, Alexander Kudryavtsev and wild card Grega Zemlja. Kudryavtsev beat seventh seed Thiemo de Bakker in the second round and second seed Paolo Lorenzi in the quarterfinal, both in three sets. Zemlja trashed fourth seed Lukas Lacko in the second round, 6-0 6-2, and beat eighth seed Mirza Basic 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3 in the next round.
Zemlja didn’t experience a lot of problems against Kudryavtsev, beating him 6-4 6-2 for a place in the final. Here Vanni was too strong and managed to win his first ever Challenger title at the age of thirty, although it didn’t come easy in the second set, 6-3 7-6(6). Vanni hit a rough patch after his breakthrough run at Sao Paulo in February, partially because of injury, but this title puts him in sight of the top 100 again, rising twenty-three spots to #118. Zemlja rises fifty-nine spots to #231.
2014 Aptos, San Marino and Prague Challenger Recaps
ATP Challenger Tour
Aptos Challenger
The expected final between top seeds Mikhail Kukushkin and Marcos Baghdatis did indeed take place, resulting in a 7-6(7) 6-4 victory for Baghdatis. This marked his second Challenger title in just as many weeks, and along with it a long awaited return into the top 100. He dropped out of the all-important top 100 for the first time since 2009 in the first week of this year, but now rises 24 spots to #82 to reclaim his position as a top 100 player. Baghdatis did not drop a set all tournament, even against Ruben Bemelmans in the quarterfinals, against whom he had to save two match points in their match last week, also in the quarterfinals.
San Marino had a lot of surprises, with the top four seeds all being out before the semi-final. Top seed Simone Bolelli got upset in the quarterfinal by wild card Alessandro Giannessi, who is ranked outside of the top 300: 4-6 6-4 6-3. The number two was prevalent as second seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver fell against Viktor Troicki for the second week in a row, after missing two match points: 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(6). Troicki couldn’t keep up his run, as he fell to qualifier Antonio Veic in the next round, Veic marched all the way to the final after beating Guilherme Clezar, the conqueror of third seed Maximo Gonzalez in the first round.
Veic met Adrian Ungur in the final, who took out fourth seed Albert Montanes in a grueling three set match earlier in the tournament. It turned out to be an unpleasant final for the undoubtedly tired Veic, as Ungur absolutely hammered him 6-1 6-0 to take home the title. Nevertheless this obviously still meant a huge jump in the rankings for Veic, as he rose 77 positions to #236. Ungur won 21 spots re-entered the top 150 at #136.
Prague also resulted in a lot of surprises, except for one, the winner. After the second rounds only two seeds still remained, #3 Michal Przysiezny and #1 Diego Schwartzman. As I wrote in my preview I thought that #2 seed Andrey Kuznetsov might struggle against qualifier Thiago Monteiro, but Monteiro’s straight set victory still came as a surprise. Veteran Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo profited from the opening in the draw, as he marched on to the semi-final in that section. There he lost to Andre Ghem, who would fall to Schwartzman in the final: 6-4 7-5. This meant a new career high for the Argentinian, as he rose 17 spots to #81. Ghem jumped 41 spots to #210, but it is yet to be seen if he, at 32, can catch up with his career high ranking of #181.
2014 Aptos, San Marino and Prague Challenger Previews Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
This week three Challengers will take place, one in the States and two in Europe. The Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos will be played on hardcourt, the other two (San Marino Go&Fun Open and Advantage Cars Prague Open) on clay.
Aptos Challenger
Aptos Challenger
The Comerica Bank Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour and USTA Pro Circuit
Aptos, CA, USA
August 2 – August 10
Prize Money: $100,000
The last direct acceptance is Emilio Gomez, ranked 217th. A wild card has been awarded to 19 year old Mackenzie McDonald, who made a name for himself last month by reaching the semi-final of the Winnetka Challenger as a qualifier.
First round match-ups to watch
(8) Marton Fucsovics vs. (WC) Mackenzie McDonald
Like I said, McDonald already showed that he can hang on this level. Not only in the recent Winnetka Challenger, but last year he surprised everyone by beating Mahut and Johnson to qualify for the Masters event in Cincinnati, where he lost to Goffin in the first round. He faces eighth seed Fucsovics, who hasn’t been convincing on hardcourt yet this year, with five losses against players outside of the top 200 in the eight tournaments he has played on the surface. So despite their ranking difference this has the potential to be a hard fought battle, with a great chance for the young American to advance.
Taro Daniel vs. Ruben Bemelmans
Even though Daniel primarily plays on clay, he has shown that he can be very dangerous on hardcourt. Rosol knows a thing or two about that after being taken to five sets by Daniel during their Davis Cup tie in April. He had a decent showing at the Vancouver Challenger last week, losing in the quarter final to the eventual winner Baghdatis. Bemelmans lost to Baghdatis as well, in the next round. He has a reputation for being a choker, which he showed against Baghdatis by missing two match points, netting a fairly easy shot on one of them.
Taro
Top Half
Rankings-wise, Kukushkin clearly stands out. He is the only top 100 player in the draw and the difference between him and #2 seed Baghdatis are a massive 51 ranking spots. However, he is far from a certainty to reach the final. Former world number 61 Devvarman is a threat and beat him in three sets the only time they met in 2011. Kukushkin also isn’t going into this tournament with a lot of confidence, losing to world number 228 Gerasimov in a third set tiebreak two weeks ago in the quarter final of the Astana Challenger.
In the second quarter Donskoy and Dustov are well capable of beating him. Granted, Donskoy isn’t in great form, so the danger will probably come from Dustov. Dustov reached the final of the Vancouver Challenger last week and will be feeling confident coming into this tournament.
Bottom Half
It’s hard to look past Baghdatis here, I can’t see anyone threatening him and in my eyes he is the favorite to win the tournament, especially coming into this tournament on a high after winning the Vancouver Challenger last week. If Bemelmans gets to the quarter final he might be a threat, considering how close he got last week. But Bemelmans is well capable of losing to Daniel or Pavic.
The third quarter is the most interesting in my eyes, with Fucsovics, McDonald, Marchenko, Kuznetsov and Soeda all being qualified to reach the semi-final. It’s really hard to predict what’s going to happen here, other than the winner most probably losing against Baghdatis.
Predictions
Semis:
Dustov def. Kukushkin
Baghdatis def. Soeda
I think Dustov’s good form will prevail over Kukushkin’s lack of it, despite the huge gap in their rankings. Like I said, the third quarter is extremely difficult to predict, so I took the safe route here and picked the highest seed.
Final:
Baghdatis def. Dustov
A repeat of last week’s final, ending in the same fashion. But back to back finals would be a very good result for Dustov and there is no shame in losing to Baghdatis, so if this happens it should give him a tremendous confidence boost as he gets closer to the top 100. As for Baghdatis, reaching the quarter final here would probably already enough for him to get back into the top 100.
San Marino Challenger
San Marino Go&Fun Open
ATP Challenger Tour
San Marino
August 2 – August 10
Prize Money: €64,000
Go&Fun Open
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Simone Bolelli (89)
2: Daniel Gimeno-Traver (93)
3: Maximo Gonzalez (104)
4: Albert Montanes (119)
5: Julian Reister (125)
6: Peter Gojowczyk (127)
7: Filip Krajinovic (134)
8: Filippo Volandri (136)
The last direct acceptance is Aldin Setkic, ranked 267th. A couple of really interesting players have come through the qualification draw, Christian Garin, Giovanni Lapentti and Antonio Veic. Comeback Kid Viktor Troicki has received a wild card and will surely be one of the most dangerous players in the draw.
First round match-ups to watch
(4) Albert Montanes vs. Potito Starace
An interesting meeting between two 33 year old veterans with singlehanded backhands. The decline of Montanes has been apparent as he failed to make a dent on the main tour, dropping to a ranking spot of 141 after starting the year inside of the top 60. This will be his first Challenger tournament of the year. Montanes leads their head to head 5-3, with their first meeting dating all the way back to 2002.
(5) Julian Reister vs. Victor Hanescu
Reister is another player who failed to make an impression on the main tour, racking up a 1-10 record this year. Hanescu followed a similar ranking path as Montanes this year, starting inside the top 80 and dropping to his current ranking of 151. Their head to head is 1-1 and this will surely become a tight match, where the winner will be difficult to predict.
Top Half
Bolelli is the clear favorite to make the final here. The other seeds are Gojowczyk, Montanes and Volandri, who haven’t been convincing in the slightest lately, while Bolelli comes off a Challenger win in Oberstaufen, which resulted in him entering the top 100 again after starting the year outside of the top 300.
In the second quarter I’d mark Montanes as the favorite to reach the semi-final. Of course, he hasn’t been impressive this year, but this will be his first Challenger event and he might well still be too good for this level. He doesn’t have an easy draw however, he likely has to face three Italians to get there, Starace, Cecchinato and Volandri. If I had to pick one of them to upset Montanes I would go for Cecchinato, who reached a Challenger final in Mestre last month, where he almost managed to beat Cuevas. He also is the defending champion, so he will feel confident playing here.
Bottom Half
Second seed Gimeno-Traver is hating his draw, as he is projected to play wild card Troicki in the second round, who beat him in straight sets last week. Troicki should be able to repeat this feat and notch a place in the semi-final after comfortably beating Reister or Hanescu.
The third quarter is a really interesting one, especially if we get to see the blockbuster quarter final between Krajinovic and Gonzalez. Krajinovic is on a roll lately, reaching the third round of the ATP 500 event in Hamburg and winning last week’s Challenger in Cortina. Gonzalez is on a run of his own, coming through the qualification draw in Kitzbühel to reach the semi-final, in which he lost in three sets to the eventual winner Goffin. This will surely be a cracker.
Predictions
Semis:
Bolelli def. Montanes
Troicki def. Gonzalez
Troicki will get a lucky break and avoids Krajinovic, the man who beat him last week. Bolelli will be too much for Montanes, who is seeking form.
Final:
Bolelli def. Troicki
Bolelli has the fire power to hit through Troicki and in his current form he is well capable of doing that. He leads the head to head 2-1, but they have never met before on clay.
Prague Challenger
Advantage Cars Prague Open
ATP Challenger Tour
Prague, Czech Republic
August 2 – August 10
Prize Money: €42,500
The last direct acceptance is Jan Hernych, ranked 264th. Tsung-Hua Yang, the man who beat Cuevas last week, has entered this tournament as a special exempt.
First round match-ups to watch
(2) Andrey Kuznetsov vs. (Q) Thiago Monteiro
Kuznetsov has only played one tournament since beating Ferrer at Wimbledon, losing in the second qualifying round of Hamburg, so he might be a bit rusty. 20 year old Brazilian Monteiro hasn’t dropped a set in the qualifications and might be able to trouble his much higher ranked opponent.
Top Half
For me, top seed Schwartzman is the clear cut favorite here, I can’t see anyone troubling him all the way to the final. Sorensen might have gotten a bit of confidence after taking a set off Bautista Agut in the second round of Stuttgart, but he is way too inconsistent and probably won’t be able to trouble Schwartzman, who absolutely hammered Alexander Zverev last week in Kitzbühel: 6-1 6-0.
The other seeds here are Przysiezny and Burquier, who are even less likely to pose a threat. Przysiezny is going through an enormous form crisis, while Burquier only won one of his last seven matches. In that section there is a good chance for one of the unseeded players to snatch a semi-final spot, which Yang might be able to do.
Bottom Half
If he finds his rhythm, I can’t see how Kuznetsov doesn’t reach the final, as he is clearly the best player in this half. He will most likely have to play #4 seed Gerald Melzer in the semi-final, which won’t be a problem for him. For me this is one of those tournaments where it’s very likely that the top seeds will end up in the final, I just can’t see any of the outsiders threatening them.
Predictions
Semis:
Schwartzman def. Yang
Kuznetsov def. Melzer
Yang builds on his confidence booster against Cuevas and makes another good run, but he is clearly outclassed in this match-up, as is Melzer.
Final:
Schwartzman def. Kuznetsov
Clearly the match of the tournament and I can see this become really, really close. But, since I have to pick someone I went with Schwartzman, who has a lot of rhythm on clay, unlike Kuznetsov, who has only played two matches on the surface since May.
Bradley Klahn wins @ChallengerATP Aptos, Clinches US Open Wildcard
American Bradley Klahn took out Dan Evans, who lost his 2nd straight Challenger final, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, saving a match point in the second set. The title propels Klahn into the top 130 and gives him enough points to clinch the USTA US Open Wildcard Challenge.
The young American beat Tatsuma Ito, Donald Young, Wayne Odesnik and Evgeny Donskoy in 3 sets before the final, while the well performing Brit Daniel Evans beat Mitchell Krueger, Jimmy Wang, Guido Pella and Farrukh Dustov. In one other notable upset, Ryan Harrison lost to journeyman Irish qualifier James McGee in the opening round.
The USTA Pro Circuit will have its fourth summer hard court event, the $100,000 challenger in Aptos, California, as a strong field vies for the title under the California sun.
Comerica Bank Challenger
USTA Pro Circuit
Aptos, California, USA
August 3-August 11, 2013
Prize Money: $100,000
Top 8 seeds:
1: Guido Pella
2: Evgeny Donskoy
3: Steve Johnson
4: Ryan Harrison
5: Wayne Odesnik
6: Bobby Reynolds
7: Mischa Zverev
8: Jimmy Wang
The entry cutoff was 189 and the top 2 seeds are top 100 players, giving Aptos a solid field.
First round matchups to watch:
James Duckworth vs. Brian Baker
Brian Baker, Newport 2013
Brian Baker is finally back on tour, and he looks fit and healthy from what I saw of him on the practice courts in Atlanta. He will not be given an easy match back though, as he faces the red hot and career high ranked James Duckworth, who made the final in the Lexington challenger and won a round in DC. Even if Baker is 100%, the rust alone makes Ducky a favorite here.
(7)Mischa Zverev vs. Mikhail Kukushkin
Kukushkin is 2-0 career against higher-ranked Zverev and he beat Mischa on clay this year in Germany. After a downright terrible start to his year, Kuku is doing well, as he made the final in the Astana challenger, and has won/made final at two challengers since June. Zverev has struggled to close out matches and he will be in danger of getting upset here.
Top Half:
Guido Pella is the top seed, but tends to do poorly off of clay for now. He opens with Tunisian journeyman Malek Jaziri. This could spell a loss for the Argentine. Regardless, the winner will face the Duckworth/Baker winner.
8 seed and Vancouver semifinalist Jimmy Wang faces big server and Vancouver quarter finalist Greg Jones, who can do damage on fast surfaces. Dan Evans, a current Vancouver finalist, will take on young American Mitchell Krueger.
Photo Retweeted by Ben Rothenburg of Harrison Signing Busted Racquet for the Fan who Snagged It. (Now Famous)
Ryan Harrison has had a solid summer swing so far, semis in Atlanta and an upset of Lleyton Hewitt in DC. Harry hopes to continue that strong play against a qualifier, followed by Olivier Rochus or a qualifier, in what should be an easy start.
Grinding vet Bobby Reynolds, coming off Vancouver challenger semis, takes on an inconsistent Yuichi Sugita. Tennys Sandgren gets a wild card and an opening round date with Maxime Authom, a Belgian who usually plies his trade in Europe.
Bottom Half:
Donskoy
Evgeny Donskoy lost in the opening round of the Vancouver challenger and will hope to do better in Aptos with a qualifier. Up next would be a struggling Ruben Bemelmans or wild card Andre Dome. The Zverev/Kukushkin winner faces Matt Reid or wild card Dennis Novikov.
Steve Johnson will play Donald Young once again, as Young continues to do poorly, with the winner facing an in form Bradley Klahn or Tatsuma Ito. Wayne Odesnik gets a qualifier, then a qualifier or Hiroki Moriya.
Predictions:
Semis:
Harrison d. Duckworth
Kukushkin d. Klahn
The top half is stacked but I’ll take the experienced Harrison over the host of others who would all do well. Meanwhile, in the weaker bottom section, Kuku or Donskoy should get out and Klahn has a nice draw if he can get past Steve Johnson.
Final:
Harrison d. Kukushkin
Harrison has played well and I think he will earn some hardware in Aptos.
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