Emilio Nava, Brayden Schnur Advance to Quarterfinals at Charlottesville Challenger
November 3—Emilio Nava had a storied career in juniors, yet he always felt that he was never favored to win. That’s changing.
After surviving three sets against the Charlottesville Challenger’s defending champion yesterday, he scored a comeback win against Go Soeda to advance to the quarterfinals of this event in Central Virginia today.
“I’ve been fighting these guys for a while and playing a lot of Challengers this year, In the beginning, I was always the underdog, and I still keep that mentality in every match I go to,” he told me after the 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 win in the round of 16.
Even though the crowd was sparse, Nava made up for it as a crowd of one. He was juiced up on every point.
“Obviously, a crowd helps a lot, but when I’m in there, I’m all by myself, like a Gladiator down there,” he said.
“I’m fighting for myself. If there’s one person or a thousand or even a million, I’m always going to be the same way.”
Former North Carolina star Brayden Schnur survived a tricky Christian Harrison to book his spot in the quarterfinals. Despite four Challenger finals appearances and a 2019 final appearance at the New York Open (ATP 250), he’s still waiting to be called a champion. A runner-up here in Charlottesville two years ago, he’s now three wins away from walking away with the big hardware.
Though their next opponents are yet to be determined, both men will be on court for Friday’s quarterfinals.
Chris Eubanks, 2017 Charlottesville Challenger (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)
Newly Minted Pro Chris Eubanks Back to Winning Ways at 2017 Charlottesville Challenger Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
(Charlottesville, VA–October 31) Eight days ago, Chris Eubanks announced that he would give up his final season of eligibility at Georgia Tech to turn pro. Not much else has changed for Eubanks in that time, as the 2016 Charlottesville semifinalist simply returned to his winning ways here in a tight two-set victory over Canadian Samuel Monette, 7-6(9), 6-4. He had plenty of praise for his opponent after notching pro victory Numero Uno.
“I knew that (Monette) going in, it was going to be a grind to play him. He fights as good as anybody out there. He makes you play,” he said of the young Canadian. “I had a very slow start and my legs weren’t working. I don’t know what it was, but luckily after I got a couple of holds I kind of found my legs,” he continued.
As is so often the case, the long tiebreak would prove momentous in this match as well. “The breaker was a battle, a really big momentum shifter,” Eubanks said. “Whoever got that breaker was going to have a little extra juice and I was fortunate to save a couple of set points and come out on top of the breaker and give me some momentum.”
Eubanks gained that momentum and served first in the second set.
Like most players, Eubanks refuses to use numerical rankings toward his near and short-term goals. “Just to be be better every day,” he said. “I don’t want to put certain numbers or quantitative benchmarks on it. I just want to continue to progress and say ‘Hey, I think I’m a better player than I was two months ago’. When the end of December comes and I can say that I’m a much better player than I am right at this moment, then I think I had a successful year.”
You know you’ve got a Georgia Tech engineer on your hands when “quantitative benchmarks” come up at a tennis court. Eubanks will face Next Gen contender Michael Mmoh in Round 2.
If You Don’t Like American Tennis, You’ll Hate The @CMPChallenger in Charlottesville Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
CHARLOTTESVILLE, NOV 2–Like the headline says.
But first, almost-local boy done good, Denis Kudla.
If there’s such a thing as a home court advantage, it might belong to Denis Kudla more than the entire contingent of UVA tennis players, past and present, in the main draw. It certainly looks like Kudla’s Castle after a breezy 6-1, 6-2, 56 minute victory on Tuesday over Tommy Paul at the USTA $50,000 Charlottesville Men’s Pro Tennis Challenger at the Boar’s Head resort in Virginia.
“Maybe a little bit of a home court advantage (at the Boar’s Head resort). I’ve come here and practiced a lot, so I’ve really gotten used to these courts. I love playing here. I’ve told a lot of people and a lot of people know, this is probably the best court for me in the world. Maybe on grass courts too, but on this court, I play my best tennis. I am so comfortable. I am really happy here.”
Kudla draws UVA recruit Carl Soderlund from Stockholm in the 2nd round.
“The UVA Freshman is really good and I look forward to the challenge,” he said.
US main draw direct entry players at the Challenger are an astounding 12-5, which doesn’t sound astounding until you figure that four of the losses were to OTHER American players. Noah Rubin, last year’s USTA Australian Open Wild Card Challenge champ, was the only direct entry American to lose a match against a non-American, so the record is more like 12-1. That’s Solid Gold. We’re used to all these American ATP 250s that hand out Wild Cards like funny money to local celebrities and they all get destroyed in the first round.
Not here.
Austin Krajicek defeated Great Britain’s Edmund Corrie, 7-6(3), 6-4 and Brian Baker took out Tim Van Reithoven of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-2 in less than an hour.
Broady defeated US qualifier J.C. Aragone, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, and was kind enough to venture down a dangerous trail with us in discussing the US Presidential election and Brexit’s impact on British players.
Peter Polansky, 2016 Charlottesville Challenger (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)
Peter Polansky showed up late for his match against 2016 USTA Australian Open Wild Card champion Noah Rubin and dealt the Long Island native an early setback in his hopes of repeating the feat in 2017. Since the USTA format allows for the best two scores in the three round event, Rubin can still repeat with strong showings in Knoxville and Champaign.
Bjorn Fratangelo dug himself a huge first set hole before battling back for a straight sets win over Belgium’s Joris De Loore, 7-6(3), 6-2. He spoke with us after the match.
Later, Michael Mmoh won a convincing match over compatriot Dennis Novikov 6-3, 6-2. Mmoh has roots in the Washington area, and is pleased to advance here in Charlottesville.
Tim Smyczek: What can you say about him? Love the guy, but at this point, he’s just knocking off young, often-American talent and he needs to go be a great coach. In this case, Tim’s victim was Thai “Favorite” Son Kwiatkowski of UVA, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Top seed Frances Tiafoe prevailed over UVA’s Ryan Shane in three, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. He will play fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, a winner over American Gonzales Austin, 7-6(0), 7-6(2).
In the ONLY singles match not involving at least one American yesterday, Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen defeated qualifier Yuki Bhambri, 6-3, 7-6(3).
Seeing a trend here? This is the most American event of American events ever. And I, for one, welcome our new American Tennis Overlords.
Consensus in Charlottesville: Go Cubs, Australian Open Wild Card Who? Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
CHARLOTTESVILLE, NOVEMBER 1–Just 6 days from the 2016 Presidential Election, it’s hard to find consensus in America these days. But at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Tennis Challenger at the Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia, there are two things on which all of the players agree: they hope for the Chicago Cubs to win their first World Series in 108 years and they really, really don’t care about the USTA Australian Open Wild Card…yet.
Of the dozen or more players I asked, everyone hoped for a Cubs win but saw a tough Indians tribe more likely to prevail. The most anti-Cubs response I could get was from Brian Baker, who said “I’m a Cardinals fan. I’m not a Cubs fan, but I can rally behind people who get behind them because it’s been so long since they won.”
More unanimity for the current lack of interest in even thinking about the Australian Open Wild Card granted by the USTA for the best results here in Charlottesville and then in Knoxville and Champaign. I also asked Baker if he ever thought about the WC.
“Not a ton,” he said. “I mean, if you go deeper in some tournaments, then you probably start thinking about it more but I think in the first tournament, you’re just here to do your best.”
Tennys Sandgren told me that “there are tons of good reasons to win matches at this point. When you come down to one or two matches to earn it, yeah. At this point, it’s so early in the race. Champaign, if you’re in the race and in the hunt, it’s in the back of your mind. You know you have to had good weeks to possibly get it so you’re just trying to have those good weeks.”
Reilly Opelka put it blunty. “Not really, I don’t really care about it to be honest.”
See if these guys admit to caring about it in a few weeks when they’re a couple of matches away from the first round of the Australian Open.
The Champion of Charlottesville: Denis Kudla Returns For Charlottesville Men’s Pro Tennis Challenger Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
Denis Kudla says it’s great to be back in Charlottesville.
“I was on the ATP tour main circuit pretty much all of last year, playing a lot of tour events and my ranking dropped a little bit,” he told me on Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia. “I’m glad to be back here. I know I’ve played well here in the last couple of years I’ve played and I really look forward to getting going.”
Played well is an understatement for Kudla. The Arlington, Virginia native won the Petit A’s tournament here when he was 9 years old, and won the grown-up version of the tournament, the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger, when he was 20.
Kudla Win the Challenger in 2012
“It’s strange that I won my very first tournament here in Charlottesvile when I was 9 years old,” he reflected. “I’m 24 now and still back here playing. It’s pretty special.”
He was practicing with fellow Junior Tennis Champions Center alum Frances Tiafoe before our interview. Kudla was a JTCC prodigy while Tiafoe was a kid growing up in and around the facility. This year, Tiafoe is the tournament’s top seed. I wondered if Tiafoe saw him as a big brother.
“I would say I’ve been around him his whole life,” he replied. “I wouldn’t say big brother, but I definitely try to be some kind of mentor. He’s playing unbelievable and I’m still learning stuff from him.”
Goals for 2017 involve “trying to get back in the top 100 and solidify my spot there again, try to stay healthy, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “It’s a long road, lots of up and downs, just try to stay away from the downs.”
Cubs or Indians in the World Series?
“I want the Cubs to win, but I think the Indians are going to take it.”
A long-time Philadelphia Eagles fan, Kudla also shared his thoughts on rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. “I like him. He came out a little too hot, but he came back to Earth. I think he’s got a great future.”
Sounds like my assessment of some of the guys on the tour. Kudla opens the tournament against Tommy Paul tomorrow afternoon on courts he’s known since a babe.
2016 Seoul, Bordeaux, Heilbronn and Samarkand Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Seoul
Top seed John Millman came through the first two rounds in straight sets, but not without a price to pay, as he had to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Lukas Lacko citing a left ankle injury. Fifth seed Yen-Hsun Lu knows the feeling, playing only his first tournament of the year here after being out with injury himself. Lu started in fine fashion, shaking off the rust in three sets against Di Wu in the first round, before winning his next two matches in straight sets. Lacko was his biggest challenge thusfar, but Lu survived it in three sets, 7-6(4) 5-7 6-3.
Third seed Sam Groth ended his bad streak of losses against very low-ranked players with two three-set victories in his first two rounds, after which he faced Alexander Kudryavtsev in the quarterfinal. Kudryavtsev took out sixth seed Tatsuma Ito a round earlier, 7-6(6) 7-5. Disaster struck once again for Groth, however, having to retire at 4-1 down in the first set citing a right wrist injury. Kudryavtsev was an easy prey for Sergiy Stakhovsky in the semi-final, who beat him 6-2 6-4 and reached the final without dropping a set. There Lu’s comeback was given a mind-blowing ending, with Stakhovsky saving not less than seven match points to take down his fifth Challenger title, 4-6 6-3 7-6(7). Stakhovsky reentered the top 100 at #96, rising twenty-two spots. The same went for Lu, who rose eight spots to #100.
Serhiy Stakhovsky passed to semi-final of the Seoul ATP Challenger Tour. Serhiy, we believe in you! pic.twitter.com/h2eYvpHaal
Only two seeds survived the first round and only one of them the second round as well. Diego Schwartzman, top seed and new owner of a ATP title, knew a shocking first round exit, with wildcard Mathias Bourgue beating him 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1. In the second round Bourgue lost 3-6 6-3 6-4 to Steve Darcis, who because of injury played his first tournament in three months. He nearly managed to reach the semi-final as well, but Bjorn Fratangelo stopped him in a third set tiebreak, 4-6 6-2 7-6(3). Fratangelo won another crucial tiebreak in his next match, beating Maximo Gonzalez 7-6(5) 6-1 for a place in the final.
Elias Ymer took out second seed Lukas Rosol in the first round, 6-4 6-4, dropping the exact same number of games as in their quarterfinal encounter in Aix-En-Provence last week. A round later something even more remarkable happened, as Ymer had a nasty fall while match point up in the third set tiebreak at *6-5 against Roberto Carballes Baena, keeping him on the ground for a good while and forcing him to take a medical timeout. He recovered in miraculous fashion, however, losing the next point after he served underarm, but after that saving the match point and winning the tiebreak 9-7.
It didn’t seem to be a serious injury for Ymer, as he beat qualifier Jonathan Eysseric a round later to reach the semi-final. There Ymer was outsmarted by the lone seed who made it past the second round, seventh seed Rogerio Dutra Silva, who won 4-6 6-1 6-3. The final against Fratangelo was a piece of cake for the Brazilian, winning 6-3 6-1 to claim his eighth Challenger title. Dutra Silva is now also very close to his career high ranking of #84, rising nine spots to #85. Fratangelo rose twelve spots to #104, a career high.
Remise du trophée au brésilien Rogerio Dutra Silva, vainqueur de #Primrose2016
— Virginie Calmels (@VirginieCalmels) May 15, 2016
Heilbronn
The many matches top seed Ricardas Berankis has played recently caught up with him, losing 6-3 1-6 6-3 to Marsel Ilhan in the first round. Ilhan’s opponent was decided between a blast from the past match-up between former top 10 player Janko Tipsarevic and former top 40 player Carlos Berlocq, both struggling with injury. Berlocq won 7-5 6-3 and also beat Ilhan a round later, 2-6 6-2 6-3. Rising youngster Jozef Kovalik was too much in the quarterfinal, however, with the match ending 6-1 6-4. Kovalik’s semi-final opponent was Nikoloz Basilashvili, who in all honesty was fortunate to win his previous two matches against Blaz Rola and eighth seed Igor Sijsling. Against both Basilashvili was the lesser player for the biggest part of the match, but had luck and clutchness on his side when it mattered. Rola and Sijsling respectively went out with 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(5) and 6-2 3-6 6-4 scorelines. The semi-final saw Basilashvili play a lot better, at least after a terrible first set, beating Kovalik 1-6 6-4 6-3 for a place in the final.
Despite his loss Rola went viral, due to this remarkable shot.
One of the most absurd winners of the year on ATP Challenger Tour by Blaz Rola pic.twitter.com/IAS8kw58QW
In the bottom half another blast from the past, former top 20 player Florian Mayer. Like Tipsarevic and Berlocq, he struggled a lot with injury. Mayer started the tournament well and took out second seed Horacio Zeballos and Frances Tiafoe in three sets. In the quarterfinal sixth seed Jan-Lennard Struff was way too strong, however, 6-2 6-3. Struff continued his dominance in the semi-final against third seed Albert Montanes, 6-0 6-3. In the final the ever unpredictable Basilashvili played another great match, taking down his second Challenger title of the year, 6-4 7-6(3). This despite hiccups at 5-3* and 5-4 in the second set, where he missed a match point in both games.
A remarkable season so far for Basilashvili, in which he either won the tournament or played terrible tennis and lost after one or two matches. If only he would be able to build some consistency into his game, because the 24-year-old has an attractive game and lot of potential. Nevertheless, he is close to the top 100 again, rising twenty spots to #105. Struff rose five spots to #102.
There are not a lot of people who love tennis as much as Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. The 38-year-old refuses to retire and still has an endless passion for playing the sport, still being well capable of posting a decent result here and there. This was one of those weeks. Ramirez Hidalgo beat third seed Amir Weintraub 6-2 6-4 for a place in the semi-final against Ramkumar Ramanathan, which had to be played on the same day due to rain earlier in the week. No problem for the veteran. He ousted his 17-year younger opponent after a marathon match, 2-6 7-6(5) 7-6(0), even handing him a bagel in the deciding tiebreak. This also secured him of a record, that of oldest Challenger finalist of all-time.
Surely after effectively playing a gruelling five-set match he will be left with no chance in the final against top seed Karen Khachanov the next day, who is half his age at 19 and advanced to the final when Agustin Velotti retired after eight games? Not quite. Despite Khachanov winning the first set 6-1, Ramirez Hidalgo fought himself back into the match and in remarkable fashion managed to win the tiebreak after being 1-5* down in it, 7-6(6). A true testament to his character. There was no shame in the third set once again ending convincingly in Khachanov’s favor, 6-1. Khachanov rose fourteen spots to #109 after winning his second Challenger title, a new career high. Ramirez Hidalgo made a big jump of sixty-eight spots to #250, exactly 200 spots shy of his career high ranking of ten years ago. Keep on grinding, Ruben.
The champion of#ATP#Challenger#Samarkand is Karen Khachanov! Our congratulations! pic.twitter.com/58IyaMnhUx
Last but not least, if you follow me on Twitter (@TennisPurist) and wondered why my account has been suspended, it’s because the ATP is behind it. Hundreds, perhaps evens thousands, of tennis accounts are regularly posting innocent videos about the sport we all love so dearly, providing the ATP with free advertisement through video clips of mostly thirty seconds. Yet I became the first person ever to get targeted for it due to copyright infringement, immediately resulting in the permanent suspension of my Twitter account.
Coincidentally I’m also one of the few people in the tennis world who extensively writes about match-fixing and doping, not only on Twitter but for example also through my own blog, making the reason why out of so many people to choose from the ATP only decided to target me seem very sinister. Read more about it here, I will update the thread if there are new developments:
2016 Anning, Taipei, Tallahassee and Ostrava Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Anning
Top seed Yoshihito Nishioka didn’t sign up in time and had to play one round of qualifying first, but it didn’t help him to gain rhythm, as he lost 7-5 7-6(2) to Andrew Whittington in the first round of the main draw. Nishioka was the only seed with an early loss in this half. Seventh seed Mathias Bourgue beat Whittington 6-1 6-4 in the quarterfinal, while third seed Saketh Myneni beat eighth seed Arthur de Greef 6-1 6-3 to reach the semi-final. Unfortunately, Myneni came down with a right shoulder injury there, having to retire while trailing Bourgue 6-0 3-1.
In the bottom half fifth seed Alexander Sarkissian got upset in the first round by eternal youngster Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (38), 6-4 7-5. Ramirez Hidalgo got close to beating another seed in the quarterfinal, when he faced second seed Jordan Thompson. It would turn into a nightmare match for Ramirez Hidalgo, as he missed five match points and saw Thompson take down the match in a third set tiebreak, 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(9). Thompson went on to show how close to each other glory and agony can be, as he beat Aleksandr Nedovyesov 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the semi-final and Bourgue 6-3 6-2 in the final, winning his second Challenger title. And that wasn’t all, as the twenty-eight ranking spots he gained meant entry into the top 100 for the first time for the 22-year-old Australian, coming in at #90. Bourgue rose twenty-three spots to a career high #170.
The agony of Sam Groth continues, as the second seed lost 1-6 7-6(2) 6-4 in the first round to 29-year-old qualifier Yuya Kibi, ranked 445th. Top seed Ricardas Berankis is on a completely different path, reaching three finals in a row (winning two of them) and sitting on a career high ranking and continuing his good run here. Berankis didn’t drop a set on his way to the semi-final, beating fifth seed Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4 7-5 to reach that stage. Eighth seed Konstantin Kravchuk beat third seed Tatsuma Ito 3-6 6-1 6-2 to set up a semi-final meeting against Liam Broady, whom the Russian beat as well, 6-2 6-4.
Berankis faced Daniel Evans in the semi-final, who beat Marinko Matosevic 6-3 7-5 to get there. Berankis was on a 13-match winning streak, but Evans ended it, beating Berankis 6-3 7-6(5) for a place in the final. There a hard-fought battle with Kravchuk followed, but Evans managed to come out on top and win his fourth title, 3-6 6-4 6-4. Another first time entrant into the top 100, as 25-year-old Evans rose twenty-six spots to #97. Impressive, especially given that he wasn’t even ranked inside of the top 750 just one year ago. Kravchuk repeated his result of last year and dropped one spot to #126.
An interesting draw in Tallahassee, as top seed Donald Young had a rematch with Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Medvedev got defaulted from their second round match in Savannah a week earlier, due to an alleged racial slur, while suggesting Young and the umpire were friends. No such thing this week, as Young beat him 6-4 7-6(5). Young faced his young countryman Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinal, where Tiafoe showed he might have a lot more potential than former child prodigy Young, beating him 2-6 6-4 6-3. Another American who was promised a bright future but doesn’t seem to deliver followed next for Tiafoe, as he faced Ryan Harrison in the semi-final. And once again Tiafoe prevailed, 7-6(4) 6-4.
Young was the only seed to reach the quarterfinal, creating a lot of opportunities for lower-ranked players. One of them was Quentin Halys, a 19-year-old Frenchman. Halys beat James Ward 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the quarterfinal, after which he had less trouble with James McGee in the semi-final, 6-4 6-1. This gave us an interesting encounter between teenagers in the final, with Halys facing 18-year-old Tiafoe. The match turned out to be spectacular and gave us a taste of things to come in the future from these two, with Halys prevailing 6-7(6) 6-4 6-2 to win his first Challenger title. Halys reached a new career high ranking, rising forty-four spots to #158. Tiafoe repeated his result of last year and remained unchanged at #191.
Another tournament in which the seeds went out like flies in the early rounds, with only third seed Jurgen Zopp moving past the second round. Top seed Adam Pavlasek lost 6-3 7-6(2) to Yasutaka Uchiyama and second seed Blaz Rola 6-4 6-4 to Pedro Cachin, both in the first round. 19-year-old wildcard Zdenek Kolar rose to the occasion, beating Uchiyama 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the second round, Jordi Samper-Montana 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the quarterfinal and qualifier Marek Michalicka 6-2 6-1 in the semi-final. An absolute dream run.
A similar story would develop in the bottom half, with world #276 Constant Lestienne becoming the other finalist. Lestienne beat Zopp 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinal and qualifier Stefano Napolitano 6-2 6-4 in the semi-final. A tournament of dream runs, with qualifiers Michalicka en Napolitano also qualifying for that term by reaching the semi-final. Lestienne’s experience prevailed in the final against Kolar, beating him 6-7(5) 6-1 6-2 to win his first Challenger title. Lestienne rose seventy-one ranking spots to a career high #205, while Kolar rose 133 spots to #354, also a career high.
2016 Busan, Aix en Provence, Karshi and Rome Challenger Previews & Predictions Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Busan Open Challenger Tour Tennis
ATP Challenger Tour
Busan, Korea
2-8 May 2016
Hardcourt, Rebound Ace
Prize Money: $100,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Ricardas Berankis (55)
2: John Millman (66)
3: Sam Groth (80)
4: Hyeon Chung (84)
5: Tatsuma Ito (104)
6: Lukas Lacko (113)
7: Yuichi Sugita (114)
8: Michael Berrer (115)
The last direct acceptance is Ti Chen, ranked 213th.
First round match-up to watch
(4) Hyeon Chung – Konstantin Kravchuk
19-year-old Chung peaked at a ranking of #51 in October, but still struggles with the transition to main tour tennis, having dropped to his current ranking of #82 and now trying to increase his ranking again by playing a Challenger. Hopefully this won’t be a recurring theme, because in the long run he will be better off facing stronger opposition in main tour events. Chung has already shown he is above Challenger level and will likely pick up another title here.
Top Half
Top seed Ricardas Berankis has successfully played a lot of tennis in the past couple of weeks and one has to imagine he is starting to feel tired. He might reach the semi-final solely based on how far above the rest of his opposition he will be skill wise, but it won’t be enough to beat Chung. Like Chung, let’s hope Berankis can settle down on the main tour for good now that he has increased his ranking close to the top 50 with a lot of Challenger tennis.
Bottom Half
Third seed Sam Groth has not returned well from foot surgery and is currently in very bad form. He is projected to meet Daniel Evans in the second round, who won a title last week, which will probably be the end of the road for Groth. Second seed John Millman is the favorite to come out of this half, but he has a very tricky draw, which might see him get upset prematurely. Millman faces Austin Krajicek in the first round, after which his projected path consists of respectively Sergiy Stakhovsky, Michael Berrer and Daniel Evans.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Chung d. Berankis
Millman d. Evans
Final:
Chung d. Millman
Open du Pays d’Aix-Trophee Caisse d’Epargne
ATP Challenger Tour
Aix en Provence, France
2-8 May 2016
Red Clay
Prize Money: €85,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Lukas Rosol (65)
2: Diego Schwartzman (87)
3: Rogerio Dutra Silva (101)
4: Stephane Robert (116)
5: Mischa Zverev (129)
6: Elias Ymer (132)
7: Daniel Brands (135)
8: Maximo Gonzalez (136)
The last direct acceptance is Tristan Lamasine, ranked 203rd. Former world #25 Julien Benneteau received a wildcard.
First round match-up to watch
Edouard Roger-Vasselin – Kimmer Coppejans
22-year-old Coppejans looked to be on the verge of breaking through many times, but can’t seem to make the step to main tour level. He cracked the top 100 almost a year ago, but has only regressed since, now being ranked 165th. He faces a tricky veteran in former world #35 Roger-Vasselin, who despite dropping to his current ranking of #190 is still a tough draw. However, if his ranking doesn’t improve soon he might retire from singles altogether and focus on his doubles career, where he is ranked 17th.
Top Half
Top seed Lukas Rosol might be by far the best ranked player in this half, you can’t call him by far the most likely to advance to the final. He hasn’t been in good form lately and there will be many tricky players on his path. Sixth seed Elias Ymer is his projected quarterfinal opponent and the 20-year-old is in good form, having won the Barletta Challenger two weeks ago. The same goes for Mischa Zverev, who comes off a tournament win at the Sarasota Challenger. Although it has to be said the green clay in the United States and the red clay here are a world of difference.
Bottom Half
Diego Schwartzman is the second seed, but I think it’s unlikely he will play here, having just won his first ATP title at Istanbul yesterday. Perhaps veteran fourth seed Stephane Robert can profit, being placed in a quarter with seventh seed Daniel Brands, who prefers faster courts. I would say Brands even is an underdog to get past his first round match against Renzo Olivo, who is likely to battle it out with Robert for a place in the semi-final. The winner of that match will be the favorite to reach the final as well.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Rosol d. Dutra Silva
Olivo d. Monteiro
Final:
Rosol d. Olivo
Karshi Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Karshi, Uzbekistan
2-7 May 2016
Hardcourt, Plexipave
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Dudi Sela (78)
2: Karen Khachanov (128)
3: Radu Albot (151)
4: Aleksandr Nedovyesov (197)
5: Amir Weintraub (198)
6: Denys Molchanov (224)
7: Dmitry Popko (230)
8: Aslan Karatsev (231)
The last direct acceptance is Ilya Ivashka, ranked 365th.
First round match-up to watch
(2) Karen Khachanov – Aleksandre Metreveli
Khachanov is really breaking through this year, currently ranked at a career high #128 after a great showing at the ATP 500 event of Barcelona. There he beat Aljaz Bedene, before adding an impressive top 20 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut to his résumé in the second round. Even though that was a clay event, he is equally as good on hardcourt and should be the clear favorite to reach the final here. There an interesting encounter with top seed Dudi Sela is projected, who won the Shenzhen Challenger last month and reached two other Challenger semi-finals.
Draw
I already gave away my expected final and it’s difficult to see another outcome, with Sela and Khachanov clearly being ahead of the rest of the field. This can also be seen in the rankings, with third seed Radu Albot ranked outside of the top 150, while fourth seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov is only barely ranked inside of the top 200.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Sela d. Albot
Khachanov d. Nedovyesov
Final:
Khachanov d. Sela
Roma Garden Open
ATP Challenger Tour
Rome, Italy
2-7 May 2016
Red Clay
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Jiri Vesely (63)
2: Kyle Edmund (89)
3: Horacio Zeballos (91)
4: Adam Pavlasek (109)
5: Filip Krajinovic (110)
6: Jordan Thompson (118)
7: Kenny De Schepper (148)
8: Vincent Millot (149)
The last direct acceptance is Axel Michon, ranked 217th.
First round match-up to watch
(1) Jiri Vesely – Marsel Ilhan
Novak Djokovic will be relieved, one less thing to worry about in Madrid this week, as the man who took him out in Monte Carlo is playing a Challenger this week. Vesely is prioritizing this event over playing qualifying in Madrid, a decision certainly made before that legendary victory over the world number one. Vesely has been handed a good draw, with the players who could potentially threaten him being placed in the bottom half, so he is a big favorite to reach the final.
Top Half
As said, Vesely has a comfortable draw, being placed in a quarter with mostly players who don’t even have clay as their favorite surface. In the semi-final he is likely to faced third seed Horacio Zeballos or Adrian Ungur. Ungur faces fifth seed Filip Krajinovic in the first round, a rematch of their first round match in Istanbul last week, which Ungur comfortably won 6-3 6-3. Ungur then went on to massively threaten second seed and eventual runner-up Grigor Dimitrov in the second round, with the match ending 7-5 4-6 7-5.
Bottom Half
Second seed Kyle Edmund should be able to comfortably get through to at least the semi-final, where he is projected to face the in-form fourth seed Adam Pavlasek or sixth seed Jordan Thompson, who won the Anning Challenger last week. Pavlasek has already reached three Challenger finals this year, although he lost them all, one of which to Thompson in Cherbourg. Nevertheless, Edmund should be a decent favorite against either one of them.
2016 Le Gosier and Napoli Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Le Gosier
After being forced to withdraw from his second round match at Miami due to sickness, Rajeev Ram took a wildcard into this event and became the top seed. 15-year-old revelation Felix Auger-Aliassime received a wildcard as well, but had to withdraw in the third set of his first round encounter against Gianni Mina. He cited weakness as the reason, which I don’t think I have ever seen before. Ram survived the first two rounds, but then received a beatdown at the hands of sixth seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinal, 6-2 6-2. The other semi-finalist from the top half was 18-year-old Stefan Kozlov, who beat Vincent Millot 5-7 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinal. In a great match between youngsters, Nishioka is 20, Kozlov managed to squeeze out the win, 3-6 7-5 6-3.
In the bottom half second seed Taylor Fritz survived a spectacular match in the second round against Gonzalo Lama, surviving four match points in his 6-7(9) 6-4 7-6(10) win. Fritz’s eventual loss followed in similarly spectacular fashion, losing 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5 to third seed Malek Jaziri in the semi-final. The final put a halt to all the marathon matches, with Jaziri convincingly beating his 14-year younger opponent, 6-2 6-4. Jaziri rose twenty ranking spots to #74 after winning his fifth Challenger title, while Kozlov made a big jump of seventy spots to #225, a career high ranking.
Top seed Filip Krajinovic barely survived his first round match against qualifier Julian Reister, after which Arthur De Greef beat him in the second round, 6-4 7-5. Third seed Jan-Lennard Struff went out in the first round to wildcard Gianluca Mager, 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4. De Greef took out another seed in the quarterfinal, fifth seed Roberto Carballes Baena, 7-6(2) 6-3. Marius Copil offered even less resistance in the semi-final, with De Greef prevailing 6-3 6-2. In the bottom half the seeds did equally bad, with, fourth seed Thomas Fabbiano going out in the first round and second seed Rogerio Dutra Silva only going one round further.
Dutra Silva lost to Jozef Kovalik, who took full advantage of the draw opening up. He beat old-timer Filippo Volandri in the quarterfinal, 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2, before beating sixth seed Gastao Elias 6-1 6-7(6) 6-3 in the semi-final. Kovalik had it easier in the final, beating De Greef 6-3 6-2 to win his second Challenger title. Kovalik rose thirty-two ranking spots to a career high ranking of #139, while De Greef rose eight spots to crack the top 200 for the first time at #198.
2016 Kyoto and Cherbourg Challenger Previews & Predictions Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships
ATP Challenger Tour
Kyoto, Japan
22-28 February 2016
Carpet, Indoor Synthetic
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Yuichi Sugita (117)
2: Tatsuma Ito (120)
3: Go Soeda (131)
4: Luke Saville (184)
5: Hiroki Moriya (190)
6: Yan Bai (211)
7: Ti Chen (220)
8: Duckhee Lee (230)
The last direct acceptance is Jimmy Wang, ranked 441st.
First round match-up to watch
(5) Hiroki Moriya – Flavio Cipolla
Cipolla’s results have been dire lately, but last week he had somewhat of a resurgence he will perhaps be able to build on. The former world #70 reached the semi-final in New Delhi, so perhaps he can cause some troubles against the fifth seed here.
Top Half
A potential clash of generations awaits in the quarterfinal, with 31-year-old Go Soeda and 17-year-old Duckhee Lee on course to meet. They played each other three times, with Soeda winning all of them, but Lee got closer on each occasion, so perhaps he can finally go all the way this time.
If Moriya is able to survive his opening round against Cipolla, a very familiar face might await him in the quarterfinal, top seed Yuichi Sugita. The two have met ten times, with Sugita leading 6-4.
Bottom Half
Second seed Tatsuma Ito is the clear favorite to go through to the final here, although he has a tricky first round opponent in Ze Zhang. Nevertheless, he is expected to go through in this half, which also features Luke Saville, Ti Chen and Yan Bai as outsiders.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Sugita d. Lee
Ito d. Saville
Final:
Sugita d. Ito
Challenger La Manche – Cherbourg
ATP Challenger Tour
Cherbourg, France
22-28 February 2016
Hardcourt, Green Set
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Filip Krajinovic (98)
2: Yoshihito Nishioka (110)
3: Pierre-Hugues Herbert (111)
4: Daniel Brands (132)
5: Adam Pavlasek (144)
6: Jordan Thompson (149)
7: Karen Khachanov (150)
8: Kenny De Schepper (152)
The last direct acceptance is Rankumar Ramanathan, ranked 211th.
First round match-ups to watch
Marco Chiudinelli – Ramkumar Ramanathan
Can 34-year-old Chiudinelli continue the great form that saw him win the Wroclaw Challenger last week? Ramanathan started out the year great by reaching the quarterfinal at the Chennai 250 event, but hasn’t won a match since, so it isn’t a bad draw for Chiudinelli.
(5) Adam Pavlasek – (SE) Jan Hernych
36-year-old Hernych is the man who fell to Chiudinelli in the Wroclaw final and guess who Hernych can potentially face in the second round? Exactly, Chiudinelli. It would be a nice little story and surely is possible given Pavlasek’s limited expertise on indoor hardcourt.
Top Half
One of Chiudinelli and Hernych might reach the quarterfinal, but it’s hard to imagine them making back to back deep runs at their age. Fourth seed Daniel Brands is placed in this section as well and has a great opportunity to reach the semi-final. His opponent there is hard to predict, with several players having a good opportunity. Top seed Filip Krajinovic faces a tough first round opponent in Daniel Evans, while youngster Andrey Rublev and Kenny De Schepper also have an excellent chance to advance.
Bottom Half
Pierre-Hugues Herbert won the Bergamo Challenger two weeks ago and after a spectacular first round loss against Farrukh Dustov in Wroclaw last week, 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-7(3), he should be ready for another deep run. He certainly has a comfortable enough draw to do so. Herbert should at least be able to reach the semi-final, where he will likely reach one of Yoshihito Nishioka, Vincent Millot or Karen Khachanov.
Tennis Atlantic 
