May 2014 ATP Challenger Recap: Struff Rises, Muller Continues Comeback, Krajinovic Wins 1st Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Aix En Provence Challenger (May 5-May 11, 2014)
21 year old Argentine Diego Sebastian Schwartzman won on clay in France over Andreas Beck in 3 sets. DSS beat Yann Marti in the semis, while Beck defeated Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.
Gimcheon Challenger (May 5-May 11, 2014)
Gilles Muller won his fourth Challenger title of the season over Tatsuma Ito in 3 sets in Korea on hard courts. Muller and his serve are proving to be nearly impossible to defeat at the challenger level and the 31 year old veteran is nearly back in the top 100. Muller beat Lukas Lacko in the semis, while Ito beat his countryman, Yuichi Sugita.
Rome Challenger (May 5-May 11, 2014)
Julian Reister beat veteran Pablo Cuevas to win the title in Rome. He improves to 1-1 in Challenger finals this season. The German won on clay against Marco Cecchinato in the semis, while Cuevas beat Filippo Volandri. Top seed Dusan Lajovic was upset by Maximo Gonzalez in round 1.
Bordeaux Challenger (May 12-May 18, 2014)
Veteran and ATP regular Julien Benneteau, the top seed, defeated American Steve Johnson to win on clay at home in France. Benny defeated fellow Frenchman Kenny De Schepper, while Johnson defeated Juan Ignacio Londero in the semifinals.
Busan Challenger (May 12-May 18, 2014)
Go Soeda won on hard courts in Korea over Jimmy Wang in straights. Soeda defeated Marco Chiudinelli in the semis, while Wang beat wild card Hyeon Chung.
Heilbronn 2 Challenger (May 12-May 18, 2014)
JL Struff beat Marton Fucsovics after beating the rising young Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semifinals to win the title in Germany on clay. Struff, playing at home, was the top seed, while Fuscovics beat Andrej Martin in the semis. In a notable upset, the young Brit Kyle Edmund upset 2 seed Dustin Brown in round 1.
Samarkand Challenger (May 12-May 18, 2014)
Farrukh Dustov won at home on clay in Uzbekistan, beating Aslan Karatsev in the final after a win over Boy Westerhof in the semis. Karatsev beat Gerald Melzer in the semis and upset 2 seed Damir Dzumhur in round 2. Top seed and ATP regular Denis Istomin was upset by Westerhof In round 2.
Karshi Challenger (May 19-May 25, 2014)
Nikoloz Basilashvili beat American Chase Buchanan to win the title on hard courts in Uzbekistan. The Georgian beat the in-form Aslan Karatsev in the semis, while Buchanan beat Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the semis.
Vicenza Challenger (May 26-June 1, 2014)
Filip Krajinovic of Serbia beat Norbert Gombos to win the title on clay in Italy. Krajinovic beat the rising Yoshihito Nishioka in the semis, while Gombos defeated Gerald Granollers.
