2015 ATP Szczecin, Istanbul, Banja Luka, Nanchang, Cary and Kenitra Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Szczecin
A painful tournament for second seed Robin Haase, as he skipped the Davis Cup tie against Switzerland to try and build up his ranking, only to crash out against world #407 Artem Smirnov in the second round, 6-3 4-6 6-4. Smirnov showed it wasn’t a fluke, as he beat fifth seed Inigo Cervantes in the next round, 3-6 6-1 7-5. Then Smirnov got a lucky break in the semi-final, as fourth seed Marco Cecchinato withdrew with a stomach injury.
The top half saw sixth seed Nicolas Almagro’s excellent run end, he won the Genova Challenger last week, as seventh seed Jan-Lennard Struff beat him 6-3 4-6 7-5 in the semi-final. Struff ousted top seed Pablo Carreno Busta a round earlier, 6-1 7-6(1). The final against Smirnov turned out to be a comfortable affair for Struff, as he took his second career Challenger title. A very welcome one, as he was only 1-9 in Challenger finals prior to this tournament. Struff rose eleven ranking spots to #137, while 27-year-old Smirnov made a monster jump of 142 spots to #265, only three places shy of his career high ranking of 262. His ATP profile is currently completely devoid of any information, perhaps another result like this one will take care of that.
Istanbul
It took a while for top seed Sergiy Stakhovsky to find his rhythm. In the first round he scraped by qualifier Ilya Ivashka, 3-6 6-1 6-4, with a similar scenario unfolding against Nils Langer in the second round, 2-6 7-5 7-5. After that things changed drastically, only dropping four games against Marius Copil and five against fourth seed Andrey Kuznetsov to book a place in the final. In the bottom half the seeds fell like flies. Second seed Marsel Ilhan fell to Aslan Karatsev in the first round, 6-7(4) 6-3 6-1, while third seed Radu Albot lost 6-0 7-6(3) to Yannick Mertens in the second round.
Fifth seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov fell 6-7(7) 7-6(7) 6-3 to Karen Khachanov, which turned out to be a monumental victory for the 19-year-old, as he went on to comfortably find his way to the final without dropping a set. There he also beat world #53 Stakhovsky to claim his first ever Challenger title, 4-6 6-4 6-3. The nineteen ranking spots he rose means a new career high ranking for the young Russian, #164. Stakhovsky moved into the top 50, rising three spots.
Banja Luka
Top seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver struggled past Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round, 6-7(8) 6-1 7-6(4), after which he got upset by wildcard Flavio Cipolla in the next round, 6-4 7-6(5). Victor Hanescu was the one to profit, beating Cipolla 6-1 6-2 in the quarterfinal and surprising semi-finalist Miljan Zekic a round later, 7-5 6-7(6) 6-4, to reach the final. In the bottom half second seed Marcel Granollers withdrew citing personal reasons, leaving a lucky loser to fill his spot. Adrian Ungur came out as the winner in that section, beating Jozef Kovalik 6-3 6-1 in the quarterfinal. Third seed Dusan Lajovic was too much in the semi-final, however, notching up a 6-3 6-4 victory to advance to the final without dropping a set. He kept it up in the final against Hanescu, although it was a very tight affair, 7-6(5) 7-6(5). It meant a return into the top 100 for the Serb, rising six spots to #96. Hanescu rose thirty-six spots to #188.
Top seed Yen-Hsun Lu withdrew citing a lower back injury, leaving seventh seed Thomas Fabbiano to profit and take control of the section, reaching the semi-final by beating Alexander Sarkissian 6-1 6-4. In the other section Peter Gojowczyk comfortably reached the semi-final without dropping a set, but faced stiff competition in Fabbiano, barely beating him 3-6 7-6(4) 7-6(2). In the bottom half second seed Go Soeda continued his slump, getting trashed 6-2 6-1 by Amir Weintraub in the first round. Weintraub marched onto the semi-final, where he beat eighth seed Jordan Thompson 6-3 6-4. Gojowczyk was way too strong in the final, however, beating Weintraub 6-2 6-1 to claim his fourth Challenger title. He landed on a new ranking of #140, rising thirty spots. Weintraub rose a massive ninety-seven spots to #279.
Cary
The seeds held up well here, with six of them reaching the quarterfinals. There, top seed Bjorn Fratangelo fell 6-1 3-6 6-3 to sixth seed Brydan Klein, while second seed Austin Krajicek fell 7-5 7-6(2) to fifth seed Ryan Harrison. Klein fell in the semi-final to seventh seed Dennis Novikov, 1-6 7-5 7-5. while Harrison beat fourth seed Blaz Rola 4-6 7-5 6-2 for a place in the final. There 21-year-old Novikov pulled off a career best achievement, winning his first ever Challenger title by beating Harrison 6-4 7-5. Naturally he also reached a new career high ranking of #163, rising forty-five spots. Harrison rose thirteen spots to #116.
Kenitra
Top seed and new member of the top 100 Daniel Munoz-De La Nava got upset by Maximilian Marterer in the quarterfinal, 7-5 6-4. Fourth seed Roberto Carballes Baena took advantage in the semi-final, beating Marterer comfortably, 6-3 6-2. The bottom half delivered a surprising finalist. Second seed Damir Dzumhur lost to Javier Marti in the second round, 6-2 7-6(6). Third seed Facundo Arguello lost in the quarterfinal to Oriol Roca Batalla, 6-7(4) 6-0 6-2. Roca Batalla went on to reach the final after a 4-6 7-5 6-4 victory over Marti, but his titanic efforts caught up with him in the final, having to retire with an adductor injury while Carballes Baena was leading 6-1 5-1. Nevertheless, he rose forty-six ranking spots to #204. Carballes Baena rose fifteen spots to a career high #135 after winning his first Challenger.
2014 Orleans, Napa, Kenitra, Sibiu, Pereira and Porto Alegre Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Orleans
World #24 Philipp Kohlschreiber took a wild card into the event after pulling out with injury in Metz the week before, which didn’t turn out well as he lost 7-6(3) 6-1 to Tim Puetz in the first round. Suspiciously enough, the last time he played a Challenger involved a similar scenario, when he took a wild card into Orleans ranked #18, losing in straight sets in the first round as well. Puetz went on to beat Dustin Brown and lose to #6 seed Sergiy Stakhovsky in the quarterfinal, 6-7(3) 6-1 6-3. Stakhovsky won an interesting encounter with Jiri Vesely in the semi-final, 6-7(5) 7-5 6-0. There to meet Stakhovsky in the final was fifth seed Thomaz Bellucci, who took out #2 seed Igor Sijsling and #7 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. The final went no further than straight sets as well, but this time it had Bellucci on the losing end, as Stakhovsky won the title after a 6-2 7-5 win over the Brazilian. This strengthened Stakhovsky’s top 100 position considerably, as he rose eighteen positions to #72. Bellucci is ranked just above him, rising eleven spots to #68.
Napa
#1 seed Sam Querrey survived a big scare in the second round against the young Swede Elias Ymer, going down a set and a break before winning 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-3. #3 seed Marcos Baghdatis hadn’t recovered from the ankle injury that made him pull out of the US Open. He won his first round match, but had to retire against John Millman in the following one. Millman lost in the quarterfinal to Alex Bolt, who took out #5 seed Peter Polansky in the first round. Another surprise semi-finalist was Jared Donaldson, who took advantage of both seeds in his section falling in the first round: #4 seed Bradley Klahn fell to Wayne Odesnik and #8 seed Frank Dancevic to qualifier Daniel Nguyen. In the semi-final, Donaldson almost managed to pull off the upset against #2 seed Tim Smyczek, but fell just short, 3-6 6-4 6-3. Querrey had no problems against Bolt, 6-2 6-3, and repeated that dominance in the final with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Smyczek. The victory meant a return into the top 100 at #47, improving seven spots. Smyczek stayed put at #99.
Kenitra
#6 seed Matteo Viola, who has been in great form as of late, got upset in the first round by Rui Machado, 7-6(3) 7-6(4). Outside of Viola, the seeds performed well, with three of the top four seeds reaching the semi-final. Only Roberto Carballes Baena squeezed himself in as an outsider, beating #8 seed Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round and beating #4 seed Aljaz Bedene in the quarterfinal after saving a match point, 7-6(3) 2-6 7-6(5). He continued his good form against #1 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but came up just short, 4-6 6-4 6-3. In the bottom half, #3 seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver was on a roll after slumping in his past couple of tournaments. He didn’t drop a set en route to the final, humiliating #2 seed Damir Dzumhur, 6-3 6-0.
In the final, Ramos-Vinolas also wasn’t given a chance, as Gimeno-Traver won 6-3 6-4. Gimeno-Traver inches closer to the top 100, rising sixteen spots to #113. Ramos-Vinolas had a minor improvement, rising four spots to #66.
Sibiu
The two top seeds didn’t last long, as #1 seed Blaz Rola lost 6-3 7-6(1) to Radu Albot in the first round and #2 seed Albert Montanes lost 6-3 6-1 to Jason Kubler in the second. Both wins turned out to be far from flukes, as both men made it all the way to the final.
Albot got through after #3 seed Pere Riba retired while being 7-6(3) 3-1 down, while Kubler barely scraped through against #7 seed Potito Starace, 2-6 7-6(3) 6-0. In the final, Kubler did no such thing, however, as he dominated Albot and won his first Challenger title, 6-4 6-1. This also meant a new career high ranking for the 21-year-old Australian, rising 39 spots to #155. Albot dropped fourteen spots to #186, as he was defending a Challenger win in Uzbekistan.
Pereira
#1 seed Victor Estrella Burgos recovered nicely after his disappointing second round loss last week, marching all the way to the final without dropping a set. This includes victories against last week’s Quito runner-up Nicolas Jarry, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava and #7 seed Guido Pella. In the bottom half, the seeds fared less well. #2 seed Alejandro Falla fell in the first round to Agustin Velotti, 6-3 4-6 6-3. In reality, that’s not that big of a surprise considering Falla’s clay résumé. #3 seed Paolo Lorenzi’s loss was surprising, however, as he fell to Andres Molteni in the second round, 4-6 6-3 6-1. Last week’s Quito winner, #6 seed Horacio Zeballos, fell in the first round as well, 7-6(8) 4-6 6-3 to Christian Lindell. Velotti marched all the way to the semi-final, where he lost to #5 seed Joao Souza in a dramatic match, 3-6 6-4 7-6(4). Even more dramatic was the final, where Estrella Burgos prevailed over Souza in another thriller after saving a match point, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(6). The result makes Estrella Burgos creep closer to his career high ranking of #69, as he rises ten spots to #71. Souza is comforted by the fact he entered the top 100 again, rising eight spots to #93.
Porto Alegre
The slump of #3 seed Facundo Bagnis continued as he lost 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 to Gianni Mina in the second round. Mina surprised by reaching the semi-final in Campinas last week and repeated that feat here. #1 seed Carlos Berlocq was way too strong, however, dismissing the French youngster 6-1 6-2. Berlocq took on #2 seed Diego Schwartzman in the final, who came off a Challenger win in Campinas the week before. In a strange, but high quality final, Berlocq eventually won 6-4 4-6 6-0. Schwartzman was up 40-0 at both 4-3 and 4-4 in the first set, but lost both games due to some spectacular points from Berlocq, but also a particularly easy volley miss at one of the break points. He then went on to produce a stunning tweener lob at 4-5 15-30, but he couldn’t save the set. After imitating Berlocq’s first set heroics and recovering from a 1-2 0-40 deficit in the second set, he clearly was too tired to put up a fight in the third. The victory meant a rise of ten ranking spots for Berlocq, landing at #59. Schwartzman improved six spots to #82, just shy of his career high ranking of #79.
2014 Orleans, Napa, Kenitra, Sibiu, Pereira and Porto Alegre Challenger Previews, Picks Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
A packed schedule on the Challenger tour this week. There will be two hardcourt events in France and the United States, plus four on clay, played in Morocco, Romania, Colombia and Brazil.
Open D’Orleans
ATP Challenger Tour
Orleans, France
22-28 September
Prize Money: €106,500
The last direct acceptance is Yann Marti, ranked 209th. French youngsters Laurent Lokoli and Tristan Lamasine have received wild cards. An extremely tough field, with all seeds being top 100 players.
First round match-ups to watch
(2) Igor Sijsling – Alexander Zverev
Zverev disappointed with a first round loss last week, but he can avenge himself here with a win over a top 100 player. Sijsling has been in shaky form ever since his semi-final run at Rotterdam in February, although he did push eventual finalist Joao Sousa to a third set tiebreak in the second round of Metz last week.
(6) Sergiy Stakhovsky – (WC) Tristan Lamasine
The young Frenchman has been making some waves on the clay Challenger circuit, so it will be interesting to see how he translates onto hardcourt. He had some good results in Futures event this year, but a player like Stakhovsky is obviously an entire different ball game.
Top Half
World #24 Philipp Kohlschreiber took a wild card into the event after retiring in Metz last week, so one has to assume that his injury isn’t too serious. Dustin Brown is sure to test that in the second round and take revenge for his lost third set tiebreak in Halle this year, when they went all the way to 18-16. But in this strong of a field anything can happen, he also has fellow seeds Jiri Vesely and Nicolas Mahut, in the bottom section, to compete against.
Bottom Half
Igor Sijsling leads this half, but as said he has a tough opener against new kid on the block Alexander Zverev. If he survives that Kenny De Schepper awaits, so it remains to be seen if he even makes the quarterfinal. #7 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu had a good showing in Metz last week, where he choked painfully to Joao Sousa in the quarterfinal (missed 4 MP), who beat Sijsling the round before.
Predictions
Semis:
Kohlschreiber > Mahut
Mathieu > Sijsling
Final:
Kohlschreiber > Mathieu
If Kohlschreiber is fit he should be able to keep up his #1 seed, even though the road to the title is sure to be a tough one with Brown, Stakhovsky, Mahut and Mathieu on his way. Regardless of Kohlschreiber’s superior ranking it would be no surprise if he falls to one of them. One thing is sure, this tournament is bound to provide us with a lot of high quality matches.
Napa Valley Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Napa, CA, USA
20-28 September
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Sam Querrey (52)
2: Tim Smyczek (102)
3: Marcos Baghdatis (107)
4: Bradley Klahn (118)
5: Peter Polansky (122)
6: Michael Russell (124)
7: Denis Kudla (125)
8: Frank Dancevic (147)
The last direct acceptance is Bjorn Fratangelo, ranked 348th.
First round match-ups to watch
James McGee – Elias Ymer
This will be McGee’s first tournament since his great US Open, where he managed to qualify for his first Grand Slam. He takes on 18 year old Ymer, who is having a breakthrough season of himself, starting the year outside of the top 750 and now is ranked inside of the top 250.
(4) Bradley Klahn – Wayne Odesnik
A tough draw for Klahn against the veteran. Last year’s encounter between the two at Aptos ended in a 7-5 4-6 6-2 victory for Klahn, so he surely will be warned for what is waiting for him in this match. Odesnik has been performing well at American hardcourt Challengers, with a semi-final and a final at respectively Lexington and Binghamton in July.
Top Half
On one hand you would say that Querrey should definitely win this. On the other he is prone to random losses and tight matches against a wide variety of players. However, he has an overwhelming head to head advantage of 7-0 against the other seed in his quarter, Michael Russell, so it would be very surprising if he lost to him. Marcos Baghdatis won back to back Challengers before retiring at the US Open against Marin Cilic in the first round, so if he is healthy again he could pose a major threat.
Bottom Half
This half is dominated by Northern Americans, with Tim Smyczek, Bradley Klahn, Denia Kudla and Frank Dancevic being the seeded players. Along with them you have guys like Wayne Odesnik, Ryan Harrison and Robby Ginepri who are all well capable of making a deep run. It’s pretty much impossible to make an accurate prediction since they’re all so close to each other, it really will come down to their form of the day more than ever.
Predictions
Semis:
Querrey > Baghdatis
Harrison > Ginepri
Final:
Querrey > Harrison
Harrison really needs to regroup after bombing at the main level this year and struggling with injury, he surely has the potential to do so. Querrey leads the head to head against Baghdatis 3-0, two of them very close however, and I see him as the favorite against Harrison as well. Yes, Harrison beat him at straight sets in Auckland almost three years ago, but that was a different Harrison.
Morocco Tennis Tour Kenitra
ATP Challenger Tour
Kenitra, Morocco
22-27 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Albert Ramos-Vinolas (71)
2: Damir Dzumhur (115)
3: Daniel Gimeno-Traver (135)
4: Aljaz Bedene (144)
5: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (160)
6: Matteo Viola (182)
7: Lucas Pouille (199)
8: Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (213)
The last direct acceptance is Inigo Cervantes, ranked 297th.
First round match-ups to watch
(7) Lucas Pouille – Henri Laaksonen
Pouille comes off a great week at the previous Moroccan Challenger in Meknes, where he reached the final, in which he lost to Kimmer Coppejans in three sets. He isn’t used to playing that much tennis, so perhaps Laaksonen can take advantage here if Pouille is suffering from tiredness.
Top Half
Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas should be marked a clear favorite here. He lost in the final of the Banja Luka Challenger two weeks ago and lost in the second round in Meknes last week, but that was against Matteo Viola, who is in great form. Pouille is in his quarter and Coppejans in his half, so if they can continue their forms of last week he will have tough competition. If they’re tired and can’t back it up he might cruise all the way to the final.
Bottom Half
#3 seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver has been in bad form lately, but he has a good draw here and should create some momentum for himself by reaching the semi-final at the very least. There he will most likely face in form Matteo Viola or second seed Damir Dzumhur. Dzumhur trashed Viola 6-1 6-2 earlier this year, so against him and a slumping Gimeno-Traver he should be the favorite to reach the final.
Predictions
Semis:
Ramos-Vinolas > Bedene
Dzumhur > Gimeno-Traver
Final:
Ramos-Vinolas > Dzumhur
Sibiu Open 2014
ATP Challenger Tour
Sibiu, Romania
22-28 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Blaz Rola (85)
2: Albert Montanes (110)
3: Pere Riba (112)
4: Adrian Ungur (132)
5: Victor Hanescu (139)
6: Marton Fucsovics (142)
7: Potito Starace (149)
8: Marco Cecchinato (151)
The last direct acceptance is Tomislav Brkic, ranked 294th.
First round match-ups to watch
(4) Adrian Ungur – Andrea Arnaboldi
The high seeded player might be in danger here. The last time the two met on Moroccan clay, in 2010, Arnaboldi took the match in three sets: 2-6 6-2 6-4. He nearly beat Viola during his run to the Biella title, so it looks like Arnaboldi is recovering some form after his losing streak before.
Jaroslav Pospisil – Marius Copil
33 year old Pospisil has been stringing some good results together in his latest clay Challenger appearances, reaching two semi-finals and a quarterfinal. In the mean time Copil just can’t seem to force the breakthrough a lot of people were predicting him to make, although he did hammer Elias Ymer in straight sets at their Davis Cup tie last week.
Top Half
It’s hard to look past top seed Blaz Rola here, although he has a very tricky draw with Radu Albot in the first round, who reached the semi-final at Trnava last week, where he lost in three sets to the eventual winner Andreas Haider-Maurer. #3 seed Pere Riba has been slumping and might be taken out by veteran Filippo Volandri in the second round. Marco Cecchinato is my pick to advance to the semi-final from that section.
Bottom Half
The players who have the best chance to reach the final are all in the bottom section. Albert Montanes, Antonio Veic and Marton Fucsovics should all be able to beat the threats coming from the bottom section, Potito Starace, Andrea Arnaboldi and Adrian Ungur.
Predictions
Semis:
Rola > Cecchinato
Fucsovics > Starace
Final:
Rola > Fucsovics
Seguros Bolivar Open
ATP Challenger Tour
Pereira, Colombia
22-28 September
Prize Money: $40,000
The last direct acceptance is Theodoros Angelinos, ranked 361st.
First round match-ups to watch
(8) Austin Krajicek – Gonzalo Lama
Krajicek is back in Colombia after surprising everyone by winning the Medellin Challenger on clay three weeks ago. He faces Lama, who did pretty well himself there by reaching the quarterfinal. It will be interesting to see if Krajicek can repeat his form and make another deep run here.
Top Half
Estrella Burgos disappointed last week with a loss against low ranked Gonzalo Escobar after missing several match points. He now faces Nicolas Jarry in the first round, who reached the final at the same tournament. Given Estrella Burgos’ shaky last tournament I would favor fourth seed Alejandro Gonzalez to get out of this half and quite possibly go all the way in his home country, as long as he doesn’t face his nightmare match-up Paolo Lorenzi in the final.
Bottom Half
#4 seed Horacio Zeballos comes off a tournament win at Quito last week, but given his dodgy fitness as of late it remains to be seen if he will handle playing back to back tournaments well. #2 seed Alejandro Falla isn’t playing on his best surface, so this might be an opportunity for the other two seeds, who are both in the top section: Joao Souza and Paolo Lorenzi.
Predictions
Semis:
Gonzalez > Estrella Burgos
Lorenzi > Zeballos
Final:
Lorenzi > Gonzalez
Lorenzi absolutely dominates the head to head against Gonzalez, not having dropped a set in four meetings. This includes two meetings on clay this year: 6-4 6-2 and 6-2 6-1.
Aberto de Tenis do Rio Grande do Sul
ATP Challenger Tour
Porto Alegre, Brazil
22-28 September
Prize Money: $40,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Carlos Berlocq (67)
2: Diego Schwartzman (98)
3: Facundo Bagnis (116)
4: Facundo Arguello (117)
5: Gastao Elias (137)
6: Guido Andreozzi (171)
7: Axel Michon (181)
8: Guilherme Clezar (191)
The last direct acceptance is Fabiano De Paula, ranked 385th.
First round match-ups to watch
(4) Facundo Arguello – Andre Ghem
Arguello disappointed with a second round loss this week in Campinas, while Ghem surprised and went all the way to the final, where he lost to Diego Schwartzman. Ghem is having an amazing last couple of tournaments, going from outside of the top 250 to close to the top 150, all at the age of 32. If he keeps his form the #4 seed is in trouble here.
Top Half
#1 seed Carlos Berlocq is the clear cut favorite here and I can’t see anyone getting close to him. Maybe in the final someone like Ghem or Schwartzman can push him, but otherwise this seems like a breeze for the Argentinian veteran. #8 seed Guilherme Clezar is a good pick to upset #3 seed Facundo Bagnis for the other semi-final spot, Clezar has won their past two meetings in straight sets, both last year.
Bottom Half
Like I said above, I see Ghem and Schwartzman making it to the SF again, after battling it out in the final of Campinas last week. Given their respective ages you would say Schwartzman can handle the back to back deep runs a bit better, so I see no reason why the result would be any different here.
Predictions
Semis:
Berlocq > Clezar
Schwartzman > Ghem
Final:
Berlocq > Schwartzman
Berlocq is simply the big favorite to win this tournament, after which we will surely be treated to one of his trademark shirt rippings.
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