2014 Izmir, Meknes, Trnava, Campinas and Quito Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Izmir
The early round match-ups that we were looking forward to either didn’t happen or didn’t deliver. Philipp Petzschner had to retire in his first round match against top seed Malek Jaziri, while Alexander Zverev lost in the first round to qualifier Yaraslav Shyla to deny us of an interesting match-up of 17 year olds between him and Borna Coric. That same Coric didn’t disappoint, however. Not only that, he went all the way to the final, where he took down Jaziri 6-1 6-7(7) 6-4 to win his first Challenger title. He showed great tenacity in the final, keeping his composure after missing five match points in the second set and facing break points at 4-3 and 5-4 in the third.
The win puts him inside of the top 150 for the first time in his career, at #140, an increase of 38 spots. Jaziri jumps 14 spots to #18.
Meknes
The aspirations of Pablo Carreno Busta to win back to back titles quickly ended when he got absolutely hammered by Lucas Pouille in the quarterfinal: 6-3 6-0. Matteo Viola continued his excellent form by beating #2 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 6-3 in the second round, before losing to Kimmer Coppejans in the semi-final: 0-6 6-2 6-4. Pouille also reached the final, which guaranteed another young winner, since both are 20 years old. Coppejans won the encounter 4-6 6-2 6-2 to win his first title on the Challenger circuit. After a jump of 64 ranking spots it also means his first top 200 position, at #196. Pouille rises 29 spots, landing at #170, also a career high ranking.
Trnava
Unsurprisingly, the tournament of top seed Robin Haase didn’t end well. The Dutchman has been slumping and lost eleven games in a row against Radu Albot in their second round encounter 1-6 6-3 6-0. Albot lost in the semi-final to Andreas Haider-Maurer, who made his second final in three Challengers. There he faced Antonio Veic, who took out second seed Blaz Rola in the quarterfinal: 7-5 6-3. In the semi-final seventh seed Marton Fucsovics got routined as well: 6-3 6-2. In a very close final Haider-Maurer eventually prevailed to take down his second Challenger title of the month: 2-6 6-3 7-6(4). Veic can’t be too displeased, however, as he was ranked outside of the top 300 only two months ago and after two finals finds himself at the verge of the top 200: #204. Haider-Maurer jumped 21 spots and finds himself in the top 100 again at #92.
Campinas
For three of the four top seeds, the tournament already was over before the quarterfinal. #2 seed Facundo Bagnis lost 2-6 6-3 7-5 in the first round to Richard Becker, #4 seed Gastao Elias lost 6-4 7-5 to Ivo Klec in the same stage and #3 seed Facundo Arguello lost to Jose Pereira in the second round. The top seed didn’t disappoint, however, as Diego Schwartzman took down the tournament after two very tough three set matches 5-7 6-4 7-6(5) in the semi-final against #5 seed Guido Andreozzi and 4-6 6-4 7-5 against #8 seed Andre Ghem in the final. For Ghem, it’s yet another great run after a final and a semi-final and Prague and Medellin in his past tournaments. He rises 26 spots to #171, a new career high ranking, not too shabby for a 32 year old. Schwartzman rises 10 spots to #88.
Quito
A disappointing tournament for top seed and defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos, losing 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) to Gonzalo Escobar in the second round after missing several match points. #2 seed Joao Souza got upset in the semi-final by the surprise of the tournament Nicolas Jarry, an 18 year old Chilean. Another surprising semi-finalist was Andres Molteni, who took #3 seed Horacio Zeballos to the edge: 5-7 6-3 7-5. Zeballos got pushed again by Jarry in the final, but eventually prevailed: 6-4 7-6(9). He remarkably managed to win the tournament without beating a single seed, only facing players ranked outside of the top 300. Jarry jumped 61 places to #244, while Zeballos re-entered the top 100 at #96, rising 18 spots.
2014 Izmir, Meknes, Trnava, Campinas & Quito Challenger Previews Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Turkey, Morocco, Slovakia, Brazil and Ecuador will provide the venues for this week’s Challenger events, with all of them except for Izmir in Turkey (hardcourt) being played on clay.
Izmir Cup
ATP Challenger Tour
Izmir, Turkey
15-21 September
Prize Money: €106,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Malek Jaziri (96)
2: Filip Krajinovic (107)
3: Alexander Kudryavtsev (132)
4: Evgeny Donskoy (135)
5: Ante Pavic (138)
6: Marsel Ilhan (142)
7: Iliya Marchenko (148)
8: Alexander Zverev (150)
The last direct acceptance is Mirza Basic, ranked 304th.
First round match-ups to watch
(1) Malek Jaziri – (PR) Philipp Petzschner
Petzschner comes off his best week after coming back from injury, reaching the semi-final of the Istanbul Challenger, where he lost in three sets to Tatsuma Ito. Jaziri, on the other hand, lost in the first round of that same tournament to #310 Fabrice Martin 6-4 6-2. We may well see the top seed leave the tournament in the first round for the second week in a row.
Ilija Bozoljac – Borna Coric
Coric is rumored to carry a minor knee injury, but he played a Davis Cup match this weekend on clay, losing in straights to Robin Haase. Prior to that he had a great result on hardcourt, however, reaching the second round of the US Open after beating world number 27 Lukas Rosol. With Bozoljac anything could happen, but a lot of people are hoping Coric will prevail to set up a second round match with another 17 year old: Alexander Zverev.
Top Half
This is a tricky half to predict, with a lot of outsiders having a chance to make a deep run. I’d rate #4 seed Evgeny Donskoy the favorite, but he doesn’t have an easy draw with Mirza Basic, Konstantin Kravchuk/Hiroki Moriya and Ante Pavic being on his path. In the top section, I have the feeling Petzschner will upset top seed Jaziri, making a run to the semi-final to face off with Donskoy.
Bottom Half
A second round match-up between 17 year olds Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric would be really interesting, but Coric has a tricky opener against Ilija Bozoljac. #3 seed Alexander Kudryavtsev also had a bad draw, facing off against Egor Gerasimov in the first round, against whom he lost in straight sets only two months ago. In the bottom section, #2 seed Filip Krajinovic should be able to get through, although Ruben Bemelmans is a dangerous floater when he is on his game. If Krajinovic does well at this tournament, it could mean he enters the top 100 for the first time.
Predictions
Semis:
Donskoy > Petzschner
Krajinovic > Zverev
Final:
Krajinovic > Donskoy
Krajinovic is the player who looks the most consistent and stable at the moment, which should get him through this tournament and into the territory of direct qualification for main tour events. He comes off a great Davis Cup weekend, where he beat Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri to secure a 3-2 victory for his team, so his confidence level should be high.
Morocco Tennis Tour Meknes
ATP Challenger Tour
Meknes, Morocco
15-20 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Pablo Carreno Busta (74)
2: Albert Ramos-Vinolas (75)
3: Damir Dzumhur (113)
4: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (163)
5: Roberto Carballes Baena (213)
6: Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (218)
7: Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (222)
8: Lucas Pouille (225)
The last direct acceptance is Yannik Reuter, ranked 295th.
First round match-ups to watch
(8) Lucas Pouille – Gerard Granollers
Pouille comes off a good run in Szczecin, where he reached the semi-final and fell to the eventual winner Dustin Brown. Granollers just fell short in his last two first round matches, losing in three sets both times. However, with 42% of his ranking points to defend in the remainder of the year, Granollers desperately has to make something happen.
Top Half
Top seed Carreno Busta is back for more after his victory in Seville last week and I see no reason why he shouldn’t reach another final here. The other seeds in this half are Lucas Pouille, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and Roberto Carballes Baena, whom I can’t see threatening him. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given that the ranking of #4 seed Menendez-Maceiras is about 100 spots worse than Carreno Busta’s.
Bottom Half
What Carreno Busta is to the top half, Ramos-Vinolas is to the bottom half. The only one relatively close to his ranking is Damir Dzumhur, but he played Davis Cup on indoor hardcourt this weekend, so his form remains to be seen. Ramos faces Matteo Viola, last week’s Biella winner, in the second round, which could be a challenge, but he should be able to get through. Ramos lost to Viktor Troicki in a very close encounter in the final of the Baja Luka Challenger last week, so his form is good.
ATP Challenger Tour
Trnava, Slovakia
15-21 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Robin Haase (70)
2: Blaz Rola (93)
3: Pere Riba (110)
4: Albert Montanes (111)
5: Andreas Haider-Maurer (118)
6: Adrian Ungur (134)
7: Marton Fucsovics (140)
8: Victor Hanescu (143)
The last direct acceptance is Arthur de Greef, ranked 250th. Last week’s Biella semi-finalist Benjamin Balleret entered the tournament as a special exempt. Jan Hajek, Miloslav Mecir and Karol Beck entered the tournament on a wild card.
First round match-ups to watch
(PR) Steve Darcis – Marco Cecchinato
An interesting encounter between two players who could have well been seeded. Cecchinato picked up his form a bit as of late, reaching a quarter and a semi-final in his last two tournaments. Darcis played Davis Cup on indoor hardcourt this weekend, so it remains to be seen how he will adapt.
(5) Andreas Haider-Maurer – (SE) Benjamin Balleret
Will Balleret be able to continue his form after his unlikely lucky loser run to the semi-final last week? After losing to the world #1616 in qualifying, he got another chance and perhaps should’ve given himself more than a semi-final spot, considering he missed a match point in that match. Haider-Maurer comes off a tournament victory and a semi-final last week, so that’s not an easy customer to try and continue your form against.
Top Half
Top seed Haase should make it to the quarterfinal, but there Darcis, Cecchinato or Ungur will be a tough opponent against whom he could potentially lose. In the bottom section, Haider-Maurer should be able to continue his good form with another semi-final, especially considering #4 seed Albert Montanes isn’t playing his best tennis at the moment.
Bottom Half
#2 seed Blaz Rola ran into Viktor Troicki last week, and here his draw isn’t that pleasant either. In the second round he could face last week’s Biella runner-up Filippo Volandri, after which Mate Delic could wait for him, who had a solid Davis Cup weekend. In the top section, #3 seed Pere Riba has lost his previous two first round matches and is desperately looking for a turnaround. A lot of dangerous unseeded players are lurking here, among them Andrea Arnaboldi and Jason Kubler.
Predictions
Semis:
Haider-Maurer > Haase
Rola > Fucsovics
Final:
Rola > Haider-Maurer
Rola and Haider-Maurer played each other earlier this year on clay in Panama, with Rola winning 7-5 6-3.
Campeonato Internacional de Tenis de Campinas
ATP Challenger Tour
Campinas, Brazil
15-21 September
Prize Money: $40,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Diego Schwartzman (85)
2: Facundo Bagnis (98)
3: Facundo Arguello (116)
4: Gastao Elias (139)
5: Guido Andreozzi (166)
6: Axel Michon (179)
7: Guilherme Clezar (189)
8: Andre Ghem (194)
The last direct acceptance is Fernando Romboli, ranked 409th.
First round match-ups to watch
(7) Guilherme Clezar – Gonzalo Lama
Lama entered the top 200 for the first time this month and is well capable of upsetting the seed here. Clezar had a great semi-final run at San Marino last month, but has been a bit shaky in his last couple of matches.
Top Half
Top seed Diego Schwartzman is having a great year, which saw him enter the top 100 for the first time. He should be a fair favorite to advance in this half, although players like Clezar, Facundo Arguello and Guido Andreozzi could pose a threat if they’re on their game. The safest bet here is a Brazilian or Argentinian advancing, since there are only two players with another nationality in this half.
Bottom Half
Second seed Facundo Bagnis is a bigger favorite to reach the final than Schwartzman. Perhaps a dangerous floater like Christian Lindell can trouble him, but I expect Bagnis to reach the final fairly comfortable. Fourth seed Gastao Elias comes off a Davis Cup tie in Russia and hasn’t been in the best of forms lately, so I don’t expect him to pose a threat.
Predictions
Semis:
Schwartzman > Arguello
Bagnis > Ghem
Final:
Schwartzman > Bagnis
XX Challenger ATP Trofeo Ciudad de Quito ‘Diario El Comercio’
ATP Challenger Tour
Quito, Ecuador
15-21 September
Prize Money: $40,000
The last direct acceptance is Juan Carlos Spir, ranked 433rd.
First round match-ups to watch
(3) Horacio Zeballos – Martin Cuevas
The younger brother of Pablo Cuevas will try to make something happen against the much higher ranked opponent here. Zeballos started the year inside of the top 70, but hasn’t been performing up to that level and now sits at #114.
Top Half
Nobody expected it to happen, but Victor Estrella Burgos even managed to hold his own at the main level this year, at the tender age of 34. With third rounds at Washington and the US Open and a semi-final at Bogota he has performed extremely well and posted a career high ranking of 69. In this field one has to mark him a favorite, especially considering he is 2-0 against #3 seed Zeballos, with both matches ending in straight sets. Perhaps fifth seed Austin Krajicek can cause another surprise, after winning Medellin Challenger out of nowhere two weeks ago. Last year Estrella won the title here, so he should feel really comfortable coming back.
Bottom Half
Second seed Joao Souza lost the final of the Medellin Challenger to Krajicek and in this half he should be favored to reach another final. He is likely to face Guido Pella in the semi-final, but he hasn’t been in great form and should be beaten quite easily by Souza. None of the other players in this half have been displaying a good enough form to be able to beat Souza, so any of them rising up to the occasion would be a big surprise.
Predictions
Semis:
Estrella Burgos > Zeballos
Souza > Pella
Final:
Souza > Estrella Burgos
Hard one to predict, since it can go either way. Souza leads the head to head 3-2, with three of those ending in three sets and one with Estrella retiring in the second set.
September 2013 ATP Challenger Tour Recap: Youngsters Thiem, Bagnis and Arguello, Veterans Kukushkin, Kamke and Lu take titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
It was a busy month on the Challenger tour, with play on 4 continents, multiple surfaces, and a different winner for almost every event.
Yuichi Sugita took out Hiroki Moriya in the all-Japanese final of this 50k hard court challenger in Shanghai. Sugita beat Ze Zhang in the semis, while Moriya beat Yasutaka Uchiyama. Top seed Blaz Kavcic was knocked off by Chinese player Di Wu in the 2nd round.
Alphen aan den Rijn Challenger (September 2-September 8, 2013)
On clay in the Netherlands, veteran Daniel Gimeno-Traver beat Dutchman Thomas Schoorel in the final after beating Thiemo De Bakker in the semis. Schoorel beat his countryman Jesse Huta Galung. 2 seed Dudi Sela was upset by Boy Westerhof in the first round.
Brasov Challenger (September 2-September 8, 2013)
Top seed Andreas Haider-Maurer won his third challenger title of 2013 and his second in Romania on clay over countryman Gerald Melzer. AHM beat Dusan Lajovic in the semis and Melzer beat Julian Reister.
Genova Challenger (September 2-September 8, 2013)
Dustin Brown beat Filippo Volandri on clay to take the title after beating another Italian, Paolo Lorenzi, in the semis. Volandri beat Andrej Martin in the semis. The tournament’s top two seeds, Albert Montanes and Albert Ramos, were ousted in their opening matches by Gianluca Naso and Moritz Baumann respectively.
St. Remy Challenger (September 2-September 8, 2013)
Marc Gicquel won at home in France on hard courts over Matteo Viola and his ranking remains near the top 100. Gicquel beat Martin Fischer in the semis, while Viola beat Paul-Henri Mathieu. Top seed Kenny De Schepper lost in the first round to Stephane Bohli.
Banja Luka Challenger (September 9-September 15, 2013)
Aljaz Bedene beat Diego Sebastian Schwartzman on clay in Bosnia for the title. 2 seed Bedene beat Kristijan Mesaros in the semis, while Schwartzman, who has had a good season, beat Filippo Volandri, who had another good week.
Cali Challenger (September 9-September 15, 2013)
Nearly into the top 150 now, rising Argentine Facundo Bagnis beat his countryman Facundo Arguello for the title on clay. Arguello beat Andrea Collarini in the semis, while Bagnis beat Joao Souza.
Mikhail Kukushkin has battled his way back into the top 100, and he was helped by this challenger title in Turkey over Illya Marchenko on hard courts. Kukushkin beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the semis. Marchenko beat JP Smith.
Tobias Kamke beat Paul-Henri Mathieu on indoor hard courts to remain in the top 80 and take this title. Kamke beat Jurgen Zopp in the semis, while PHM beat Niels Desein. Top seed Kenny De Schepper was again ousted in the first round, this time by Karol Beck.
Daniel Gimeno-Traver won in consecutive weeks on clay. This time, he beat Stephane Robert in the final, after beating Renzo Olivo in the semis to extend his winning streak. Robert beat Andreas Beck in the semis. 3 seed Andrey Kuznetsov was upset in round 2 by Alex Ward.
In Brazil on clay, Guilherme Clezar denied Facundo Bagnis a second title in consecutive weeks. Clezar beat Maximo Gonzalez in the semis, while Bagnis dispatched American Bjorn Fratangelo .
The Izmir Cup on hardcourts was won by top seed Mikhail Kukushkin, who joins Gimeno-Traver as the only other double winner this month. Kukushkin beat Irish qualifier Louk Sorenson in the final after beating Flavio Cipolla in the semis. Sorenson beat Di Wu in the semis.
Top seed Rendy Lu won his second challenger title of 2013 on hard courts in his home nation of Taiwan. Lu beat Yuki Bhambri in the final after dispatching Matt Ebden in the semis. Bhambri beat Jack Sock in the semis.
Dominic Thiem, the up and coming young Austrian, won this clay court Morocco challenger tour title over veteran Teymuraz Gabashvili. Thiem is at a career high ranking inside the top 150 now and appears to have a fine future ahead. He beat Blaz Rola, another up and comer, in the semis, while Gabashvili beat Gerald Granollers.
Victor Estrella won on clay over Marco Trungelliti in the capital of Ecuador. Estrella beat comeback kid Giovanni Lapentti in the semis, while Trungelliti beat American Chase Buchanan.
Oleksandr Nedovyesov beat Pere Riba on Polish clay for this title. Nedovyesov beat Diego Sebastian Schwartzman in the semis, while Riba dispatched Potito Starace. Top seed Albert Montanes was upset by Boris Pashanski.
In Slovakia on clay, Julian Reister reached a career high ranking of 90 by taking his third challenger title of the year, this time over Adrian Ungur. Ungur beat Aljaz Bedene in the semis, while Reister beat Stephane Robert.
Radu Albot is at a career high ranking of 179 after beating Ilija Bozoljac in the final in Uzbekistan on hard courts. Albot beat Malek Jaziri in the semis, while Bozoljac beat Andrey Golubev.
Napa Valley Challenger (September 23-September 29, 2013)
Donald Young beat Matt Ebden last week on hardcourts at the 50K USTA Pro Circuit Napa Challenger. Young beat Tim Smyczek in the semis, while Ebden beat Alex Kuznetsov.
Radek Stepanek won this stacked 100k+ indoor hardcourt challenger over Leo Mayer. Steps beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the semis and Mayer beat top seed Benoit Paire. 4 seed Kenny De Schepper continued to struggle, again losing in the first round to Marius Copil.
Porto Alegre Challenger (September 23-September 29, 2013)
After coming close multiple times, Facundo Arguello finally won a challenger title this year, in Brazil on clay, over countryman Maximo Gonzalez in the final. Facu beat Pedro Sousa in the semis, while Gonzalez beat Guilherme Clezar. Sousa upset 2 seed Blaz Kavcic in the first round, while top seed Guido Pella was upset by Andre Ghem in round 2.
32-year-old Jaroslav Pospisil won this clay court Romania challenger over rising and now top 170 player Marco Cecchinato. Pospisil beat Adrian Ungur in the semis, while Cecchinato beat Dusan Lajovic.
Tennis Atlantic 