2014 Indore, San Juan ATP Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Indore
There was a big difference between the seeds in the top and bottom half, as they held up in the former and fell like flies in the latter. I predicted #6 seed Yuki Bhambri to go all the way, but he lost in the second round to Ramkumar Ramanathan. The same happened to #7 seed Kimmer Coppejans, while the #2 and #4 seeds Alexander Kudryavtsev and Hiroki Moriya lost even sooner, both in straight sets. The way things unfolded resulted in a surprising semi-final between the home country players Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni, ending in an easy victory for Myneni: 6-2 6-1. Myneni won a gold medal at the Asian Games in mixed doubles two weeks ago, partnering with Sania Mirza.
In the top half, only #3 seed Somdev Devvarman failed to live up to his seeding, as he lost 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 to Liang-Chi Huang in the second round. Huang fell to #8 seed Stefano Travaglia in the quarterfinal, who in turn lost to top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the semi-final. The final saw another big surprise, as Myneni beat Nedovyesov 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 to claim his first ever Challenger title. A huge jump in the rankings followed, rising 168 spots to #283. Nedovyesov climbed a modest five spots to #113.
San Juan
In San Juan, there was no such thing as seeds getting upset, as the only two who didn’t live up to their seeding (Zeballos and De Bakker) weren’t expected to make that big of a dent anyway.
Top seed Diego Schwartzman needed to overcome a thriller in the quarterfinal against #8 seed Guido Andreozzi to make it through: 2-6 7-6(4) 7-6(5). The same thing went for #3 seed Alejandro Gonzalez against Facundo Bagnis: 7-5 4-6 6-3. However, Gonzalez got absolutely hammered by #2 seed Joao Souza in the semi-final, receiving a double breadstick. Schwartzman came through as well for his sixth Challenger final of the year, while Souza went up for his fourth. The match ended with the exact score their previous match two years ago ended, a 7-6 6-3 win for Schwartzman, who took home his fourth Challenger title of the year and a new career high ranking of #77, rising twelve spots. Souza entered the top 100 at #97, jumping seven spots.
The last direct acceptance is Karunuday Singh, ranked 499th.
First round match-ups to watch
Gianluigi Quinzi – Ramkumar Ramanathan
Quinzi has been marked a great prospect and is making his comeback on Challenger level here after being out with injury for two months. Ramanathan is 19, a year older than Quinzi, so it will be interesting to see how these two youngsters match up.
Top Half
Two players here are the clear favorites here to make the semi-finals, #1 seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov and #3 seed Somdev Devvarman. It would be a pretty big surprise to see one of the other players in this half upset one of them. Nedovyesov and Devvarman have played each other twice this year, with Nedovyesov winning in four sets at Roland Garros and Devvarman taking down the final of the New Delhi Challenger very comfortably in two sets, 6-3 6-1. Given that New Delhi was played on hardcourt as well, I’d say that result is a better indication of how this match will pan out.
Bottom Half
This half looks considerably more open than the top half, with Yuki Bhambri, Hiroki Moriya, Kimmer Coppejans and Alexander Kudryavtsev all being decent picks to make it through. Bhambri has been struggling with injuries for a while, but if he is in good shape, he is my favorite to reach the final.
Predictions
Semis:
Devvarman > Nedovyesov
Bhambri > Coppejans
Final:
Bhambri > Devvarman
A home country final, resulting in a win for the new generation. They played each other in the beginning of the year at Chennai, with Bhambri comfortably winning in two sets, 6-2 6-4.
Copa San Juan Gobierno
ATP Challenger Tour
San Juan, Argentina
13-19 October
Prize Money: $40,000
The last direct acceptance is Renzo Olivo, ranked 276th.
First round match-ups to watch
(5) Facundo Bagnis – Gonzalo Lama
Bagnis isn’t in the best of shapes, with a 6-6 record in his last six Challenger events. Despite losing to Bagnis twice this year, Lama should feel confident after pushing Victor Estrella Burgos to three sets in his previous tournament.
(3) Alejandro Gonzalez – Guido Pella
Both men have seen better days, but while their career high rankings are pretty close to each other, #70 for Gonzalez and #75 for Pella. Gonzalez is still in the top 100 at #97, while Pella is ranked a lot lower at #196. Their previous matches were both close encounters, with both men winning one, so this should be an interesting battle.
Top Half
After reaching back to back finals, top seed Diego Schwartzman got upset in the first round of the Cali Challenger, where he lost to Christian Lindell. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t the favorite again here. There is some stiff competion awaiting him, with Jason Kubler or Guido Andreozzi in the quarterfinal and Horacio Zeballos, Andre Ghem or Facundo Arguello in the semi-final.
Bottom Half
#2 seed Joao Sousa is by far the best pick to advance here. He’s been solid as of late and is less likely to throw in a random bad match like some others in this half are known to do (See: Thiemo de Bakker, Facundo Bagnis). However, he has a tough second round match against the up and coming Nicolas Jarry, who beat him in three sets at Quito a month ago.
Predictions
Semis:
Schwartzman > Zeballos
Sousa > Gonzalez
Final:
Schwartzman > Sousa
Don’t be surprised if you see Jarry in the final instead of Sousa, however. Their match is likely to be very close and decisive to determine the finalist coming from the bottom half.
October Challenger Recap: Rising Players Thiem, Pella, Andreozzi Take Titles, Cuevas, Bellucci Comeback Stories
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Mons Challenger (September 30-October 6, 2013)
Radek Stepanek won his third challenger of 2013 in straights over Igor Sijsling on indoor hard courts in Belgium. Stepanek, the top seed, beat Marc Gicquel in the semis while Sijsling beat Andreas Beck. Former top 20 player Xaiver Malisse retired here in Mons, hanging up his racquet with an opening round loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets. A fan favorite for his unique game and often-hotheaded attitude on court, X-Man will be missed.
Rising Argentine Guido Pella dominated his fellow young countryman Facundo Arguello to take this clay court challenger title in Brazil. Pella beat Pedro Sousa in the semis while Facu beat Rogerio Dutra Silva. Pella remains inside the top 100 with this result, among others.
Rennes Challenger (October 7-October 13, 2013)
2 seed Nicolas Mahut, another veteran who has enjoyed a great year of tennis, won this indoor hard court challenger over fellow Frenchman and top seed Kenny De Schepper. Mahut beat Marc Gicquel in the semis, another good result for the Frenchman Gicquel, who has played well at the challenger level this year. De Schepper beat Maxime Teixiera in another all-French semi.
San Juan Challenger (October 7-October 13, 2013)
The Argentine domination of the South American clay challenger circuit continued when Guido Andreozzi beat his countryman Diego Sebastian Schwartzman for this title in Argentina. Andreozzi beat Maximo Gonzalez in the semis while Schwartzman beat Juan Ignacio Londero in yet another all-Argentine semi. Andreozzi is at a career high ranking inside the top 150 now.
Sao Jose Do Rio Preto Challenger (October 7-October 13, 2013)
Joao Souza won in front of home fans in Brazil on clay with a straight sets victory over Alejandro Gonzalez in the final. Souza beat Gastao Elias in the semis while Gonzalez beat Guido Pella.
Tashkent Challenger (October 7-October 13, 2013)
Dudi Sela claimed his third challenger title of the year in Tashkent on hard courts as the veteran Israeli stalwart beat Teymuraz Gabashvili in the final. Sela beat Lukas Lacko in the semis while Gabashvili beat Amir Weintraub.
This tournament was marred by international controversy after Tunisian player Malek Jaziri was demanded by his tennis federation to withdraw before a match with Israeli player Weintraub, and he did so, resulting in Tunisia being banned from Davis Cup for 1 year and embarrassment all around. Jaziri had actually played Weintraub before, but apparently the Tunisian tennis federation, which provides him with playing subsidies in order for him to continue his career, threatened to sanction that support if Jaziri played the match.
Jaziri was cleared of wrongdoing by the ATP and is actually friends with Weintraub personally.
Michael Berrer, another veteran, beat Nicolas Mahut to take this indoor hard court challenger title in France. The German Berrer beat Michael Llodra in the semis while Mahut took care of Andreas Beck.
Buenos Aires Challenger (October 21-October 27, 2013)
Former top 50 player Pablo Cuevas, who is battling back after injuries knocked his ranking way down, beat Facundo Arguello on Argentinian clay for this title. Cuevas beat the in-form Guido Andreozzi in the semis while Arguello beat Steve Diez.
Kazan 2 Challenger (October 21-October 27, 2013)
Newly minted top 100 player Oleksandr Nedovyesov beat Andrey Golubev for this indoor hard court challenger title. Nedovyesov has won three challenger titles this year and put together a quality year, primarily on the challenger circuit. He beat Farrukh Dustov in the semis while Golubev beat Lucas Pouille, an up and coming name we haven’t heard from in a while. The 19 year old Frenchman is now inside the top 190 at a career high ranking of 184.
Matt Ebden did the green and gold proud with a 3 set victory over Tatsuma Ito on outdoor hard courts in sunny Melbourne. Ebden won his second challenger of 2013, and has had a tremendous fall season. He beat James Ward in the semis while Ito beat James Duckworth. Ebden has the following tournament results post US Open: 1 title, 2 finals, 1 semi and 1 quarterfinal.
Dominic Thiem, a fast rising 20 year old Austrian, captured his second challenger title of 2013, this time on clay in Morocco over Potito Starace. Thiem beat Filip Krajinovic in the semis while Starace beat another Austrian, Gerald Melzer.
Eckental Challenger (October 28-November 3, 2013)
Top seed Benjamin Becker won at home in Germany at this challenger on the fast and vanishing surface of carpet. Becker beat Ruben Bemelmans in the final after defeating Dustin Brown in the semis. Bemelmans beat Tim Puetz.
Geneva Challenger (October 28-November 3, 2013)
Malek Jaziri won on indoor hard in Switzerland over JL Struff, who has put together a good year of tennis himself. Jaziri beat Marco Chiudinelli in the semis while Struff beat Marius Copil. 2 seed Evgeny Donskoy was upset by lucky loser Laurent Recouderc in the opening round. Struff drops to 0-7 in challenger finals in his career.
Thomaz Bellucci, who has endured a really rough year of tennis and has seen his ranking drop him outside the top 100 finally pulled things together at the end of the season to win this title on clay over Diego Sebastian Schwartzman in straights. Bellucci will certainly hope this is a sign of good things to come as he beat Martin Alund in the semis and also beat seeded players Alejandro Gonzalez and Pere Riba. Schwartzman beat another comeback story, Pablo Cuevas in the semis.
Seoul Challenger (October 28-November 3, 2013)
Dusan Lajovic won this challenger title in Seoul after Julian Reister withdrew with illness and gave the Serbian a walkover victory. Lajovic beat Yuichi Sugita in the semis while Reister beat Blaz Kavcic. Top seed Rendy Lu was upset by Belgian Germain Gigounon in the opening round.
Yuki Bhambri won a rain interrupted final in Australia on hard courts in 3 sets over American Bradley Klahn after dispatching Brydan Klein in the semis. Klahn beat James Duckworth, who made another good challenger run. All of the players except Klein have had pretty good years of tennis this year and are trying to move up to the big time.
Tennis Atlantic 