A LOOK BACK
Monterrey Open (Monterrey, Mexico): Fifth seed and American #NextGen star Ernesto Escobedo continued his outstanding second half of 2016 by winning his second ATP Challenger Tour title, defeating fellow American and third seed Denis Kudla, 6-4, 6-4. Ernesto is the 14th #NextGen winner of the year and only the second (joining Frances Tiafoe) to win multiple titles.
Escobedo was ranked outside the Top 500 of the Emirates ATP Rankings when he competed last year in Monterrey, but is now projected to move up to No. 129 on Monday.
Tashkent Challenger (Tashkent, Uzbekistan): Fifth seed Konstantin Kravchuk of Russia won the biggest title of his career by defeating seventh seed and local favourite Denis Istomin, 7-5, 6-4. Kravchuk has reached five Challenger finals this year (2-3) and earned his third career Challenger title with the win. The 31 year old will well surpass his career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 93 on Monday.
Morocco Tennis Tour (Casablanca, Morocco): In a battle of teenagers, qualifier Maxime Janvier won his first Challenger title by defeating World No. 1 junior Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6-4, 6-0. Having never reached a Challenger quarter-final prior to this week, the 19-year-old Janvier won seven matches in eight days as a qualifier. He is the ninth teenager to win a Challenger this year and the eighth player outside the Top 300 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, equaling last year’s total.
Tsitsipas was competing in his second straight Challenger final in Morocco, having also finished as runner-up last week in Mohammedia.
Vietnam Open (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): Fourth seed Jordan Thompson of Australia saved a match point to complete an improbable comeback over sixth seed Go Soeda of Japan tand win his third Challenger title of the year, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. Thompson trailed 3-5 in the second set. He won his first Challenger this February in Cherbourg, France, then repeated the feat in April in Anning, China.
Copa Fila (Buenos Aires, Argentina): In an all-Argentine final, fifth seed Renzo Olivo saved two match points in the second set and went on to defeat seventh seed Leonardo Mayer in a thrilling contest, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3). Olivo won his first Challenger title last month in Santos, Brazil. Argentina now holds 16 ATP Challenger Tour titles won by nine players throughout 2016, more than any other country.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery Fairfield Men's Pro Challenger (Fairfield, U.S.A.): Santiago Giraldo won a rain-drenched Fairfield final, rallying past #NextGen star Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday morning. Giraldo claimed his 10th ATP Challenger Tour title and second of the year, having prevailed in Prague. Halys raced to a 3-1 lead in the first set following a four-hour rain delay on Sunday, but Mother Nature had the last laugh, forcing a Monday finish. It was the third Monday finish on the Challenger circuit this year (Guangzhou and Shanghai).
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Kravchuk: "I worked hard all week and the week before [at the ATP World Tour event] in Beijing. That tournament gave me a boost for this win. I beat good guys there and it built my confidence. I'm happy that I've reached the Top 80 and I can finish this season earlier and rest before 2017, to work even harder. A new chapter will start in my career and I'm looking forward to it."
A LOOK AHEAD
There are four Challengers on the calendar this week, with the $125,000 event in Brest, France, taking top billing. The tournaments returns for the 16th year and features plenty of illustrious champions including Roger Federer and Cedric Pioline. Local favourite Jeremy Chardy is the top seed and Lukas Lacko of Slovakia is the second seed. #NextGen star Halys looks for another big run this week, while Janvier and Tsitsipas aim to continue their form from Casablanca.
The $125,000 Challenger in Ningbo, China, is back for the fourth year. Aussie John Millman is the top seed and two-time Ningbo champion Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei is the second seed. Thompson and Soeda look for another big run in Asia as the third and fifth seeds, while #NextGen stars Hyeon Chung of Korea and American Stefan Kozlov are the sixth and seventh seeds.
The $50,000 event in Las Vegas, Nevada, returns for the second year. Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic is the top seed and American #NextGen star Frances Tiafoe is the second seed. Fifth seed Darian King of Barbados aims for his fourth Challenger title of the year, while sixth seed Kudla and #NextGen player Escobedo also look to continue their form from Monterrey.
Lastly, the $50,000 Challenger in Santiago, Chile, is back for the second year. Last year’s runner-up Horacio Zeballos of Argentina is the top seed, while Thiago Monteiro of Brazil is the second seed. Olivo and Mayer hope to keep up their form from Buenos Aires as the third and seventh seeds, respectively, while defending champion Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil is the fourth seed.
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