Tennis in Poland is enjoying a golden era on the ATP Challenger Tour. Three tournaments – in Poznan, Szczecin and Wroclaw – headline the calendar, highlighted by the 2016 Tournament of the Year winner Pekao Szczecin Open. Celebrating its 25th edition this week, it has been recognised for its efforts to grow the sport both in Poland and at the Challenger level, while creating a product that players and spectators alike would expect from an ATP World Tour event. The distinguished $150,000 event is both the oldest and largest professional tournament in the country, and is once again underway with a stacked field at the historic Szczecin Tennis Club. It is celebrating Tournament of the Year honours for the second...
After 12 years competing on the ATP World Tour, former World No. 35 Benjamin Becker has decided to officially retire and return to school at Baylor University to complete his final semester of studies before graduating this coming spring. “I had in my mind that I was going to stop this year anyway,” Becker said. “With my [hip] injury that happened in October [Vienna], I wasn’t really able to do any pre-season this year. Just kind of wasn’t able to prepare the way I wanted to... at Wimbledon I knew I wasn’t going to make US Open qualies and since I knew I wanted to stop at the end of the year anyway, I felt like it was a good...
KAZAKHSTAN 1, ARGENTINA 1 Astana, Kazakhstan (Indoor clay) Defending Davis Cup champion Argentina and Kazakhstan head into Saturday tied 1-1 in their World Group Playoff. ATP World Tour veteran Mikhail Kukushkin started the day with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 win against left-hander Guido Pella. But US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman kept up his impressive play, dismissing Dmitry Popko 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Kukushkin will partner with Aleksandr Nedovyesov against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in doubles on Saturday. COLOMBIA 1, CROATIA 1 Bogota, Colombia (Outdoor clay) Marin Cilic moved to within one win of becoming Croatia's Davis Cup singles match-wins leader on Friday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory against Colombia's Alejandro Gonzalez. Santiago Giraldo evened the tie, though, with...
On Aug. 21, classes started at Texas Christian University, where Cameron Norrie was a three-time All-American. But that day, Norrie, who turned professional after the team’s spring season, was far away from Texas. The 22 year old was in New York preparing for the US Open, where he would qualify and win his first Grand Slam main draw match. “I would much rather be at the US Open than be at syllabus week,” Norrie laughed. “I think that a lot of people would be pretty happy for me that I was there and not at school anymore.” Less than four months ago, Norrie was the No. 1-ranked college player in the country as a junior. Now, he is taking the...
Winning is never easy on the ATP Challenger Tour. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski has learned that quickly in his young professional career, as the University of Virginia standout remains in search of his first main draw victory at the Challenger level since graduating this spring. “To be honest, I’m having a bit of a tough time,” reflected Kwiatkowski, who capped his impressive college career with an NCAA singles title this year. “I’ve been taking a lot of lumps this summer and I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that it’s very tough week-in and week-out.” Tuesday night was no different, as the 22 year old won five more points than lucky loser Luke Bambridge in the Atlantic Tire Championships, but fell...