The ATP has announced the 2017 ATP Challenger Tournaments of the Year, with players voting two of their favourite Challenger Tour stops in Germany (Braunschweig and Heilbronn) and one in Canada (Vancouver) from the 155 tournaments in 41 countries staged last year. The Challenger Tournament of the Year awards recognise excellence in standards set across the global Challenger Tour. Braunschweig’s 24-year-old Sparkassen OPEN has won the award every year since 2014 and has long been a player favourite. The NECKARCUP, staged in Heilbronn, Germany, for the last four years, and Vancouver’s Odlum Brown VanOpen, relaunched in 2017, have also been rewarded with the player vote after ambitious improvements each year. ATP Challenger Tour Committee Co-Chairs, Alison Lee, ATP International Executive...
Nicola Kuhn made his mark on the professional circuit on Saturday, lifting his first ATP Challenger Tour title at the prestigious Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, Germany. At just 17 years and 3 months, Kuhn became the second-youngest winner this year and the 14th-youngest in Challenger history. Moreover, he is the seventh qualifier to lift a trophy in 2017, having reeled off seven wins in eight days to emphatically claim his maiden crown. Kuhn has made the leap to the Challenger level look easy, with Braunschweig marking just his second main draw appearance at the level. He soars 259 spots to No. 242 in the Emirates ATP Rankings with the title. His immediate success at the professional level should come at...
On Saturday, the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig crowned the 24th champion in its illustrious history, as 17-year-old qualifier Nicola Kuhn lifted his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy. The prestigious event has been the standard on the circuit for years and recently celebrated a third straight Tournament of the Year award. The honour is representative of the clay-court event’s steadfast commitment to growing the game in a world-class environment. Under the watchful eye of tournament director Volker Jäcke, the tournament has greatly evolved and is considered a top destination for players and fans. The Sparkassen Open founded the concept of ‘Tennistainment’, which refers to the notion that premier tennis and off-court entertainment create a first-rate experience with a festive atmosphere. It...
After seven years of grinding away on tour, Viktor Galovic of Croatia was rewarded last week with his first ATP Challenger Tour title. The 26 year old came through qualifying to prevail in Recanati, Italy. At No. 491 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Galovic is the lowest-ranked Challenger winner this year. His only other Challenger semi-final also came on Italian soil in Bergamo, but that maiden effort took place in February 2013. "It was both a dream come true and a nightmare. All the matches were really, really tough, especially mentally, but it was really nice to get through,” said Galovic. “At the end, I had all the possible emotions you can imagine. I was almost crying. All the tension...
