A LOOK BACK Copa San Cristobal presentada por FILA (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Third seed Nicolas Kicker celebrated his first ATP Challenger Tour title on home soil in dramatic fashion, saving two match points for the Buenos Aires crown on Sunday. The 25 year old defeated countryman Horacio Zeballos 6-7(5), 6-0, 7-5, rallying for the victory after two hours and 35 minutes. He denied one championship point at 5-3 in the decider, firing a forehand winner, and turned aside another when Zeballos served for the title a game later. It was his third Challenger title in total, adding to victories in Perugia, Italy and Guayaquil, Ecuador last year. Kicker, who reached a pair of ATP World Tour 500 level quarter-finals this...
The wait is finally over for Mackenzie McDonald. The 22 year old claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday in Fairfield, U.S.A., ousting countryman Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-2 in 63 minutes. McDonald had previously never advanced to a Challenger final, but he would thrive at the Northbay Healthcare Men's Pro Championships, dropping just one set en route to lifting his first trophy. The Northern California native provided a positive moment for the local community, which had been dealing with devastating wildfires throughout the week. McDonald is the seventh different American winner this year, joining Frances Tiafoe, Tennys Sandgren, Ryan Harrison, Noah Rubin, Michael Mmoh and Kevin King. .@mackiemacster has his first #ATPChallenger title, taking the in Fairfield with...
For Bradley Klahn, his comeback to tennis after years of injury has often felt like three steps forward and two-and-a-half steps back – at least until now. Klahn, a 27-year-old American who in 2014 reached a career-high of No. 63 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is once again making inroads following a career-threatening back injury that derailed much of the progress he had made years ago. Recent weeks have seen the former Stanford University standout reach back-to-back finals at ATP Challenger Tour events in Monterrey and Fairfield, the latter of which continued amidst the devastating wildfires in the California countryside. “It’s really tragic what’s happened with the fires. It kind of puts tennis in perspective a lot, just knowing people...
High-quality tennis was on display throughout the week at the Copa San Cristobal in Buenos Aires, with six of the eight seeds reaching the quarter-finals. While the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event is set to culminate on Sunday with an all-Argentine affair - top seed Horacio Zeballos battling third seed Nicolas Kicker - the action off the court was just as entertaining. Challenger stars traded their racquets for paintbrushes during the player party, joining renowned artist Milo Lockett to support Foundation Red en Juego. Zeballos, Kicker, Federico Delbonis, Federico Coria, Maximo Gonzalez and Carlos Berlocq attended the fundraising event. "We did something new in tennis during the inaugural tournament party," said Zeballos. "There was an important artist Milo Lockett and we...
Players competing at the Copa San Cristobal traded their racquets for paintbrushes, joining renowned artist Milo Lockett to support Foundation Redes en Juego. Video courtesy of Copa San Cristobal.
