A LOOK BACK Verrazzano Open (Sophia Antipolis, France): Aljaz Bedene cruised to his second ATP Challenger Tour title of 2017 (Irving, U.S.A.) without dropping a set. The Brit needed just 69 minutes to dismiss top seed Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday’s final. A rejuvenated Bedene, who is now 10-0 on the Challenger Tour in 2017 and improves to a staggering 13-2 in career Challenger finals, rises to World No. 76 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. World No. 1 Andy Murray helped present the trophy to his countryman Bedene. Murray has been training at the tournament venue, the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, ahead of his return to the ATP World Tour at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters later this month. Great week...
Located in the heart of the French Riviera, immersed between Nice and Cannes, surrounded by flowing hilltops, is a new ATP Challenger Tour event that has impressed all involved. Sprawling across 30 acres of carefully planned landscape, the Mouratoglou Academy has hosted the inaugural Verrazzano Open. This is no ordinary event or location. The academy, founded by renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou, offers world-class facilities; including 34 courts on differing surfaces, a 1000 seat centre court, a state of the art fitness centre, indoor and outdoor pools, a medical centre, and even a 4-star hotel on the grounds. This site could host the most prestigious tournaments, but at the same time can develop the stars of the future within the academy....
A LOOK BACK Torneo Internacional Challenger (Leon, Mexico): Adrian Menendez-Maceiras lifted a trophy for the first time in a decade to cap an astonishing week in Mexico. The 31 year old had lost his past eight finals on the ATP Challenger Tour, but prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against Roberto Quiroz in the first all-qualifier Challenger final since 2010. Menendez’s reward for his second Challenger title, his first since Cordoba in 2007, is for the Spaniard to climb up 70 places to No. 210 in Emirates ATP Rankings. Open Harmonie Mutuelle (Saint-Brieuc, France): Austrian top seed Gerald Melzer lost in the opening round at Saint-Brieuc. His conqueror Egor Gerasimov won seven matches in eight days as a qualifier to clinch a second Challenger...
Some players feel pressure competing in front of a local crowd, but French teenager Corentin Moutet is continuing to thrive on home soil. The 17 year old reached his first ATP Challenger Tour semi-final this week at the $50,000 event in St. Brieuc, France. Moutet took full advantage of his wild card, upsetting third seed Norbert Gombos of Slovakia in the opening round on his way to the final four, where he fell in three sets to qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus. “This is the best result of my career. It’s been a great beginning to my season and the result of a lot of good work,” said Moutet. “I want to stay realistic, just trying to be patient and...