On Sunday, 18-year-old American Michael Mmoh claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title, defeating Peter Polansky 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in the Knoxville final. Mmoh, who soars 64 spots to a career-high No. 204 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is the fourth different American teen to prevail on the Challenger circuit this year, joining Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka. The title comes on the heels of reaching his first final last month as a qualifier in Tiburon. It also marks the 12th time a teenager has won a Challenger title in 2016. Congratulations, Michael. You turned things around in the third set after you struggled with an ab injury in the second. What was the difference there after you...
Most players would be happy with one ATP Challenger Tour title during their season, but Facundo Bagnis has gone above and beyond by lifting his sixth winner’s trophy of 2016 in Bogota, Colombia. The 26-year-old from Argentina prevailed as the top seed at the $75,000 event by defeating countryman and second seed Horacio Zeballos, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. All six of his titles this year came on clay in South America. Bagnis has now tied Juan Ignacio Chela (2001) and Younes El Aynaoui (1998) for most Challenger titles won in a single season. “I’m very happy. It’s impossible to have a better end to the year,” said Bagnis. “Last week, I was in Guayaquil (Ecuador) and feeling very tired from the...
Sometimes success as a pro tennis player requires a little bit of luck, which Kevin Krawietz can attest to. After losing in the final round of qualifying at last week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Eckental, Germany, the 24-year-old German made it into the main draw as a lucky loser. Krawietz took full advantage of the second chance, knocking off two seeded players on his way to a semi-final finish. At this week’s $75,000 Challenger in Ortisei, Italy, Krawietz is continuing to ride the momentum by defeating second seed Evgeny Donskoy of Russia on his way to another semi-final. “After I managed to get into the main draw in Eckental, I played a great first-round match. I've kept going from...
Just short of 100 aces for the week, including 28 in the final. You said after your semi-final yesterday that you weren’t thrilled with how you served. How did you feel you served today? I served much better today than yesterday, for sure. [Ruben] was a tough returner. I hit a lot of aces, but part of it is that I played a lot more points on my serve. Even if I did hit my spot, he was taking cuts at the ball and was dangerous. He was a nightmare for me today. You only had one look at break chances today as well. I was one for five today, but all of those came in one game. If you...
You’re 20-0, five straight Challenger titles through 2016. How much of it has been you and how much of it has been your partners or even luck? I think it’s always a team effort. I’ve been fortunate to play with good partners every week, Ryan Harrison, Sam Groth twice, Matt Reid and Mackenzie McDonald. It’s been a really fun year in doubles. I still haven’t found my stride yet in singles, but I look to keep playing more doubles next year and hopefully keep getting my [Emirates ATP Doubles] ranking up because I don’t have a point coming off until Savannah. With scoring in doubles, things can get away from you with a bad give minutes. What does that say...