It has been a long and winding road for Ante Pavic throughout his eight-year career. But as arduous as the journey has been for the 28 year old, victory never tasted so sweet. Pavic stood in the winners' circle for the first time on the ATP Challenger Tour on Sunday, lifting the trophy in Columbus, Ohio. It came in dramatic fashion, as the Croatian stormed back from a set and a break down to defeat Alexander Ward 6-7(11), 6-4, 6-3. "It was a really good feeling,” Pavic told ATPWorldtour.com. “I've had good results, winning a round at Wimbledon and some matches in ATP events, but I never won a Challenger. It was a great feeling and I was just relieved." After...
A LOOK BACK Columbus Challenger (Columbus, Ohio): Fourth seed and #NextGen star Stefan Kozlov picked up his first Challenger title by defeating sixth seed and fellow American Tennys Sandgren, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. The 18-year-old’s victory marks the third time in the past four weeks that an American teenager has won their maiden Challenger title, with Reilly Opelka prevailing in Charlottesville and Michael Mmoh winning in Knoxville. This is the 13th time a teenager has won a Challenger this year and Kozlov is now the 17th #NextGen winner overall. Kozlov rises 30 spots to a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 116. American Teen Finalists In 2016 Player Age Tournament Result Taylor Fritz 18 yrs, 2 mos Happy Valley (AUS) Won...
Top junior star John McNally will soon spend the next four years competing for Ohio State University, but he’s making noise on that campus this week at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Columbus. The 17 year old received a wild card into the singles and doubles main draws, marking his first main draw appearances at an ATP Challenger Tour event. Although he lost in the first round of singles to fellow American Tommy Paul, he’s into the doubles quarter-finals with another American teenager in Jeffrey John Wolf, his regular doubles partner in ITF Junior events. “Playing my first Challenger main draw was really special, especially in Columbus, since I’m from not far away in Cincinnati. It was also...
After being just one match away from bringing the NCAA men’s singles championship to Ohio State University, Mikael Torpegaard is enjoying an ATP Challenger Tour breakthrough on his home campus. The 22 year old from Denmark and current junior at OSU won his first main draw Challenger match at this week’s $50,000 event in Columbus, Ohio, prevailing on Tuesday over American Nicolas Meister. Torpegaard then delighted the home crowd with a three-set win over Canadian Peter Polansky in a second-round match on Wednesday. “It was super cool. I’m happy to figure out the level I need to be at going forward,” said Torpegaard. “I know that I made the right decision going to college and also coming to OSU. I’ve...