Phil Cello has been running tennis tournaments, including ATP Challenger Tour events, for the past 35 years. But Cello and his army of workers and volunteers have never had an experience like last week's NorthBay Healthcare Men's Pro Championship, where the on-court action at the $100,000 ATP Challenger tournament was secondary to fans, players and officials. The host site, Solano Community College, was just miles from wildfires that were ravaging Northern California, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes and devastating communities across the region. Signs of the ongoing destruction were omnipresent at the tournament. Every day, on their way to the courts, players walked by the college's cafeteria, which had been turned into an evacuation center for affected families. Instead...
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...
