LOOK BACK St. Joseph's/ Candler Savannah Challenger (Georgia, U.S.A): Tennys Sandgren capped a memorable week with his third ATP Challenger Tour title. The American ousted second seed Henri Laaksonen and countryman Tommy Paul in third set tie-breaks en route to the final. On Sunday he defeated Joao Pedro Sorgi, a Challenger final debutant, with a commanding 6-4, 6-3 performance. Sandgren, who also won the Tempe, U.S.A, Challenger in February, rises up 20 positions to a career-high No. 114 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 25 year old has enjoyed a stellar four weeks on the clay, including a run to the final at the $100,000 Challenger event in Sarasota (l. Tiafoe). As a reward, Sandgren clinched the USTA's Roland Garros...
Tennys Sandgren is “super pumped” that he will feature in the main draw of Grand Slam for the first time after the American commanded the USTA French Open Wild Card challenge. The American who earns the most Emirates ATP Rankings points over a four-week clay-court stretch is awarded a wild card into the main draw of Roland Garros. A runner-up finish at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Sarasota and title on Sunday in Savannah saw Sandgren emerge atop the standings. “It’s really exciting, my first main draw of a Grand Slam,” stated Sandgren. “I’m super excited for the opportunity. Roland Garros is one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve only been once to play qualies, so to be in the main draw...
Looking to hold serve in the opening exchanges against countryman Mitchell Krueger, Tommy Paul crafted a memorable ATP Challenger Tour Hot Shot (video below). “Yeah it was good,” reflected Paul. “When I first hit the tweener it had already been a pretty long point. When I ran back I was thinking ‘Am I actually going to hit a tweener here? I probably shouldn’t.’ I connected but I thought that point was over. I kind of got lucky, after his volley came right back at me, and I managed to direct that shot down the line.” Playing as a wild card at the $75,000 Challenger in Savannah, Paul navigated past eighth seed Krueger 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 to earn a first ATP...
Marcos Giron has grasped his wild card opportunity at the $75,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Savannah by booking a quarter-final place to continue his rebuilding process. The 23 year old had double hip surgery at the beginning of 2016 and was forced to endure 10 months on the sidelines. However, in Savannah, Giron has rediscovered his groove. He knocked out top seed Darian King in commanding style 6-4, 6-0, before ousting last week’s champion in Tallahassee Blaz Rola 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. “It feels good. Overall I’ve been feeling good about my game and I’ve had chances to go far in Dallas and San Francisco,” said Giron. “I feel like a lot of these guys I competed against through juniors...
Players from the ATP Challenger Tour have displayed their passion for the sport in community events at the St. Joseph's/Candler Savannah Challenger this week. Main draw wild card Christian Harrison was joined by local qualifying wild cards Sean Sculley, Blake Croyder, and Damon Gooch to take part in Kids Day down in Savannah, Georgia. The players passed on their expertise in a variety of interactive tennis activities, while some children took to the courts with some creative face paints, before they were offered the opportunity to attend the tournament to watch elite players in action. “My favourite part was just seeing little kids loving being out on a tennis court, looking back, that’s what it was like for me growing...