A LOOK BACK
Wind Energy Holding Bangkok Open (Bangkok, Thailand): Fifth seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia showed off the form that’s taken him as high as No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, moving past Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia in the Bangkok championship match, 6-3, 7-6(1). It was his 12th Challenger title in total and first since August at the $125,000 event in Qingdao, China. Tipsarevic, who continues his ascent towards the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, rises to No. 118. Kavcic, meanwhile, continued his run of form in Bangkok, having won the Challenger title there in September.
City Of Onkaparinga Tennis Challenger (Happy Valley, Australia): Peter Gojowczyk started 2017 on a high note with a convincing win in the final over local favourite and wild card Omar Jasika, 6-3, 6-1. This is the German’s fifth Challenger title and first since prevailing in September 2015 in Nanchang, China. Tecnifibre player Jasika was competing in his first Challenger final.
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Challenger BNP Paribas (Noumea, New Caledonia): Top seed Adrian Mannarino of France lived up to the billing by defending his Noumea crown over Nikola Milojevic of Serbia, 6-3, 7-5. Mannarino didn’t drop a set throughout the week. The 28-year-old has excelled in Noumea throughout his career, having also prevailed in 2013. The 21-year-old Milojevic was also competing in his first Challenger final.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Tipsarevic: “Winning the first Challenger in Bangkok means a lot to me. You start the year with a win and it gives you a lot of confidence. I’m coming back from a serious injury and these matches I’ve won will only help my goal to come back faster.”
Jasika: “Peter played an unbelievable match. I couldn’t really do anything about it. Sometimes you have to take your hat off and say ‘Too good.’”
“I’ve definitely got a lot of confidence going into the Australian Open now. I’m happy I got a lot of matches this week and I’m definitely not complaining.
A LOOK AHEAD
There are two Challengers on the calendar this week, with the $75,000 event in Canberra, Australia, taking top billing. All eight seeds are inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with World No. 63 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany as the top seed and World No. 68 Gerald Melzer of Austria as the second seed. #NextGenATP star Quentin Halys and Wimbledon junior champion Denis Shapovalov are also in the draw.
Bangkok also hosts another $50,000 tournament this week. Tipsarevic will look for another title as the top seed, while Christian Garin of Chile is the second seed.
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