Duckworth Prevails In Canberra
Duckworth Prevails In Canberra
Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come
A LOOK BACK
Apis Canberra International (Canberra, Australia): Fifth seed and local favourite James Duckworth captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year in an all-Aussie final over ninth seed Marc Polmans, 7-5, 6-3. Duckworth lasted lift up a winner’s trophy in May in Bangkok.
The 19-year-old Polmans was making his first appearance in a Challenger final. He is projected to move inside the Top 220 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. Polmans has already jumped well over 600 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings since the start of the season.
Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger (Charlottesville, Virginia): American teenager Reilly Opelka captured his first pro title in a marathon final over Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5). Opelka hit 98 aces throughout the week, including 28 in the final. He is the 11th teen titlist this year on the ATP Challenger Tour and the third American teen winner, joining Taylor Fritz (Happy Valley) and Frances Tiafoe (Granby, Stockton). Opelka was ranked outside the Top 1,000 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, but is now projected to move up to No. 208 on Monday.
Despite the loss, Bemelmans can be pleased with reaching his first Challenger final since April 2015 in Le Gosier, Guadeloupe.
American Brian Baker also teamed with Aussie Sam Groth as the top seeds to prevail over Brydan Klein/Ruan Roelofse. Baker is now 20-0 in Challenger doubles this year, winning five straight titles with four different partners.
Bauer Watertechnology Cup (Eckental, Germany): Fifth seed Steve Darcis continued his outstanding season in Challengers with a win in the final over teenager qualifier Alex De Minaur of Australia, 6-4, 6-2. Darcis was competing in his sixth Challenger final since June (3-3), having earned titles in Trnava, Slovakia, and Lyon, France.
De Minaur and Polmans were the third and fourth Aussie teens to appear in Challenger finals this year. They were a combined 1-7 in main draws entering the week and went 8-2 in Eckental and Canberra, respectively. De Minaur is the second 17 year old to contest a Challenger final this year, joining Seville winner Casper Ruud. Last year, both 17-year-old Challenger finalists – Fritz and Tiafoe – went on to crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2016.
Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil (Guayaquil, Ecuador): Nicolas Kicker continud Argentina’s dominance on the ATP Challenger Tour with a convincing win in the final over Arthur De Greef of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2. It’s his second Challenger title of the year, with Kicker last prevailing in June in Perugia, Italy. De Greef drops to 1-3 in Challenger finals in 2016, with his lone title coming in August in Liberec, Czech Republic.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Duckworth: “Marc is a really good competitor and I had to fight for every point. I’m just really thrilled to come through with the win.”
“This year has had its ups and downs…it’s been tough to get my [Emirates ATP] ranking back up, but I’m playing well now and I’m 99 per cent healthy, which is the most important thing.”
Kicker: “I am really happy for this victory and for the whole week. I played calm and at a high level all week. I came here with a lot of pressure and I wasn’t doing well on the court recently. But this week I was able to find my game and lift another trophy for Argentina.”
A LOOK AHEAD
There are six Challengers on the calendar this week, with the $100,000 event in Bratislava, Slovakia, taking top billing. The event returns for the 17th straight year and features several illustrious past champions, including Marcos Baghdatis, Marc Rosset and Karol Kucera. World No. 52 Florian Mayer of Germany is the top seed, while World No. 69 Illya Marchenko of Ukraine is the second seed. German Jan-Lennard Struff, a winner over Stan Wawrinka last week at the BNP Paribas Masters, is the fourth seed, while #NextGen star Daniil Medvedev of Russia is the sixth seed.
The $100,000 tournament in Mouilleron-le-Captif, France, returns for the fourth straight year. Defending champion and local favourite Benoit Paire returns as the top seed and former Top 10 player Mikhail Youzhny of Russia is the second seed. #NextGen stars Andrey Rublev of Russia and Quentin Halys of France are in the draw, while De Minaur looks to keep up his form from Eckental.
The $75,000 Challenger in Bogota, Colombia, is back for the 11th year. Argentines Facundo Bagnis and Horacio Zeballos are the first and seconds seeds, respectively. Several former winners are in the draw, including fourth seed and local favourite Santiago Giraldo (2006), Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic (2013), and defending champion Eduardo Struvay of Colombia.
The $50,000 event in Knoxville, Tennessee, returns for the 13th year. The tournament features several prominent past winners, including Kei Nishikori and James Blake. Defending champion Daniel Evans of Great Britain returns as the top seed and American #NextGen star Frances Tiafoe is the second seed. Several other American #NextGen players are in the draw, including third seed Jared Donaldson, eighth seed Stefan Kozlov and Noah Rubin. Both Opelka and Bemelmans will also look for another big run this week.
Lastly, the $50,000 tournament in Kobe, Japan, is back for the second year. All four of the top seeds are from Japan, with Yuichi Sugita as the top seed and #NextGen star Yoshihito Nishioka as the second seed. #NextGen star Hyeon Chung of Korea is the fifth seed, while Duckworth looks for another title this week as the seventh seed.
View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams
ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.