Elias Makes Top 100 Debut With Torino Crown

A LOOK BACK
Torino Challenger (Torino, Italy): Gastao Elias had his back against the wall on multiple occasions in Sunday’s Torino final, but the Portuguese escaped with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over World No. 300 Enrique Lopez-Perez. Elias, who becomes the fourth player to crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in 2016, fell down an immediate break in the third set, but fought back to claim his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title. It was his third crown in seven months, following late-season victories in Lima and Guayaquil last November.

St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger (Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.): Bjorn Fratangelo was ruthless in completing a dream week on the green clay of Savannah, dropping a combined eight games in the semi-finals and final to lift his second ATP Challenger Tour trophy. He downed #NextGen star Jared Donaldson 6-1, 6-3 in an all-American title match, a day after knocking out top seed and countryman Denis Kudla 6-2, 6-2. Fratangelo, who is closing in on a Top 100 debut, rises to World No. 117 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

The 22-year-old, who notched his maiden title more than a year ago in Launceston, Australia, is riding a tidal wave of momentum after also winning his first ATP World Tour main draw match in Indian Wells and reaching the semis last week in Sarasota. He takes the lead in the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge.

Sao Paulo Challenger de Tenis (Sao Paulo, Brazil): It was over in a flash. Fifth seed Gonzalo Lama completed the fastest victory in an ATP Challenger Tour final this year, needing just 49 minutes to defeat Ernesto Escobedo 6-2, 6-2. It was the 22-year-old’s second Challenger crown. An integral part of Chile’s resurgence, along with Nicolas Jarry and Christian Garin, Lama rises to a career-high World No. 166 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Escobedo, meanwhile, was contesting his first Challenger final. The 19 year old from Los Angeles is the seventh different American teenager to reach a title match on the circuit in the last seven months.

American Teen Challenger Finalists Since October

TAC Cup China International Nanjing Challenger (Nanjing, China): Two weeks, two surfaces, two titles. Top seed Ricardas Berankis went back-to-back in Asia, claiming the clay-court Nanjing title 6-3, 6-4 over Grega Zemlja one week after also downing the Slovenian for the crown on the hard courts of Gwangju, South Korea. It was the Lithuanian’s sixth ATP Challenger Tour title in total. He improved to an impressive 14-2 on the circuit this year, joining Gerald Melzer, Mikhail Youzhny, Facundo Bagnis and Malek Jaziri as the lone multiple title winners.

What The Players Said
Elias: “First of all, I will enter the Top 100 after this tournament. This is my best ranking and another very important step for my career. It has been a pleasure to know the people that organised the tournament, the drivers, the ball boys and all the staff that worked hard for all details.”

Lopez-Perez: “I arrived after reaching the semi-finals in Barletta and I had confidence. I played well in all the rounds of the tournament, especially in the first and in semi-final against a very good player like Volandri. In the final, I did not like the weather conditions. There was too much wind, but Elias has been very able to dominate these conditions.”

“Just play in that moment (on the four match points saved). I had some bad luck with the net on break point and I was going a little bit crazy. But in tennis that can happen, so it’s an unbelievable sport for that. Maybe he got tense.”

Lama: “I am very happy. Winning a Challenger is very difficult. This is my second. I am very happy. I almost lost the match against (Juan Ignacio) Londero and ended up winning the tournament, so I had a bit of luck too.”

A LOOK AHEAD
There are four tournaments on the calendar event this week, with the $100,000 event in Anning, China, taking top billing. #NextGen star Yoshihito Nishioka will look push into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings as the No. 1 seed, while Jordan Thompson, a winner in February at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Cherbourg, is the No. 2 seed. Other notable names in the draw include Turin finalist Enrique Lopez-Perez, former World No. 53 Grega Zemlja and and former World No. 50 Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo.

The $75,000+H event in Taipei, Taiwan, returns for the third straight year. No. 1 seed Ricardas Berankis will look to continue his dominant form in Asian challengers this month, while defending champion Sam Groth returns as the No. 2 seed. Former World No. 31 Sergiy Stakhovsky is the No. 5 seed, while Daniel Evans, a winner last month at the ATP Challenger Tour event, is the No. 6 seed. Another notable name in the draw is last year’s finalist, Konstantin Kravchuk, who returns as the No. 8 seed.

The $50,000+H tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic, is back for the 13th consecutive year. Last year’s finalist and No. 1 seed Adam Pavlasek will look for a big run this week to allow him to make his debut inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Former World No. 8 and 2004 champion Janko Tipsarevic also returns to the tour after a seven-month layoff due to a knee injury.  Pedra Krstin, who won last month’s ATP Challenger Tour event in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is the No. 4 seed.

The always-popular $50,000 event in Tallahassee, Florida, also returns for the 17th consecutive year. The tournament features an illustrious list of past champions including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri. Top seed Donald Young hopes to add his name to that list, but has a tricky opening round against teenager Ernesto Escobedo, who (reached the final or won) last week in Sao Paulo. A slew of #NextGen stars are also in the draw including No. 7 seed Jared Donaldson, Noah Rubin and Frances Tiafoe. Other notable names in the draw include former world No. 51 Brian Baker, who is continuing his comeback from injury.

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