Menendez-Maceiras Halts Decade Title Drought

A LOOK BACK

Torneo Internacional Challenger (Leon, Mexico): Adrian Menendez-Maceiras lifted a trophy for the first time in a decade to cap an astonishing week in Mexico. The 31 year old had lost his past eight finals on the ATP Challenger Tour, but prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against Roberto Quiroz in the first all-qualifier Challenger final since 2010.

Menendez’s reward for his second Challenger title, his first since Cordoba in 2007, is for the Spaniard to climb up 70 places to No. 210 in Emirates ATP Rankings.

Open Harmonie Mutuelle (Saint-Brieuc, France): Austrian top seed Gerald Melzer lost in the opening round at Saint-Brieuc. His conqueror Egor Gerasimov won seven matches in eight days as a qualifier to clinch a second Challenger title.

The 24 year old is the lowest-ranked title winner in 2017 (No. 404) and as a result surges up 141 spots to No.263 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Also, Gerasimov is the first Belarusian winner on the Challenger Tour since he won his maiden title in Bratislava in 2015.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Menendez-Maceiras: “This is really important for me. I can’t say how many finals I lost over the last 10 years, so this is very, very important. With hard work and patience I won this tournament with my level. I hope to return next year and fight for the title again.”

A LOOK AHEAD

Onto the clay and there are two Challengers on the schedule this week, leading with the €64,000 event in Sophia Antipolis, France. World No.40 Benoit Paire enters as a wildcard to take the top seeding, alongside a strong field in France, which includes former Top 10 player Nicolas Almagro and fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. #NextGenATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas has taken a wildcard into the clay court event.

The $50,000 tournament in Panama City, Panama, is back on the calendar following a two year absence. 2012 champion Rogerio Dutra Silva returns to try and reclaim his title, with Argentine Horacio Zeballos playing as top seed. Victor Estrella Burgos will also be a threat in Panama, having taken his third-straight title on the clay at the Ecuador Open in February.

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