Denis Kudla

[bogdan1978]

28.09.2015

Najwyższa pozycja w karierze: 73

[Lucas]

Finał CH w Tiburonie:
* 3. finał CH w 2015 (1-2)
* 9. finał CH w karierze (5-4);

[bogdan1978]

05.10.2015

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 67

[bogdan1978]

12.10.2015

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 65

[COA]

[COA]

2015 w liczbach:

Ranking: 69
Bilans meczów: 8-14
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $431,071

[Lucas]

[COA]

01.02.2016

Najwyższa pozycja w karierze: 62

[grzes430]

08.02.2016

Najwyższa pozycja w karierze:59

[Damian]

09.05.2016

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 56

[Damian]

23.05.2016

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 53

[Lucas]

With Challenger Experience, Kudla Hopes For Another Tour-Level Run

Spoiler:

American has effectively used ATP Challengers to boost his tour-level play
Earlier this year, weeks before Denis Kudla was preparing to play Dusan Lajovic in the first round of Roland Garros, the American was sliding on Har-Tru, trying to find his footing at ATP Challenger tournaments.
Kudla has been ranked inside the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings for almost a year now, since last July. But the 23 year old still finds ATP Challenger tournaments worth his time and commitment. At Challenger events, Kudla said, players of all rankings can try to string together a few nice wins and gain some much-needed confidence. With that self-belief, he said, most players can have a chance of beating almost anyone in the world.
“There's so many good players here,” Kudla said in Savannah. “No matter what tournament you're playing, what level you're at, if you have confidence, you can pretty much play with anybody.”
Kudla played in two ATP Challenger events on Har-Tru earlier this year, the Sarasota Challenger and the Savannah Challenger. The Ukrainian-born American enjoyed varied results. In Sarasota, Kudla was the top seed but fell to then-World No. 190 Noah Rubin 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(8).
“The Challengers haven't been so great for me this year,” Kudla said before starting in Savannah.
But he became more comfortable on the crushed stone. In Savannah, Kudla won his first-round match by coming back from a set down to beat clay-court veteran Giovanni Lapentti of Ecuador. In the second round, Kudla dismissed Brian Baker, a former World No. 52 who's making another comeback from injuries.
Kudla then dispatched Nicolas Jarry but lost in the semi-finals to Bjorn Fratangelo, who would later win the USTA Pro Circuit Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge and gain direct entry into Roland Garros.
This week will mark Kudla's fourth time playing in Paris but only his second in the main draw. (He lost to Jan Hajek in the first round in 2013.) Kudla is hoping his recent success on the Challenger Tour helps his play at upcoming tour-level events, much like it did last year during a career breakthrough.
It was early June, and the right-hander had just finished up the clay-court season with disappointing results. Kudla failed to win a round at qualifying at Roland Garros and was 2-6 during tour-level play for the season. His ranking also had dropped 16 places since the start of the year to No. 139. “I wasn't in a great place,” Kudla said.
With his new coach, Billy Heiser, Kudla headed to grass-court ATP Challengers to jumpstart his season. At the Surbiton Challenger, Kudla strung together four wins to make the final before falling to Matthew Ebden of Australia in a third-set tie-break. The next week, at the Illkley Challenger, Kudla won four more matches and then beat Ebden 6-3, 6-4 to capture his fifth ATP Challenger title.
That success led him to bigger things at tour-level events. He posted a career-best showing at a Grand Slam by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon. His All-England Club run featured wins over then-World No. 23 Pablo Cuevas, #NextGen star Alexander Zverev and then-World No. 60 Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. In the fourth round, Kudla grabbed a set from then-World No. 9 Marin Cilic before falling in four sets.
Later that year, Kudla earned his best showing at a tour-level event by making the semi-finals of the BB&T Atlanta Open. “I was in a new mindset, just trying to stay positive,” Kudla said. “Everything just kind of came together in a really short period of time, which is not easy to do. But I took advantage of it and I kept going. I felt like it was one of the first times in my career where I played really well for a long period of time.”
With more Challenger success behind him, Kudla will try to start another impressive run this week at Roland Garros.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/kud ... annah-2016

[Damian]

Finał CH w Monterrey:
* 1. finał CH w 2016;
* 10. finał CH w karierze (5-5);

[Lucas]

2016 w liczbach:

Ranking: 131
Bilans meczów: 8-20
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $371,614

[Damian]

2017 w liczbach:

Ranking: 174
Bilans meczów: 1-1
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $130,621

[arti]

[grzes430]

DK On The Rise: Kudla Enjoying Strong Start To 2018

Spoiler:

Former No. 53 hopes to build on encouraging run at the Aussie Open in return to ATP Challenger Tour
There are signs that Denis Kudla is getting back to his best.

After reaching a career-high No. 53 in the ATP Rankings on 23 May 2016, Kudla saw his ranking slowly drop until falling outside of the Top 200 towards the end of 2017. But, after a strong final run in Knoxville (l. Peliwo) on the ATP Challenger Tour, Kudla ended his season with great cause for optimism.

In 2018, Kudla has already built on that strong showing in Tennessee, qualifying for his first Grand Slam main draw since the 2016 US Open, winning four matches and forcing No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem to five-sets in a second-round loss at the Australian Open. This week, he is into the quarter-finals at the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, a $125,000 Challenger. The American has not dropped a set thus far.


After working with Dustin Taylor in the off-season and spending his time between the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy in Tampa and the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Kudla is confident about the state of his game moving forward in 2018.

“I worked a lot in the off-season,” said Kudla. “I worked really hard to find a little bit more consistency, work on my serve and bring back high energy tennis which I ran away from a little bit.

“I am a guy that brings a lot of energy and wins with fitness and tangibles, so right now… I feel fit and the game is where it needs to be.”

The 25-year-old, who turned professional back in 2010, has plenty of ideas on how he can improve his game and get back into the Top 100 this year with one key factor as the main focus.

“Finding more balance,” said Kudla. “I did a lot more cardio… so I could sustain a higher level of tennis for a longer period of time. That was a big thing. I knew the game was there but I kept dying at a certain point and I realised I just wasn’t in good enough shape. I thought I was but I wasn’t. So that was the biggest thing, when I know I’m in shape, the game is there. It has always been there.”

That extra work in the gym was certainly evident in his five-match run in Melbourne and he was back at work at Challenger level in Newport Beach last week where, despite losing to Reilly Opelka in first-round singles action, he made the doubles final with partner Treat Huey (l. Cerretani/Paes) .

Playing his opening match in Newport Beach just five days after his last match in Melbourne is no easy matter, but for Kudla, with determination to climb the ATP Rankings in 2018, the motivation to succeed is stronger than ever.

“I am incredibly motivated,” said Kudla. “I do believe I am going to have a good year this year as long as I continue to do the right things, but I have a great team around me, playing well. As long as I don’t lose focus and get satisfied, I think I’m going in the right direction.”

Kudla managed to win four matches in Melbourne from first round qualifying, with three of his wins coming against higher ranked opposition, before falling to Dominic Thiem in a bruising five-set encounter. Reflecting on his great efforts at the first Grand Slam of 2018, Kudla expressed his delight at the start he has made to the new season.

“It was a great week for me to qualify and win a round, especially against Steve Johnson who is a good friend of mine and had my number, so it was nice to get that. Then to push (Dominic) Thiem to five sets, I put myself in a good position to win. I was just happy that I was able to bring my game around for five consecutive matches; I haven’t been able to do that for a long time,” admitted Kudla.

“I was up two-sets-to-love against a Top 5 player in the world… I can play right now, with top guys. I need to transfer that into the next couple of tournaments and start this year on a high note… and carry it over for as long as I can and hopefully get back in the Top 100,” said Kudla.

That confidence will surely help Kudla this week as he competes in Dallas on the Challenger circuit once more. The American also emphasised his desire in 2018 to focus on the process, rather than setting a specific numerical goal in the ATP Rankings.

“I tried not to set a ranking goal this year,” said Kudla. “Obviously in the back of my mind I want to be Top 100 and back in the Grand Slams but [my goal] is to be consistent, learn from my mistakes and stay fit, not losing my shape throughout the year. If I can do that, I can play at a high level and I’ll get the match wins that I need.”

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cha ... llas-kudla

[Damian]

CH Drummondville: Kudla z tytułem.

Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville (Drummondville, Canada): Denis Kudla is back in the winners' circle after nearly three years, claiming the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Drummondville on Sunday. Kudla marched to the title with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over France's Benjamin Bonzi, prevailing after just 64 minutes. The American converted five of six break opportunities to take his sixth Challenger crown and first since 2015.

It has been a strong start to 2018 for Kudla, who kicked off his campaign with a second round run as a qualifier at the Australian Open. He would also reach the semi-finals at the $125,000 event in Dallas. With his title in Drummondville, he vaults 24 spots in the ATP Rankings to a Top 150 return at No. 144.

Moreover, Kudla's victory gives the United States its fourth title on the ATP Challenger Tour this year. He joins Noah Rubin (Noumea), Taylor Fritz (Newport Beach) and Dennis Novikov (Morelos).

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cha ... ille-kudla

[Damian]

Finał CH w Le Gosier:
* 2. finał CH w 2018 (1-1);
* 13. finał CH w karierze (6-7);

[Damian]

Clutch Kudla Ousts Former Champ Verdasco

Spoiler:

American earns third tour-level clay-court win; Tiafoe continues hot start
Fernando Verdasco entered his match on Monday evening at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. Clay Court Championship with a fine pedigree — both overall and on clay. The left-hander was just two tour-level wins away from No. 500 in his career, and he arrived in Houston with 213 victories on clay. His opponent, American Denis Kudla, had played just nine tour-level clay-court matches, winning only two.

But that proved inconsequential as day turned to night on Centre Court, as the World No. 122 defeated 2014 Houston champion Verdasco, the World No. 36, 6-4, 7-6(4) to claim his best victory of the season by ATP Ranking.

"I thought it was a great performance by me on the clay. I honestly did not think I really had a high chance of winning this match. I just wanted to go out there and make him earn it and kind of blow me off the court," Kudla said. "I executed my game plan. I moved well and I came up with good serves to set up a good first ball in big moments."

Kudla had earned only one tour-level triumph in 2018, with his ATP Ranking slipping as low as No. 207 last November. But the 25-year-old found his form early in the year on the ATP Challenger Tour, going 13-4 at that level. The right-hander won the Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville in March before reaching the final at the Open Region Guadeloupe two weeks ago (l. to Lajovic). That momentum carried into Houston, as Kudla won his first clay-court match since 2016 Rome.

You May Also Like: Kudla Celebrates Drummondville Challenger Crown
It appeared Verdasco had found his footing on the clay as he gained a 4-1 lead and later held set point at 5-4 on the American's serve, but Kudla hit a deep inside-in forehand that the Spaniard sliced into the net, and that was the best opportunity he would get. The 34-year-old lost his first three service points in the tie-break to give his opponent the only advantage he needed.

Verdasco arrived at the only North American clay-court ATP World Tour event with plenty of momentum himself, winning two matches at both the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open presented by Itaú, including a victory against reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov at Indian Wells. But instead of moving within a match up victory No. 500, Verdasco falls to 11-9 on the season.

Kudla will next face Ivo Karlovic, who he beat at 2016 Rome, or Taro Daniel, who defeated Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells.

Tiafoe

But he was far from the only American who impressed on the opening day of play. #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe, who won his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Delray Beach Open, got his clay campaign off to a good start with a straightforward win against wild card Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-3 in 64 minutes.

It is the 20-year-old's first victory in Houston after losing in the first round the past two years. It is also Tiafoe's first tour-level clay-court victory, after losing the first five matches of his career on the surface. But that early record is not indicative of how he feels about clay.

"I really like it. I really enjoy it. Ton of clay courts where I grew up in College Park in Maryland, so I think it's my best surface," Tiafoe said. "I think it's more fun playing [on clay]. You can really see who has intangibles, moving and sliding and playing. But I played really well tonight."

Eighth-seeded American Tennys Sandgren earned his seventh tour-level win of the season (7-7) after winning just twice prior to this year, by defeating Blaz Kavcic 6-2, 6-2 in one hour, four minutes. Another American, Bjorn Fratangelo, was also impressive. The 24-year-old beat Australian Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour to set a second-round match against fourth seed Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios Falls In Doubles
Kyrgios, who is making his debut in Houston, partnered compatriot and close friend Matt Reid at the River Oaks Country Club Monday, thrilling the crowd with jaw-dropping forehands and flashy between-the-legs volleys. But veterans Karlovic and Daniel Nestor were too solid in the key moments, ousting the Australians 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour, 16 minutes.

Nestor, 45, had not played in Houston since 2007. But the Canadian teamed with Mark Knowles to win the title twice previously (2003, 2005) and the pair reached the final once (2007). Karlovic won the singles title at the tournament in 2007, and reached the semi-finals in 2012 with Frank Moser (l. to Blake and Querrey).

Did You Know?
Kudla had played only nine tour-level matches on clay, winning just two (2-7) of those matches. He may face the player whom he beat for one of those victories, Karlovic, in the second round, should the Croatian defeat Taro Daniel Tuesday.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ver ... 018-monday