T44: Charlottesville, Eckental, Guayaquil, Playford, Shenzhen 2019

[Damian]

Charlottesville Tennis Challenger



Charlottesville - wyniki 1/2 finału:

[1] Brayden Schnur d. [16] Dmitry Popko 3-6 6-1 6-4

[10] Vasek Pospisil d. [WC] Brandon Nakashima 6-1 6-1

[Barty]

Może coś z Ważka jeszcze będzie w przyszłym roku, ewidentnie lepszy okres ma obecnie - w Szanghaju podmęczenie późniejszego tryumfatora, a jutro może być 2 challek zdobyty z rzędu.

[Damian]

Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil



Guayaquil - wyniki 1/2 finału:

[1] Hugo Dellien d. [9] Federico Coria 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(0)

Thiago Seyboth Wild d. [12] Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4 7-5

[Damian]

City of Playford Tennis International



Playford - finał:

[2] James Duckworth d. [1] Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-6(2) 6-4

[Damian]

Shenzhen Longhua Open 2019



Shenzhen - finał:

[8] Zhizhen Zhang d. Zhe Li 6-3 4-6 6-1

[Damian]

Zhang Zhizhen Claims Historic All-Chinese Championship

Spoiler:

Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to the week to come

A LOOK BACK
Shenzhen Longhua Open (Shenzhen, China): This week, the ATP Challenger Tour descended on the affluent Mission Hills Country Club. Home to 20 hard courts, as well as the largest golf facility in the world, with 12 courses, the venue is a sprawling sports complex.

It is only fitting that the prestigious club would host a historic moment for tennis in China. On Sunday, Zhang Zhizhen claimed the first all-Chinese final in Challenger history, defeating countryman Li Zhe 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in front of a packed crowd at Mission Hills.

It has been quite the impressive four-year stretch for Chinese tennis, with Wu Di becoming its first champion in 2016, followed by its first teenage winner in 2017, Wu Yibing. And in 2018, Zhang Ze became the first to win multiple titles. Now, Zhang Zhizhen joins his countrymen in securing a slice of history.

"I'm really happy," said Zhang. "I didn't think I would get it this week, so it's very nice for me. It’s never easy to play him and he played really good in second set. Barely made any unforced errors in return games. I managed to get the momentum back in the third set and adjust my mindset in the right place.

"I am very happy with this win and it seems like I always play well in Shenzhen. This city has become my special place. This title also helps me reach my goal for this season (Top 150). So lots of pressure released from my shoulder now. It is never easy to win any Challenger title."


ATP Challenger Tour
✔
@ATPChallenger
Zhang Zhizhen is the champion in Shenzhen!

The first ever all-Chinese Challenger championship goes to the Shanghai native 63 46 61 over Li Zhe.

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You May Also Like: Zhang & Wu: The Chinese 'Brothers' Making Noise In Zhuhai
It was a second title for the Shanghai native nicknamed 'ZZZ', having prevailed in Jinan earlier this year. He rises to a career-high No. 141 in the ATP Rankings, sitting one spot off China's highest-ever ranking, earned by Wu Di three years ago.

The 23-year-old continues to capture the tennis headlines in his homeland, steadily building on a breakthrough quarter-final run at the former ATP Tour stop in Shenzhen in 2017. Just last month he secured two more tour-level victories in Zhuhai and Beijing, including an upset of World No. 34 Kyle Edmund at the China Open.

Li, meanwhile, was competing in his second Challenger final and first since 2017, when he finished runner-up in Bangkok. He will also rise to a career-high in the ATP Rankings, cracking the Top 200 at No. 194.

Chinese Challenger Champions

Player No. of Titles
Tournaments Won
Zhang Zhizhen
2
Jinan 2019, Shenzhen 2019
Zhang Ze
2
San Francisco 2017, Chengdu 2018
Wu Di
1 Maui 2016
Wu Yibing
1 Shanghai 2017
City of Playford Tennis International (Playford, Australia): One year ago, Jordan Thompson took the ATP Challenger Tour by storm in the final weeks of the season, lifting a pair of trophies on home soil and finishing with a tour-leading 52 match wins. This year, it's his countryman's turn.

James Duckworth claimed a tour-leading 44th match victory on Sunday, streaking to the title on home soil in Playford. He did not drop a set all week in securing his third trophy of the year, capped by a 7-6(2), 6-4 triumph over Yasutaka Uchiyama. Also the champion in Bangkok and Baotou, the Aussie rises 20 spots to No. 110 in the ATP Rankings. Like Thompson did in 2018, he is hoping to conclude his campaign inside the Top 100. Duckworth enters Kobe, Japan, next week as the fourth seed.


ATP Challenger Tour
✔
@ATPChallenger
He owns the most match wins this year (44) and now @JamesDuck21 has his third of 2019.

Champion in Playford without dropping a set.

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Charlottesville Men's Pro Challenger (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA): Later on Sunday, it will be the first all-Canadian final outside of Canada in 20 years. Brayden Schnur battles Vasek Pospisil for the title in Charlottesville.

Challenger Eckental (Eckental, Germany): In Eckental, Steve Darcis plays his final match on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Belgian veteran, who announced he will retire from pro tennis in January, is a two-time ATP Tour champion and 10-time winner on the Challenger circuit. He will face Jiri Vesely for the title later on Sunday.

Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil (Guayaquil, Ecuador): In South America, top seed Hugo Dellien carries a 5-2 record in Challenger finals to the Guayaquil championship. He faces 19-year-old Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who is competing in his first final.

A LOOK AHEAD
Four tournaments on four continents highlight this week's slate. The Slovak Open in Bratislava welcomes a loaded field for the tournament's 20th edition. Seven players are inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, including top seed Mikhail Kukushkin.

On the indoor hard courts of Kobe, Japan, defending champion Tatsuma Ito returns and is joined by fellow seeded countrymen Yasutaka Uchiyama, Yuichi Sugita, Go Soeda and Hiroki Moriya. James Duckworth and Zhang Zhizhen look to go back-to-back after lifting trophies this week.

In Knoxville, a red-hot Tommy Paul leads the field, with Brayden Schnur and Bradley Klahn. And on the clay of Montevideo, home hope Pablo Cuevas targets a fourth tournament title.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/challen ... g-shenzhen

[Damian]

Challenger Eckental



Eckental - finał:

[7] Jiri Vesely d. Steve Darcis 6-4 4-6 6-3

[DUN I LOVE]

Wasiek znowu wygrał.

[no-handed backhand]

Łatwo nie było, bo niesforne nadgarstki miały serwis na pierwszego seta. Dużo błędów popełnił bardziej czeski z Kanadyjczyków, miał szczęście, że temu niemieckiemu w trzecim secie odechciało się grać.

[Barty]

Nieporęczny, kto w końcu wygrał w Shenzen? Liu czy Wang?

[Damian]

Dobrze że w jednym kawałku dograli.

Vasek zmagał się z prawą nogą, a Brayden z plecami.

[no-handed backhand]

3ZH, w trzech setach. Ciekawe czy podskoczy w rankingu o choć jedno ZH.

[Damian]

Charlottesville Tennis Challenger



Charlottesville - finał:

[10] Vasek Pospisil d. [1] Brayden Schnur 7-6(2) 3-6 6-2

[Damian]

Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil



Guayaquil - finał:

Thiago Seyboth Wild d. [1] Hugo Dellien 6-4 6-0

[DUN I LOVE]

No I ma tytuł dziki bot.

[Damian]

Challenger Q&A: Pospisil Goes Back-To-Back With Charlottesville Crown

Spoiler:

Canadian sits down with broadcaster Mike Cation after taking the title in Charlottesville
Vasek Pospisil opened his 2019 campaign in a position no player desires. The Candian was laying on an operating table after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disc. He would miss the next five months of the season, before returning at Wimbledon.

Now, the former World No. 25 is working to rebuild his ranking one tournament at a time. His recent results will go a long way to achieve that. On Sunday, Pospisil defeated countryman Brayden Schnur 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 to capture the crown at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Charlottesville.

Pospisil went back-to-back in Las Vegas and Charlottesville, securing his second straight title. The 29-year-old dropped a combined one set between the two tournaments, extending his win streak to 11 straight with his victory at the Boar's Head Sports Club.

It marked the first time two Canadians met in a Challenger final outside of Canada since 1999, when Frederic Niemeyer defeated Sebastian Lareau. Ironically, Niemeyer is now on Pospisil's coaching team, along with Frank Dancevic. The two are off to a strong start in their partnership.

Up to No. 153 in the ATP Rankings, Pospisil is in a hurry to return to return to the ATP Tour. Just last month he streaked to the Round of 16 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters as a qualifier, securing a Top 20 upset of Diego Schwartzman along the way. The Vernon native has won 15 of his last 16 matches overall and is making a late-season push to return to the Top 100.


ATP Challenger Tour
✔
@ATPChallenger
Back-to-back titles in Las Vegas & Charlottesville
10-match win streak@VasekPospisil is the champion at the @CMPChallenger!

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Pospisil spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation following the final...

Congrats Vasek. Your second title in a row. I can imagine the Vegas win meant a lot to you, in terms of that final push to have a trophy before the end of the year. What does this one in Charlottesville mean to you?
They both feel great. Obviously, Vegas was amazing coming back from the surgery I had in January. I had a different perspective on the sport and on life. A lot of things have changed and it's the first time I'm coming back from a major injury.

You're never quite sure how your body and your game is going to respond, being the first time. So far it's much better than I expected. I put in a lot of hard work to come back to this level. I didn't expect it be this fast, but right now I'm feeling great.

You played 16 matches in your last three tournaments, between Shanghai, Vegas and now Charlottesville. In the second set it looked like the groin might be tight. How's the body right now?
You know, it was on one return in the tie-break where I lunged and made a weird step. My hip was hurting a little bit. That is to be expected. I haven't played this many matches in more than a year. When you're doing that after a surgery, it just shows that I'm in better shape than expected. I was getting a little tired and the last couple days there was stiffness in my lower back. You can't take any chances, but I think it took a toll definitely.

All week long you were able to get into your patterns, hitting the backhand slice up the line and setting up in the deuce corner with the forehand cross. You moved in to the net a lot too. Brayden took you out of that a little today. How did you acclimate?
He did and honestly I thought he was playing really well. At one point at the end of the second set and beginning of the third, I was accepting that he was serving better than me. I was a little off with my serve to start. I was just playing scrappy tennis at the time, just to hang in there, because he was being very offensive off the return.

I made an adjustment on my serve in the third set and that maybe made a bit of a difference. I was able to relax more in my service games and it allowed me to be more aggressive. It changed the match around.

What were your goals when you first started and how have they changed now with your successes in the last month?
I wasn't even setting any goals. It was a situation where I was first coming back and wasn't sure how my body would even react to match play. My goal was to finish the year healthy and get to the offseason in a good state of mind and a good physical state. And to then focus on 2020. That was it.

Obviously, not playing for most of the year will make you go that route. Right now, with the results I've had the past couple months, it's completely unexpected and I won't take it for granted. I'm more ready than I thought to climb back up the rankings. I'll be going into the Australian Open with higher goals after this past month.

Being at No. 152 with nothing to defend until July is a pretty good situation.
Yeah for sure, it's a pretty good spot to be in.

Pospisil

You mentioned you have a fresh perspective after the surgery. How do you now view Challengers and their role in pro tennis?
That's a complex question. It's such an important level and there are still things to improve, including continuing to build on the prize money. They aren't the biggest events we have and they aren't bringing in big revenue, but there has to be a balance where the major events are contributing more.

Long term that will affect the sport in a positive way, when you have more than 300 guys who can make a living. Maybe more guys will play tennis and more will invest in their bodies to make a better product. If there's a way to funnel more money into these smaller events, that would be important.

You celebrated with a drink in Las Vegas. How will you celebrate now as you're heading to Knoxville?
Taco Bell.

That's the weirdest one I've ever heard.
You know, my coach Frank Dancevic and I were driving by Taco Bell and said how much we love it. But we never eat it. We decided if I win the tournament we're going to have a big cheat meal and absolutely destroy it. That's what we're doing.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/challen ... e-pospisil

[Damian]

#NextGenATP First-Time Winner: Thiago Seyboth Wild

Spoiler:

The 19-year-old Brazilian discusses his dream week in Guayaquil
It has been a resurgent 2019 campaign for Brazil on the ATP Challenger Tour. Four different players have won a total of six titles. With the season coming to a close, the proud tennis nation is launching itself on the map once again.

On Sunday, Thiago Seyboth Wild claimed a slice of history for the South American country, becoming just its fourth teenage Challenger champion. The 19-year-old routed top seed Hugo Dellien 6-4, 6-0 for the title in Guayaquil, Ecuador, completing an impressive week that saw him reel off six wins in six days and also reach the doubles final.

The Brazilian dropped just one set all week to triumph on Ecuadorian soil, including a trio of statement wins over Dellien, a red-hot Thiago Monteiro, Jozef Kovalik and Juan Pablo Varillas. He has won three matches over Top 100 opponents in the past two weeks, tripling his career total.

Teenage Challenger Champions In 2019

Player Age
Title Won
Jannik Sinner
17 yrs, 6 mos.
Bergamo, Italy
Jannik Sinner
17 yrs, 11 mos.
Lexington, USA
Nicola Kuhn
19 yrs, 4 mos.
Segovia, Spain
Thiago Seyboth Wild
19 yrs, 7 mos.
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Corentin Moutet
19 yrs, 9 mos.
Chennai, India
With Monteiro lifting three trophies and Joao Menezes bursting onto the scene with his maiden crown in Samarkand and a gold medal at the Pan-American Games, Brazil has steadily been making progress this year. As the youngest member of the contingent, Seyboth Wild is the latest to enter the fray.

The budding #NextGenATP prospect - also the US Open boys' champion in 2018 - joins strong company in becoming just the fourth different teen to win this year, along with Jannik Sinner, Nicola Kuhn and Corentin Moutet. He rises 76 spots to a career-high No. 235 in the ATP Rankings.

Seyboth

Seyboth Wild spoke to ATPChallengerTour.com after lifting the trophy at the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil...

Thiago, congrats on winning your first Challenger title. How does it feel to lift the trophy?
To get my first title is an amazing feeling. I can't even describe the sensations right now. It's just the start of something I've been planning for so long. I'm sure if I keep working hard and stay on the right path, I'll keep winning.

To win your first title is never easy. What was the key this week? How did you get it done?
It doesn't really matter if it's your first title or not. It's always really hard to play at this level and in a final match. My mentality was super strong this week and also my serve really helped me.

Talk about the final. Did you feel nervous at all against Hugo? It's the second straight year you met in Guayaquil.
Yeah, I was actually pretty tight before the match. I think I managed the emotions pretty well.

Seyboth

Winning six matches in six days, including two over Top 100 players, is a big achievement. How rewarding is it to finish the season on such a high note?
I think that lifting a trophy is always pretty amazing, especially at the end of a season. I'm going for my best ranking right now and probably getting into the Australian Open qualies. That was one of the goals I had in these final weeks. I can check that off.

You hadn't reached a semi-final at this level and here you are with your first trophy. How do you explain this sudden surge?
I have been working really hard with my mentality and my fitness. I can actually tell that I'm getting there. I have a lot to improve and I know that I'm on the right path. I think that if I keep working hard and look towards bigger things, I'll have better results.

Brazilian Teenage Challenger Champions

Player Age Title Won
Jaime Oncins
19 yrs, 1 mo.
Lins 1989
Roberto Jabali
19 yrs, 1 mo.
Sao Paulo 1989
Guilherme Clezar
19 yrs, 4 mos.
Rio Quente 2012
Thiago Seyboth Wild
19 yrs, 7 mos.
Guayaquil 2019
As you've moved from juniors to pros, what have you learned about your game at this level? How has your game grown?
Going from juniors to pros is two different worlds. The intensity of the matches is very different. The level of tennis you have to play is different. You pretty much have to be out there with just your coach the whole year. You have to stay strong, keep working hard and thinking about yourself.

You are the fourth different Brazilian player to win a title this year. What is the current state of tennis in your country?
Brazil has had some good moments and the current group we have are pretty solid. Thiago Monteiro is in the Top 100 and Joao Menezes is Top 200. Both of them have won Challenger titles. I'm pretty sure we have good players on top in the next few years.

Do you hope to inspire more Brazilians? How important is it to grow the game back home?
The goal is always to help people and make them dream. But we should always be thinking about ourselves too and our own goals. Planning what you have to do, writing it down and focusing on your short-term goals is the best thing you can do. You have to focus on things that are doables in the short term and think about what you can do at this moment, not five years from now.

Seyboth

What did you enjoy most about your time in Guayaquil?
I didn't have time to enjoy the city much because I was playing singles and doubles every day. But I did enjoy my time in general. The traffic here is nowhere near Brazil. It's a lot better. You usually get stuck in traffic in Brazil for hours and hours. Here you go to the hotel and come back to the site in 10 minutes. It's one of the best things for players.

For those of us who don't know much about you, tell us something. What do you enjoy doing off the court? Do you have any passions outside of tennis?
My mom wanted me to go to college when I was younger. I'm actually taking online classes for a degree in bio-medicine and also taking classes in administration. It helps me keep my focus when I'm on the road for a long time. It helps me to not spend energy on stuff I shouldn't be.

ATP Challenger Tour

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