Why not, let's pay attention to Challengers too...

Rob C made a good point on something. Don't just pay attention to the ATP events.

The Challengers make for an interesting story too.

I think I'll do that also. Means I can pay close attention and go to these events if they are around my area.
 
Challengers updates:

Recanati Challenger: Italy

Stefano Galvani(ITA) d Artem Smirnov(UKR) 6-2 6-0
Charles-Antoine Brezac(FRA) d Miloslav Mecir(SVK) 6-4 6-4
Kenny De Schepper(FRA) d Matwe Middelkoop(NED) 7-5 4-2 Retired
Fabrice Martin(FRA) d Federico Delbonis(ARG) 6-3 6-4
Federico Gaio(ITA) d Paolo Lorenzi(ITA) 5-7 6-4 6-4
Adrian Ungur(ROU) d Riccardo Ghedin(ITA) 3-6 6-4 6-2
Roberto Bautista-Agut(ESP) d Ludovic Walter(FRA) 6-1 7-6(5)
Gregoire Burquier(FRA) d Daniel Cox(GBR) 7-5 6-0
Grega Zemlja(SLO) d Federico Torresi(ITA) 6-3 6-2

Wuhai Challenger: China

1st Round.

Danai Udomchoke(THA) d Ti Chen(TPE) 3-6 6-3 6-2
Young-Jun Kim(KOR) d Woong-Sun Jun(KOR) 6-2 6-3
Tsung-Hua Wang(TPE) d Chuhan Wang(CHN) 6-2 6-4
Nikolaus Moser(AUT) d Guillaume Rufin(FRA) 6-3 6-2
Michael Ryderstedt(SWE) d Peng Gao(CHN) 6-3 6-4
Kento Takeuchi(JPN) d Mao-Xin Gong(CHN) 7-6(5) 2-6 7-6(2)
Amir Weintraub(ISR) d Hiroki Kondo(JPN) 6-3 6-2
Nicholas Monroe(USA) d Ze Zhang(CHN) 7-5 6-2
Kittipong Wachiramanowong(THA) d Ya-Nan Ma(CHN) 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(2)
Inigo Cervantes-Huegun(ESP) d Hsin-Han Lee(TPE) 6-4 6-2
Guillermo Olaso(ESP) d Jae-Sung An(KOR) 6-2 6-2
 
Finishing scores.

Recanati Challenger: Italy

Gerard Granollers(ESP) d Andrea Agazzi(ITA)(Not kidding) 6-2 6-1
Flavio Cipolla(ITA) d Arnaud Clement(FRA) 7-5 6-1
Giacomo Miccini(ITA) d Brydan Klein(AUS) 6-4 3-6 6-3
 

Fate Archer

Hall of Fame
I would like to see Mecir junior at more tier events. Seems like he's as smooth as his father.

Some classics in China too... never have I seen more than 1 korean tennis player in a match result.
 

rapidfire77

New User
so i agree about challengers, i find them interesting and full of drama. the level is still just a tiny bit imperfect and that's mostly on the mental side. and it's there where the few and dangerous loom near the ATP doors. watching challengers also makes you appreciate the ATP, especially at the very top so much more.

the question is: how would you raise interest in these events? none of them are televised, and outside of the immediate player circle and die hard tennis fans...no one goes to these events.

the same applies to the futures. i did go to more future events than challengers and i find it rather entertaining to have an up close view of dogfights. i also amuse myself on guessing who's got what it takes to go all the way.
 
To me, it's like watching Minor League Baseball, and I love the minors. Just watching a kid hit a ball to shortstop and go 900 mph up the line, hoping the shortstop throws it away, and all because he wants to impress a scout, gets my attention. All these kids just want a chance at the big time, and they'll bust their asses for it every single day. I love watching it.

No different in Futures or Challengers. It's a bit imperfect, as you say, and they make mistakes. But you will also see some entertaining points out of these guys. One match can mean the difference between a spot in an ATP event and going to a money event at some country club next week so you can pay your way to another challenger event later on.

That makes those points much more special to watch.
 

wilkinru

Professional
Tthey need to be on the web, with small time sponsors to get money - just like minor league baseball does.. Also offer free or very cheap tickets to the event.

They do this in Texas, and I love that indoor one.
 
Today's scores thus far.

Wuhai Challenger - China
____________________
Go Soeda(JPN) d Di Wu(CHN) 4-6 6-2 6-2
Yong-Kyu Lim(KOR) d Josselin Ouanna(FRA) 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
Dani Udomchoke(THA) d Young-Jun Kim(KOR) 6-4 6-2
 
Today's scores:

Recanati Challenger: Italy
_____________________
Stefano Galvani(ITA) d Rainier Schuettler(GER) 7-6(2) 6-4
Kenny De Schepper(FRA) d Gerard Granollers(ESP) 7-5 6-1
Fabrice Martin(FRA) d Igor Sijsling(NED) 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4
Grega Zemlja(SLO) d Gregoire Burquier(FRA) 6-2 6-3

Wuhai Challenger: China
____________________
Raven Klaasen(RSA) d Michael Ryderstedt(SWE) 6-3 6-4
Amir Weintraub(ISR) d Kendo Takeuchi(JPN) 6-3 6-7(2) 6-1
Nicholas Monroe(USA) d Kittipong Wachiramanowong(THA) 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-1

Inigo Cervantes-Huegun(ESP) d Guillermo Olaso(ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-2
 
Rest of today's scores:

Recanati Challenger: Italy
__________________
Flavio Cipolla(ITA) d Jan Minar(CZE) 6-0 6-1
Federico Gaio(ITA) d Giacomo Miccini(ITA) 6-3 6-3
Roberto Bautista-Agut(ESP) d Adrian Ungar(ROU) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4
 
Today's scores:

Recanati Challenger: Italy
____________
Stefano Galvani(ITA) d Frederik Nielsen(DEN) 6-2 6-3
Kenny De Schepper(FRA) d Flavio Cipolla(ITA) 6-3 3-6 6-4
Fabrice Martin(FRA) d Federico Gaio(ITA) 6-3 7-6(4)

Wuhai Challenger: China
____________________
Tsung-Hua Yang(TPE) d Danai Udomchoke(THA) 6-2 6-7(12) 6-4
 
Updates:

Recanati Challenger: Italy.
_____________________
Kenny De Schepper(FRA) d Stefano Galvani(ITA) 7-5 6-3
Fabrice Martin(FRA) d Grega Zemlja(SLO) 6-4 6-7(2) 6-4

All French final tomorrow.

Wuhai Challenger: China
____________________
Go Soeda(JPN) d Tsung-Hua Yang(TPE) 6-4 7-5
Raven Klaasen(RSA) d Inigo Cervantes-Huegen(ESP) 6-3 7-6(6)

Go Soeda v Raven Klaasen in the final


Segovia Challenger: Spain - Qualifying matches - 1st Round
_____________________
Federico Zeballos(BOL) d Alejandro Andino(ESP) 6-4 7-5
Mario Muniesa(ESP) d Raul Foenkinos(ESP) 6-1 6-3
Fernando Rivas Luque(ESP) d Eduardo Rico Brosi 6-3 1-6 6-2
Pedro Salas(ESP) d Javier Calderon Hernaiz(ESP) 6-1 6-1

2nd Round - Segovia Qualifiers.
_________________________
Adrian Menendez-MacEiras(ESP) d Eric Scherer(GER) 7-6(7) 6-2
Carlos Gomes-Herrera(ESP) d Christian Martinez-Calvo(ESP) 6-1 6-2
Federico Zeballos(BOL) d Andre Begemann(GER) 6-3 4-6 7-6(6)
Roberto Ortega-Olmedo(ESP) d Mario Muniesa(ESP) 6-4 1-6 6-1
Nikola Mektic(CRO) d Fernando Rivas Luque(ESP) 6-0 6-1
Pedro Salas(ESP) d Juan Lizariturry(ESP) 7-6(2) 7-5
Albano Olivetti(FRA) d Alvaro Martin(ESP) 6-2 6-3
Jaime Pulgar-Garcia(ESP) d Pablo Martin-Adalia(ESP) 2-0 retired


Vancouver Challenger: British Columbia - 1st Round qualifying
__________________________________________________
George Jecminek(CAN) d Leon Frost(AUS) 2-6 6-1 6-4
Ahmed El Tabakh(CAN) d Jeremy Salvo(CAN) 7-6(2) 6-3
Henry Choi(CAN) d Dusan Vemic(SRB) 5-7 7-5 7-5
William Boe-Wiegaard(USA) d Stephen Bass(USA) 6-4 6-4
Travis Rettenmaier(USA) d Zachary White(CAN) 4-6 6-4 6-3

Vancouver Challenger - 2nd Round Qualifiers
____________________________________
Michael McClune(USA) d William Boe-Wiegaard(USA) 6-2 6-4
Travis Rettenmaier(USA) d Colin Fleming(GBR) 6-4 6-4


Beijing Challenger: China - 1st Round Qualifier
_____________________________________
Kamil Capkovic(SVK) d Siyu Liu(CHN) 6-2 6-1
Da-Wei Li(CHN) d Sanchai Ratiwatana(THA) 6-4 4-6 7-5
Divij Sharan(IND) d Yi-Feng Li(CHN) 2-6 7-5 7-6(5)
Chu-Huan Li(TPE) d Xin Gao(CHN) 4-6 6-1 6-3
Kittipong Wachiramanowong(THA) d Bowen Ouyang(CHN) 6-4 6-1
Yong-Kyu Lim(KOR) d Shi Cheng(CHN) 6-4 6-4
Yang Lu(CHN) d Bolun Zhang(CHN) 6-3 4-0 retired
Yuichi Ito(JPN) d Chuhan Wang(CHN) 3-6 6-1 6-3
Kento Takeuchi(JPN) d Chun Ming-Yam(HKG) 6-0 6-1
Nikolaus Moser(AUT) d Kong Pop Lertchai(THA) 6-4 6-2
Sonchat Ratiwatana(THA) d Jun-Chao Xu(CHN) 6-1 6-7(1) 7-5
Weerapat Doakmaiklee(THA) d Zhaoyi Cao(CHN) 6-2 6-2


Campos Do Jordao - Brazil - Qualifying
_______________________________
Alex Blumenberg(BRA) d Osni Nery Junior(BRA) 6-2 6-3
Lucas Guitarrari(BRA) d Antonin Haddad(BRA) 6-2 6-0
Eduardo Dischinger(BRA) d Vitor Manzini(BRA) 6-2 7-5
Diego Matos(BRA) d Pedro Sakamato(BRA) 6-0 7-6(3)
Marcos Vinicius Dias(BRA) d Thomas Jun Facchini Takemoto(BRA) 6-3 6-3

Rodrigo Grilli(BRA) d Idio Escobar(BRA) 6-2 7-5
Andrew Lauret(BRA) d Vitor Pinheiro(BRA) 6-1 6-2
Andre Baran(BRA) d Charles Costa(BRA) 1-6 6-2 7-6(4)
Augusto Laranja(BRA) d Felipe Soares(BRA) 6-4 6-3
Ricardo Siggia(BRA) d Caio Silva(BRA) 6-4 7-5

Qualifiers - Final Round
___________________
Tiago Lopes(BRA) d Alex Blumenberg(BRA) 7-6(4) 6-3
Eduardo Dischinger(BRA) d Lucas Guitarrari(BRA) 6-2 6-1
Jose Pereira(BRA) d Diego Matos(BRA) 7-5 6-4
Thales Turini(BRA) d Marcos Vinicius Dias(BRA) 7-6(5) 6-1
Cristian Benedetti(ARG) d Rodrigo Grilli(BRA) 3-6 6-3 6-1
Andrew Lauret(BRA) d Danilo Ferraz 7-6(4) 7-6(3)
Fabiano De Paula(BRA) d Andre Baran(BRA) 4-6 6-3 6-2
Augusto Laranja(BRA) d Ricardo Siggia(BRA) 3-6 6-3 6-1


Trani Challenger: Mexico - 1st Round Qualifiers
______________________________________
Jan Minar(CZE) d Jose Rubin Statham(NZL) 6-4 6-4
Pedro Sousa(POR) d Manuel Sanchez(MEX) 6-0 6-4
James McGee(IRL) d Cesar Ramirez(MEX) 7-6(0) 7-5
Tak Khunn Wang(FRA) d Marco Sanges(ITA) 6-2 6-0
Federico Margini(ITA) d Enrico Becuzzi(ITA) 6-0 6-0

2nd Round Qualifiers
_________________
Alberto Brizzi(ITA) d Savino Lapalombella(ITA) 6-1 6-0
Grzegorz Panfil(POL) d Jan Minar(CZE) 6-4 6-7(9) 6-3
Pedro Sousa(POR) d Radu Albot(MDA) 7-6(4) 0-6 6-3
Leonardo Kirche(BRA) d James McGee(IRL) 7-6(3) 1-0 retired
Tak Khunn Wang(FRA)) d James Duckworth(AUS) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3
Nicolas Pastor(ARG) d Federico Margini(ITA) 6-2 6-1
Marco Trungelliti(ARG) d Sadik Kadir(AUS) 6-4 6-4
Florian Reynet(FRA) d Nima Roshan(AUS) 5-4 retired
 
Updates:

Recanati Challenger: Italy - Final
___________________________
Fabrice Martin(FRA) d Kenny De Schepper(FRA) 6-1 6-7(6) 7-6(3)


Wuhai Challenger: China - Final
_________________________
Go Soeda(JPN) d Raven Klaasen(RSA) 7-5 6-4


Segovia Challenger: Brazil - Qualifying Finals
____________________________________
Adrian Menendez-MacEiras(ESP) d Carlos Gomez-Herrera 6-3 6-3
Federico Zeballos(BOL) d Roberto Ortega-Olmedo 7-6(6) 6-4
Nikola Mektic(CRO) d Pedro Salas(ESP) 2-6 7-5 6-3
Jaime Pulgar-Garcia(ESP) d Albano Olivetti(FRA) 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(4)


Vancouver Challenger: British Columbia - Final Qualifier
_____________________________________________
Toshihide Matsui(JPN) d Tyler Hochwalt(USA) 6-3 6-3
Luka Gregorc(SLO) d Daniel Chu(CAN) 6-2 6-1
Travis Rettenmaier(USA) d Chris Wettengel(USA) 6-1 6-4


Beijing Challenger - China - 2nd Round
________________________________
Kamil Capkovic(SVK) d Nian Feng(CHN) 6-1 6-1
Yuuya Kibi(JPN) d Da-Wei Li(CHN) 6-2 6-2
Junn Mitsuhashi(JPN) d Divij Sharan(IND) 6-1 6-4
Chu-Huan Li(TPE) d Kittipong Wachiramanowong(THA) 6-3 6-4
Yong-Kyu-Lim(KOR) d Yang Lu(CHN) 7-5 6-3
Nikolaus Moser(AUT) d Sonchat Ratiwatana(THA) 6-3 6-4
Liang-Chi Huang(TPE) d Weerapat Doakmaiklee(THA) 4-6 6-3 6-4


Campos do Jordao Challenger - Brazil - Final Qualifier
___________________________________________
Tiago Lopes(BRA) d Eduardo Dischinger(BRA) 6-3 7-6(6)
Thales Turini(BRA) d Jose Pereira(BRA) 1-6 6-3 6-2
Cristian Benedetti(ARG) d Andrew Lauret(BRA) 7-5 4-6 6-4
Fabiano De Paula(BRA) d Augusto Laranja(BRA) 4-6 6-0 6-2


Trani Challenger - Mexico - Qualifying finals
___________________________________
Alberto Brizzi(ITA) d Grzegorz Panfil(POL) 4-6 6-3 6-4
Pedro Sousa(POR) d Leonardo Kirche(BRA) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0
Nicolas Pastor(ARG) d Tak Khunn Wang(FRA) 6-4 6-2
Marco Trungelliti(ARG) d Florian Reynet(FRA) 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4
 
Updates:

Segovia Challenger: Spain(Not Brazil) - 1st Round

Igor Sijsling(NED) d Arnaud Clement(FRA) 6-2 1-6 7-6(8)
Ruben Bemelmans(BEL) d Vincent Millot(FRA) 5-7 6-1 6-4
Evgeny Donskoy(RUS) d Christian Voinea(ROU) 6-2 6-1
Gerard Granollers(ESP) d Jaime Pulgar-Garcia(ESP) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
Nicolas Mahut(FRA) d Sebastian Rieschick(GER) 6-1 6-2.

Side note: That's tennis for you. A guy who is in the hall of fame for the longest match ever is playing challenger events.


Beijing Challenger: China - 1st Round
_______________________________
Di Wu(CHN) d Yu Chang(CHN) 6-1 6-2
Guillermo Olaso(ESP) d Ya-Nan Ma(CHN) 6-3 7-5
Farrukh Dustov(UZB) d Denis Matsukevich(RUS) 6-2 6-4
Guillaume Rufin(FRA) d Josselin Ouanna(FRA) 6-3 7-6(2)
Ti Chen(TPE) d Michael Ryderstedt(SWE) 6-4 6-4

Men's qualifying singles - Final Round
______________________________
Kamil Capkovic(SVK) d Yuuya Kibi(JPN) 7-6(5) 6-3
Junn Mitsuhashi(JPN) d Chu-Huan Yi(TPE) 6-4 6-4
Yong-Kyu Lim(KOR) d Yuichi Ito(JPN) 6-1 6-3
Nikolaus Moser(AUT) d Liang-Chi Huang 6-4 6-2
 

Fate Archer

Hall of Fame
Updates:

Segovia Challenger: Spain(Not Brazil) - 1st Round

Igor Sijsling(NED) d Arnaud Clement(FRA) 6-2 1-6 7-6(8)
Ruben Bemelmans(BEL) d Vincent Millot(FRA) 5-7 6-1 6-4
Evgeny Donskoy(RUS) d Christian Voinea(ROU) 6-2 6-1
Gerard Granollers(ESP) d Jaime Pulgar-Garcia(ESP) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
Nicolas Mahut(FRA) d Sebastian Rieschick(GER) 6-1 6-2.

Side note: That's tennis for you. A guy who is in the hall of fame for the longest match ever is playing challenger events.

And kicking ass at that... hope he goes on to win Segovia.
 

jwardb

Professional
Really. He's won 9 out of the last 11 tourneys he's entered. I believe he's waiting til Binghamton, NY. Then the Open!

Yeah, looks like Brugues withdrew from Segovia. Really hoping that he does well in Binghamton and also at the Open (Qualifying I presume).
 

winks

Rookie
Rob C made a good point on something. Don't just pay attention to the ATP events. The Challengers make for an interesting story too. I think I'll do that also. Means I can pay close attention and go to these events if they are around my area.

They should televise the challengers!

i would if they had more coverage on it.... i struggle to find information on smaller events

Love the Challengers! It's a little like watching College football vs the NFL. Only the talented players have to wait a little longer to make decent money.

Agree with everything said. One thing that could easlily be done here at TT is to make a sub-forum for it?
 

GRANITECHIEF

Hall of Fame
This thread is the sub forum.

Can't find a stream, sometimes USTA ProCircuit Tennis has one but don't see it.

Blake or Sock?
Querrey or Ignatic?
Reynolds or Kuznetsov?
Karlovic or DeBaker?
 

HunterST

Hall of Fame
James is playing pretty good tennis in Sacramento. I like his chances to get past Kuznetsov. It's a toss up against Sam and Ivo.
 

GRANITECHIEF

Hall of Fame
Fast forward 1 year.

Sam Q not there, he's busy trying to break top 20 in the far east.

Blake playing Sac Challenger again, ranked 99, #2 seed, about to go into 2nd round against Rik De Voest.

Can watch here: http://lsh.lshunter.tv/static/popups/113433377305230.html

Daniel Kosakowski beat Ben Becker #1 seed in first round and just took out Mike McClune. He just won two straight futures and will get a nice rankings pop with his minimum of 18 points from the tourney, moving him inside 250 and past Robby Ginepri.

Sock was in this one too, taken out by Bobby Reynolds.

Seems like Blake has a good chance at this title, even though he's down an early break.
 

ruerooo

Legend
Well, Blake is in one right now, yes? So I'm sure he hopes we're paying attention.

And when Tommy Robredo was hurt, he played challengers till he was healthy enough to compete on the main circuit again.
 

Rob_C

Hall of Fame
Fast forward 1 year.

Sam Q not there, he's busy trying to break top 20 in the far east.

Blake playing Sac Challenger again, ranked 99, #2 seed, about to go into 2nd round against Rik De Voest.

Can watch here: http://lsh.lshunter.tv/static/popups/113433377305230.html

Daniel Kosakowski beat Ben Becker #1 seed in first round and just took out Mike McClune. He just won two straight futures and will get a nice rankings pop with his minimum of 18 points from the tourney, moving him inside 250 and past Robby Ginepri.

Sock was in this one too, taken out by Bobby Reynolds.

Seems like Blake has a good chance at this title, even though he's down an early break.

There's also a stream available from the USTA Pro Circuit main page.

Kosakoswki is definitely gonna make a nice jump in the rankings, wont need WCs for Challengers pretty soon.
 

Gizo

Legend
Zverev used to be such a fun player to watch with his leftie serve-volleying style, which made him stand out in the modern baseline era.

However then unfortunately he decided to come the net less often and become more of a baseline pusher. His results actually suffered with that change in game style.
 

librarysteg

Hall of Fame
Does anyone know if the Champaign, IL Challenger event is happening this year? I haven't been able to find any current info for it.
 

Evan77

Banned
actually a very good thread. I try to watch as much as I can, so much fun btw. You'd be surprised how good some of challengers tournaments are. there is a great German link, gee they are so good at broadcasting challengers. I'll give you the link for guys who are really interested.

there is life beyond HomopretentiousBallerina, McToothnotsurehowtoplaytennis, Mr. Myhead@neck/hairarehugeugly and MR. NadalinawhoislovedbysomesillyteenagegirlslikeClarky, lolz
 

norbac

Legend
Zverev used to be such a fun player to watch with his leftie serve-volleying style, which made him stand out in the modern baseline era.

However then unfortunately he decided to come the net less often and become more of a baseline pusher. His results actually suffered with that change in game style.

I thought he had top 35 potential when I saw him play in 2009. Was a fun player to watch indeed.
 

atatu

Legend
Christian Harrison has an intresting matchup in the first round at Mansfield, playing #7 seed Taro Daniel of Japan. Wow, I did not realize Harrison is ranked #475, that's pretty good.
 

GRANITECHIEF

Hall of Fame
Sock takes out #1 seed Levine.

Young loses first round to Lammer.

Kosakowski lost to qualifier.

Williams and Klahn both through to the quarters for nice bunch of points and a little beer money (whats left over after taxes, travel and other misc expenses) !
 

GRANITECHIEF

Hall of Fame
great job by your son to qualify. hope he gets a few wins in the main draw

Not quite there yet, on court now in the qualifying round.

Couple other of the young guys like Kruger and Papa battling for a seat at the table as well.

Scratch that, he's in.
 
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