Challenger Tour: Noumea features Top 50 player as top seed, Benneteau makes comeback - UBITENNIS

Challenger Tour: Noumea features Top 50 player as top seed, Benneteau makes comeback

By Alex Burton
2 Min Read
Benneteau makes a long-awaited comeback after missing nearly nine months with injury

Noumea has a relative star at its pre-Australian Open event this year in the form of Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, though it is the participation of another returning Frenchman that nearly overshadows him. 

Mannarino posted a career year in 2015, reaching a career high ranking of No. 27 in July. He achieved that ranking with highlight runs in reaching the final of the Auckland Classic, just a week after playing Noumea last year, the final of Bogota, and a pair of Last-Sixteen finishes in Indian Wells and Miami. He enters this event ranked No. 47.

There is then a gap of nearly eighty places in second seed Alejandro Falla, ranked at No. 122. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and Daniel Brands are also amongst the seeds, whilst there is a wildcard for Julien Benneteau, playing his first competitive match in nearly nine months  after being sidelined by injury. He last played at Indian Wells.

Noumea Draw (selected picks in bold)

(1) Adrian Mannarino vs Federico Gaio

(WC) Maxime Janvier vs (WC) Nicolas N’Godrela

James McGee vs Gregoire Barrere

Luke Saville vs (5) Blaz Rola

(4) Adrian Menendez-Maceiras vs Quentin Halys

Bastian Trinker vs Alessandro Giannessi

Calvin Hemery vs Jan Mertl

Qualifier vs (7) Daniel Brands

(8) Jordan Thompson vs Darian King

Jordi Samper-Montana vs Conor Smith

Marco Trungelliti vs Qualifier

Maxime Chazal vs (3) Edouard Roger-Vasselin

(8) Henri Laaksonen vs Mathias Bourgue

Qualifier vs (WC) Julien Benneteau

Tristan Lamasine vs Qualifier

Mitchell Kreuger vs (2) Alejandro Falla

 

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