As the first week of the ATP Challengers approaches the business end of the tournaments, only the players in strong form will progress into the semi-finals.
Noumea:
(1) Adrian Mannarino defeats (5) Kenny De Schepper 64 61. The all French affair was dominate by Mannarino, breaking five times in stats that make poor reading for De Schepper. Standing at 6’8, the Frenchman struggles to win many free points on serve, and in fact hit more double faults than aces in this encounter, three aces to five double faults. Mannarino won nearly 50% of points on his opponent’s first serve, and nearly 75% against the second in a complete mismatch.
Alejandro Falla defeats Tristan Lamasine 64 63. A real surprise. Falla may have been a finalist at this event last season, but it was the only time that the Colombian impressed in 2016. with his ranking languishing around no.270 in the world, only a title here will be enough to maybe see Falla get entry into Australian Open qualifying. Lamasine will be disappointed that he was not able to back up his impressive wins against Dennis Novikov and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nikola Milojevic defeats (8) Mathias Bourgue 36 76 75. If there is a surprise performer in Noumea this week, then Milojevic certainly is that player. The Serbian already took down Bourgue’s compatriot Quentin Halys, and produced a stunning comeback in the second and third sets to shock the eighth seed. A timely run of form for the twenty-one year old.
(2) Roberto Carballes Baena defeats Adrian Menendez Maceiras 76 36 61. Unseeded Menendez Maceiras put up an excellent fight against his fellow Spaniard, ignoring a ranking disparity of nearly one hundred players to fight hard in the first and second sets. Carballes Baena took control of the first set tiebreak, only dropping the single point, and after losing the second set, cruised through the third.
Happy Valley: Note the Happy Valley Challenger is only now at the quarter-final stage. These match summaries represent the overnight second round matches from the bottom half of the draw.
Omar Jasika defeats Alex Bolt 63 63. The teenager continued his surprising good form. After edging Norbert Gombos in the first round, his win over fellow Australian Bolt was far more convincing. Breaking three times, and not facing a single break point against his own serve, the Aussie who many have claimed has excellent talent may be finally beginning to fulfill it. His ranking will not see him get into Australian Open Qualifying on his own merit, but one or both of these players are likely to be afforded wildcards into qualifying.
(4) Peter Polansky defeats Daniel Brands 76 64. This match was always going to be tight on the scoreboard, owing to Brands massive serve. Despite this, Polansky was still able to break three times in two sets (he surrendered two of his own to keep the scores close. Polansky has done well since returning from injury and is perhaps my second favourite for the title.
(8) Marton Fucsovics defeats Ivan Ivashka 64 63. The eighth seeded Hungarian continues to quietly make his way through to the last eight. A potentially tricky tie against a young opponent who has started to show his talent, very well negotiated.
Bangkok: (Again second round):
(1) Yuichi Sugita defeats Marsel Ilhan 62 64. A good win for the top seed against a former Top 100 opponent. Ilhan’s form had fallen dramatically across 2016, and has not started 2017 much better, soundly beaten by the Japanese.
Jeremy Jahn defeats (6) Di Wu 63 36 64. A seed fall as Jahn, more familiar in the European Futures and occasional Challengers, rose to the occasion to defeat China’s Wu. As things stand, this could represent the single biggest tournament success for Jahn.
Blaz Kavcic defeats Amir Weintraub 64 61. The Slovenian eased into the quarter-finals, defeating the Israeli for the loss of just five games. Weintraub had won a previous meeting in the 2014 Davis Cup over five sets, but was soundly beaten in Thailand.
Christian Garin defeats (2) Denis Istomin 36 64 75. The shock of the draw to date. Istomin has immense pedigree as a former regular inside the Top 100, and looked well placed to reach the quarter-finals after winning the first set. Garin however, though better known for his exploits on clay, rallied to drop his serve just once over the final two sets, shocking the second seed.
