The final of the Fairfield Challenger will be contested by two home players after Bradley Klahn and Mackenzie McDonald both won their semi-finals.
Klahn continued his amazing run as he defeated 4th seed Maximilian Marterer 6-1, 6-3. The win is remarkable given that Klahn has spent two of the last three years absent through injury. The upcoming Champaign Challenger is the anniversary of his return to the tour following a back injury that required surgery.
The win for Klahn is remarkable for more than just personal reasons. Marterer was gunning for a move into the Top 100 for the first time. He would have accomplished the goal with a title win this week but was thwarted by the American, whom he had beaten in the final of the Monterrey Challenger last week. Marterer had won 19 of his last 21 matches, a run that had seen him win two Challenger titles in Monterrey and Banja Luka.
In the semi-final from the bottom half Australian Christopher O’Connell’s run came to an end. The Australian had earned his way into the main draw as a qualifier before defeating Denis Kudla, Tobias Kamke, and Bjorn Fratangelo. The win instead belonged to unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald, who moved into the final 6-4, 7-5. McDonald’s run to the final has included wins over Stefan Kozlov, Darian King, and Tennys Sandgren.
McDonald will be aiming for his first title at Challenger level. Klahn featured in the Monterrey final last week. With 13 Challenger final appearances to his name, Klahn owns a 5-8 record. His last title at this level came in 2014 in Traralgon, Australia.
