#NextGen Winners
Taylor Fritz, Kyle Edmund and Andrey Rublev are the three members of #NextGen who have won ATP Challenger Tour singles titles so far in 2016. Fritz kicked off the year by winning the $75,000 event in Happy Valley, while Edmund followed up in February by prevailing at the $100,000 tournament in Dallas. The 21-year-old Brit swept through the field without losing a set. In March, Rublev came through qualifying to win the $50,000 event in Quimper, where he defeated No. 1 seed and local favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu in a marathon match to take his first ATP Challenger Tour title. With his win, Rublev became the 10th 18-and-under winner on the ATP Challenger Tour since the start of 2015.
WATCH: Top Challenger Hot Shots From Q1
China’s Breakthrough
Di Wu became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Challenger Tour singles title by prevailing at the $50,000 tournament in Maui, where he unseated No. 1 seed Kyle Edmund in the championship match. He then followed that result up by finishing as runner-up in March at the $75,000 event in Shenzhen, where he delighted the local crowd with his inspired play. Meanwhile, Ze Zhang reached back-to-back finals on the ATP Challenger Tour. After defeating No. 2 seed and local favourite Tatsuma Ito on his way to the finals of the $50,000 tournament in February in Kyoto, he followed that result up by once again finishing as runner-up in March at the $50,000 event in Zhuhai.
First-Time Champions
Australian teenager Blake Mott became the fifth-lowest ranked champion since 2000 when he prevailed on home soil in February at the $75,000 tournament in Launceston. The world No. 721 needed a wild card to enter the main draw, but used that opportunity to record the biggest result of his career. Another wild card, Alexandre Sidorenko, also won his first ATP Challenger Tour title on home soil in March. The 28-year-old weathered several marathon matches to win the $50,000 event in St. Brieuc.
In addition to Rublev and Wu’s aforementioned victories, Jordan Thompson and Pedra Krstin also won their first ATP Challenger Tour titles in the first quarter of 2016. Thompson saved match points in his quarter-final match in February at the $50,000 tournament in Cherbourg, ultimately riding that momentum to the title. Meanwhile, Krstin showed no sign of nerves in March as he cruised through the draw without losing a set at the $50,000 event in San Luis Potosi.
Title Leaders
|
Player |
Titles |
|
Gerald Melzer |
3 – Mendoza, Bucaramanga, Morelos |
|
Mikhail Youzhny |
3 – Bangkok I, Bangkok II, Manila |
| Facundo Bagnis | 3 – Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago |
| 26 players tied | 1 |
Sela Joins ’20 Titles Club’
Dudi Sela recorded a career milestone in March by capturing his 20th ATP Challenger Tour singles title at the $75,000 event in Shenzhen. The veteran from Israel played flawless tennis all week and raced through the draw without losing a set. He now joins Yen-Hsun Lu as the only players on tour in the “20-Titles Club” for Challenger victories. Sela’s most successful stop on the Challenger Tour has been at the tournament in Vancouver, which he’s won on four different occasions (2005, 2008, 2010 and 2015). He is one of just five current players to win at least four titles at a single tournament.
Moments In The Spotlight
Facundo Bagnis, Gerald Melzer and Mikhail Youzhny have been the most successful players so far this year on the ATP Challenger Tour, with all three players clinching three titles apiece. Meanwhile, the strong ATP Challenger Tour results from Taylor Fritz, Yuichi Sugita and Thomas Fabbiano have seen them make their Top 100 debuts in 2016. Andrey Golubev recorded the biggest comeback in a championship match this year, saving four match points to defeat Karen Khachanov and win the $50,000 event this March in Jonkoping. The tournament also marked the first ATP Challenger Tour event in Sweden in 20 years. Marcelo Arevalo also broke new ground this quarter by becoming the first player from El Salvador to reach an ATP Challenger Tour final, which he accomplished in March at the $50,000 event in San Luis Potosi. Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov also broke new ground at the $50,000 event in Drummondville, where he became the first 16-year-old to reach a semi-final at an ATP Challenger Tour event since Stefan Kozlov achieved that feat in Sacramento in 2014. Shapovalov also became the first player born in 1999 to win a main draw match at a Challenger.
Match Wins Leaders
|
Player |
Wins-Losses |
|
Facundo Bagnis |
18-2 |
|
Gerald Melzer |
18-3 |
| Marco Chiudinelli | 17-7 |
| Mikhail Youzhny | 15-0 |
| Dudi Sela | 15-4 |
| Thomas Fabbiano | 13-4 |
| Go Soeda | 13-6 |
| Jordan Thompson | 13-7 |
