The week before Wimbledon qualifying saw one grass court Challenger in Ilkley (where the winner traditionally grabs a Wimbledon wildcard) and four events on clay. Federico Delbonis was the story of the week, taking his first title in almost four years. Meanwhile, Mariano Navone clinched his maiden trophy at this level (or a pro title of any kind in general). Quentin Halys and Alexandre Muller made their strong seasons so far look even stronger. Read back on last week’s action:
Ilkley
Sebastian Ofner had already made four Challenger finals in 2023 and broke the top 100 with a brilliant run at Roland Garros. That run came a bit too late for it to give him a chance at securing a Wimbledon main draw spot directly, however, the Challenger event in Ilkley traditionally grants its winner a wildcard for the Slam. Ofner managed to give himself a fighting chance with yet another great event this year with only Otto Virtanen coming remotely close to him on the way to the final.
Jason Kubler wasn’t aiming at the same feat with his Wimbledon spot already secured, but he’s also a great grass-court player and pulled off a nice run to make the final in Ilkley as well. The Australian erased a set deficit against both Mattia Bellucci and Arthur Cazaux, also edging Alexander Ritschard in another tight contest. Just like Ofner, Kubler earned himself a shot at becoming the thirteenth active player with Challenger titles on grass, clay, and hard courts by making the final.
It ended up being another disappointing final result for Ofner as he couldn’t touch Kubler on return at all. The Austrian’s five Challenger finals lost is the only flaw on his otherwise pretty spotless season. Kubler was too good though and grabbed his 8th Challenger title 6-4 6-4, becoming the 13th active player with trophies at this level on grass, clay, and hard. Ofner was trying to achieve the very same feat. Despite losing the final, he was still awarded the Wimbledon wildcard and won’t have to play in the qualifying. Kubler wants to get one more event in before the Slam at the ATP 250 in Mallorca.
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Montechiarugolo
The breakthrough season of Alexandre Muller continues with a third final of the year, two of them at the Challenger level and one ATP 250 runner-up finish. The champion in Blois last year, he chose to play Montechiarugolo this year and will not be regretting this decision. The key wins for Muller came in the latter stages of the event with comebacks from a set down versus Alessandro Giannessi and Stefano Travaglia. Against the latter, he was even 2-4 behind in the decider.
It seemed like Francesco Maestrelli might be failing to live up to his last year’s hype, but the 20-year-old managed to find a rich vein of form again. He made the quarterfinals in Perugia the week before Montechiarugolo and kicked off his next run by stunning Jaume Munar in the opening round. Maestrelli kept that level of performance up and eventually made the final, saving a match point at 3-5 down in the deciding set against Giulio Zeppieri in the semifinals (forced error).
Maestrelli couldn’t quite recapture his magic from most of the week though and definitely didn’t play with an aggressive mindset. It was a nice option for Muller to showcase the improvements and increased confidence he’s gathered this year as the Frenchman truly dominated the rallies. He claimed his 2nd Challenger title 6-1 6-4 and grabs a new career-high ranking of World No. 82. With this run he had to withdraw from Eastbourne and will head to Wimbledon next, while Maestrelli is playing the qualifying for that event.
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Poznan
Tomas Barrios Vera was the runner-up in Poznan last year and not long after, the Chilean was forced to take six months off due to an injury. He’s playing the best tennis of his life in 2023 though with two Challenger titles and a ranking position deep within the top 100 of the ATP Race. His run last week was far from easy, but he stood strong in deciding sets against Zdenek Kolar and Ulises Blanch, coming back from a break down both times.
Mariano Navone made back-to-back Challenger 50 finals in June last year, but then struggled to come close to repeating that feat. It didn’t seem like he would do it in Poznan either when he drew Federico Coria in the opening round. He managed to beat his more famous compatriot from a set down though and went on a run that included wins over local hope Maks Kasnikowski and a three-setter against Manuel Guinard in the quarterfinals.
Barrios Vera came out firing and controlling the points with his aggression, but Navone eased his way into the match pretty impressively. The Argentinian began hitting a lot more freely, found a few great passes and chased down the dropshots with some phenomenal sprints. It was a really fine effort from a player who had previously lost all his pro finals. Navone clinched his maiden Challenger title 7-5 6-3 and earned himself a top 200 debut. Both players are now headed to Roehampton for Wimbledon qualifying.
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Blois
Quentin Halys made a pretty surprising call to keep playing on clay after the French Open instead of focusing on his grass campaign. The decision looked downright bizarre after he looked disinterested in his loss to Pablo Llamas Ruiz in Lyon, but he made up for it in Blois. In four matches on the way to the final, the top seed only dropped his serve twice. On Saturday, he had to play two matches (just like everyone else left in the event) and dispatched both Renzo Olivo and Benjamin Hassan quickly.
Kyrian Jacquet hadn’t made a Challenger semifinal since 2021 (Aix-en-Provence and Tampere), but managed to emerge from the qualifying draw in Blois and prove to be as dangerous as anyone else in the field. The Frenchman didn’t drop a set in six matches on the way to the final and didn’t even let anyone come close, taking eight of the twelve sets played 6-3 (including three 6-3 6-3 victories). Just like Halys, he had to play two matches on Saturday, taking out Ugo Blanchet and Nicolas Sanchez Izquierdo to make his first Challenger final.
Jacquet has a very wide repertoire of skills but can often struggle to know exactly what shot to use in a given moment. He came out all guns blazing for the final, but Halys stormed back and began dominating the games on his serve. Jacquet’s week also clearly took its toll on him physically and he was soon forced to start keeping the points really short and throw in plenty of dropshots. The 22yo eventually chose to give up due to a left abductor issue and Halys claimed his 7th Challenger title 4-6 6-2 2-0 (ret). The champion will now head to Wimbledon without a grass warm-up, while Jacquet should be back in the qualifying for a Challenger in Milan in two weeks’ time.
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Cali
Playing a lot more singles events than in 2022, Guido Andreozzi reached the quarterfinals in his first tournament of the year in Tigre but then couldn’t repeat in the eight Challengers he had played since then. The altitude clay courts in Cali suited him very well though and he was able to produce an almost flawless campaign to make the final. The only opponent who managed to get him to a tie-break was Matias Franco Descotte, but even in that match Andreozzi managed to prevail in straights.
The decline suffered by Federico Delbonis was extremely rapid and the Argentinian found himself outside the top 250 prior to Cali and with just one Challenger quarterfinal in six events played at that level in 2023. Similarly to Andreozzi, he managed to make the final without dropping a set and was only pushed to a tie-breaker twice – by Tristan Schoolkate and Santiago Rodriguez Taverna. Delbonis secured his first Challenger championship match in almost four years.
Delbonis really enjoyed himself at the about 1000m altitude in Cali with his game having a lot more bite than it displayed in recent times. Andreozzi wasn’t going down without a fight though and pushed it to the deciding set by saving four match points. It was to no avail though as Delbonis eventually claimed his 12th Challenger title 6-4 6-7 6-3 and clawed his way back to just behind the top 200. Both finalists are playing in Medellin next and should be among the main contenders.
Challenger Tour magic:
El punto de la semana, por @marianonavone1 en Poznan
Gran Willy 🚀🚀
— Gonzalo Ferreyra (@gonzaloferreyr) June 22, 2023
Events held next week:
- Modena Challenger (Challenger 75, clay)
- Jumbo Open Rionegro (Medellin, Challenger 50, clay)
Federico Coria and Thiago Monteiro are the only top 100 players in action (Modena) as everyone is either preparing for Wimbledon on grass or playing the qualifying for that event in Roehampton.
First-round matches to watch:
Modena
- (4) Jakub Mensik vs Stefano Travaglia
- Pol Martin Tiffon vs (2) Thiago Monteiro
Medellin
- Gustavo Heide vs (3) Federico Delbonis
- (8) Tristan Schoolkate vs Eduardo Ribeiro
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
