{"id":80538,"date":"2025-03-03T08:15:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T13:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=80538"},"modified":"2025-03-02T22:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T03:09:18","slug":"challenger-tour-weekly-recap-coric-finds-top-20-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/03\/03\/challenger-tour-weekly-recap-coric-finds-top-20-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Coric Finds His Top 20 Level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Borna Coric wasn&#8217;t even broken on the way to the title in Lugano, putting together one of the most dominant indoor title campaigns you will ever see. Meanwhile, Brandon Holt continued his fantastic start to the season in Bangalore with Eliot Spizzirri picking up his maiden trophy in San Diego. The tricky conditions in Kigali (high altitude and wind) also brought about some nice upsets. Read up on last week&#8217;s Challenger Tour action:<\/p>\n<h2>Challenger Tour Weekly Recap<\/h2>\n<h4>Bangalore<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Shintaro Mochizuki<\/strong> reached a couple of quarterfinals in the first three events of the Indian Swing, missing a match point against Kyrian Jacquet who then went on an 11-match winning streak. A <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/01\/05\/fonseca-karatsev-dominate-opening-events-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">champion in Noumea in the first week of the season<\/a>, the Japanese is playing with confidence recently and he proved it with another run here. Jay Clarke and James McCabe were able to take him to deciding sets, but Mochizuki was always ahead and controlled things on the way to the final.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brandon Holt<\/strong> was<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/02\/24\/challenger-tour-recap-collignon-breaks-top-100-kjaers-first-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> the runner-up in Pune<\/a> the week before Bangalore, fading away in the second set against Dalibor Svrcina. Despite a very tough opening round draw against Valentin Vacherot, the American quickly showed he was ready to try to make another deep run. He was pushed pretty close by Bernard Tomic in the second round, but then returned to his best when facing more traditional big-hitters in Petr Bar Biryukov and Billy Harris (defeating the Brit for the second consecutive week).<\/p>\n<p>Holt went up 3-0 in both sets and while getting these leads to the end of the line wasn&#8217;t as easy as the final scoreline might make it seem, it really helped him set the tone for the rest of the match and put the pressure on Mochizuki. In this matchup, the Japanese had a lot of space to use his net skills and attack, but he could never quite get the execution right. Holt claimed his 2nd Challenger title 6-3 6-3 and now finds himself just 80 points away from the Top 100. Next up for him is a quick turnaround for Indian Wells qualifying, while Mochizuki takes the week off and will be in Hersonissos-2.<\/p>\n<h4>San Diego<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Eliot Spizzirri<\/strong> had been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/02\/03\/challenger-tour-weekly-recap-burruchaga-claims-maiden-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the finalist in the most recent American Challenger before San Diego, Cleveland<\/a>. Despite suffering a couple of opening-round losses in Tenerife since, the former NCAA No. 1 was right back on it on home turf. It was a week of gritty wins over Andres Martin, Taro Daniel, and Ethan Quinn with especially Martin coming very close (led 3-1 in the deciding set). Spizzirri stayed strong to lock up another opportunity for a maiden Challenger title (0-2 in finals).<\/p>\n<p>In three Challenger appearances for the year so far, <strong>Mackenzie McDonald<\/strong> was able to reach one semifinal in Oeiras but was stopped by a phenomenal defensive effort from Zsombor Piros. Back on home soil, the American was instantly looking in great shape in San Diego with three consecutive straight-set wins. When the quality of the opposition went up, he also didn&#8217;t struggle to raise his level and defeated Kamil Majchrzak 3-6 6-1 6-1 in the semifinals.<\/p>\n<p>McDonald lost the opening set but seemed to be getting far ahead by the end of the second with Spizzirri going down physically after having also won the doubles title this week. That was only momentary though as the former University of Texas star took an early lead in the decider and started suffocating McDonald with his counter-punching and athleticism. The last two games provided a big mental test and Spizzirri ended up passing it to take his 1st Challenger title 6-4 2-6 6-4. He will debut in the Top 150 and both players now head to Indian Wells &#8211; the runner-up received a main draw wildcard, while the champion will be starting in the qualifying event.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"Gi-feAQHRV5lSjb90lE0PQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2094393528\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Gi-feAQHRV5lSjb90lE0PQ',sig:'lbNMGZoqKnZiczdhaoz96ND63k4kTn-iKR67Amp0Mvs=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2094393528',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Kigali<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Andrej Martin<\/strong> returned to competition last year after a doping suspension. He quickly took 3 ITF titles and made it to the semifinals in Maia at the end of 2024. This year he decided to start in Africa, losing in the second round in Brazzaville. In Kigali, he started from qualifying but handled the tricky conditions (wind and high altitude) perfectly to defeat the top-seeded Jesper de Jong in the opening round and then reach his first Challenger final <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/05\/15\/challenger-tour-weekly-recap-diaz-acosta-misolic-nava\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">since May 2022<\/a> with a win from 4-5 0-30 down on return against Maximilian Neuchrist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Valentin Royer<\/strong> was recently a semifinalist at the Challenger in Lille before making the interesting call of coming to Africa for the two events in Kigali. That worked out pretty well with his strokes being so clean and having so much steady weight of shot, while the opponents mostly struggled for control. But that doesn&#8217;t mean the week was a breeze, Guy den Ouden led him 4-1 in the deciding set and the match against Filip-Cristian Jianu ended in three consecutive tie-breaks.<\/p>\n<p>Martin hadn&#8217;t reached a Challenger final in a long while and maybe struggled to handle the occasion a bit with Royer taking the first four games. Even if most of them were close, the lead built up by the Frenchman was enough for him to steamroll his opponent. Once more, he was able to stay consistent while keeping a good combination of power and depth on his groundstrokes. Royer took his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/09\/23\/challenger-tour-weekly-recap-brouwer-nakagawa-royer\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">2nd Challenger title<\/a> 6-1 6-2 with both players also competing in the next event in Kigali (Martin got a wildcard, so this time he doesn&#8217;t have to start from qualifying).<\/p>\n<h4>Lugano<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Raphael Collignon<\/strong> broke the Top 100 by <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/02\/24\/challenger-tour-recap-collignon-breaks-top-100-kjaers-first-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">winning the title in Pau<\/a> and still decided to show up in Lugano as the top seed. Despite much quicker indoor conditions, all the confidence he gained from that run the week before was just palpable. The Belgian reached his 6th Challenger final since August and despite his game looking so safe (in a good way), he kept progressing through the draw while seemingly never having to hit top gear.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Borna Coric<\/strong> had been struggling for a while, falling way outside the Top 100 and compiling a 1-4 record in January. But he came back rejuvenated after a few weeks off and showed some incredible quality on the way to the final in Lugano. In four matches, the Croat didn&#8217;t even get broken, fending off ten break point opportunities. The wins included Gauthier Onclin, Antoine Escoffier, Henri Squire, and his up-and-coming compatriot Dino Prizmic with nobody taking than four games in a set.<\/p>\n<p>Coric had a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/06\/19\/challenger-tour-weekly-recap-bergs-wins-the-wimbledon-wildcard-coric-back-in-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">similar Challenger run in Parma 2022<\/a>, suddenly finding his Top 20 level and looking unplayable for the entire week. That continued in the final as a weary Collignon had almost nothing to look at in terms of potential cracks in the Croat&#8217;s game. After saving all ten break points en route to the final, Coric faced none in the championship match and took his 4th Challenger title 6-3 6-1. He&#8217;ll be the top seed in Thionville next week, while the runner-up decided to pull out of that event.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"H_WNoI_jQzNfMIPgR_zMAg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2193794184\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'H_WNoI_jQzNfMIPgR_zMAg',sig:'pzynCAVz2i_3UgYV_RXG0UpwfdlX-DIDZTwrKA0WKGo=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2193794184',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Challenger Tour magic:<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Best rally ever and I&#8217;m not even kidding. Throughout this point, I was just hoping it gets an ending that will do it justice and the finish was even more cinematic than I expected. 42 shots I believe<br \/>\n\ud83d\udcf7: <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ATPChallenger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ATPChallenger<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xA3v77SX9o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/xA3v77SX9o<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Damian Kust (@damiankust) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/damiankust\/status\/1894822089904812477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Events held this week:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Rwanda Challenger &#8211; Kigali 2 (Challenger 100, clay)<\/li>\n<li>AAT Challenger Santander Cordoba (Challenger 75, clay)<\/li>\n<li>Thionville Open (Challenger 75, indoor hard)<\/li>\n<li>Crete Challenger 1 (Hersonissos, Challenger 50, hard)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With Indian Wells qualifying and main draw events taking place this week, there will be no Top 100 players in action.<\/p>\n<h4>First-round matches to watch:<\/h4>\n<p>Kigali<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(WC) Marco Cecchinato vs Ivan Gakhov<\/li>\n<li>(ALT) Guy den Ouden vs Filip Misolic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cordoba<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(5) Roman Andres Burruchaga vs Emilio Nava<\/li>\n<li>Alvaro Guillen Meza vs (2) Juan Manuel Cerundolo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thionville<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(4) Liam Draxl vs Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/li>\n<li>Hugo Grenier vs (3) Luca Van Assche<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hersonissos<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(1) Timofey Skatov vs Jiri Vesely<\/li>\n<li>Martin Klizan vs (5) Javier Barranco Cosano<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane &#8211; USA TODAY Sports<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Borna Coric wasn&#8217;t even broken on the way to the title in Lugano, putting together one of the most dominant indoor title campaigns you will ever see. Meanwhile, Brandon Holt continued his fantastic start to the season in Bangalore with Eliot Spizzirri picking up his maiden trophy in San Diego. The tricky conditions in Kigali [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2968,"featured_media":56473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8552],"tags":[42697,10641,10885,346,9745,1690,8560,18998,41922,15116,2400,18766,42840,10017,42065],"class_list":["post-80538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atp-challenger-tour","tag-2025-atp-challenger-tour","tag-andrej-martin","tag-bangalore-challenger","tag-borna-coric","tag-brandon-holt","tag-challenger-tour","tag-challenger-tour-recap","tag-eliot-spizzirri","tag-kigali-challenger","tag-lugano-challenger","tag-mackenzie-mcdonald","tag-raphael-collignon","tag-san-diego-challenger","tag-shintaro-mochizuki","tag-valentin-royer"],"modified_by":"Shane Black","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2968"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80538"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80643,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80538\/revisions\/80643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}