With Roland Garros qualifying taking place, this was a quiet week on the challenger circuit. The relatively weak draws allowed two players primarily competing on the futures circuit, George Bastl and Nina Bratchikova, to break through and score much needed challenger victories.
Yen Hsun-Lu of Taipei has had outstanding results on the challenger circuit this year, but has had problems closing the door in the final match. Last week proved to be no different as Lu reached his fourth consecutive challenger final at the $50,000 event in New Delhi, India, but lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the championship match to Go Soeda of Japan. Soeda has also been a strong performer during the Asian swings of the challenger circuit this year, winning events in Kyoto, Japan and Busan, Korea.
The $50,000 challenger in Fergana, Uzbekistan, featured two players competing in their first challenger final of the year. In the end, Pavel Snobel of the Czech Republic prevailed 7-5, 6-3 over George Bastl of Switzerland. Bastl, who is best remembered for beating Pete Sampras in the legend’s final match at Wimbledon in 2002, has slipped to No. 380 in the world and competes primarily on the futures circuit. However, his form this week brings him slightly closer to his previous top 100 form.
At the $25,000 event in Nagano, Japan, Erika Takao of Japan completed her return from injury with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jin-A Lee of Korea in the final. Takao, who has been high as No. 128 in the world, used her previous experience to overwhelm Lee throughout the contest; Takao was competing in her 10th challenger final while this was the first for Lee.
At the $25,000 challenger event in Moscow, Russia, Nina Bratchikova prevailed in the all Russian final against Ksenia Pervak, coming back from 5-3 in the final set to win by a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 score. Bratchikova is also in the main draw of this week’s challenger event in Russia.
The men retain the spotlight this week as top seeded Yen-Hsun Lu will look to reach his fifth consecutive challenger final at the $75,000 event in Izmir, Uzbekistan. Robert Kendrick of the United States leads the way at the $50,000 event in Carson, California, while Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia leads the way at the $35,000 challenger in Karlsruhe, Germany.
On the women’s side, Angela Haynes of the United States is the top seed this week at the $50,000 challenger in Carson, California. Teodora Mircic of Serbia is the top seed at the $25,000 event in Togliatti, Russia, Kyra Nagy of Hungary takes top billing at the $25,000 event in Galatina, Italy, while Junri Namigata of Japan is top seed at the $25,000 challenger in Gunma, Japan.