Its a case of better late than never for Tim Smyczek in 2017. The 29 year-old American has endured a tough season, but put all that behind him by winning his first Challenger title in nearly three years. He defeated the top seed in Charlottesville, Tennys Sandgren, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Smyczek’s tournament got off to a tough start as he was forced to grind out a victory against Mats Moraing, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. He then stepped up to dismiss 5th seed Bjorn Fratangelo 6-1, 6-2, before a retirement win vs 2nd seed Henri Laaksonen. A three set win over 6th seed Stefan Kozlov was enough to see Smyczek into his first Challenger final since March 2015.
His win over Sandgren ensured that his title run was the first tournament in 2017 that Smyczek enjoyed multiple wins over Top 100 players (Sandgren No.96, Laaksonen, N0.97.) The win also sees Smyczek climb back to No.158 in the ATP rankings. The Milwaukee native had slipped out of the Top 200 for a spell around the US Open.
In Canberra, Australia’s Matthew Ebden returned to the Top 100 with a final victory over Marc Polmans 7-6, 6-4. It was Polmans’ first Challenger final.
Germany’s Maximilian Marterer moved into the Top 100 for the first time after winning his third Challenger title since the US Open in Eckental. Marterer moves to No.90 after defeating fellow big-server Jerzy Janowicz 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
Gerald Melzer signalled his return to form with a storming win 6-3, 6-1 win over Facundo Bagnis in the Guayaquil final. 7th seed Melzer dropped just one set, in his second round match with Martin Cuevas, en route to the title.
The Challenger Tour continues with a number of Top 100 stars dropping into tournaments after the end of the regular ATP season. There are five Challenger tournaments around the globe this week including in Knoxville, USA, and Kobe, Japan.
