Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour: Five Moments To Remember from 2023
#NextGenATP stars Van Assche, Michelsen
Sarah-Jäde Champagne
#NextGenATP stars Van Assche, Michelsen
By ATP staff
ATPTour.com recaps five memorable moments from the 2023 ATP Challenger Tour season.
Bergs dedicates the Tallahassee title to his late grandfather
Belgium’s Zizou Bergs had tears in his eyes when he claimed the Tallahassee Challenger in April. The 24-year-old had one person in mind. his grandfather, who passed away a month ago.
“Each race gave me a whole breakdown of what happened and gave me things to work on,” Bergs said. “I was really hoping that he would go on to do this in a different way and he certainly did. He was present that week, I won it with him. It was very emotional and special.”
When Bergs tore a ligament in his left wrist in July, he was forced to take a month off before returning to action, but was only able to hit for two months. Back to full health, Bergs closed out the season with titles at Drummondville and Yokkaichi.
From college to challengers
A single-season record of 16 players competing in college tennis accounted for 24 Challenger titles this year.
Aleksandar Kovacevic, 25, had zero Challenger titles before the season. But a career-best year led the former University of Illinois standout to triumphs in Cleveland, Waco, Shenzhen and Temuco.
Portugal’s Nuno Borges started the year on a 10-match win streak at the Challenger level, winning titles in Monterrey and the 175 event in Phoenix. In his final tournament of the year, the former Mississippi State star picked up his first home trophy at the Maia Challenger.
Van Assche survived the Longest Challenger final
Competing on home soil against fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert, Van Assche fended off two championship points en route to surviving the longest final in ATP Challenger Tour history (three hours, 56 minutes).
Van Assche, who qualified for this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, won from a double break down 0-3 in the final set and again from 4/6 down in the deciding set tiebreak before winning four straight points to lift the trophy. . “At 4/6 in the tiebreak, I was hoping he wouldn’t hit an ace! I was playing point by point, just focusing on each point,” Van Assche said.
Now ranked world No. 90, Van Assche is the fourth Frenchman to win multiple Challenger titles before turning 19, joining Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Fabrice Santoro.
Murray is making history
17 years and eight months after his 2005 Binghamton title, three-time major champion Andy Murray is back in the winner’s circle on the ATP Challenger Tour.
The Scot won the Aix Provence Credit Agricole Open in May, knocking off then-world No.17 Tommy Paul in the final. Murray’s victory in the south of France marked the longest gap between the Challenger titles.
The 36-year-old maintained his form to collect back-to-back titles in June, winning at Surbiton and Nottingham to become the oldest grass-court Challenger champion in history.
Michelsen’s Breakthrough
If you looked at the Top 600 in early January, you wouldn’t find the American’s name until the last place: 600.
A mid-season promotion aided the meteoric rise of Michelsen, who finished the year ranked world No. 97. The California teenager won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title at the Chicago Men’s Challenger in July, just a week before Michelsen’s dream run to the final at the ATP 250 event in Newport.
The 19-year-old capped the year by winning the Knoxville Challenger, bolstering his title run with a finalist appearance in Champaign. Michelsen, who is the youngest US Challenger champion since 2016, was a competitor at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
“Everyone is good at Challengers. Being around that level is very important for physical and mental development,” Michelsen said. “It’s definitely a big step up from Futures, so I had to adapt pretty quickly. The ATP Challenger Tour is great for shaping your game and seeing what you’re really made of.”