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Clay Season: Who Are You and What Have You Done with My Faves?

The Clay Challengers and Why They Matter

Court Philippe Chatrier, the central court for the French Open/Roland Garros (📸 ATP official website)

Those who follow this Tumblr account know how frequent I (the user behind this) watch Challengers. Waking up at 6am for a clay Challenger match, double-screening or replaying while away just because a particular Challenger is on clay, or even watching her random faves trying to nail the clay court game. Even outside clay, it’s the same situation. However, the peak is here: the clay season.

Remember how Juan Pablo Varillas, who was a qualifier last year, took 2 sets off Felix Auger-Aliassime right in the first round? Or how Bernabe Zapata Miralles made it all the way to the fourth round, defeating John Isner (of all people) along the way? These are just one of the examples on how deep the clay Challengers are. They are widespread, not only the European but also the South American Challengers.

Now, how many clay Challengers do we have until this point, where are we at the time of this writing, and why following (even if just a little bit) these Challengers can be beneficial to your clay season tennis-watching?

Loaded with Clay: The 2023 (Notable) Clay Challengers

The ATP Challenger Tour’s tweet to welcome the April clay Challengers (📝 ATP Challenger Tour’s official Twitter)

Starting last March, there were several notable European clay Challengers, indoors or outdoors, that took place. However, in April, the number keeps increasing except for South Korea’s own Challenger swing, which returns to April this year from last year’s September post-pandemic. One notable indoor clay Challenger last March is Szekesfehervar Challenger, where Hamad Medjedovic took the title after defeating Zsombor Piros in straight sets. When tallied, there are 35 clay Challengers scattered across Europe and the Americas (North and South), some of which are filled with people preparing for the French Open.

By the time this piece was written, for example, 3 of the Challengers scheduled for this week were held on clay (Barletta, Murcia, and San Luis Potosi). The spreading of these Challengers not only enabled the players inside the direct entry or qualifying zone to prepare for Roland Garros but also for the ranking range way below that. Furthermore, 8 Challengers offered the 2 highest points (125 & 175), which are listed as follows:

Mexico City Open in Mexico City, Mexico (125; won by Dominik Koepfer)

Sanremo Tennis Cup in Sanremo, Italy (125; won by Luca van Assche, who then ascended to the Top 100 upon his semifinal victory)

Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open in Sarasota, Florida, United States of America (125; to be played in April 10-16, 2023)

Oeiras Open 125 in Oeiras, Portugal (125; known as Oeiras 3, to be played in April 17-23, 2023)

Aix-en-Provence Challenger in Aix-en-Provence, France (175; to be played on May 1-7, 2023, during Madrid M1000’s second week)

Cagliari Challenger in Cagliari, Italy (175; to also be played on May 1-7, 2023, during Madrid M1000’s second week)

Bordeaux Challenger in Bordeaux, France (175; to be played on May 14-20, 2023, during Rome M1000’s second week)

Turin Challenger in Turin, Italy (175; to also be played on May 14-20, 2023, during Rome M1000’s second week)

The depth of the clay Challengers not only enabled the players to prepare for the French Open, but its flexible availability throughout the season enabled them to grow their game even further. While it often takes time for them to grow their game off-clay, especially those who only have the clay court available to them, some showed they can go beyond clay with minor adjustments needed. Some of the players inside the Top 300 even started their journey from these clay courts, such as those from South America, where its impacts are currently felt across the general tennis circuit.

Legion Sudamericana and Its Impacts

Legion Sudamericana (📸 Tenis con Ñ via Canal Tenis)

Throughout the season, even way before Roland Garros, South America has its own Challenger circuit called Legion Sudamericana (also known as Legion Sudam). This was initiated by Chilean tennis legend and former World No. 31 Horacio de la Peña in 2021, which aimed to create more opportunities for especially South American players at the Challenger level and increase their exposure throughout the region. As the circuit grows, they comprise not only the ATP Challenger level but also 12 male and female ITF World Tour Tennis tournaments each by its first year. Furthermore, they will involve the tennis legends across the region as part of their attempt to give back to their communities by running these tournaments, an idea they (and current South American players) also welcome.

In a chat with the ATP, de la Peña stated that the talk with the South American players and the necessity to grow the game there are the key of the Legion Sudam initiation. This was reflected in the inaccessibility of tournaments outside of their home countries, hence the chance to develop in the circuit from the conditions close to home. He also stated that Legion Sudam could also bring the South American tennis federations together (including but not limited to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia). Beyond clay, there are also several hard court Challengers, some leading up to hard-court Slams, such as the Temuco Challenger at the end of 2022 leading up to the 2023-opening Slam, the Australian Open.

By the end of 2022, in the ATP sector alone, Argentinean players won 23 Challenger titles, where 10 of them were won in Legion Sudamericana. Furthermore, while at the beginning of 2022 14 South American players partook in the Australian Open qualification rounds (in comparison to 7 in 2021), the number in 2023 increased almost three-fold than in 2021, where 20 South American players partook in the Australian Open qualifiers. Furthermore, some of them currently making their marks in the European clay Challengers, such as Mariano Navone, who broke through the Girona Challenger quarterfinals (l. Pedro Martinez). Interestingly enough, some also made their mark in the South American clay 250s, which included Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who reached his first-ever main Tour finals in Santiago (Chile) right before Indian Wells this year. Ranking-wise, as of the week when this piece was written (February 3), 12 players from South America are inside the Top 100, while around 25 additional players are ranked across the Top 300. Some also received wild cards through their home main Tour tournaments as a result of their performances here.

A true growth, which could possibly increase as time goes by, apart from a whole lot of discovery whenever one watches the South American Challengers (personal note: no regrets traversing the time zone here). Should be even deeper now, with more tournaments taking place nearby. What an impact for just their first 3 years alone, and this is far from over for South American tennis. It is just the start of something great there.

What Should We Expect in RG Qualifiers?

The Roland Garros qualifying rounds (📸 Roland Garros official website)

Considering the depth of the field during the clay season, several things can be expected in the clay season: (1) A breakthrough/breakout from someone who has yet to go deep in the main Tour before; (2) A comeback coming from people who tried to rediscover their form during the clay season, and; (3) For those who hung on in the Challengers, an answer to the long wait of finally qualifying through a Slam. However, taking into account how only one Challenger tournament is available during the qualifying rounds of the French Open, it would make sense that everyone eligible will play in the qualifying round, hence increasing the chance of either three to happen during the early rounds.

Reflecting from the 2022 draw, Bernabe Zapata Miralles finally accomplished his clay breakout before being defeated by Alexander Zverev 7-6(11), 7-5, 6-3, defeating the 23rd seed John Isner in a five-setter in the previous round. Camilo Ugo Carabelli, even though he was eliminated in the second round after the preceding marathon, came from a long way thanks to his Legion Sudam runs way before (finals in Santa Cruz and Tigre 2 Challengers, for example, before heading to Europe afterward). Somehow, several Challenger frequents who in one way or another break through or hung on well, were also a qualifier last year, such as Giulio Zeppieri (who went on to two consecutive hard court Challenger finals in early 2023), Jason Kubler (who become a main Tour mainstay inclusive of his Australian Open doubles title with Rinky Hijikata), Chun-Hsin Tseng (who eventually made it to the ATP NextGen Finals at the end of 2022), Norbert Gombos, among others.

This year, the depth did not stop there as the likes of Luca van Assche already won 2 clay titles (one outdoor and one indoor) and Juan Pablo Varillas trying to make their mark, alongside Daniel Elahi Galan, who is currently competing in Houston (250). Even deeper when Ivan Gakhov clinched his first Challenger title ever (even though Gastao Elias had to retire by the end of the second set), signifying the chance is finally there when he is on; or Andrea Vavassori, who qualified for the main draw in Marrakech and now awaiting his second round match (due to unplayable conditions). This could be explored way down with several known people having their best games on clay, such as but not limited to Hamad Medjedovic, Oleksii Krutykh (who primarily played clay Challengers instead before he broke through in the Australian Open qualifiers), or even Zdenek Kolar (who bothered Stefanos Tsitsipas during the second round of French Open last year, when he is on).

To close this piece, a belated welcome to the clay season, where the depth of the field is always available to be explored. Watch, follow, and/or track Challengers, everyone, before asking ourselves “Who are they and what have they done to our (main Tour) faves,” which has been a recurring question every clay season, no matter what tournament it is before its peak in Roland Garros. They are a gateway through the main Tour (and Grand Slams), no matter if one is young and trying to break through, hung on in the middle, or those attempting to make a comeback, and they are here to stay.

#atp tour #atp world tour #atp challenger tour #atp challenger #tennis pieces #french open #roland garros #clay season #WatchChallengersFolks #ChallengerMatters

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