Rafa Jodar, 2024 US Open junior champ, wins first Challenger title in 9th outing

Challenger

Rafa Jodar, 2024 US Open junior champ, wins first Challenger title in 9th outing

Svrcina triumphs to crack Top 100

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Rafael Jodar, pictured above at the 2024 US Open boys' singles event, won his first Challenger title on Saturday. By ATP Staff

Nearly a year on from winning the US Open junior title, Rafael Jodar captured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour crown on Saturday at the Hersonissos Challenger 3.

The 18-year-old Spaniard, who is entering his sophomore season at the University of Virginia, was competing in just his ninth outing at the Challenger level. In the main draw as an alternate, the #NextGenATP teen showed no signs of nerves, storming to the milestone victory with a 6-4, 6-2 final victory against Frenchman Dan Added.

Last September, Jodar lifted the US Open boys’ singles crown in dramatic fashion, edging Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in a 10-point tie-break at 6-6 in the third set to decide the championship.

The Madrid native earned ITA All-American honours during his first season at the University of Virginia and qualified for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator, a programme that aims to increase the development pathway for top players in the American collegiate system to earn direct entry into select Challenger events.

Jodar, 18th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is competing in Hersonissos again this week.

In other Challenger action, Dalibor Svrcina and Timofey Skatov survived marathon finals to return to the winner’s circle.

The 22-year-old Svrcina won the inaugural Europcar Cancun Country Club in Mexico to make his Top 100 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Czech escaped Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after a nervy three hours and 21 minutes, during which Svrcina led 6-4, 4-0 before the Argentine mounted a comeback.

A full crowd watches the Cancun Challenger final between Dalibor Svrcina and Thiago Agustin Tirante. Credit: ImagenShop

A five-time Challenger champion, including three triumphs this season, Svrcina is up 17 places to a career-high No. 98.

Skatov, a runner-up at last week’s Bonn Challenger, went one step further to claim his third trophy at that level at the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi. The 24-year-old fought off Stefano Travaglia 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-2 in a two-hour, 44-minute final.

Timofey Skatov celebrates winning the Todi Challenger. Credit: Yuri Serafini

Zdenek Kolar did not drop a set all week at the Genesis Traiding Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria, where the 28-year-old earned his fifth Challenger title and first since April 2023.

World No. 74 Mattia Bellucci won the Serve First Open in Sumter, South Carolina to collect his fourth Challenger crown. The 24-year-old Italian led Alexander Shevchenko 7-6(5), 3-1 when the Kazakh retired due to a right knee injury.

Mattia Bellucci wins the Sumter Challenger. Credit: Greybird Media/Serve First Open

Briton Arthur Fery triumphed at the Kia Open in Barranquilla, Colombia to capture his maiden Challenger trophy. Fery’s final opponent, former No. 17 Bernard Tomic, withdrew ahead of the championship match, which was moved from Saturday to Sunday due to rain.

Fery, 23, is a former standout player for Stanford University who is now No. 237 in the PIF ATP Rankings, eight spots shy of tying his career high.

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