By Glenys Furness
- Dan Evans claims ATP Challenger title in Surbiton
- Only dropped two sets en route
- Grass season off to a great start
SURBITON, UK – Dan Evans collected his first grass court title of the season, taking the title in the ATP Challenge title in Surbiton. The Brit was the fourth seed.
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Brit of the Week
Dan Evans entered the first UK grass court event of the season and was the fourth seed. As a result it meant the Brit had a Bye in the first round. In the second round Evans was up against Ruben Bemelmans. The Belgian tried to stay with the fourth seed, but ultimately it was the Brit that secured the break of serve in both sets to move into the third round 6-4, 6-4.
The third round saw the Brit up against the 16th seed Alex Bolt. The Australian fought hard and secured a break of serve on Evans serve and held out to lead. The Brit re-grouped in the next set forcing Bolt onto the back foot, the fourth seed totally dominated the remaining games and moved into the next round 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
In the quarter-final the Brit was against 10th seed Marcel Granollers. Evans had little trouble from the Spaniard and broke easily in both sets. No matter what the Spaniard tried, Granollers was unable to break back. The fourth seed raced into the semi-final in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
The semi-final saw Evans against sixth seed Marius Copil. As rankings suggested the match was very even. The Brit and Romanian went toe to toe with neither giving an inch. The first two sets inevitably went to tiebreaks, with the seeds splitting sets, the Brit winning the first and Copil the second. In the final set Evans managed to secure the break of serve needed to move into the final 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4.
In the final Evans was against Viktor Troicki. The Serbian had battled hard to reach this point, but Evans was too strong. With rain interrupting the final both players were eager to get back on court, when they did it was the Brit who demolished the Serb to lift the trophy in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
Honourable Mention
Francesca Jones entered the ITF event in Minsk and was unseeded, in the first round the Brit was up against Katyarina Paulenka. The Belorussian was no match for Jones who dominated both sets and lost only three games. Paulenka was unable to get anything on serve of the Brit and Jones moved into the second round 6-2, 6-1.
In the second round Jones was facing eighth seed Anastasiya Komardina. The Russian broke Jones serve in the first set and took the lead. However, the Brit re-grouped and fought back to claim the next two sets and moved into the next round 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The quarter-final saw the Brit against Romanian Irina Fetecau. It was the Romanian who got off to the better start, breaking Jones almost at will. Again the Brit had to fight back from one set down, Jones was able to finish the match dominating the final set to move into the semi-final 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
In the semi-final Jones was up against Lina Gjorcheska. The Macedonian was no match for the Brit who secured the break of serve in both sets. Gjorcheska tried to get back on serve, but was unable to get anything on the serve of Jones who moved into the final in straight sets 6-3,6-3.
The final saw Jones against the sixth seed Stephanie Wagner. The Brit took the first set breaking the German once to move ahead. Wagner fought back in the second and dominated to pull the match level. In the final set the Brit once again regained the momentum and dominated the German to seal the win 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
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Challenger & ITF Round Up
Andrew Watson was defeated by Chung Yun-Seong in the first round in Surbiton 6-2, 6-2.
Ryan Peniston was defeated by Daniel Brands in the first round in Surbiton 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Evan Hoyt was defeated by Yūichi Sugita in the first round in Surbiton 6-4, 6-3.
Paul Jubb was defeated by James Ward in the first round in Surbiton 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Liam Broady was defeated by Jason Kubler in the first round in Surbiton 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Lloyd Glasspool was defeated by Dominik Koepfer in the first round in Surbiton 6-4, 7-6(2).
Jay Clarke was defeated by Evgeny Donskoy in the first round in Surbiton 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-3.
Alastair Gray was defeated by Kwon Soon-Woo in the second round in Surbiton 6-2, 7-5.
Brydan Klein was defeated by Brayden Schnur in the second round in Surbiton 6-3, 6-3.
James Ward was defeated by Denis Kudla in the third round in Surbiton 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Naiktha Bains was defeated by Greet Minnen in the first round in Surbiton 6-2, 7-6(4).
Maia Lumsden was defeated by Madison Brengle in the first round in Surbiton 6-1, 6-3.
Jodie Burrage was defeated by Vera Lapko in the first round in Surbiton 7-5, 6-7(8), 7-6(6).
Katy Dunne was defeated by Alison Riske in the quarter-final in Surbiton 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-1.
Heather Watson was defeated by Magdaléna Rybáriková in the quarter-final in Surbiton 6-4, 6-4.
Jonathan Gray was defeated by Dayne Kelly in the semi-final in Singapore 6-3, 6-3.
Aidan McHugh was defeated by Dayne Kelly in the final in Singapore 6-3, 6-0.
Mark Whitehouse was defeated by Dragos Ignat in the first round in USA 7-5, 6-2.
Finn Bass was defeated by Maximiliano Estévez in the first round in Mexico 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Isaac Stoute was defeated by Connor Farren in the quarter-final in Mexico 6-2, 6-4.
Tanysha Dissanayake was defeated by Solymar Colling in the quarter-final in Mexico 6-0, 6-0.
Emilie Lindh was defeated by Fernanda Contreras Gómez in the quarter-final in Mexico 6-1, 6-2.
Sacha Modica was defeated by Benjamin Dhoe in the first round in Tunisia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Toby Martin was defeated by Pedro Vives Marcos in the second round in Tunisia 7-5, 6-1.
Harry Thursfield was defeated by Karunuday Singh in the first round in Guam 6-1, 6-2.
Next Week Brits play in Stuttgart, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Nottingham, USA, Israel, Mexico, Singapore, Tunisia, Manchester, Belarus, Czech Republic & Portugal.
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