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Tiburon Challenger

The Bay Area Men's Pro Circuit Tennis Tourmament

Address: 1600 Mar West Street
Tiburon, CA 94920
Phone: 415-789-7900

Tiburon Challenger

Monday, September 23, to Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Tiburon Peninsula Club welcomed rising stars in men's professional tennis from around the world at Tiburon Challenger 2019. Tennis fans had an opportunity to see an amazing level of play live and up close, and some locals get into the act too at some of the Challenger's special events. Thanks to First Republic for making the Tiburon Challenger possible.

DAY SEVEN

Tournament Director Brendan Curry presents the Tiburon Challenger trophy to Men's Singles champion Tommy Paul. Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

Tommy Paul (USA) won a close match against Thanisi Kokkinakis (AUS) to win the Tiburon Challenger’s Men’s Singles on Sun., Sept. 29. A day earlier, after completing the semifinals, Paul said he hadn’t been playing his best during the week, but it didn’t show. He and Kokkinakis displayed top form in a competition that had them trading places in the lead throughout the match. “This was a great week for me. I felt like I was kind of building momentum,” said Paul, who was at his third Tiburon Challenger.

Roberto Maytin (VEN) (front) and JC Aragone in the Men's Doubles finals. Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

Rob Galloway (USA) and Robert Maytin (VEN) prevailed to win the Men’s Doubles, defeating JC Aragone (USA) and Darian King (BAR) in two sets. “It was a great second set. They really fought back,” said Galloway, as he congratulated Aragone and King on their performance.

Sunday, September 29, FINALS RESULTS

Men’s Singles Finals

[1] T. Paul (USA) vs. [8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) 75 67(3) 64

Men’s Doubles Finals

[3] R. Galloway (USA)/R. Maytin (VEN) vs. J. Aragone (USA)/D. King (BAR) 62 75

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ACES

          Player                                      Number of Matches                 Aces

1.      T. Kokkinakis                                                    5                                            44
2.      M. Cressy                                                         3                                            30
3.      B. Nakashima                                                   4                                            29
4.      T. Kwiatkowski                                                  4                                            26
5.      T. Paul                                                              5                                            20
6.      S. Bangoura                                                     4                                            19
7.  T  E. Escobedo                                                     2                                            18
7.  B. Holt                                                              2                                             18
9.      A. Sarkisssian                                                  1                                             17
10.    J. Wolf                                                              2                                             16

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DAY SIX

J.C. Aragone (USA) and Darian King (BAR) go to the Doubles finals.
Photo: Natalie King Photography

Results, Saturday, September 28

Men’s Singles, Semifinals
[1] T. Paul (USA) d. [4] E. Gomez (ECU) 61 76(5)
[8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) d. [14] T. Kwiatkowski (USA) 26 62 61

Results Men’s Doubles Semifinals

[3] R. Galloway (USA)/R. Maytin (VEN) d. [2] A. Lawson (USA)/J. Withrow (USA) 46 63 00 def.
J. Aragone (USA)/D. King (BAR) d. [PR] N. Pasha (USA)/M. Schnur (USA) 26 62 61

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DAY FIVE

Thanasi Kokkinakis (left) and Maxime Cressi.
Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

Friday, September 27, Results

Men’s Singles, Quarterfinals
[1] T. Paul (USA) d. G. Escobar (ECU) 64 16 76(2)

[4] E. Gomez (ECU) d. S. Bangoura (USA) 63 16 62
[8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) d. [16] M. Cressy (USA) 64 62
[14] T. Kwiatkowski (USA) d. [WC] B. Nakashima (USA) 75 16 76(6)

Men’s Doubles, Quarterfinals
J. Aragone (USA)/D. King (BAR) d. [1] M. Arevalo (ESA)/H. Reese (USA) 63 57 11-9 [3]
R. Galloway (USA)/R. Maytin (VEN) d. J. Fruttero (USA)/D. Kudla (USA) 57 63 10-6

 

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DAY FOUR

Number-one seed Tommy Paul advances to the quarterfinals
Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

See videos at  https://www.instagram.com/tiburonchallenger/.
Go to www.tiburonchallenger.com for live streaming.

Thursday, September 26 Results

 Men’s Singles, Third Round
[1] T. Paul (USA) d. H. Gaston (FRA) 76(8) 61

[14] T. Kwiatkowski (USA) d. [3] M. Giron (USA) 46 76(3) 64
[4] E. Gomez (ECU) d. [15] E. Escobedo (USA) 76(4) 26 62
G. Escobar (ECU) d. [5] M. Torpegaard (DEN) 64 76(9)
S. Bangoura (USA) d. [7] D. King (BAR) 16 64 60[8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) d. [9] E. Couacaud (FRA) 75 61
[WC] B. Nakashima (USA) d. [10] C. Eubanks (USA) 76(5) 75
[16] M. Cressy (USA) d. R. Quiroz (ECU) 57 62 63

Men’s Doubles, Quarterfinal
[2] A. Lawson (USA)/J. Withrow (USA) d. C. Eubanks (USA)/M. Krueger (USA) 64 76(5)
PR] N. Pasha (USA)/M. Schnur (USA) d. J. Cerretani (USA)/M. Cressy (USA) 63 64

Men’s Doubles, First Round
[1] M. Arevalo (ESA)/H. Reese (USA) d. [WC] S. Bangoura (USA)/E. King (USA) 63 64
J. Fruttero (USA)/D. Kudla (USA) d. [WC] H. Johnson (USA)/Y. Johnson (USA) 36 64 10-7


Order of Play, Friday, September 27, 2019

 CENTER COURT start 11 a.m.
[8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) vs. [16] M. Cressy (USA) 
[4] E. Gomez (ECU) vs S. Bangoura (USA) 
[WC] B. Nakashima (USA) vs [14] T. Kwiatkowski (USA)

Not Before 4 p.m.
[1] T. Paul (USA) vs. G. Escobar (ECU) 

 

COURT 1 start 1 p.m.
J. Fruttero (USA)/D. Kudla (USA) vs [3] R. Galloway (USA)/R. Maytin (VEN) 
After Appropriate Rest
[1] M. Arevalo (ESA)/H. Reese (USA) vs. J. Aragone (USA)/D. King (BAR) 

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DAY THREE

Wednesday, September 25, Results

Men’s Singles, Second Round
[1] T. Paul (USA) d. [WC] B. Holt (USA) 57 63 62

R. Quiroz (ECU) d. [2] D. Kudla (USA) 63 62
[3] M. Giron (USA) d. M. Redlicki (USA) 64 75
[WC] B. Nakashima (USA) d. [6] M. Mmoh (USA) 57 63 64
[7] D. King (BAR) d. U. Blanch (USA) 26 76(2) 75

[8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) d. E. Leshem (ISR) 6460
[9] E. Couacaud (FRA) d. J. Aragone (USA) 63 61
[10] C. Eubanks (USA) d. M. Arevalo (ESA) 64 64
S. Bangoura (USA)  d. [12] P. Polansky (CAN) 61

H. Gaston (FRA) d. [13] D. Galan (COL) 36 63 64
[16] M. Cressy (USA) d. J.J. Wolf (USA) 61 64

Men’s Doubles, First Round
[2] A. Lawson (USA)/J. Withrow (USA) d. H. Hach Verdugo (MEX)/D. Novikov (USA) 36 63 12-10
[3] R. Galloway (USA)/R. Maytin (VEN)  d. [PR] N. Barrientos (COL)/D. Galan (COL) 63 64

[PR] N. Pasha (USA)/M. Schnur (USA) d. [4] A. Goransson (SWE)/S. Verbeek (NED) 63 67(0) 10-7
J. Aragone (USA)/D. King (BAR) d. [WC] U. Blanch (USA)/M. Redlicki (USA) 63 76(2)

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DAY TWO

Emilio Gomez advances to Round 3. Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

Brendan's Notes
Seeds falling, sun scorching and a wolf on the hunt … where are we? Tiburon Challenger of course! Wow, it’s only the second day of the tournament, and I’m in need of an a couple of extra layers of polarization on my sunglasses. The ground strokes are blistering out here!

First up, as predicted, Marcelo Arevalo draws an early morning Tiburon crowd, who cheered him to victory. No surprises there, Marcelo’s experience no match for qualifier Evan Zhu.

USTA Wildcard Brandon Nakashima impresses with a two set victory over Martin Redlicki 6-3 6-3

Another USTA Wildcard, Oliver Crawford, came out of the gates hot against Israel’s Edan Lesham, winning the first set 7-6. Lesham rallied, the calm competitor that he is, and won the next two sets 6-4 6-4.

4:25 p.m.: Young vs. Escobedo, definitely one of the highlight matches of the day, kicks off. An amazing crowd had formed around Center Court awaiting this duel. First set — no contest — Escobedo 6-1 in about 12 minutes. (Not really, but it was quick.) Young calls the ATP trainer, and a five-minute medical timeout follows. (5 minutes is the official length of a medical timeout.) Escobedo paces the back of the court like a caged animal, as Young receives rigorous massage of the left shoulder. Time is called, and the match continues.

Meanwhile, on Court 1, Michael Perveronakis slides into a forehand pass down the line, follows it up with another incredible pass and draws a double fault to break and go back on serve vs. Emilio Gomez, 4-5 in the first set. Solid serve game … 5 all.

Never mind Centre Court. Young retires injured, and Escobedo advances.

Pervolarakis takes the first set, in an amazing effort after trailing by quite some distance. The second set goes swiftly the way of Gomez, 6-0! What happened?! Gomez raised his level, eliminated all unforced errors, combined with four flat tires on the Perveronakis rig, and off sails Emilio into the 3rd round.

The Tommy Paul/Peter Polansky vs. Maxime Cressy/Jamie Cerretani doubles match was over in short order, with Cerretani and Cressy conceding one game, coming up just short of sending Paul and Polansky home on their bicycle, 6-1 6-0 Cressy/Cerretani.

To wrap up a wonderful days tennis at the Tiburon Challenger, Chris Eubanks and Mitchell Krueger came back from a set down to beat Escobar and Quiroz. Losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Chris and Mitchell rallied in the second set, leveling the match a set a piece. Escobar held his serve for the first point in the 10-point tiebreak, which is played in lieu of a full third set in doubles.

With the doubles rules including no-ad scoring and the third set super tiebreak, things can happen quickly out there, and they certainly did with Eubanks and Mitchell winning the next nine in a row, 9- 1. Conceding only one more point, the Americans move into the second round. Considering the fact that if you lose first round in doubles, you do not earn any ATP points, they had reason to be happy with the victory—18 points in the bag, and into the second round they go.

Thank you to all the volunteers and ball people today; they all did such an amazing job! It was hot out there, and we were short on ball people. Please, if you are able to, come on up to the upper courts volunteer station, and give it a go out on the courts. Not only do you receive a stylish USTA t-shirt and complimentary lunch, you get the best seat in the house! Anyone who is able to help out, please don't hesitate, you do not need experience, as we have incredible trainers who'll be able to show you the ropes in minutes!

Tomorrow we see our No. 1 seed Tommy Paul, No. 2 seed Denis Kudla, No.3 seed Marcos Giron, 2016 Champion Darian King and 2013 Champion Peter Polansky, as well as big hitting Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis all take the court in what is poised to be one of the most exciting days so far.

I hope to see you courtside!


Tuesday, September 24, Results

Men’s Singles, Second Round
[4] E. Gomez (ECU) d. M. Pervolarakis (GRE) 57 60 64
[5] M. Torpegaard (DEN) d. R. Peniston (GBR) 46 64 63

G. Escobar (ECU) d. [11] M. Krueger (USA) 76(7) 63
[14] T. Kwiatkowski (USA) d. [PR] C. Gomez-Herrera (ESP) 64 64
[15] E. Escobedo (USA) d. D. Young (USA) 61 42 Retired

Men’s Singles, First Round
H. Gaston (FRA) d. E. Song (USA) 36 64 64

S. Bangoura (USA) d. [Q] M. Geerts (BEL) 64 75
[WC] B. Nakashima (USA) d. M. Redlicki (USA) 63 63
M. Arevalo (ESA) d. [Q] E. Zhu (USA) 63 64
E. Leshem (ISR) d. [WC] O. Crawford (USA) 67(3) 64 64

J. Wolf (USA) d. A. Sarkissian (USA) 67(3) 76(3) 64
R. Quiroz (ECU) d. [WC] O. Styler (CZE) 36 64 64

Men’s Doubles, First Round
J. Cerretani (USA)/M. Cressy (USA) d. T. Paul (USA)/P. Polansky (CAN) 60 61
C. Eubanks (USA)/M. Krueger  d. G. Escobar (ECU)/R. Quiroz (ECU) 67(7) 64 10-2

See videos at  https://www.instagram.com/tiburonchallenger/.

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DAY ONE

Evan King. Photo: Natalie Kim Photography

Brendan's Notes
Tournament Director Brendan Curry will be sharing his observations on each day's play. Here's what he has to say about the first day of play.

Tiburon Peninsula Club’s transformation into a pro tennis battle ground is official. Speed, athleticism, steely grit and determination were all on full display on the first day of the 2019 First Republic Tiburon Challenger and oh, yes the weather was absolute perfection. Morning fog gave way to the most spectacular blue skies, the gentlest of breezes and warm sunshine, a tennis players dream.

10 a.m., round one qualifying match: Belgium’s Michael Geerts reaped the rewards of a little extra court time from having participated in the Pro-Am yesterday and ran through American Evan King handily 6-2 6-4. Geerts is now in the main draw

In the other qualifying match, American youngster Evan Zhu needed three sets to dispatch of India’s Ben Patael 6-4 3-6 6-1, and he joins Geerts in the main draw. With the new regulations in place since the beginning of 2019, Geerts and Zhu are the only two players to qualify.

Other notables from today have to include a match featuring Emilio Nava vs. Ulises Blanch. The 18-year-old Nava, 2019 Australian Open and U.S .Open Junior finalist, was clearly overwhelmed by the pure power and ball speed of Blanch. But let’s be clear,  this kid has exceptional talent and his skill set could see him launched into the world’s top echelon in the coming years.

At 2 p.m.,  one of Colin Altamirano’s wheels was seen rolling down Tiburon Boulevard, his frustration building, as Aragone was clearly getting the better of him in all aspects of the match. At 2:21 p.m., on serve and even with subpar movement and focus, Altamirano was still hanging around. By 3 p.m., Altamirano had put up a fight, but Aragone had too much on the day, winning 6-2 7-6(3)

Donald Young did not have to get out of second gear in his matchup against American Ryan Shane. Shane has a dangerous game, but  could barely string two shots together in a row, handing the victory to Young 6-1 6-1

Tuesday, September 24, we’re in for a full day of incredible tennis. Marcelo Arevalo, a true professional and Tiburon favourite, is sure to once again be a treat to watch. Marcelo is always extremely gracious and generous with his time and give-back to the game. It's no wonder he has a special place in the heart of the Tiburon community.

Mitchell Krueger, No.11 seed plays second at 10 a.m., and Emilio Gomez, our No. 4 seed, is playing fourth.

Our feature match not before 4 p.m. features Tommy Paul, No. 1 seed in singles, teaming up with Peter Polansky, who was 2013 Tiburon Challenger Champion, versus Cerratani and Cressy. It promises to be a showdown definitely worth the price of admission (and a couple of cold beers).

It's forecast to be a scorcher tomorrow, so bring your sunscreen, hat, water bottle and cheering team, and get ready to witness world-class tennis all day long.

See videos at  https://www.instagram.com/tiburonchallenger/.

Monday, September 22, Results

Men’s Singles, First Round
[WC] B. Holt (USA) vs. [PR] R. Sarmiento (USA) 64 67(6) 63
G. Escobar (ECU) vs. R. Smith (USA) 62 36 62

R. Peniston (GBR) vs. A. Ritschard (USA) 60 64
M. Pervolarakis (GRE) vs. C. Sinclair (NMI)  63 76(0)
D. Young (USA) vs. R. Shane (USA) 61 61
U. Blanch (USA) [WC] vs. E. Nava (USA) 62 63
[PR] C. Gomez-Herrera (ESP) vs. S. Fanselow (GER) 64 46 62
Mi. Redlicki (USA)  vs. F. Peliwo (CAN) 63 57 63
J. Aragone (USA) vs. C. Altamirano (USA) 62 76(3)

Men’s Qualifying Singles, First Round
Qualifying —  M. Geerts (BEL)  vs. [1] [WC] E. King (USA) 62 64
Qualifying — E. Zhu (USA) vs. [2] B. Patael (ISR) 64 36 61

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LIST OF PLAYERS

Altamirano, Collin USA 316                                           Kokkinakis, Thanasi AUS 203
Aragone, JC USA 283                                                   Korda, Sebastian USA 296
Arevalo, Marcelo ESA 301                                            Krueger, Mitchell USA 174
Bangoura, Sekou USA 368                                           Kudla, Denis USA 111
Brooksby, Jenson USA 394                                          Kwiatkowski, Thai-Son USA 204
Couacaud, Enzo FRA 169                                            Mmoh, Michael USA 196
Cressy, Maxime USA 223                                             Paul, Tommy USA 114
Escobar, Gonzalo ECU 363                                          Peliwo, Filip CAN 299
Escobedo, Ernesto USA 206                                        Peniston, Ryan GBR 400
Eubanks, Christopher USA 188                                    Polansky, Peter CAN 192
Fanselow, Sebastian GER 331                                     Quiroz, Roberto ECU 246                                       Redlicki, Michael USA 350                                            Sarmiento, Raymond USA 369
Galan, Daniel Elahi COL 207                                        Shane, Ryan USA 391
Gaston, Hugo FRA 385                                                 Smith, Roy USA 327
Giron, Marcos USA 151                                                Torpegaard, Mikael DEN 173
Gomez, Emilio ECU 171                                               Tseng, Chung-hsin TPE 357
Gomez-Herrera, Carlos ESP 316                                  Watanuki, Yosuke JPN 229
Griekspoor, Scott NED 382                                           Wolf, J.J. USA 279
Harrison, Ryan USA 288                                               Young, Donald USA 197
King, Darian BAR 179                                                  

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For tickets, go to www.tiburonchallenger.com/tickets/.

To see volunteer positions and sign up for one or more shifts, go to www.tiburonchallenger.com/volunteer/.

To find out all about the Tiburon Challenger, go to www.tiburonchallenger.com.

Follow the Tiburon Challenger:

http://www.facebook.com/TiburonChallenger

https://www.instagram.com/tiburonchallenger/

https://twitter.com/TiburonChallngr

#USTAProCircuit

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Sponsors

Sponsors play a big role in making the Tiburon Challenger special. Thanks to the following for their support:

Title Sponsor: First Republic

Fiscal Sponsor: USTA Norcal

Platinum Sponsors: Marin Health-UCSF Health, Jackson Square Partners

Gold Sponsors: Compass, RH

Courtside Sponsors: Harbor Point Charitable Foundation, LVVH Consulting, The Club at Harbor Point, Silicon Legal Strategy

Eastside Skybox Sponsors: Martin Ray Winery, Battle of the Bay Classic, Gazor Group, Vintage Contractors Incl, Jamba Construction, Oasis Physical Therapy & Aquatics, Astoria Software, San Remo Hotel, Fior d'Italia, Tennis Safari, the Law Offices of Paul H. Nathan

In-Kind Sponsors: Pizza Antica, Woodlands market, Sol Food, Servino Ristorante, West Coast Tennis, Foodniks, The Foundation for Reed Schools, Marin Pizza, High Tech Burritos

To find out how to become a sponsor, get priority courtside, attend the special sponsors' dinner and meet the players, go to www.tiburonchallenger.com.

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Looking Back — Tiburon Challenger 2018

Finals Sunday

Michael Mmoh, Tiburon Challenger Champion 2018 (photos by Adam Gagnon)

Can you believe it’s over? What an incredible day! What an incredible tournament! I am so thankful to all for your support, contributions, time and effort, which you have so graciously offered during this event and in the weeks and months leading up to it.

Did you hear the comments made by the players? And it’s not the first time we’ve heard it from players and tournament officials also. From Michael Mmoh himself: “Tiburon Challenger is the best Challenger on Tour.” And it is thank you to all of the core volunteers and the teams of people that they rally to make this event possible. Without you this tournament would not happen.

Sofia Perozzi once again kicked off proceedings with a most beautiful performance as she sang the National Anthem. Her voice is incredible; what a start to the day!

Men's Doubles Final (l. to r.) Pedro Martinez (ESP), Gerard Granollers (ESP), Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) and Luke Saville (AUS).

First match up —doubles finals—went the way of the qualifying team of Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) and Luke Saville (AUS), who were simply the better team today, 6-3 6-2. Last year we saw the tournament wildcard team go all the way and win the tourney. This year the qualifying team takes the title. Why ? Because the quality of all these players is so high, on a given day they all have a shot.

Our wheelchair tennis players put on a great show today. David van Brundt and Michael Yousefi, thank you for coming out and showing us all what you’re capable of.

Before the match (l. to r.): Michael Mmoh, ball girl Maya Mosher and Marcel Granollers

And then there was the finals showdown — it could not have been teed up any better!

No. 1 seed, Spain’s Marcel Granollers vs no.5 seed American Michael Mmoh — this match up was always going to be exciting and certainly did not disappoint. Mmoh continued his good form, which has now seen him take back-to-back Challenger Tour titles. Here today, and last week in Columbus, Ohio.

Mmoh’s ability to keep the ball coming back added pressure to the transition game that Marcel is so strong at. First set Mmoh 6-3. Granollers had a few break points in the second set, and the crowd was getting fired up at the prospect of this match being extended to a third. On one shot, Marcel executed the smoothest, most cunning sneak approach, completely taking Mmoh by surprise, but an uncharacteristic missed volley saw Marcel’s opportunity erased, and Mmoh rallied to stay even.

In the end, it was Michael’s day. He deserved the win, and a very big congratulations to him as he breaks through to the Top 100 in the world, as a result of having won today here in Tiburon! This is a massive milestone in the career of a tennis professional, and we can be proud that he made it happen right here at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.

Record crowds, perfect playing conditions, amazing athletes and great spirit from all involved contributed to this, the 2018 Tiburon Challenger, being the best we’ve ever had. TPC members, thank you for your support! See you at the club.

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For a post-match interview with Michael Mmoh, go to https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/challenger-qa-2018-tiburon-mmoh

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Share the Experience

Twins on the Circuit: Ever wonder what being on the ProCircuit Tour is like for players? See Vern Glenn's interview with twins Hunter and Yates Johnson for KPIX Channel 5:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEDZ2hX7ZhU&app=desktop

Michael Mmo's big win: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7LW_gaZgM

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