Guillen Meza, 20, Becomes Youngest Ecuadorian Challenger Champion Since ’03

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Successful the title in simply your third ATP Challenger Tour occasion of the 12 months?

No drawback for Ecuador’s Alvaro Guillen Meza, who was topped champion Saturday on the Lima Challenger, the place he defeated Jamaica’s Blaise Bicknell 7-6(3), 6-1 within the ultimate. The 20-year-old, who’s certainly one of 4 Challenger titlists this week, is the youngest champion from Ecuador since Giovanni Lapentti in 2003.

Competing in his eighth Challenger event, Guillen Meza’s capability to carry his nerve in strain moments all through the week helped him raise the trophy. He fended off 10 of 16 break factors confronted within the second spherical to upset fifth seed Gustavo Heide and in opposition to the 21-year-old Bicknell, Guillen Meza saved all three break factors confronted.

“I needed to keep focussed all week and I managed to win. The reality was [I was] fairly calm, I do not know why,” Guillen Meza stated in Spanish. “It’s a very special occasion for me and I’m very comfortable.”

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Now at a career-high No. 384 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Guillen Meza is the primary NextGenATP Challenger winner from South America in 2023 and the primary Ecuadorian champion this 12 months. He’s the second-lowest ranked champion of the season, solely behind then-unranked Kei Nishikori, who gained the Palmas del Mar Challenger in June.

In different Challenger Tour motion, Spaniard Carlos Taberner collected his sixth title at that degree when he downed countryman Oriol Roca Batalla 6-4, 6-4 within the Schwaben Open ultimate in Augsburg, Germany.

^{Carlos Taberner wins the Challenger 50 occasion in Augsburg, Germany. Credit score: Andreas Schebesta/Schwaben Open}

Saturday marked the 26-year-old’s Taberner first Challenger title since March 2022. Final 12 months, Taberner reached a career-high No. 85.

A pivotal second for Taberner got here in opposition to Oliver Crawford within the second spherical, when the Valencia native rallied from 0-4 within the ultimate set to remain alive.

“It’s superb as a result of to win titles may be very, very troublesome in tennis as a result of each week, just one man wins the title,” Taberner stated. “It’s an excellent feeling for me as a result of not solely was it a year-and-a-half since I final gained a title, but in addition that lengthy since I made the semi-finals. So I’m very comfortable for this week and I simply need to take pleasure in it.”

Frenchman Arthur Weber grew to become the fourth-oldest participant to win his maiden Challenger crown on the Hengqin Worldwide Tennis Challenger. The 31-year-old survived two deciding-set matches to shut the week, defeating Chinese language Taipei’s Jason Jung 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 within the ultimate.

At a career-high No. 307 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Weber is the oldest participant to win a Challenger title in his debut. The lefty got here into Zhuhai having gained two ITF World Tennis Tour trophies this season.

^{Arthur Weber is topped champion on the Zhuhai Challenger. Credit score: Hengqin Worldwide Tennis Challenger}

Weber is the fifteenth completely different Frenchman so as to add to his residence nation’s season-leading 20 Challenger titles, inside three of tying Argentina’s report from final 12 months.

The Challenger 50 occasion in Zhuhai marked the primary event at that degree held in China since October 2019.

German Rudolf Molleker didn’t drop a set all week to be topped champion on the IBG Prague Open by Moneta Cash Financial institution. The fourth seed cruised previous 17-year-old Frenchman Gabriel Debru 6-2, 6-2 within the ultimate to win his first Challenger title since Could 2018.

^{Rudolf Molleker (center) poses through the Prague Challenger trophy presentation. Credit score: IBG Prague Open by Moneta Cash Financial institution}