Players from Argentina and France continue to battle atop the ATP Challenger Tour leaderboards. Argentines won a record 23 Challenger titles last season, with France just one behind. Both countries now find themselves in another race for history in the final quarter of the season.
Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli captured his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title and first of this season on Sunday to earn his country’s 17th trophy at that level in 2023. France leads the way with 23, one shy of breaking the all-time record, after Constant Lestienne scored his second Challenger crown of the season.
The 24-year-old Ugo Carabelli returned to the winners’ circle by winning the Challenger Dove Men+Care Antofagasta, where he rallied past American Tristan Boyer 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the final. Boyer, 22, played college tennis for two years at Stanford University before turning pro last season.
“I am very happy to win, I have been working hard to get a result like this and luckily I got it,” Ugo Carabelli said in Spanish. “I felt comfortable all week, that was important. I want to thank Horacio [de la Pena] and his team for giving us the chance to have many tournaments in South America. That’s very important for us as we are close to home and can travel with more members of our team.”
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Lestienne triumphed at the Saint-Tropez Open after avenging this year’s Wimbledon first-round loss to Liam Broady in the final, defeating the Briton 4-6, 3-6, 6-4.
“It means a lot to me because it’s my first title in France, on home soil,” Lestienne said. “Today I managed my feelings well and that helped me stay in the match because Liam played really well. It was [long] rallies, so I was just trying to stay solid and go for when I could. I was also trying to mix the game, high balls, drop shots.”
At World No. 94 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Lestienne has won 10 of his past 11 Challenger matches, having also won the Golden Gate Open in California last month.
Constant Lestienne wins the Challenger 125 event in Saint-Tropez. Credit: Saint-Tropez Open
The 31-year-old Lestienne is one of seven French players to claim more than one title at the Challenger level this year, joining Luca Van Assche, Benoit Paire, Ugo Humbert, Hugo Grenier, Hugo Gaston and Terence Atmane.
Following Broady’s run to the final, the 29-year-old has climbed 10 spots to World No. 93, setting him up for a Top 100 debut.
In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Nerman Fatic defended his title at the BCR…
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