Ryan Peniston toughed out a tricky week at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Winnipeg, Canada to lift his maiden title at that level.
The 27-year-old dropped just five games across his first three matches before needing a deciding set in his semi-final and final contests. Peniston ousted #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the championship match to triumph at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds.
“It feels amazing, after having [lost] three finals before and losing the second set, I was [having] negative thoughts,” Peniston said. “I managed to keep fighting and pull through to the end. I’ve just been taking it one match at a time, one point at a time.”
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Peniston, who entered the main draw as an alternate, fought through blustery conditions all week to be crowned champion.
“I grew up by the sea, playing with windy conditions since I was young,” said Peniston, who is No. 208 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “So I definitely like playing in the wind. That helped big time.”
Also in Winnipeg, Briton Jack Draper returned to the match court after spending two months sidelined with a shoulder injury. In his first tournament since Roland Garros, the 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals and will next compete at the ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem.
In other Challenger Tour action, Jesper de Jong did not drop a set all week to win the Lotto Kozerki Open in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland. The 23-year-old defeated Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan 6-3, 6-3 in the final to lift his first Challenger trophy since June 2021.
“It means a lot. A new career high, it means my first Challenger on hard court and second Challenger title,” De Jong said. “It’s a good step in the right direction. I’m happy to make another step.”
Jesper de Jong in action at the Grodzisk Mazowiecki Challenger. Credit: Piotr Kucza
The Dutchman, who is at No. 143 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will next attempt to qualify for his first major main-draw appearance this week at the US Open.
“My alarm is set for 3 a.m., then at six we fly to Paris and then to New York,” De Jong said on Saturday. “It’s going to be tough, but that’s the life of a tennis player. Not much time to celebrate. Tomorrow it’s all focus on New York.”
#NextGenATP Italian Luciano Darderi completed a dream week on home soil at the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi, where the seventh seed survived Frenchman Clement Tabur 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in the final to win his first Challenger…
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