Week 31 - Belo Horizonte [35K+H] - 2008.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Week 31 - Belo Horizonte [35K+H] - 2008.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Jonny will become one of the very few Brits to play a Challenger in South America in the recent past, I believe.

Baker played in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2007.
Andrew Murray (was still Andrew back then!) played La Serena and Santiago qualies in Chile in 2005.
Amadeus got a wild card into the Cuenca Challenger in Ecuador in 2005. He nearly won his match - 6-4 6-7(5) 2-6

Anybody remember others who have played there at any point of time since 2005?

-- Edited by Kung Fu Panda at 23:49, 2008-07-20

steven · Tennis legend

Can't think of any, but of course Martin Lee and Barry Cowan reached the Final of the Gramado Challenger in Brazil in successive years (2000-1) with Barry winning it - the only Challenger title won by a Brit in the southern hemisphere so far this century.

Del played two sets of Challenger qualifying in South America around the turn of the year, getting within a tiebreak of qualifying for Sao Paulo, and (just checking!) he played the Manta Challenger in Ecuador, but that was back in 2004.

Also, Anthony Law got a WC into this tournament, i.e. Belo Horizonte, in 2005 (goodness only knows why!), losing 1 & 1 to Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands Antilles, and John Carver got a WC into Manta the same year, getting double-bagelled by Thiago Alves!

-- Edited by steven at 00:08, 2008-07-21

Salmon · Tennis legend

Ahh, thanks. I see that Amadeus also played the Sao Paulo Challenger in 2003.

Hopefully someone like Ward, who's quite comfortable on clay, will play there in the future. We are still so far away from producing a player who can win Challenger matches on clay (barring Andy, of course).

Morgan could have been there now, but he has been so unlucky in the last eighteen months.

-- Edited by Kung Fu Panda at 00:14, 2008-07-21

Salmon · Tennis legend

Those wild cards are hilarious.

I hadn't heard of Carver before.

Weird wild cards for British players at Challengers have absolutely stopped since 2007.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

does puerto rico count? didnt boggo and baker play there this year

Salmon · Tennis legend

No, it's in North America. But I don't think we have had many players playing Challengers in the Caribbean, either.

steven · Tennis legend

Kung Fu Panda wrote:
Morgan could have been there now, but he has been so unlucky in the last eighteen months.

That reminds me, does anyone know why Morgan is still out? I assume it's because of the injury he retired with against Petzschner in Wimby Q, which is terrible luck, but does anyone have any idea how serious it is?

Salmon · Tennis legend

No, but I know for a fact that he's coming back.

I keep forgetting to mail him! Will *try* to do it tomorrow.

steven · Tennis legend

Great to hear that he's intending to come back, that's what matters most. What rotten luck though.

Kung Fu Panda wrote:
No, it's in North America. But I don't think we have had many players playing Challengers in the Caribbean, either.

We've had someone in the main draw at every Challenger in the Caribbean since 2005.

That'll be Boggo at Humacao, there's only been one! wink

Salmon · Tennis legend

Yes, they wrote that it was the first Caribbean Challenger ever on the official site. But then it depends on whether you consider Bermuda to be Caribbean or not?

I read that it was apparently an associate member of the Caribbean community or something.

steven · Tennis legend

I think it sometimes gets lumped with the Caribbean in travel brochures, because it shares a similar climate thanks to the Gulf Stream, but it's well over 1000 miles north of the Caribbean.

I am quite surprised we don't get more players going there though - I think the last Brit to take part in the Bermuda Challenger was Martin Lee in 2002 when, seeded 8, he lost to Gimelstob in R1.

Salmon · Tennis legend

It's on clay, though. Normally Brits don't play clay Challengers out of Europe.

wolf · Tennis legend

Jamie Delgado has won two singles titles in Brazil, and won a doubles title at the turn of the year.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Rusedski played in Bermuda in 2004 during his comeback from one of his many injuries, but lost in the first round.