Darwin Blanch was nearly out of the Tiburon Challenger in the opening round, needing to save five match points to stay alive. Five days later, the 18-year-old had his hands on the trophy, his first at ATP Challenger level.
The #NextGenATP teenager joins countrymen Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen as the only aged 18-and-under American Challenger champions in the past 10 years. Tien, now solidified inside the Top 20, won three Challenger titles at age 18 while Michelsen captured his maiden crown at that level as an 18-year-old in 2023.
After saving five match points against Stefan Kozlov in the first round, Blanch then played with freedom the rest of the way, eventually ousting Top-100 newcomer and defending champion Michael Zheng in the semi-finals. The lefty rallied past 2018 champion Michael Mmoh 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in Sunday's final, becoming the seventh consecutive American titlist at the California tournament.
“Before this tournament, I wasn’t coming off the best results at all. I had seven first-round [losses] in a row, which I don’t think I’ve ever had in my career,” Blanch told ATPTour.com earlier in the week. “It was motivating to get wins again, but at the same time, it’s kind of tough because you doubt yourself, you don’t have much confidence, but I feel like I’m finding my groove again.”
It was not the first time this season that Blanch saved a handful of match points in the first round of a Challenger tournament. In April at the Mauthausen Challenger, he fended off six match points against Jurij Rodionov and went on to the semi-finals.
The youngest American to win a Challenger 125-level title — since the category was introduced in 2019 — Blanch surged eight places to sixth in the PIF ATP Live Next Gen Race To Reggio Calabria. Blanch, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on 28 September, is aiming for his first trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals. The 20-and-under event takes place in Reggio Calabria, Italy, from 9-13 December.
“It’s something that would be a big achievement,” Blanch said. “Obviously you want to go match by match and not try to really think about it, but at the same time, it’s tough to not think about it because it’s there! Before this tournament, I had a bad run and I couldn’t even check the Race because it would just make me feel even worse.
“But it’s definitely a big goal for us and it’s something we’re aiming for. If I qualify, obviously that’s fantastic, and if not, we will work and try to get there next year.”
The Tiburon Challenger has featured American champions such as Zheng, Nishesh Basavareddy, Zachary Svajda (who won it two years in a row) and current Top-20 star Tommy Paul, who won the event as a 22-year-old ranked No. 88 in 2019. Jack Sock and Sam Querrey are among the retired Americans to have claimed the Tiburon title.
“I think the main thing I’ve learned [at ATP Challenger level] is you need to be there all the time, at every single part of the match,” said Blanch, who is at a career-high No. 166 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “If you lose focus, or let a few games slip away, it costs you the match at this level. I feel like in Futures or in juniors, I would still be able to come back, but at this Challenger level and once you get to ATPs, you can’t let that happen because it’s too late to come back.”
Stay tuned to ATPTour.com for a featured story on Blanch’s background later this week.
Sanchez Izquierdo survives three-hour final, Simakin captures third consecutive trophy & more
Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo earned his biggest career title at the INVEST IN SZCZECIN OPEN, an ATP Challenger 125 clay-court event in Poland that was celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Sanchez Izquierdo clinched his eighth championship point, outlasting Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a three-hour, eight-minute final.
The Open Blot Rennes in France was celebrating its 20th anniversary, an event won by former No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the tournament’s debut year. Home hope Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg became the 11th Frenchman to win the tournament, overcoming countryman Harold Mayot 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the the championship match.
Ilia Simakin and Carlo Alberto Caniato won Challenger 50 titles. Simakin claimed his third consecutive trophy at the SPORT FESTIVAL CHALLENGER II in Vietnam, downing Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 in the final. The 22-year-old Simakin has won 19 of his past 20 matches, including title runs in Zhangjiagang and Phan Thiet. He is at a career-high No. 151 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Caniato, 20, was victorious at the Biella Collezioni, where he was a wild card ranked No. 534. The Italian defeated Alejandro Moro Canas 7-6(1), 6-4 in the final.
Marat Sharipov went one step further than his previous week’s runner-up finish in Shanghai to lift his maiden Challenger title at the Guangzhou Huangpu International Tennis Open. The 23-year-old raced past Pavel Kotov 6-0, 6-3 in the final.
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