ATP Tour

ATP Challenger Tour: Five Moments To Remember From 2023

ATPTour.com recaps five memorable moments from the ATP Challenger Tour 2023 season.

Bergs Dedicates Tallahassee Title To Late Grandfather
Belgian Zizou Bergs had tears in his eyes when he claimed the Tallahassee Challenger in April. The 24-year-old had one person in mind; his grandfather, who passed away a month prior.

“Every match he would give me a whole analysis of what happened and give me things to work on,” Bergs said. “I really hoped he would continue doing that just in a different way, and it definitely happened. He was present that week, I won that with him. It was very emotional and special.”

When Bergs tore a ligament in his left wrist in July, he was forced to take a month off before returning to competition, but he could only hit slice backhands for two months. Upon returning to full health, Bergs closed the season with title runs in Drummondville and Yokkaichi.

From College To Challengers
A single-season record 16 players that competed in college tennis accounted for 24 Challenger titles this year.

Aleksandar Kovacevic, 25, had zero Challenger titles to his name before the season. But a career-best year led the former University of Illinois standout to triumph in Cleveland, Waco, Shenzhen and Temuco.

Portugal’s Nuno Borges started the year on a 10-match winning streak at the Challenger level, winning titles in Monterrey and at the 175 event in Phoenix. In his final tournament of the year, the former Mississippi State star lifted his first trophy on home soil at the Maia Challenger.

Van Assche Survives Longest Challenger Final
Competing in his home country against fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert, Van Assche fended off two championship points en route to survive the longest final in ATP Challenger Tour history (three hours, 56 minutes).

Van Assche, who qualified for this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, rallied from a double break down at 0-3 in the final set and again from 4/6 in the deciding-set tie-break before winning four consecutive points to lift the trophy. “At 4/6 in the tie-break, I was hoping he wouldn’t hit an ace! I was playing point by point, just focussing on every point,” Van Assche said.

Now at World No. 90, Van Assche is the fourth Frenchman to win multiple Challenger titles before turning 19, joining Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, and Fabrice Santoro.

Murray Makes History
17 years and eight months after his title in Binghamton in 2005, the three-time major champion Andy Murray returned to the ATP Challenger Tour winners’ circle.

The Scot won the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole in May, downing then-World No. 17 Tommy Paul in the final. Murray’s victory in southern France marked the longest gap between Challenger titles.

The 36-year-old maintained his form to collect back-to-back titles in June, winning in Surbiton and Nottingham to become the oldest grass-court Challenger champion in history.

Michelsen’s Breakthrough
If you looked at the Top 600 at the start of January, you would not find the American’s name until the final spot: 600.

A mid-season surge helped the meteoric rise of Michelsen, who finished the year at World No. 97. The California teenager collected his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title at the Chicago Men’s Challenger in July, just one week before Michelsen’s dream run to the final at the ATP 250 event in Newport.

The 19-year-old finished the year by winning the Knoxville Challenger, backing up his title run with a finalist appearance in Champaign. Michelsen, who is the youngest American Challenger champion since 2016, was a competitor at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

“Everyone is good at Challengers. Being around that kind of level is really important for physical and mental development,” Michelsen said. “It’s definitely a big step up from Futures, so I had to adjust pretty quickly. The ATP Challenger Tour is great for molding your game and seeing what you’re really made of.”