Nakashima returns to winners' circle, Krueger wins Indian Wells Challenger

Americans Brandon Nakashima and Mitchell Krueger were among a group of four who returned to the ATP Challenger Tour winners’ circle on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Nakashima dropped just one set all week at the Tenerife Challenger 1 to earn his first title at any level since the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals. His countryman Krueger triumphed at the Southern California Open 1, marking his first trophy since September 2021.

Nakashima, who was seeded fourth on the Canary island, downed second seed Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4 in the final to lift his fourth ATP Challenger crown.

“I knew I had to play some aggressive tennis and I was happy to be able to play at my best during the right moments,” Nakashima said. “I’m super happy to win the tournament here. It gives me a lot of confidence going forward.

“Last year was a tough year for me. Off court as well, I had a lot going on and had some tough moments but I’m happy with where I’m at now and slowly rebuilding the ranking and winning matches.”

Tennis with a view in Tenerife 🌴#ATPChallenger | @meftennisevents pic.twitter.com/QyCdRQW0jn

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) January 20, 2024

Krueger rallied past Brandon Holt 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Southern California Open 1 final, in which he saved 11 of 13 break points faced. Rain forced Krueger to complete his semi-final match against Paul Jubb on Sunday, but the 30-year-old needed just five games to secure his place in the final, later returning to court to lift his fourth Challenger title, all of which have came on home soil.

“I felt like the first set was really tight,” Krueger said about playing Holt, son of former WTA World No. 1 Tracy Austin. “We both traded some breaks and were both playing at a pretty high level. Honestly, I thought that first set was a coin flip, so I felt like I just needed to keep that positive momentum going early in the second; maybe try and execute better on some closer points. It was three tight sets that turned on really one game in each set.”

^{Mitchell Krueger triumphs at the ATP Challenger 50 in Indian Wells, California. Credit: Jon Mulvey}

The Indian Wells Tennis Garden, home of the BNP Paribas Open, was hosting their first Challenger tournament since 2020. The action continues in the desert this week for the Southern California Open 2.

Italian Matteo Gigante collected his third ATP Challenger Tour crown by winning the Bangkok Open 3. The 22-year-old lefty, who last year won in Tenerife and Cordenons, cruised past Seongchan Hong 6-4, 6-1 in the final. En route to the title, Gigante survived a trio of deciding-set matches, including against top seed Duje Ajdukovic.

“This title is the most important in my career, because I lost in the first round of Australian Open qualifying and I came here not feeling good,” said Gigante, who is at a career-high No. 154 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. “It’s a really good start to 2024.”

^{Matteo Gigante wins the ATP Challenger 75 event in Nonthaburi, Thailand. Credit: Bangkok Open 3}

Argentine Facundo Bagnis collected his 17th Challenger title — most among active players — when he survived top seed and countryman Mariano Navone 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 at the Challenger AAT de TCA 2. Despite trailing 3-5 in the final set, Bagnis fought back to level the match at 5-5 before winning eight consecutive points to overcome Navone, who last year won a season-leading five ATP Challenger Tour titles.

The title run on home soil marks the 33-year-old Bagnis’ first trophy since October 2022.

“While it is title 17, as the years go by, they are becoming more and more important. Now this [one] is [my] favorite,” Bagnis said in Spanish. “At first it is done by playing well and with a lot of vitality. You just play tennis and nothing else. Today, to play tennis I have to do many things, one of them is to be able to maintain myself with a high energy and take care of my body.

“Today, before starting the final I was talking to my team about this and we remembered that I arrived here last Thursday, so it was more than 10 days coming here every day. At the end of each match I used ice and did massages to recover with the kinesiologist. It's not just the two hours you see on the court. [It was] an excellent ending.”

^{Facundo Bagnis wins the ATP Challenger 50 event in Buenos Aires. Credit: Omar Rasjido/AAT}