Abby Brennan
The premiere of the ATP Challenger Tour 175 category kicks off this week at the Arizona Tennis Classic, where a star-studded field features World No. 23 Matteo Berrettini and Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
All eight seeds in Phoenix are Top-60 players, including Jiri Lehecka, Richard Gasquet, and Alexander Bublik.
A new innovation for 2023, the Challenger 175 tournaments are held during the second week of the ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome. Highly-ranked players who lose early at the Master 1000s can decide to compete at the following week’s Challenger tournament.
Berrettini, Schwartzman, and Gael Monfils were given wild cards into Phoenix after falling in the early rounds of Indian Wells. The Italian Berrettini is aiming to repeat his success in Phoenix from 2019, when the-then World No. 57 collected the title.
Main-draw action kicks off at the Phoenix Country Club on Tuesday, 14 March. Intriguing first-round matches include Lehecka’s clash against Thanasi Kokkinakis and top seed Berrettini’s meeting with Ilya Ivashka, who pushed Daniil Medvevev to three sets at the BNP Paribas Open.
Phoenix qualifying begins Monday morning, with Aleksandar Kovacevic, Mattia Bellucci, Rinky Hijikata, Leandro Riedi, and Benoit Paire among those aiming for a spot in the main draw.
A strong doubles draw features 2022 Nitto ATP Finals champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury as the top seeds. Australian Open finalists Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski will meet Australians Rinky Hijikata and Luke Saville in the opening round. Hijikata, 22, partnered countryman Jason Kubler to win their home Slam in January. Great Britain’s Julian Cash and Henry Patten, who won a Challenger-record 10 titles last season, will also compete at the outdoor hard-court event.
All matches will be broadcasted live and on demand for free on Challenger TV. The Arizona Tennis Classic will be held 13-19 March.
One word for Phoenix...
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