Challenger
How the Genoa Challenger overcame tragedy to propel Tstisipas & extra
Italian event, which received Challenger Of The Yr in 2014, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this week
September 06, 2024
The AON Open Challenger
The ATP Challenger Tour 125 occasion in Genoa, Italy has featured champions equivalent to Lorenzo Sonego and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
By ATP Workers
The Italian metropolis of Genoa endured a horrific tragedy in 2018, when the enduring Ponte Morandi partially collapsed following a torrential rainstorm. As automobiles fell into the Polcevera River, 43 individuals misplaced their lives.
Whereas sports activities could seem insignificant within the face of such devastation, they’ll function an necessary outlet for these to fight grief. Such is the case with the ATP Challenger Tour occasion held within the coronary heart of Genoa.
Three weeks after the 2018 tragedy, the Genoa Challenger supplied a second of inspiration as the town continued to mourn and rebuild. It was a memorable second within the face of adversity. Residence hero Lorenzo Sonego was topped champion that week in entrance of a full crowd.
The Ponte Morandi bridge collapsed in August 2018. Credit score: Andrea Leoni/AFP through Getty Photographs
Sonego, then 23, triumphed on the purple clay to make his High 100 debut within the PIF ATP Rankings. The Turin native returned to Genoa the next yr and efficiently defended his title.
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary this week, the AON Open Challenger has featured seven champions who’ve climbed contained in the High 25, together with Sonego.
In 2017, a Greek wild card with wavy blonde hair received the title with out dropping a set. You guessed it, 11-time tour-level titlist Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was 19 years previous and ranked No. 161 when he claimed the trophy. The next yr, Tsitsipas received the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by PIF.
“It was fairly particular and one thing I have been dreaming about for a very long time,” Tsitsipas stated after profitable in Genoa. “It was a reduction for me on the finish.”
The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion’s triumph in Genoa marks his lone title on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Former World No. 9 Fabio Fognini captured a pair of titles in Genoa (2008, 2010). Final yr, Fognini returned to the event for the primary time in 13 years and handled the house crowd to a run to the ultimate.
The town’s premier sporting occasion, which takes centre stage throughout the first week of September, received Challenger Of The Yr honours in 2014. It’s a sight to behold yr after yr. Akin to the Foro Italico in Rome, the venue options parasol pine timber surrounding the principle stadium and ampitheatre-style seating.
However the ATP Challenger Tour 125 occasion has been way more than high-level gamers competing for rankings factors and prize cash. The Genoa event has supplied a supply of consolation in instances of want, whether or not it was shortly after the Ponte Morandi bridge collapse or in 2016, when all proceeds went to victims of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy.