SIOUX FALLS, S.D., November 1, 2026 (Media Release)
Players with college experience reaching the MarketBeat Open final has been the theme in the three-year history of the tournament.
In Sunday’s championship, No. 5 seed Liam Draxl of Canada will face Dylan Dietrich, a senior and the No. 1 ranked collegiate player from the University of Virginia. Dietrich has not dropped a set (8-0) during the week while Draxl has lost a set in the last two rounds.
In the first two years of the tournament, Borna Gojo (Wake Forest) defeated Colton Smith (Arizona) and last year Patrick Kypson (Texas A&M) beat Johannus Monday (Tennessee).
In Saturday’s semifinals, Draxl saved two match points and rallied past Slovenian qualifier Sebastian Dominko 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 6-4 in two hours, 39 minutes while Dietrich defeated Aidan Mayo of Sacramento 6-4, 6-2. This will be the first meeting between the two.
The 22-year-old Dietrich from Zurich enters with a nine-match winning streak and he has compiled a 17-3 record in his last five tournaments, highlighted by his first career Challenger title in Columbus, Ohio on October 4.
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
Dietrich was ranked No. 556 on July 20 when he began his impressive stretch on home soil in Zug, Switzerland where he reached the semifinals. He came into Sioux Falls No. 254 and will move to a career-high No. 220. He will climb to around No. 187 with a title.
Draxl fought off two match points at 6-4 in the second set tie-break to win 8-6 and broke in the first game of the third set. He led 3-2 before getting broken in the sixth game. Draxl broke to go up 5-4 and then served out the match.
The 24-year-old Canadian is appearing in his second Challenger final of the season after a runner-up on home soil in Winnipeg in July. He is aiming for his third career Challenger title, the first since Winnipeg in July 2025.
Draxl came into Sioux Falls ranked No. 194 and he will climb to No. 166 by reaching the final. If he wins the title, he will move to No. 146.
In Saturday’s doubles final, No. 4 seeds Jarno Jans of the Netherlands and Joran Vliegen of Belgium defeated No. 2 seeds Miguel Reyes-Varela of Mexico and Reese Stalder of Newport Beach, Calif. 6-4, 7-6(7).
