CHAMPAIGN, November 18, 2019
Jeffrey John Wolf clinched his second ATP Challenger title of the season by winning the JSM Challenger – Champaign, held on the indoor hard courts of the Atkins Tennis Center at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The 20-year-old US-American, who entered the $54,160 event on position nine, battled past compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(7) in Sunday’s singles final. Wolf won 81 per cent of his first-service points and saved one match point to prevail after two hours and 29 minutes.
What a thrilling finish in Champaign!
J.J. Wolf scores his second #ATPChallenger 🏆 of the year, saving a match point to survive Korda 64 67(3) 76(6) in two hours and 30 minutes. pic.twitter.com/uhSZoq8s48
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 17, 2019
The Cincinnati, Ohio native advanced to the championship match after a first-round bye with wins over Daniel Altmaier from Germany, compatriots Christopher Eubanks and Stefan Kozlov as well as Blaz Kavcic from Slovenia. Wolf took away from Illinois $7,200 in prize money and 80 ATP Ranking points.
Wolf won the Harlingen ITF-Futures in 2017 and then lifted the trophy at the Columbus Challenger on his home college campus in January of 2019. This past September, he also made it to the finals of the Columbus Challenger before finishing runner-up.
Wolf’s victory marks the fifth straight season in which an US-American aged 20 and under has clinched multiple titles, joining Michael Mmoh, Frances Tiafoe, Ernesto Escobedo and Taylor Fritz. The #NextGenATP player has cracked the Top 200 for the first time, soaring to a career-high No. 189 in the ATP Rankings.
Earlier in the day, Christopher Eubanks and Kevin King were crowned doubles champions. The unseeded US-American duo upset the tournament’s No. 4 Evan Hoyt of Great Britain and US-American Martin Redlicki by the score of 7-5, 6-3. The encounter lasted 56 minutes. Eubanks and King split $3,100 in prize money and earn 80 ATP Ranking points.
