CALGARY, February 28, 2020
The quarterfinalists of the Calgary National Bank Challenger have been decided after a thrilling round of matches on Thursday. The tournament, which offers $81,240 in total prize money, is being played on the hard courts of the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre in Calgary.
Fifth-seeded Brayden Schnur, the lone Canadian remaining in the singles draw heading into the round of 16, was beaten 7-6(5), 6-3 by No. 11 seed Tobias Kamke of Germany. Kamke, who had defeated Schnur’s compatriot Filip Peliwo in the previous round, broke his opponent’s serve two times to advance after one hour and 39 minutes. The 33-year-old from Hamburg will next take on in-form Kacper Zuk. The World No. 361 from Poland knocked out top seed Vasek Pospisil in the second round and continued his impressive run with a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over JC Aragone of the United States.
Great Britain’s Liam Broady is the highest seeded player remaining in the tournament. The No. 7 seed beat Nick Chappell of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours of play to meet No. 15 seed Goncalo Oliveira in Friday’s quarterfinals. The 25-year-old from Portugal fought past US-American qualifier Alex Rybakov 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4.
No. 14 seed Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France pulled off the biggest upset of the day by overcoming defending champion and third seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6(7), 6-4. The Paris native withstood 19 aces from Karlovic to prevail after one hour and 29 minutes. Up next for Blancaneaux will be fellow Frenchman No. 8 seed Arthur Rinderknech, who triumphed 6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(3) over ninth-seeded Julian Lenz of Germany.
The content you’ve been craving…@Geof888 is interviewed by @arthurrinder after both 🇫🇷 earned hard-fought wins in Calgary @YYCNBChallenger.
They will face off in Friday’s quarter-finals. pic.twitter.com/QmPwLitPAZ
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 27, 2020
Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia retired from his match ensuring US-American Maxime Cressy will advance, while Yusuke Takahashi of Japan beat Germany’s Tobias Simon 6-4, 7-6(4).
In doubles, French pairing Manuel Guinard and Rinderknech defeated Ryan Peniston of Great Britain and Felix Corwin of the United States to book their place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, US-Americans Chris Harrison and Dennis Novikov lost to their countrymen Natan Pasha and Max Schnur in their quarterfinal.
RESULTS – FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Singles – Third Round
[14] G. Blancaneaux (FRA) d [3] I. Karlovic (CRO) 76(7) 64
[11] T. Kamke (GER) d [5] B. Schnur (CAN) 76(5) 63
[7] L. Broady (GBR) d N. Chappell (USA) 46 64 62
[8] A. Rinderknech (FRA) d [9] J. Lenz (GER) 67(7) 63 76(3)
[10] M. Cressy (USA) d A. Dougaz (TUN) 60 41 Retired
K. Zuk (POL) d [13] J. Aragone (USA) 76(6) 64
[15] G. Oliveira (POR) d [Q] A. Rybakov (USA) 67(6) 63 64
Y. Takahashi (JPN) d T. Simon (GER) 64 76(4)
Doubles – Quarterfinals
[3] N. Pasha (USA) / M. Schnur (USA) d [PR] C. Harrison (USA) / D. Novikov (USA) 26 64 12-10
M. Guinard (FRA) / A. Rinderknech (FRA) d [Alt] F. Corwin (USA) / R. Peniston (GBR) 64 64
First Round
[4] H. Heliovaara (FIN) / P. Niklas-Salminen (FIN) d J. Cerretani (USA) / K. Lovett (USA) 75 63
L. Broady (GBR) / S. Clayton (GBR) d J. Lenz (GER) / A. Santillan (AUS) 63 67(5) 10-8
