Tournament Summary
Laaksonen the Winner at 20th Champaign Challenger
by Marcia Frost, 25 November 2015
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Singles winner Henri Laaksonen and doubles champions David O'Hare and Joe Salisbury had plenty to celebrate on Saturday as they took the top prizes at the USTA JSM Champaign pro circuit event, but they weren't the only ones cheering. The Challenger celebrated its 20th year, making it one of the longest running tournaments of its kind in the country.
Singles finalists
Taylor Fritz and Henri Laaksonen
© Marcia Frost
It was Craig Tiley, then head men's coach at the
University of Illinois, who brought the challenger to Champaign 1996. Atkins Tennis Center Director of Tennis Jim Tressler, along with his hardworking staff and Men's Head Coach Brad Dancer, have kept the prize money and quality of the tournament increasing yearly during its second decade.
Through the years, the Champaign Challenger has seen many top players, including former Illini Kevin Anderson (2006), now ranked 17 in the world by the ATP, and his former college nemesis John Isner, now just one place behind Anderson on the ATP list.
This year's event was filled with promising young players from the United States and around the world, giving local fans another glimpse into the future of top professional tennis. It also was the catalyst for the USTA's Australian Open Wildcard.
During the tournament, it was a race to the wildcard, with eyes on Noah Rubin, Taylor Fritz, and Mackenzie McDonald, any of whom could have earned it.
The young men made a talented trio: Rubin, who turned pro after reaching the NCAA singles finals while playing for Wake Forest; McDonald, a player at UCLA and No. 3 in the ITA Rankings; and Fritz, this year's winner of the U.S. Open Junior Championship.
Although Noah Rubin, who had won the Charlottesville Challenger the previous week, had lost in Champaign in the first round to top seed Malek tun Jazari, he still had enough points to keep him in the mix - unless MacDonald or Fritz would win this title.
