Szekesfehervar Ch F: Chun-Hsin Tseng [Q] def. Titouan Droguet [7] 4-1 ret. Match Stats

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From almost being eliminated from the first qualifying round against his fellow youngster Arthur Gea, to winning the title all the way. While this might not be the way he wanted, Jason still stayed solid prior to T. Droguet's retirement, which possibly was due to his yesterday's matches taking a toll. This was reflected in his perfect first serve winning percentage (100%), aided by his 2 aces while T. Droguet's second serves appeared more vulnerable with only a 40% winning percentage, as well as a 67% break point conversion rate out of his 3 chances for Jason.

This marked Jason's fourth career Challenger title, his first since the Murcia Challenger 2022 back in April. Not only this welcomed his return to the Top 300, but he also is back to the Top 250 as he landed at approximately 245 live by the time he won the title. Their next tournament will be the Murcia Challenger, where Jason, who received a Special Exempt thanks to his stellar display, will face a good test in Ivan Gakhov in the first round, while should T. Droguet still compete, he will face eighth seed Stefano Napolitano for a spot in the second round. Should be a stacked, but an exciting one to follow for the next week!

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Qualifier Chun-Hsin (Jason) Tseng, who yesterday defeated Francesco Maestrelli 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, contested his first Challenger final in 2 years as he faced seventh seed Titouan Droguet, who reached his first Challenger final since July last year after defeating Franco Agamenone 6-2, 6-2 in a convincing manner. The latter won his doubles title yesterday with Matteo Martineau, which match ended in a match tie-break, which might or might not affected his showing today as their point construction and balance in general were tested.

In this regard, after three consecutive games, Jason came up with a backhand pass to secure a crucial deuce before an unforced error created his break point of the game. The said break point was immediately converted thanks to Jason's smash, allowing the Taiwanese qualifier to hold his serves to 3-1.

Subsequently, it appeared that T. Droguet might have lost it as his unforced errors started to even increase. Jason stayed composed, finding his way out through his point construction by successfully firing a drop shot to set himself one point ahead before having his first break point. Somehow, it turned out to be foiled and Jason smashed his way to secure his second break point, which was converted by a double fault. T. Droguet then took the medical timeout in the next changeover, but could not sustain further as he was forced to retire down 2 points in the sixth game (1-4), which resulted in Jason winning the title for the first time in two years.

Szekesfehervar Ch SF: Chun-Hsin Tseng [Q] def. Francesco Maestrelli 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Match Stats

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F. Maestrelli had his moments in the first set thanks to his aggression, but it was not sustainable as soon as Jason found his range. Through his groundstrokes, he tried to take advantage out of F. Maestrelli's second serve issues, where he successfully absorbed some pace and shift the flow in his favor, especially considering his point construction under pressure often pressed F. Maestrelli's position further. As a result, despite both players breaking twice throughout the match, Jason still managed to generate 2 more break points than F. Maestrelli.

Interestingly, both players had their own service game strengths. F. Maestrelli had a slight advantage on his first serves winning percentage, winning 75% points from there, 2% more than Jason, which sometimes got him out of trouble. On the other hand, it was statistically confirmed that F. Maestrelli had troubles in navigating the second serves, double-faulting four times while struggled to follow it up, which faded his second serve winning percentage 9% below Jason as the match progressed.

In tomorrow's final, Jason will face Titouan Droguet, who earlier also stunned Franco Agamenone 6-2, 6-2 in a straightforward manner. This could be an interesting battle of contrasts, where their balance would be tested: whether their groundstrokes, or their point construction, or their defense-to-offense mechanisms, or somewhere in between. Should be an exciting companion for the day, taking into account both Szekesfehervar and Hamburg finals will be played simultaneously.

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In the third set, despite having fair chances throughout the match, F. Maestrelli's inability to win his second serve points allowed Jason to improve his point construction, which paid off by the end of the match. It all started with a backhand winner from the Italian in the sixth game, where he also could not take advantage to his moment as Jason held his serves to 3-3. In an almost similar manner, Jason opened his return game with a fiery forehand winner to secure his one-point lead, and while he had a break point due to F. Maestrelli's forehand misfire, which went too wide from the line, the unseeded Italian still held his serves to 4-3.

The subsequent hold then became significant for Jason as he tried to out-pace F. Maestrelli from the baseline, judging by his point construction. Due to another forehand error, Jason generated his latest break point, which was converted thanks to his defense-to-offense mechanism, where his final forehand volley in response to F. Maestrelli's drop shot secured the equally important break to 5-4. As a result, Jason earned his opportunity to serve for the match, where even though he survived from an unforced error and F. Maestrelli's forehand winner, his defense mechanisms were proven effective to outhit the Italian, ultimately serving it out to take the third set 6-4 for his first Challenger-level final after two years.

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Compared to the first set, Jason had a steadier showing, although F. Maestrelli also had his moments. Using his reflexes at the net, he neutralized F. Maestrelli's preceding backhand to create his initial break point despite the Italian unseeded player holding his serves to 1-0 to start the second set. However, Jason's moment did not come until F. Maestrelli had a loose service game, which was marked by Jason's pace absorption that resulted in the latter's backhand error for a one-point lead before a forehand error and a double fault somewhere resulted in the said break (3-2).

Subsequently, in most parts of the second set, Jason had not looked back and stayed stable in his range. Somehow, there came the point in the tenth game of this set where he earned his opportunity to serve for the second set, but F. Maestrelli intuitively had ideas by volleying his way to win one of the points in this game. However, Jason quickly recovered from the potential trouble, taking the second set 6-4 to bring this match to the decider.

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Meanwhile, in the (still, indoor) clay courts of Szekesfehervar...

The second singles semifinal commenced between Francesco Maestrelli, who defeated Daniel Michalski 6-2, 6-3 in the latter's maiden Challenger quarterfinal appearance, and qualifier Chun-Hsin (Jason) Tseng, who dug deep to defeat eighth seed Matteo Martineau 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to secure his first Challenger-level semifinal appearance after at least two years. This match turned out to test most of their balance, where their baseline game and service game consistency turned out to play a major factor, alongside their point construction, to stand out in this match.

Earlier in the first set, Jason had his fair share of chances by passing F. Maestrelli's volley side from his forehand to set up a one-point lead. While the latter turned out to hold his service game to 3-3, he started to became further aggressive by going after Jason's groundstrokes, scoring a forehand winner to secure a two-point lead in the game he broke to 4-3 due to Jason's forehand unforced error. This was followed by F. Maestrelli's service game consolidation to 5-3.

Somehow, F. Maestrelli's aggression started to be effective as Jason struggled to serve to stay in the set. Cracking down on Jason's defenses, he tried to out-rally the qualifier until the latter missed his final forehand, which created his first set point. Even though it was saved, another third-shot error from Jason created F. Maestrelli's second set point, which was converted due to Jason's forehand error, which was fired too low to take the first set 6-3.

Szekesfehervar Ch R2: Chun-Hsin Tseng [Q] def. Samuel Vincent Ruggeri [Q] 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 Match Stats

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Samuel had his chances earlier in this match, but his limited options in this match was exposed by Jason's pace-absorption capability, which allowed the latter to appear more aggressive in the last two sets. Through his defense-to-offense mechanisms, which were mostly evident through his volley or lob finishes, he generated 8 break points, 2 more than Samuel, who only converted 33% of his break points than Jason's 38%, which helped him to navigate some pressing moments on his return.

Service game-wise, both players appeared to have their own strengths. Samuel might have scored quadruple more aces than Jason (8 to 2), which also contributed to his 75% first serve winning percentage, 10% more than Jason. However, even though Jason double-faulted 4 times than Samuel's 2, he still managed to have an effective second serve percentage at 57%, 13% higher than Samuel, whose rushed follow-ups often did not help to advance his game further.

In tomorrow's quarterfinals, Jason will face eighth seed Matteo Martineau, who earlier defeated Alessandro Giannessi 6-4, 7-6(2) in the second round. While M. Martineau appeared to be in form thanks to his deep runs to start the season, this could be interesting to see how Jason's newly-regained depth will fare in this match, especially looking at what M. Martineau's working aggression could do. Should be a fun watch for the day!

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Jason appeared to be firmer in the third set thanks to his point construction on par with his pace-absorbing ability, where Samuel got even more overwhelmed to. In this case, Jason started by firing a running forehand pass in the fourth game to create his initial break point, but Samuel ended up saving all of those for a massive hold to 2-2. Somehow, Jason held his serves to 3-2, and took advantage of Samuel's earlier double fault for the break point to fire a working drop shot, securing the break to 4-2.

This was followed by a stellar defense from Jason, which secured his service game hold thanks to a lob finish to the 23-shot rally as the means to secure his service game hold to 5-2. He then earned the opportunity to serve for the match 2 games later, where despite conceding 2 points out of the unforced errors, he took the third set 6-3 to secure his quarterfinals berth, making it possible for him to be back on track again.

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Jason turned out to be able to be more aggressive in the second set after steadily absorbing Samuel's pace. After three consecutive holds, Jason eventually broke to 3-1 a point after Samuel's backhand error, where he offensively finished a rally with a flat forehand winner to the open court 2 shots after his drop shot. He then consolidated his lead to 4-1 to affirm his solid showing.

It took three games later before Jason's offensives started to bother Samuel. Two points into the game, he started with a forehand winner to set the lead, while Samuel's preceding errors also caused the set point creation. Even if he tried to save one of them on his serve, a third-shot forehand error fired too far from the line resulted in Jason's set point conversion, thus taking the second set 6-2 and bringing the match to the decider.

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In the Szekesfehervar Challenger, the second-round action continued with qualifier Chun-Hsin (Jason) Tseng, who stunned third seed Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, faced his fellow qualifier Samuel Vincent Ruggeri, who previously defeated Lukas Neumayer 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 after stunning Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4 in the second qualifying round. This match turned out to be a contrast, where one became more aggressive, with its consistency often being a question.

Samuel had an aggressive start to the match by firing a backhand down-the-line winner 2 points in, followed by a working forehand lob 2 points later, forcing a deuce even though Jason held his serves to 1-1. The latter then responded to the one-point deficit he faced through a drop shot with a backhand pass to close the rally, but Samuel's powerful play from his forehand side resulted in a forehand winner that created his break point, which was converted with a volley finish to his defenses, signifying his tidy point construction under pressure. Samuel then consolidated the play to 4-1.

Subsequently, he became more offensive as he gave less to no room for Jason to execute his moves. This became more evident in the seventh game as Samuel created his set point by coming up with an answer key to Jason's moves, from a forehand response to the latter's smash, flat forehand answer to the backhand down-the-line, and flawlessly volleying his way to conclude the said rally. He then doubled the break to 5-2 due to Jason's backhand error, which earned him a chance to serve for the first set. Despite having to survive some of his set points being saved, which also included a backhand error for the deuce, Samuel aced his way to create his latest set point, which was converted through a serve+1 to secure the first set 6-2, confirming his one-set lead in this match as a result.

Szekesfehervar Ch R1: Franco Agamenone def. Abdullah Shelbayh 7-6(2), 6-0 Match Stats

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Shelbayh had his fair share of chances as soon as he absorbed Agamenone's pace in the middle of the first set, but the latter controlled most of the flow except the moment he got broken. He ended up going even deeper with his first strike, thus he got Shelbayh run over to his forehand side before the latter's failed drop shots also did not help. As a result, Agamenone converted 80% of his 5 break points, while Shelbayh could only convert 50% of them in the first set.

Furthermore, the Italian also had firmer service games. Despite both players equally scoring 2 aces, Agamenone had an exceptional first serve winning percentage with 73%, which often got him out of trouble, especially in the first set. Comparatively, Shelbayh had problematic second serves due to his 3 double faults, fading his second serve winning percentage to 54%, 11% below Agamenone considering the second set erraticness.

In the second round, Agamenone will face Nerman Fatic, who stunned fourth seed Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-0 in a dramatic match concluding moments after this match was finished. This could be another possibly dramatic match in one way or another, but it could also be interesting to see who can keep up with the pace and stay in control of the flow whenever one gains it. Should be an exciting watch!

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However, Shelbayh became further overwhelmed when dealing with Agamenone's pace in the second set. Even if he had a successful drop shot to win a point, Agamenone's deep first-strike return secured his last 2 points of the game to break 1-0, where he consolidated his position afterward to 2-0. Somehow, Agamenone took advantage of Shelbayh's erratic service game, with a backhand error to set a 2-point lead even if the court was open after a double fault before doubling the break to 3-0.

After widening the gap by leading to 4-0, things became more erratic for Shelbayh, who ended up firing 2 failed drop shots in the last 2 points for the Italian to triple his break to 5-0. This way, Agamenone earned his opportunity to serve for the match, where he successfully served for the match (6-0) despite having his 2 match points saved, including a successful lob from Shelbayh to force the deuce earlier in the said game.

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The first-round action in the Szekesfehervar Challenger already commenced with Abdullah Shelbayh taking on Franco Agamenone in the first round. While this could be an interesting and competitive match, the first set proved to be one before one who appeared more aggressive in this match took charge of the flow as it progressed.

After five consecutive holds, a third-shot backhand unforced error from Shelbayh resulted in him having to face a break point even if he previously recovered from a 2-point deficit before Agamenone broke thanks to a working volley (4-2). However, Agamenone got broken back due to an erratic service game, thus he was not able to follow his moment up, then Shelbayh continued with a service game hold to 4-4.

Shelbayh then tried to keep up with the pace he previously absorbed with his point construction, once with a successful final volley after a cat-and-mouse net exchange that won him the point, but Agamenone still held that serve to 5-5. Another one came from a backhand pass, which allowed him to minimize the gap before the latter held again to 6-5. However, Shelbayh had to save a set point made out of a backhand error before forcing the tie-breaker, where a forehand error midway secured Agamenone earlier mini-break before the margin was doubled thanks to the Italian's forehand pass (5-1). Agamenone then took the first set 7-6(2) after his forehand winner set his set point, followed by an ace to reaffirm his offensives.

Szekesfehervar Ch R1: Daniel Michalski [Q] def. Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 Match Stats

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Thiem controlled the flow in the beginning of the first set with his power play during the rallies, some of which were also ended with a drop shot. However, as D. Michalski was able to absorb some pace from the baseline, Thiem found it difficult to rediscover the range from the earlier parts in this match, making his strokes more prone to error, mostly his forehand side. Even if both players had their fair share of chances (7), D. Michalski maximized his more by converting 3 of them thanks to the said groundstrokes, outhitting Thiem in one way or another.

Furthermore, it appeared that every player had their own service game strengths. Interestingly, Thiem scored 2 aces to be slightly ahead in the first set by 1% with 70% first serve winning percentage than D. Michalski's 69%. On the other hand, Thiem's second serve appeared to be vulnerable even though both players double-faulting once, which unforced errors afterward faded his second serve winning percentage to 38%, 19% lesser than D. Michalski as this match progressed.

In the second round, D. Michalski will face his fellow qualifier Cezar Cretu, who earlier convincingly defeated another fellow qualifier Pol Martin Tiffon 6-2, 6-1. While this section remained completely open, this could be interesting to check on their pacing, as well as their point construction to for one to stand out in this match. Finding a balance could be a struggle, but keeping in control after will be another challenge then.

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However, the intensity did not last long as D. Michalski pressed Thiem's baseline game further. The latter's unforced errors became the main reason behind D. Michalski's break of serve to 2-1, and the latter proceeded by consolidating his position with a service game hold to 3-1.

Subsequently, Thiem had his fair share of chances, including a functional volley to create one of his break points, but D. Michalski was too clutch to hold that particular service game to 5-3. It was not until two games later, where D. Michalski perfectly served it out to take the second set 6-4, securing him his first Top 100 victory and the spot in the second round to complete the on-paper upset.

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First seed Dominic Thiem, who marked his comeback from another injury in the clay Challengers before determining the course of his career, came back to the Szekesfehervar Challenger by facing an in-form qualifier Daniel Michalski, who defeated Evan Furness and Jonas Forejtek in three sets, both of which also came back from their respective injuries. Knowing both players, the first part of this set was intense before one who could control the flow mote aggressively eventually nailed this match.

It all started from the first game, where Thiem produced his vintage forehand down-the-line winner to secure the first deuce before he broke early to 1-0. He then consolidated the lead to 2-0, but had another break point made out of a successful drop shot before D. Michalski put his name on the board by holding his service game to 2-1. The Polish qualifier then created a forehand winner to create his latest break point of that game after surviving a forever deuce situation before Thiem's forehand winner secured the break to 2-2 that leveled the play.

Fast-forward to the sixth game, Thiem produced his second break point thanks to a complete rally that was ended in his drop shot, but he still survived another break point before holding his serves to 3-3. Thiem also generated another break point in the next game thanks to his backhand down-the-line finish, but D. Michalski came up with a massive hold to 4-3 before his forehand winner created a 1-point lead before he broke to 5-3 due to Thiem's forehand error and a failed slice. As a result, D. Michalski earned his chance to serve for the first set, which he did through a forehand pass to create his set point, and its conversion thanks to an unreturned serve to take the first set 6-3.