#aat challenger santander edicion tucuman

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San Miguel de Tucuman Ch F: Andrea Collarini [3] def. Hernan Casanova [5] 6-4, 7-6(3) Match Stats

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H. Casanova had his fair chances as he tried to stay stable in the second set, but A. Collarini's more efficient ballstriking helped him optimizing his chances as this match progressed. This was further evident in the second set tie-break, where A. Collarini benefitted from H. Casanova's forehand errors toward the end of the second set as a result of the latter's inability to handle some pressure points from the baseline. As a result, A. Collarini converted 38% of his 8 break points compared to H. Casanova's 18%, which signified the efficacy of the former's ballstriking.

Besides, both players had their own service games strengths and weaknesses as the match progressed, taking into account almost neither player could consistently hold their service games in the first set. In this regard, as both players were unable to score an ace, H. Casanova had the slight edge by 2% with a 68% percentage, but he had a subpar second serve winning rate at 16%, which made A. Collarini's service games looked more consistent as the latter won at least 52% of his points on serve, which was the second serve (despite 6% lower than his first).

This marked A. Collarini's first Challenger title of the season, as well as ending his one-year Challenger-level title drought since he won the Piracicaba Challenger last year. For H. Casanova, his next tournament will be the Concepcion Challenger next week, as he will face Matias Soto in the first round. This could also be an interesting week to check if he should be back on track as well, considering his rollercoaster journey all these years.

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Recognizing the chaotic flow of the first set, physicality might have also been in the mix as H. Casanova took a medical timeout for likely his back upon the conclusion of the first set, but he hung on well despite A. Collarini controlling some or most parts of the flow. Right at the first game alone, the former's backhand error caused the latter's earliest break point of the set a point after A. Collarini's backhand winner forcing the deuce (as well as fumbling his game point), but H. Casanova still managed to hold his service game to 1-0. Since then, both players had their fair chances, but neither of them got materialized as the consistency question, both on serve and on return, remained.

Fast-forward to the eighth game, A. Collarini disguised his slice/drop shot brilliantly to win himself the second point of the game before holding his serves to 4-4, which could be important, given the circumstances of the next game. Interestingly, A. Collarini's aggression was reflected through his defense-to-offense mechanism and shot selections, as he tried to bait H. Casanova through his backhand slice, where the latter mishit it to the net to create the former's earlier break points of the game. Somehow, an intuitive volley from the fifth seed fumbled the second break point, which also contributed in his service game hold to 5-5.

It took two more games before the tie-breaker became inevitable, which could affect the whole flow (and the end of the second set, simultaneously). Right at the start of the tie-break, H. Casanova mishit his +1 forehand for A. Collarini's early lead (1-0), but the latter could not sustain his moment several points later as it got equalized over his forehand error (2-2). It took several points for them to get going before it all came down to the pressure points in the middle of the tie-breaker, where H. Casanova's forehand errors (including a third-shot one) lost him the next two points to 5-3, and A. Collarini generated his match point without any further hesitation, which he immediately converted to take the second set 7-6(3), as well as winning him his first Challenger title of the season.

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Meanwhile, in San Miguel de Tucuman...

A treat for home fans in the San Miguel de Tucuman Challenger finals was an all-Argentinean finals match between third seed Andrea Collarini, who previously defeated wild card Lautaro Midon 6-1, 7-6(5) thanks to his experience even if the latter upped his game in the second set, and fifth seed Hernan Casanova, who then defeated seventh seed and another up-and-coming youngster Valerio Aboian 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a rollercoaster start, but more solid showing starting the second set for his maiden Challenger final. While their offensives were mostly tested in this match, consistency played a big role in maintaining their aggression, which also affected the flow of this match right from its start.

Nerves might have played a part in H. Casanova's start, while A. Collarini approached this match more confidently, which was reflected through his aggression (and groundstrokes) despite some moments. He had a powerful start through his forehand side, from which he outhit H. Casanova's strokes to secure his one-point lead before breaking early to 1-0 thanks to his forehands a point after the latter saved the initial break point through his intuitive volley. However, the moment did not stay long as A. Collarini's erroneous service game, topped off with a failed smash, resulted in H. Casanova's break-back to 1-1. After the fifth seed held his serves to 2-1, the former had to survive 3 break points made due to his double fault before consolidating his lead to 2-2.

Two consecutive games later, a similarly flowed service game from A. Collarini occurred as he also had to face break points from his double fault before regaining his strokes, including a forehand winner midway, prior to holding his serves to 3-3. This might have played a crucial role as the third seed scored a forehand winner 2 points into the seventh game, which paved the way to break 4-3 (due to an unforced error from H. Casanova), but H. Casanova managed to break back (4-4) thanks to his volley get, which asked the necessary questions to A. Collarini's pacing as the latter was unable to maintain it.

The next two games then became pivotal to see the direction both players went with their aggression due to their service game inconsistency. In this regard, A. Collarini seemed to take the issue personally as he fired a successful preceding forehand down-the-line shot to H. Casanova's backhand error, which prompted him to redirect the latter in as much rallies as possible. This was proven successful as in a similar way, the third seed broke to 5-4, which allowed him to serve for the first set. Interestingly, A. Collarini went clutch on serve, as even if one of his initial set points were fumbled through H. Casanova's volley, the former still managed to serve it out for the first set to 6-4, putting himself one set away from the title, technically.

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San Miguel de Tucuman Ch D F: Gonzalo Villanueva/Luis Britto [2] def. Patrick Harper/David Stevenson 6-3, 6-2 Match Stats

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G. Villanueva/L. Britto ended up being the more dominant pair in this match, as they frequently passed P. Harper/D. Stevenson at the net. The latter's failed volleys were proven costly, as it allowed the former pair to control the whole flow in the crucial moments. This way, P. Harper/D. Stevenson was unable to come up with any possible chances, while G. Villanueva/L. Britto converted 50% out of their 6 break points throughout both sets as a reward of their balanced play.

Furthermore, the second seeds also appeared solid from their service games. Even though P. Harper/D. Stevenson scored 3 aces and the former pair was not able too, the second seeds still managed to have a more solid first serve percentage with 84%. On the other hand, P. Harper/D. Stevenson risked their second serves more as they double-faulted 5 times, which faded their percentage 25% below G. Villanueva/L. Britto at 33% compared to the latter's 61%.

This marked G. Villanueva/L. Britto's first Challenger-level title as a pair, as well as their respective first Challenger doubles title (for both G. Villanueva and L. Britto as an individual) without dropping a set. Interestingly, both pairs will feature in next week's Concepcion Challenger, where most of the pairs competing almost remained the same. Should be an exciting one to follow as well!

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In the second set, the net game problems turned out to persist for P. Harper/D. Stevenson, which was taken advantage properly by G. Villanueva/L. Britto throughout the whole set. Right at the first game of the second set, D. Stevenson's failed volley (which was fired too wide) secured their break point before the second seeds broke to 1-0, subsequently consolidated their lead to 2-0. P. Harper/D. Stevenson almost got broken when they trailed by 2 points, but they still managed to get their name on the board with their service game hold to 2-1.

However, P. Harper/D. Stevenson could not sustain the flow, especially as they kept being passed by at the net. This became evident toward the end of the match, where L. Britto's cross-court forehand that passed D. Stevenson at the net secured their one-point lead in the seventh game, where the pair ended up double-faulting for the second seeds' double-break lead to 5-2. As a result, G. Villanueva/L. Britto earned an opportunity to serve for the match, which they eventually did to take the second set 6-2, thus securing them the doubles title.

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Another college-related pair, Patrick Harper/David Stevenson–as the former was a graduate student in the University of Tennessee last academic year (2022/23), and the latter graduated from the University of Memphis also at the last academic year��who defeated the Aboian brothers (Leonardo/Valerio) 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals, competed in their maiden Challenger-level final as they faced second seeds Gonzalo Villanueva/Luis Britto, who also stunned fourth seeds Ignacio Carou/Hernan Casanova 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals to reached their first Challenger final as a pair. While this match started competitively, one who nailed the rhythm and passed the other pair turned out to stand out by the end of this match.

P. Harper/D. Stevenson initially had an interesting smashing finish from P. Harper to set their one-point lead in the first set moments before L. Britto double-faulted, but the latter pair ended up consolidating his lead to 1-1. However, the former pair's net game became further tested as D. Stevenson's failed volley generated the break point for the second seeds before it was converted to 4-2 after P. Harper got run over from the post by G. Villanueva's preceding volley.

Subsequently, G. Villanueva/L. Britto held their serves to 5-2, and P. Harper/D. Stevenson also held their serves to make the second seeds serve for the first set. Without any further ado, they successfully took the first set 6-3 to assert their dominance in this match through their balanced rallying.

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San Miguel de Tucuman Ch SF: Andrea Collarini [3] def. Lautaro Midon [WC] 6-1, 7-6(5) Match Stats

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L. Midon had to overcome a nervy start to the match, while A. Collarini stayed solid as he trusted his point construction, which also paid off in the middle of the second set as he broke back when the former should have served for the set. His possible redirections midway also contributed to some of his break points, generating 11 of them compared to L. Midon's 8, converting 45% of his break points compared to L. Midon's 25%, most of those came from the second set.

Besides, A. Collarini was also consistent on serve. Scoring 2 aces than L. Midon's 1, A. Collarini still stood out on his first serves as he won 65% of his first serve points, 15% more than L. Midon as the latter seemingly had difficulties in landing them, especially in the first set, which made his first serves more vulnerable compared to the second. In addition, even if the third seed double-faulted thrice, he still had the slight edge in the second set as he won 5% more points from his second serves than L. Midon with a 58% percentage.

In A. Collarini's first Challenger-level final since the Piracicaba Challenger 2023, he will face fifth seed Hernan Casanova, who defeated seventh seed Valerio Aboian 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a topsy-turvy battle several moments later to reach his maiden Challenger final. This could be a tricky contest for their power and aggression, and maintaining the balance could be the biggest challenge for both players to stand out in this match. Should be one of the matches to look forward to with a potentially exciting finish between them!

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📸 🎥 ATP official website

A. Collarini almost dominated the second set, but L. Midon put up a good fight until the moment shifted again toward the end of the second set. A forehand error from L. Midon generated A. Collarini's latest break point once again before the latter broke early to 2-0 to start the second set, but the third seed got broken back as soon as L. Midon found his range due to the latter's backhand misfire to set himself 2 points ahead before breaking back to 2-1, holding his serves to 2-2 afterward.

Interestingly, L. Midon produced a crucial game point thanks to his drop shot to the volley after surviving several break points along the way, holding his serves to 3-3 as a result. This became a crucial hold as L. Midon's preceding backhand down-the-line winner secured his break point prior to its conversion due to A. Collarini's +1 error (4-3). L. Midon proceeded by consolidating to 5-3, and had his fair chances to serve for the second set two games later, but A. Collarini's inspired point construction thanks to his intuitive backhand finish saved L. Midon's second set point, followed by the latter's backhand error that forced another deuce. By the end of the set, A. Collarini's smooth forehand down-the-line winner secured his break of serve to 5-5 to get himself back in this match.

The tie-break became inevitable as soon as both players held their service games (6-6). A. Collarini initially had the moment due to L. Midon's backhand error to 3-1 only to be mini-broken back for the equalizer. However, it was not until the very end of the match where A. Collarini became more clutch, where his slightly deep return got L. Midon run over at the net to set up his match point (6-5), which was immediately converted for the third seed to take the second set 7-6(5), thus securing his spot in the finals.

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📸 ATP official website

Wild card and former junior World No. 8 (attained May 16, 2022) Lautaro Midon, who reached his maiden Challenger semifinal after straightforwardly defeating Franco Roncadelli 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, faced a more experienced third seed Andrea Collarini, who edged out sixth seed Gonzalo Villanueva 6-3, 6-2 in also a confident showing. In this generational battle, while this could be an exciting way to display L. Midon's potential, whose Challenger-level form was long overdue, it might not be the case by the first set of this match for some reasons, including their margin (of error).

Right in the first game, a forehand from L. Midon resulted in A. Collarini's break of serve to 1-0 in the first set. The third seed then consolidated his position to 2-0, and somehow found himself doubling the break (3-0) several moments after the 20-year-old's backhand error in response to the former's cross-court forehand. Without any further hesitation, A. Collarini held his serves to 4-0 before L. Midon put his name on the board with the said service game hold (4-1).

After A. Collarini held his serves to 5-1, things became slightly more topsy-turvy for L. Midon as he tried to hold his serve. He had several game points trying to avoid the breadstick, but some of these ended up being foiled. The most important moments came from the last few points, where the third seed's forehand return ace sealed the latest deuce before a preceding forehand outhit L. Midon for the former's latest set pkint, which was immediately converted due to a +1 backhand error from the latter (6-1). As a result, A. Collarini baked the first-set breadstick to secure his commanding start in this match as he partly relied on his experience while L. Midon dealt with his nervy start.

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San Miguel de Tucuman Ch R2: Hernan Casanova [5] def. Felix Corwin [Q] 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-1 Match Stats

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F. Corwin tried to absorb some pace in the second set, which pressed H. Casanova's service game a little bit further. This resulted in the fifth seed taking the scenic route instead as he found out his three match points in the tie-break were saved by F. Corwin's aggressive forehands, but he was unable to sustain the moment as after being broken in the third set, H. Casanova turned out to appear more stable on both ends (serve and return). Consequently, even if F. Corwin had 8 break points, H. Casanova still generated 2 more of it (10), converting 50% of them throughout the match.

Service game-wise, it appeared that the Argentinean fifth seed looked slightly more consistent, especially taking into account what happened in the third set. Despite F. Corwin acing three times, he still won 9% lesser points than H. Casanova. However, most of F. Corwin's problems stemmed from the second set, where he double-faulted six times than H. Casanova that faded his second serve winning percentage 7% below the Argentinean, which also stemmed his service game problems throughout the second set even though he ended some games with massive holds.

In the quarterfinals, H. Casanova will face fourth seed Ergi Kirkin, who just defeated Daniel Dutra da Silva 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(3) in the second round moments after. While this match could potentially be a rollercoaster, their offensives will most likely be tested to determine who controls the flow and how did the pace end up going to. This could be an interesting watch, but the match could still go either way depending on their consistency!

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📸 🎥 ATP official website

While by the end of the second set the flow could have gone either way, it turned out that the third set in this match became a one-way traffic after several games. It all started by F. Corwin's errors in the third game, which was capitalized by the Argentinean fifth seed to break to 3-1 through his forehand. This was followed by his consolidation to 4-1, and he had not looked back since.

In the subsequent game, the American qualifier became erratic as a +1 forehand error opened the path for H. Casanova with the one-point lead before he doubled the break to 5-1, earning the Argentinean an opportunity to serve for the match. Despite having to save several break points along the way, H. Casanova still took the third set 6-1, serving the third-set breadstick to secure his quarterfinals berth.

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📸 ATP official website

The second set turned out to be a different kind of battle as H. Casanova had his fair share of chances with having several break points at least in the first 9 games, to no avail as F. Corwin came in a clutch on serve and held most of the said points. However, the fifth seed notably held his serves in the tenth game after a net exchange (5-5) before subsequently breaking in the next game (6-5) thanks to his backhand to F. Corwin's forehand error to set himself one point ahead several points with the said break.

In the next game, H. Casanova earned his chance to serve for the match. However, he had to face another chapter of F. Corwin's aggression, where the latter's forehand winner secured his near-latest break point before it was converted to 6-6, thus forcing the tie-breaker that could determine the outcome or the direction of the flow. The Argentinean fifth seed had a solid start as he redirected through F. Corwin's forehand error to generate his mini-break to 1-0, but the latter kept pressing the former before H. Casanova found three of his match points were saved thanks to F. Corwin's forehand winner (6-6), followed by a forehand error from H. Casanova (7-7), and an ace (8-8). Ultimately, an unforced error from the fifth seed's forehand side created the American qualifier's set point, which was converted as he served it out to take the second set 7-6(8).

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📸 ATP official website

Meanwhile, in another court, and still in San Miguel de Tucuman...

Qualifier and former World No. 467 Felix Corwin, who turned out to be an assistant coach in the Purdue University and previously graduated from the University of Minnesota (batch 2014), advanced to the second round after defeating alternate Jacob Brumm 6-1, 6-3, faced fifth seed Hernan Casanova, who also defeated alternate Igor Gimenez 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the previous round. F. Corwin, who previously battled Marc Polmans 3-6, 7-6(3), 4-6 despite the loss in previous week's Sarasota Challenger after defeating both Garrett Jones and Corentin Denolly in the qualifying rounds, had a competitive showing in this match, especially as he tried to counter H. Casanova's aggression.

F. Corwin initially had a head start to this match thanks to his forehands, where he went after H. Casanova's failed finishes to finally break early to 2-0, followed by a consolidation (3-0) right after. Since then, H. Casanova successfully put his name on the board with a service game hold (3-1) even though the fifth seed smashed his way to force a deuce before the said hold.

Subsequently, H. Casanova started to absorb some pace as he engage in some rallies in hopes to bring F. Corwin off-balance. Indeed, after F. Corwin's double fault, H. Casanova fired a backhand down-the-line winner that helped him secure the break-back to 3-3, as well as levelling the play. The fifth seed then appeared firmer in the next games through his deep returns, as F. Corwin missed his +1 return to be broken to 5-3. As a result, H. Casanova earned an opportunity to serve for the first set, which he successfully did despite surviving several break points beforehand to take the first set 6-3.

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San Miguel de Tucuman Ch D R1: Leonardo Aboian/Valerio Aboian def. Roy Stepanov/Andres Urrea 7-6(5), 6-1 Match Stats

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R. Stepanov/A. Urrea had fair chances, but it was the Aboian brothers that kept passing through the former pair throughout the rest of the match. This was caused by R. Stepanov/A. Urrea's subpar net game, which was marked by most failed volleys, as well as often getting passed by the Aboian brothers from the baseline as their court coverage was often taken into account. As a result, R. Stepanov/A. Urrea was unable to convert their 3 break points compared to the Aboian brothers, who converted 25% of their 8 break points thanks to their intuitive play.

Furthermore, the Aboian brothers appeared more consistent on serve. Scoring twice more aces than R. Stepanov/A. Urrea, the Argentinean pair had an outstanding first serve winning percentage with 80%, which helped them navigating the troubles from mostly the first set. However, it turned out that they double-faulted just once than R. Stepanov/A. Urrea's 2, where their second serves ended up being more vulnerable by winning only 45% of their points, 12% lesser than the Aboian brothers as the match progressed.

In the quarterfinals, the Aboian brothers will face third seeds Andrea Collarini/Renzo Olivo, who defeated their fellow Argentinean wild card Julian Cundom/Ezequiel Simonit 6-2, 6-1 in a confident performance. This could be an interesting all-Argentinean generational battle, where the third seeds might need their experience to face the more dynamic Aboian brothers. Should be an exciting match to be looked forward to!

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Realizing they were able to capitalize on R. Stepanov/A. Urrea's problematic net game, the Aboian brothers kept passing from the baseline to win a lot of their important points. Right at the beginning of the second set, after holding their serves to 1-0, the Aboian brothers started the next game with a successful smash before going after A. Urrea's failed volley to set their 2-point lead before eventually breaking to 2-0, which they followed up with a consolidation to 3-0.

However, after R. Stepanov/A. Urrea put their names on the board, the Aboian brothers stayed aggressive with their passes, this time starting the subsequent game from a cross-court pass that caused the former to err their volley. This set the tone for the other parts of the game, doubling their break to 5-1 before having an opportunity to serve for the second set. Despite R. Stepanov/A. Urrea having a break point through a working smash, the Aboian brothers still managed to save it and earned their opportunity to serve it out, which they ultimately did to score the second-set breadstick, as well as advancing themselved to the doubles quarterfinals.

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📸 ATP official website

Kicking off the action in the San Miguel de Tucuman Challenger was one of the first-round doubles matches between Roy Stepanov/Andres Urrea and the Aboian brothers (Leonardo/Valerio). While the first set looked tight in one way or another, it all came down to the pressure point, even more on serve as the match progressed.

To start, R. Stepanov/A. Urrea had an earlier chance through A. Urrea's forehand to Leonardo's failed volley, which gave the former a one-point lead in the fourth game before the Aboian brothers held to 2-2. It took several games later before the Argentinean pair started to pass R. Stepanov/A. Urrea at the net, causing their one-point lead somewhere in hopes to take the set before the latter's service game hold to 6-6, making the tie-breaker even more inevitable.

The Aboian brothers began the tie-breaker decently through their baseline game, as a failed volley from R. Stepanov/A. Urrea resulted in their early mini-break to 1-0. Consolidating their lead to 3-0 several points later, they ended up dominating the first set tie-break, one of those including another pass to R. Stepanov's failed volley, to secure a huge lead. However, a double fault midway, as well as a backhand return ace from R. Stepanov, saved several of their set points. In contrast, as soon as R. Stepanov/A. Urrea went back on serve, their +1 error somewhere caused the Aboian brothers to take the first set 7-6(5) to put themselves in front in this match.