Bonzi back in Challenger winners' circle: 'My best performance of the year'

Benjamin Bonzi is bouncing back.

The Frenchman returned to the winners' circle Sunday for the first time since May 2022 at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds. The 28-year-old, seeded third, rallied past Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to lift his ninth ATP Challenger Tour title.

A former No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Bonzi is in a much different place than 12 months ago, when he was recovering from a wrist injury that forced him to miss an extended period of time.

“After a big wrist injury last year, it’s tough to get the rhythm again and play good tennis. I kind of fell down in the rankings and you have to regain confidence,” Bonzi said Sunday. “I was struggling a lot these past months. The game is building again. It’s a pretty solid week with the title. It means a lot.

“I think the mindset [was the key], I was fighting all the matches. You have to fight. That was my best performance for this year.”

In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Federico Agustin Gomez continued his Italian clay-court success, capturing his second title in three weeks. The 27-year-old, who two weeks ago won the Milan Challenger, did not drop a set all week at the Citta di Trieste Challenger, where he downed Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

A 2019 graduate of the University of Louisville, Gomez coached at a tennis academy in Miami for two years before turning pro. “I don’t think I hit a two-handed backhand in two years,” said the Buenos Aires native, now at a career-high No. 163 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Hugo Dellien earned his 10th ATP Challenger Tour trophy and first of this season at the Concord Iasi Open in Romania. The sixth seed Dellien raced past first-time Challenger finalist Javier Barranco Cosa 6-1, 6-1 in the title match.

A week prior, the 31-year-old’s younger brother Murkel Dellien claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Romania. The Delliens are the first pair of brothers to win ATP Challenger Tour titles in the same season since 2022, when Francisco Cerundolo and Juan Manuel Cerundolo triumphed at that level.

^{Hugo Dellien in action at the Challenger 100 event in Iasi. Credit: Concord Iasi Open}

Alexander Ritschard kept building upon his career-best season, having won his second title of the year at the Sparkasse Salzburg Open in Austria. The 30-year-old Swiss has won 14 of his past 16 Challenger-level matches including a title run in Savannah and a runner-up finish in Heilbronn. Ritschard defeated Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet 6-4, 6-2 in the Salzburg final.

^{Alexander Ritschard wins the Challenger 125 event in Salzburg, Austria. Credit: Sparkasse Salzburg Open}

Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena was crowned champion at the 30th edition of the Brawo Open in Braunschweig, Germany, the ninth longest-running ATP Challenger Tour event. The top seed defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-3 in the final to earn his 12th Challenger crown.

Did You Know?
Former champions throughout the 30-year history of the Braunschweig Challenger include Alexander Zverev, Gaston Gaudio, Tomas Berdych, Jan-Lennard Struff, Florian Mayer and current ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. 

Time to celebrate 👏

Congratulations to this week's doubles champions!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/7w2w10njHZ

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 14, 2024