#NextGenATP Blockx & Quinn claim first Challenger titles

#NextGenATP stars Alexander Blockx and Ethan Quinn each enjoyed dominant runs to capture their maiden ATP Challenger Tour title Sunday.

The 19-year-old Blockx, who is the third-youngest champion from Belgium in Challenger history, dropped just one set en route to the title and downed Austrian Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 6-1 in the Hyogo Noah Challenger final.

Following his triumph, the 2023 Australian Open boys’ singles champion is up to a career-high No. 205 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Youngest Belgians to win a Challenger title

Player	Age	Title
Libor Pimek	19 years, 13 days	1982 Ostend
Olivier Rochus	19 years, 5 months	2000 Ostend
Alexander Blockx	19 years, 7 months	2024 Kobe

Quinn, 20, won the #NextGenATP all-American championship clash against Nishesh Basavareddy with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory, in which the 2023 NCAA singles titlist saved all 10 of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“It means a lot to finally be able to get that reward for the hard work and the struggles I've gone through this year,” Quinn told commentator Mike Cation at the Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger.

“I feel like a lot of the year I was so focused on Next Gen this and that, ‘If I do well here, then I’ll be in a good spot there’. That’s just not how tennis works. You have to really focus on what's going on at hand and what match you're playing at the moment. I feel like the last month or so, I’ve really been focusing on one match at a time.”

Ethan Quinn is crowned champion at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Champaign, Illinois. Credit: Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger

Quinn’s countrymen Aidan Mayo and Tristan Boyer also lifted Challenger trophies this past week. The 21-year-old Mayo triumphed at the Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville in Canada, where he overcame Luxembourg’s Chris Rodesch 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the final.

Aidan Mayo during the Drummondville Challenger final. Credit: Robert Borris

At the Uruguay Open in Montevideo, Boyer won his third Challenger title of the season, all of which have come on clay. The 23-year-old has earned 44 Challenger-match wins this season, tying the Challenger record for most wins by an American in a season. Kevin Kim also recorded 44 wins in 2004.

Boyer’s latest title, which was sealed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Hugo Dellien, propelled him to a career-high No. 145 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Most Challenger-match wins by an American (single season)

Player	Wins, Year
Tristan Boyer	44, 2024
Kevin Kim	44, 2004
Bjorn Fratangelo	43, 2015
Kevin Kim	43, 2008
Frances Tiafoe	42, 2016
Michael Russell	42, 2009

Tristan Boyer celebrates winning the Montevideo Challenger. Credit: Uruguay Open

Belgian’s Raphael Collignon went one step further than his previous outing to claim the ALL IN OPEN Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes in Lyon, France. A finalist at last month’s Bratislava Challenger, Collignon defeated home hope Calvin Hemery 6-4, 6-2 in the championship match. The 22-year-old is now at a career-high No. 122.

Raphael Collignon wins the Lyon Challenger. Credit: All-In Group