Five Challenger Stars To Watch At Wimbledon

For the next fortnight, all eyes will be on the stars of the ATP Tour as they battle for glory at Wimbledon. But as hungry as they will be to lift the Gentlemen's Singles Trophy, there is another group of competitors that are just as motivated to make a splash at the grass-court Grand Slam. They are the players competing throughout the year on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Securing entry into a Grand Slam is no simple task. It requires year-round focus, hard work and consistency to arrive at this moment. For players grinding on the Challenger circuit, this is the reward. Having the opportunity to test their talents against the best players in the world, and with coveted FedEx ATP Rankings points and prize money at stake, is what drives these players from January to November.

The 2021 Championships are no exception. A platform to showcase their skills and eventually take the next step on the ATP Tour, it presents a huge opportunity on a global stage. A strong performance on the lawns of the All England Club can prove to be career-altering for many Challenger stars, as they target the Top 100 and beyond. So, which players are poised to wreak havoc on the draw? We look at five to watch in SW19...

Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (CHI)
Don't call him a clay-court specialist. Barrios is already proving to be quite a formidable opponent at this year's Championships. Despite entering Wimbledon with just nine matches played away from clay in 2020-21 combined, the Chilean made the most of his professional grass-court debut during qualifying.

Barrios would drop just one set in securing his first Grand Slam main draw berth, posting a perfect 5-0 record in tie-breaks along the way. After defeating Mitchell Krueger and Enzo Couacaud, he punched his ticket with an impressive four-set victory over top seed Kamil Majchrzak. A strong grass-court performer, Majchrzak was coming off a run to the final at the ATP Challenger stop in Nottingham a week ago.

As Barrios makes his Grand Slam debut at the All England Club, he will take plenty of confidence from a breakthrough 2021 campaign on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 23-year-old has posted a 15-8 record thus far, including a pair of final appearances on home soil in Santiago and one week ago in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In fact, it was his journey from Almaty to London, flying 12 hours across Europe to transition from clay to grass, that has been the most impressive part of his run through qualifying. With a clay-court final in Kazakhstan on Saturday and a Wimbledon qualifying campaign that was postponed to Tuesday due to rain, he only had 45 minutes to prepare on the grass.

Barrios will kick off his Grand Slam career against 2018 runner-up Kevin Anderson on Monday, with a potential second-round clash with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic looming large.

Benjamin Bonzi (FRA)
Three years later, Bonzi is back in London, earning a second chance at the All England Club. It was in 2018 that the Frenchman qualified for his first Championships, before falling to Lukas Lacko from a set up in the opening round. Now, a more experienced and seasoned Bonzi steps onto the hallowed lawns at SW19 for a shot at redemption.

The 2021 ATP Challenger wins leader, Bonzi is in the midst of a breakout year. The World No. 118, who turned 25 earlier this month, is peaking at the right time. Knocking on the door of a Top 100 debut in the FedEx ATP Rankings, the Nimes native owns a tour-leading 28 match wins this year on the Challenger circuit, including titles on the hard courts of Potchefstroom, South Africa, and clay of Ostrava, Czech Republic. Having previously never lifted a Challenger trophy, Bonzi's double has made him one of the more feared players this year.

One of four Frenchmen to successfully navigate through qualifying, Bonzi ousted Juan Pablo Ficovich and Daniel Altmaier in straight sets before rallying to defeat Frederico Ferreira Silva on Thursday. Having also reached the semi-finals at the ATP Challenger stop in Nottingham the week prior, Bonzi will be looking to carry the grass-court momentum into Wimbledon.

The 25-year-old will face fellow qualifier Marco Trungelliti on Tuesday. Marin Cilic, finalist in 2017, is a potential second-round opponent.

2021 Challenger Match Wins Leaders

Liam Broady (GBR)
With the results he's putting up on the ATP Challenger Tour, Broady's wild card is well deserved. At the age of 27, the Brit enters his fourth appearance at his home Grand Slam in the best form of his career.

A stalwart on the Challenger circuit since his first full season in 2017, Broady is making the most of his opportunities this year. A pair of hard-court finals in Potchefstroom, South Africa and Biella, Italy saw him rise to a career-high of No. 137 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in April. Moreover, it's his consistency that's driving his push towards the Top 100, boasting a 15-5 record (75.0 win percentage), which is among the tour leaders.

Broady's form has already translated to the ATP Tour, having claimed his first tour-level victory in three years at the clay-court event in Cagliari. That was followed by one of the best wins of his career, stunning Nottingham champion Frances Tiafoe at this week's ATP 250 event in Eastbourne.

The Stockport native, who also earned his way through qualifying at Roland Garros last month, will look to carry the momentum into SW19. A first-round meeting with Italy's Marco Cecchinato awaits. To be held on Monday on No. 3 Court, it will be their first encounter. Ninth-seed Diego Schwartzman looms as a potential second-round opponent.

Tallon Griekspoor (NED)
Grand Slam qualifying is a test of emotions, nerves and determination. It can be a rollercoaster ride for even the more experienced players on tour. Just ask Tallon Griekspoor.

The Dutchman is as battle-tested as they come entering Wimbledon. A two-time ATP Challenger champion in 2021, Griekspoor secured his passage to the All England Club after surviving a qualifying gauntlet. On Tuesday, the 24-year-old needed nearly three hours to edge Thomas Fabbiano 7-6(8), 6-7(6), 7-5. That was followed by an efficient 44-minute 6-0, 6-1 win over reigning junior champion Shintaro Mochizuki on Wednesday. And in Thursday's final round, he was forced into another marathon, overcoming a two-set deficit to rally past 18-year-old Arthur Fery 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-2.

Griekspoor's success in qualifying should come as no surprise, considering his strong run of form on the Challenger circuit in 2021. He has posted a 10-2 record since the start of May, lifting trophies on the clay of Prague and Bratislava.

The Haarlem native will be tested from the first ball at SW19, opening against fourth-seed Alexander Zverev on Tuesday. In search of his third Top 20 win, Griekspoor is no stranger to the big stage, having claimed victories over Stan Wawrinka and Karen Khachanov at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Zhizhen Zhang (CHN)
Monday's last match on Court 11 is one to watch. For the first time in the Open Era, a Chinese man will play in the singles main draw at the Wimbledon Championships. Zhang is set to make his Grand Slam debut against fellow qualifier Antoine Hoang, in what will be a historic moment for Asian tennis.

A two-time ATP Challenger champion, in Jinan and Shenzhen in 2019, Zhang is mounting a charge up the FedEx ATP Rankings in his quest to surpass his career-high of No. 136. He reached his first semi-final since the COVID-19 shutdown at last month's tournament in Biella, Italy, and has performed well in his professional grass-court debut. Last week, he defeated third seed Andreas Seppi in Nottingham for his first Top 100 win on the surface.

The man known as 'ZZZ' was a dominant force in Wimbledon qualifying, dropping just one combined set in his three matches. It all culminated in a 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) win over Francisco Cerundolo to book his spot in the main draw.

On Monday, the Shanghai native will face Hoang for second time. Their first encounter came three years ago, in ATP Challenger qualifying in Francavilla al Mare, Italy. Hoang won in three sets. The winner will face either 15th-seed Alex de Minaur or #NextGenATP star Sebastian Korda in the second round.