Rafael Jódar Wins ATP Challenger Singles Title

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Virginia men’s tennis sophomore Rafael Jódar won the singles title at the ATP Challenger Lincoln, held at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Jódar defeated the tournament’s No. 8 seed, Martin Damm, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday (Oct. 19) to win his second career ATP Challenger singles title.

Jódar opened the tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 win against Cannon Kingsley and added a 6-4, 6-1 win against Max Wiskandt in the Round of 16. On Friday, he took down the tournament’s top seed, No. 112 Brandon Holt 6-0, 7-5 to advance to Saturday’s semifinal.

On Saturday, he topped No. 169 Patrick Kypson 6-3, 6-3 in the semis. Kypson was the four-seed in the draw.

Kypson and Holt were the third and fourth players ranked in the top-200 in the world that Jódar has defeated in the last month.

This was the seventh time Jódar has made an ATP Challenger semifinal and his ninth time in the quarterfinals. It was his second Challenger final. Jódar won his first career title on August 16 of this year at the Hersonissos Challenger in Crete.

Jódar is 33-11 in ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour matches this year. He was ranked No. 283 in last week’s ATP world rankings.

The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP Tour and ahead of the ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP Tour and ahead of the ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Lincoln is a 75-level ATP Challenger tournament.