Pro Circuit Recap: Mackenzie McDonald & Thai Kwiatkowski Win Singles Titles; Aron Hiltzik Wins His First Doubles Title; Abigail Tere-Apisah Rolling in Doubles; David O’Hare Wins Another Challenger Doubles Title

This past week was a good one for recent NCAA singles champions with the 2016 champ Mackenzie McDonald winning the $100K Fairfield Challenger while the 2017 champ Thai Kwiatkowski won the $25K Houston Futures. 

Prior to last week McDonald’s best performance at the Challenger-level was the semifinals but he plowed past that point with a straight set win over Australia’s Christopher O’Connell and then in the finals he defeated Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-2. McDonald earned a $14,400 payday plus he picked up 90 ATP ranking points which moved him up to a new career-high ranking of 164. 

Recent Virginia graduate Thai Kwiatkowski won his second career Futures singles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Sebastian Korda in the finals of the USA F33 Futures in Houston. Kwiatkowski won all five matches in straight sets which included a 6-3, 6-3 win over the top seed Austin Krajicek in the semifinals. Kwiatkowski picked up 27 ATP ranking points which should elevate him to a new career high next week of just inside 540.

Illinois senior Aron Hiltzik won his first career pro title when he teamed up with Illinois graduate Dennis Nevolo to win the doubles title at the USA F33 Futures in Houston. Hiltzik and Nevolo defeated the top seeded team of Austin Krajicek and Thai Kwiatkowski 7-6, 6-3 in the finals which capped off a week that saw the duo win eight of nine sets.  

Abigail Tere-Apisah advanced to her first career singles final at the ITF $25K in Cairns, Australia, before falling to the No. 2 seed Olivia Rogowaska 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. Tere-Apisah was as dominant as could be in her first four matches with the Georgia State graduate only dropping 12 games which include a 6-0, 6-0 win in the first round. Despite coming up short in the singles final, Tere-Apisah was able to win her fourth doubles title of the year with she and Naiktha Bains edging recent Florida graduate Belinda Woolcock and Vanderbilt senior Astra Sharma 4-6, 6-2, 10-6. Tere-Apisah, who now has a new career-high doubles ranking of 294, has made it to the doubles final in each of her last four tournaments with three of those resulting in a title. 

David O’Hare won his fifth doubles title of the year when he and Luke Bambridge defeated Pacific’s Akram El Sallaly and Bernardo Oliveira 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the $100K Fairfield (CA) Challenger. O’Hare and Bambridge, who split the $6200 winner’s purse, were pushed in each of their first three matches with all three going to a third set supertiebreak. O’Hare’s current doubles ranking is 121 which is just four spot off his career high of 117 which he achieved in April. 

Below is a list of last weekend’s winners and runner-ups on the pro circuit.