San Diego’s Svajda clinches second straight crown at Tiburon Challenger

Defending Tiburon Challenger singles champion Zach Svajda of San Diego defeated Australian Adam Walton in two sets on Oct. 8 at the Tiburon Peninsula Club to claim the title for the second consecutive year. (Frank Fennema photo / For The Ark)

Editor’s note — This photo won first place for best sports photography and this article won third place for best sports coverage in the National Newspaper Association’s 2024 Better Newspapers Contest.

Winning in Tiburon was so nice, Zach Svajda had to do it twice.

The 20-year-old from San Diego emerged victorious in the Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club, winning the final Oct. 8 by defeating Australian Adam Walton in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Losing just one set on his way to the crown, Svajda also became the tournament’s first back-to-back winner, as well as the first to win the Tiburon Challenger multiple times.

“I knew I could do this, but I just try not to think too much ahead,” he said post-match. “So I just try to take it point by point, day by day.”

Meanwhile, in the doubles tournament, the second-seeded Briton Luke Johnson and Tunisian Skander Mansouri defeated American William Blumberg and Luis David Martinez of Venezuela Oct. 7 in two sets, 6-2, 6-3 to claim that championship.

The two matches were the culmination of the weeklong tournament played Oct. 1-8. The Tiburon Challenger is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour, one level below the association’s World Tour. Players in the Challenger Tour are trying to earn enough points to become eligible for the World Tour and Grand Slam tournaments, which include the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

This wasn’t the first time the singles finalists faced each other this year. Walton defeated Svajda 6-2, 6-2 in the first round at the Golden Gate Open held in August at Stanford University.

“In that day, and the Golden Gate Open, there was a little bit more missing from Zach in some of the bigger spots,” said Mike Cation, the broadcaster for the Tiburon Challenger who is also the voice for the U.S. Tennis Association’s Pro Circuit Challenger tournaments.

“Whereas I think today he was pretty much on point,” Cation said about Svajda’s win.

Cation attributed Svajda’s play throughout the week to the Tiburon Peninsula Club’s court conditions. He said the courts don’t have as much bounce, which mean the balls stay low.

Courts like these are where Svajda is “absolutely at his best,” Cation said. “And he can just do it all day.”

As the tournament’s No. 3 seed, Svajda’s journey back to the Tiburon Challenger’s final went through fellow American Christian Harrison in the round of 32, compatriot Steve Johnson in the round of 16 and Nishesh Basavareddy of the U.S. in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Svajda defeated Canadian Alexis Galarneau 6-4, 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s semifinal.

“Towards the middle to end, I started to find my game really well,” Svajda said. “The first couple matches were a little iffy, but I played well. But it always takes me a match or two to get going.”

Walton also came into the finals match playing well.

A former NCAA doubles champion in 2021 at the University of Tennessee, Walton’s route to the final began with a victory over No. 6-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada in the round of 32; Pospisil was once ranked No. 25 in the world and won men’s doubles at Wimbledon in 2014.

Walton beat American Learner Tien in the round of 16, and he followed that up with a victory over fellow Australian Bernard Tonic.

In the semi-final, Walton emerged victorious over compatriot and doubles partner Tristan Schoolkate 6-4, 7-5. Walton’s second set included an impressive comeback: Down 5-2, Walton won five straight sets to earn his ticket into the final.

“I got to the final without dropping a set, so that means I was obviously playing some pretty good tennis,” Walton said after the final. “To escape that 5-2 set yesterday with Tristan was obviously very good. You know, it just wasn’t to be today. Life goes on, and onto the next.”

Svajda took control of the opening set that began with the finalists trading games with each other, tied at 2-2 following four games.

Svajda comfortably took the first game, but Walton delivered an ace in the second game that would help level the set at one. The third game began with a remarkable rally, with Svajda emerged on top and setting the tone for the rest of the game that led to a 2-1 lead for the American. The Australian followed by leveling it 2-2 as Svajda’s strokes backfired — some went out, others hit the net.

But it was following that fourth game that Svajda was able to take control of the remainder of the set. An ace of Svajda’s own in the fifth game brought the score at 30-30; while Walton took a 40-30 lead in the next set, Svajda scored three straight points to take a 3-2 lead. He scored a break point the following game to bring the set to 4-2. Following that, Svajda served well and stroked balls that landed out of reach for Walton. That shut out the Australian in game seven, with Svajda serving an ace in the process to take a 5-2 lead. While Walton was able to take a lead in game eight 40-30, Svajda maintained composure by breaking two deuces in his favor to win the game — and the set — 6-2.

The second set began strongly for Svajda, winning the set’s first three games. He finished off the first game with an ace, won the first break point available in game two and climbed back from a 40-30 lead by Walton to score three straight points: one to reach deuce, one to gain advantage and the game-winner.

The fourth game in set two was one of the best games of the match. Svajda was able to take an early 40-0 lead, thanks to misplaced stokes from Walton.

But Svajda had misfortunes on the court, unable to capitalize on three straight break points: A stroke that was a little too strong, a hit net and two balls that ended up out of play gave Walton the chance to both level the score and gain advantage.

Svajda brought it back to 40-40 with a silky stroke that had the crowd in awe. Svajda got the advantage when Walton double faulted, but the Australian won three straight points to win the game off an unhittable stroke Svajda could not get to a lengthy rally that saw Svajda’s stroke cause the ball to land just out of bounds and a good answer after a soft Svajda stroke that led to the American hitting the net. Walton was on the board for that set, 3-1.

That was the first game Walton won in the set, as Svajda had taken the last seven games: four to end set one and three to start set two.

“Adam definitely played much better in the second set,” Svajda said after receiving his trophy post-match. “I had some break points and some big leads, and he won the game, so I try to stay positive and just keep playing my game. And I pulled through it, but he definitely played much better.”

Walton kept it close in the fifth game, with Svajda again losing a 40-0 lead that brought the game to 40-40, including through some work close to the net that countered Svajda’s baseline work. But Svajda won the next two points, and the game, thanks to an out ball and a hit net from Walton.

It was another game that could have gone either way — eight of 16 games saw the finalists deuce at 40-40, with Walton winning three and Svajda taking five. Cation attributed Svajda’s success to his tranquil approach.

“If you just look at the score and didn’t watch the match, it’s a blowout,” Cation said of the match score. It wasn’t.

Svajda’s had a quicker game six, with Walton’s misplaced strokes taking away from a 15-0 start by the Australian, and a double fault led to a 5-1 lead for Svajda.

Walton stayed alive for another game because of Svajda’s suboptimal strokes and a double fault. That gave the Australian a break point to keep himself in the final at 5-2.

The Brisbane-born Walton continued the momentum in the next game of the set, starting off strong with a 40-15 lead. Svajda, however, was able to work back to a deuce to keep it level.

Walton benefitted from a Svajda stroke that led to the ball going out of bounds to get an advantage, but Svajda answered again to get to 40-40. Svajda couldn’t get to advantage because of a misfired stroke on the racquet, but the American offered a slice that returned the game to deuce.

Eventually, Svajda was able to get that advantage and after a rally that led to a ball that Walton could not hit, Svajda won the game, the set and the match.

“I’ll celebrate a bit and just try to keep it going and try to keep my streak going,” Svajda said.

Johnson and Mansouri take doubles crown

In the doubles final, Johnson and Mansouri needed just over an hour’s worth of work to defeat their No. 1-seeded rivals.

The first set began with both pairs trading off the first four games. Johnson and Mansouri won the first game without giving up a point, but Blumberg and Martinez won the second game in the same fashion.

But Johnson and Mansouri pulled ahead in the fifth game, with two aces giving them the victory. A double fault from their opponents helped them claim game four, and a game five win without giving up a point paved the way for the two to win the set on a break point.

The two pairs traded off the first four games again at the start of the second set: Johnson and Mansouri won the first, Blumberg and Martinez took the second, with that pattern repeating for games three and four.

Johnson and Mansouri began the fifth game of the second set with an ace, as they won that one without dropping a point. While game six did see the two give up a 40-0 lead, they were able to take a 4-2 lead heading into the set’s seventh game.

Blumberg and Martinez brought it back within one to make the score 4-3 and began the following game strongly, with an ace to make it 40-0. But Johnson and Mansouri fought back to take the eighth game and make it 5-3. They closed out the match, winning the title thanks to an ace.

Reach Tiburon reporter Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634. Support local journalism and SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery and access to the digital replica.