Norwegian ace Budkov Kjaer takes home first Challenger title at Lexus Glasgow Challenger
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18-year-old Nikolai Budkov Kjaer, the 2024 Wimbledon boys’ singles champion and former junior world number one, won his first ATP Challenger title at the Lexus Glasgow Challenger, overcoming Viktor Durasevic in an all-Norwegian singles final.
Meanwhile, Joshua Paris ensured some British silverware in the men’s doubles alongside Israel’s Daniel Cukierman at Scotstoun Community Indoor Tennis Centre.
Kjaer enjoyed a strong run to the men’s singles final in Glasgow, battling to three-set wins over sixth seed Hugo Grenier in round one and fourth seed Liam Draxl in the quarter-finals.
His final opponent Viktor Durasevic had already won one title on British soil this year, winning the Lexus Nottingham Challenger in January, but after a week which saw all of his matches go to three sets, the final proved one match too far for the 27-year-old. Budkov Kjaer dominated the serve, not facing a break point all match, and eased to a 6-4, 6-3 win.
After his victory, Budkov Kjaer said, “I’m very happy to win. It was great to play a friend in the final – but we tried not to jinx things so didn’t speak too much about the possibility of this final during the week. I’m just trying to improve every day and looking forward to seeing how far I can go this year.”
In the doubles, the top two seeds, each including a Brit, faced off in the final, with No.1 pair Marcus Willis and American Vasil Kirkov against No.2 seeds Paris and his partner Cukierman of Israel.
After saving a championship point in the match tie-break, a mini break allowed Paris to serve for the title, taking the opportunity at the first attempt to clinch the match 5-7, 6-4, 12-10.
Paris spoke of winning on home soil, saying, “It feels great to finally be at home, and to win here. We players spend so many weeks away, so I’m so pleased to win a title at home. Thank you to the organisers, ball kids and the crowd – it was a great week in Glasgow”, with Cukierman adding, “Thank you to Josh, it’s our second week in a row in a final and it’s great to win. We have great fun playing together and I hope we can keep it going. It’s my second time playing here in Glasgow and I really love it.”
Mike Cohen, Head of Competitions & Events at Tennis Scotland, said: “This week’s Lexus Glasgow Challenger has been a great success, with some top-class tennis on show and big crowds every day to support the players. It’s always nice to see the next generation of players breaking through, who someday we hope to see on the main tour. Thank you to all the officials and volunteers who supported the event.”
