DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Playing in Barcelona, Spain, 23-year old Dominican right hand tennis player Nick Hardt did the unthinkable on Sunday, 7 April 2024, and defeated the favorite Bernabé Zapata Miralles to win the Emilio Sanchez-Casal-Mapfre Cup 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The tournament took place at the Emilio Sanchez Tennis Academy.

The outcome of the final match favored the underdog from the Dominican Republic who was ranked 301st into the match compared to Zapata of Spain’s 142nd ranking. The win lifted Hardt to be ranked 229th in the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) ranking.

Hardt became only the second Dominican to win an ATP Challenger Cup. Previously, the Dominican Republic’s best tennis player of all times, Victor Estrella had won a Challenger.

The 5th edition of the ATP Challenger Tour was organized by the Fundación Emilio Sánchez Vicario with the backing of the Real Federación Española de...