Raphael Collignon Returns in Bordeaux After One-Month Absence
Raphael Collignon returned to competition at the Challenger de Bordeaux after a month away, and the Belgian was back on clay for his second tournament of the season. That return comes after he skipped Madrid and Rome with a small wrist problem, leaving Bordeaux as the first stop in his latest build-up to Roland-Garros.
Bordeaux Brings Collignon Back
The Belgian’s first match back was set against Alexander Shevchenko in the second round in Bordeaux, a tournament endowed with 272.272 euros. Shevchenko reached that stage after eliminating Hugo Gaston in the opening round.
That match pairs Collignon with an opponent ranked ATP 85, while Gaston was ATP 118 when he lost. For Collignon, the immediate task is simple: get through a second-round test against a player who already has one match on the Bordeaux courts.
Wrist Problem Interrupted Madrid And Rome
Collignon had not played either of the two clay Masters that followed his April title defense in Monza. He successfully defended the Challenger 125 of Monza before the wrist issue forced him out of Madrid and Rome.
The reason he gave for the withdrawal was a “petit problème au poignet.” That detail explains why Bordeaux counts as a return rather than a routine entry, and why this clay stretch has been compressed into a short run of matches instead of a longer spring campaign.
Munich Still Stays On Table
After Bordeaux, Collignon could still enter the ATP 500 in Munich before the Roland-Garros main draw, and he was already in the qualifying draw there. Bordeaux is therefore only part of a narrower window: play again now, build matches on clay, and keep the Munich option open before Paris.
Sander Gillé was the other Belgian name in Bordeaux, entered in the doubles draw with Sem Verbeek against Théo Arribagé and John Peers in the first round. Collignon’s return is the bigger Belgian storyline, though, because a month off and two missed Masters leave every match in this stretch carrying more weight than usual.
