The men’s 2026–27 season got underway at the Racquet and Tennis Club of New York with the $5,000 R&TC Challenger, the opening event of this season’s cache_seven Challenger Tour.
Canadian duo George Crowne and Dylan Deverill emerged as the first men’s champions of the new season, putting together an impressive run that included a straight-games victory over top seeds Carl Baglio and Tristan Eysele.
Waiting for them in the final were wild cards Nathan Lake and TJ Dembinski, two newcomers who made an immediate impression in their first event. Lake and Dembinski came through three rounds of play to reach the final, beginning with an upset of second seeds Henry Parkhurst and Cesar Segundo Corona in four games.
Their semifinal proved an even tougher test as they faced Dana Santry and JP Tew in a highly competitive five-game battle. Lake and Dembinski eventually came through 3–2 to continue an impressive debut run and earn their place in the final.
Despite falling short of the final themselves, Santry and Tew also made a strong early impression and will be two players to watch as the Challenger season develops.
The final was one-sided through the opening two games, with Crowne and Deverill controlling the play while Lake and Dembinski struggled to impose themselves. The wild cards were too passive early on, allowing the more experienced Canadian pairing to dictate the pace and build a commanding lead.
That changed in the third. Lake and Dembinski began attacking with greater intent and putting more pressure on their opponents, giving the crowd its first glimpse of the form that had carried them through the earlier rounds.
The improvement continued into an entertaining fourth game, with the New York crowd getting behind the newcomers as the match became increasingly competitive. Ultimately, however, Crowne and Deverill’s experience proved decisive, with the Canadians regaining control to close out the match and claim the first men’s title of the 2026–27 season.
As the opening stop on the cache_seven Challenger Tour, the weekend also offered an early look at some of the players hoping to make their mark this season. With Lake, Dembinski, Santry and Tew all producing strong performances in New York, the first event highlighted the emerging depth within the men’s Challenger field.