Monday, May 06, 2019

Weekend Tennis Roundup (05/06)


Cristian Garin secured the BMW Open title after defeating Matteo Berrettini in Munich Sunday. The cute Chilean won 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1) to pick up his second title after his maiden ATP crown in Houston last month. 


Oh, I'm sure all right!

 Berrettini was unable to replicate his title-winning performance in Budapest last week but he is projected to reach a career best world ranking on Monday. "I'm kind of sad because I lost, but I did my best. I did everything [I could] and I left everything on the court," he said. "I did two matches in a row and I was feeling really good with my body so I'm really proud of myself for that because I worked a lot in the preseason and these are the results."


Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 7-6(4) Sunday to win the Estoril Open in Portugal. The top seed secured his first clay-court title with victory over the Uruguayan in one hour and 43 minutes. 


In the company of men ...


Greeks active ...


The Greek City Times reports that Maria Sakkari became the first Greek woman since 2008 to win a WTA title, as she came from behind to defeat Britain’s Johanna Konta 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final of Rabat. Eleni Daniilidou was the only other Greek woman to win a WTA title, as she won five WTA tournaments between 2002 and 2008. (Two other Greek women had reached finals in their careers but failed to win them, including Sakkari’s mother Angeliki Kanellopoulou, as well as Christina Papadaki.)


Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann outlasted home favorite Karolina Muchova in just under three hours to clinch her first WTA title at the Prague Open, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 . The 21-year-old became the first qualifier to win the title in Prague, and is the 20th different WTA winner in 21 events this season.

And from the satellite circuit ...


It's not often that a player reaches a Grand Slam semifinal and follows that with an ATP Challenger Tour appearance just months later. But such was the case for World No. 32 Lucas Pouille this week in Bordeaux. Pouille advanced to the semis at the Australian Open in January, but a subsequent six-match losing streak had him seeking confidence and momentum entering the ATP Masters 1000 stops in Madrid and Rome.


The Frenchman would rediscover his game, blasting to the title in front of the home faithful in Bordeaux. The allure of competing in front of the French fans at his country's oldest tennis club -- the 122-year-old Villa Primrose -- was too strong and Pouille would eventually take the title 6-3, 6-3 over Mikael Ymer on Sunday. He'll need the boost in confidence as he now faces Borna Coric in the first round of Madrid.


His win marks the fourth time in just two years that a player inside the Top 40 of the ATP rankings has lifted a Challenger trophy. Richard Gasquet (Szczecin 2017), Nishikori (Dallas 2018), Kyle Edmund (Indian Wells 2019) and Pouille have all descended to the Challenger level in search of match wins.

(With wire services)

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