ORTISEI, November 17, 2019
Jannik Sinner is the champion of the 10th edition of the Sparkasse Challenger Val Gardena Südtirol. In front of a sold-out crowd of 500 at the Tennis Club Ortisei, the No. 2 seed from Italy defeated Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday’s singles title match.
The final started with a short delay due to power failure at the Tennis Club Ortisei. The whole Val Gardena area had to deal with snow masses over the last couple of days.
Final day at @tennisortisei ❄ pic.twitter.com/kMwhPcdXRq
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) November 17, 2019
The players, however, stayed calm and Sinner was off to a good start and capitalized on his first break point opportunities to gain an early 3-2 lead. Following another break of Ofner’s serve, the 18-year-old claimed the opening set after 26 minutes.
During the changeover, Ofner took a nine-minute medical time-out to receive treatment at his calf. Sinner took the momentum into the second set and broke the Austrian in the first game, but Ofner wasn’t done yet and got back on serve in the following. In the end, the local hero proved to be the better player and gained the decisive break in the ninth game and from then on, Sinner didn’t look back and closed the match out with his sixth ace after 66 minutes.
Sealing his home win at @tennisortisei with an ace. @janniksin takes his third @ATPChallenger 👑 What a season for the teenager. pic.twitter.com/DDvPIFF3ba
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) November 17, 2019
The San Candido native followed the footsteps of fellow South Tyrolean Andreas Seppi, who clinched the title here in 2013 and 2014. Sinner experienced an outstanding journey this season, won his first two ATP Challenger events on home soil in Bergamo and at Lexington in the United States earlier this season, crowned by the triumph at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last week.
“Everything went quickly,” Sinner said during the on-court trophy ceremony. “Not that long time ago, I sat in the stands and watched the matches of Andreas. Winning the title here is a super feeling. To finish the season in front of this great crowd is fantastic. Friends and family are here. It was an fantastic atmosphere and the organization was great.”
The teenager added with a smile: “I think, I did pretty well this year and deserved a bit of rest now in order to be ready for the next year.” Sinner pocketed €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points with a new career-high ranking of World No. 73.
Ofner with positive week
Ofner, who was also seeking his third ATP Challenger title, could also take some positives from the week in Ortisei. “It wasn’t a bad final at all,” the runner-up told Tennis TourTalk.
“Jannik is a great player and it’s difficult to play against him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t deliver my best tennis today but I can be pleased with the entire week here. I hope to keep it up for the next season.”
