MEDELLÍN/STARNBERG, July 2, 2023
Patrick Kypson from the United States has captured his first title on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 23-year-old North Carolina native won the inaugural Jumbo Open Rionegro held at the Club Campestre Llanogrande in Medellín, Colombia.
Kypson defeated Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe 6-3, 6-3 in Saturday’s singles final. The No. 7 seed of the $40,000 clay-court event battled his way to the championship match with wins in the bottom half of the draw over Matias Franco Descotte of Argentina, Chileans Gonzalo Lama and Mathias Soto as well as Eduardo Ribeiro from Brazil.
Kypson fired seven aces and won 74 per cent of his first-service points in the title match to seal victory in one hour and 22 minutes.
The moment Patrick Kypson clinched his maiden Challenger title!#ATPChallenger | @usta pic.twitter.com/zbZYmOUDCq
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 1, 2023
“He is a very tough player and we played in the same conditions as all week. It’s tough to return serves, it’s tough to get into the points because of the altitude here. It’s all about playing smart and managing things. I think that I did a pretty good job overall,” said Kypson.
Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central region of the Andes Mountains at about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level.
“I like South America, I like the clay a lot and enjoy playing here. Sometimes it’s more physically struggling than mentally. I need to improve that. Both aspects but some good steps into the right direction the last couple of months. We are going to keep working on that, as that’s what I need to progress the level,” the World No. 330 said.
Following three triumphs on the ITF World Tennis Tour, Kypson lifted his maiden trophy at Challenger level and earned $5,500 in prize money as well as 50 ATP Ranking points.
