GLASGOW/STARNBERG, February 19, 2024
Clement Chidekh of France captured his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour by winning the Lexus Glasgow Trophy held at the Scotstoun Community Indoor Tennis Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. The 22-year-old Frenchman rallied from a set down to outlast Briton Paul Jubb 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in Sunday’s singles final.
Chidekh battled his way to the championship match with four wins in the top half of the draw of the ATP Challenger Tour 50 hard-court tournament. He beat Kacper Zuk from Poland, Spaniard Carlos Taberner, home favourite Hamish Stewart and his fourth-seeded compatriot Manuel Guinard.
Chidekh withstood seven aces and broke Jubb’s serve five times to secure victory in one hour and 53 minutes.
AGAINST ALL ODDS 🤯🙌
22-year-old Clement Chidekh stages a remarkable 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback over Jubb to clinch his maiden Challenger title in Glasgow!#ATPChallenger | @FFTennis pic.twitter.com/fGkn75mEsz
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 18, 2024
“It’s my first Challenger win so it’s great, a milestone I wanted to meet,” said Chidekh. “My main goal has been to stay healthy and play as much as I can and keep improving, so it’s just great to win here. I’ve been playing a lot in England, but this was my first time in Scotland and I loved it. Every day I’ve been saying to my coach it’s a great tournament, great place, great people, so we have to do our best to stay one more day.
“The result is over my expectation but I been working hard recently. I started the year with not a lot of wins, but the work has paid off this week, I’m really happy.”
The World No. 563 pocketed €5,080 in prize money as well as 50 ATP Ranking points. Chidekh also seemed to enjoy his stay in Scotland
“I loved the bagpies at the end of the match. I’ve always been intrigued by the culture here and that was a nice moment for me, I couldn’t stop smiling. It’s nice that the tournament brings its own culture.”
