STARNBERG, November 22, 2020
Andrej Martin of Slovakia and Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina are the finalists at the 16th edition of the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil COPA BANCO GUAYAQUIL presentado por CNT held on clay at the Anexo Guayaquil Tenis Club in Ecuador.
Cerundolo upset No. 2 seed Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain, 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday’s semi-finals. The World No. 198 from Buenos Aires capitalized on six of his 14 break point chances to advance in one hour and 14 minutes.
Highlights match @FranCerundolo vs @carballesbaena Impecable actuación del argentino de 22 años #ChallengerdeGuayaquil Copa @BancoGuayaquil presentado por @CNT_EC @AndresGomezGogo @LAMorejon pic.twitter.com/cA5hDuJqbU
— Challenger de Guayaquil (@challengye05) November 22, 2020
“It was a flawless match from the start to the finish. I was able to impose my game and dictated the rallies with my forehand, which was the key to success,” said Cerundolo, who is coached by his compatriot Walter Grinovero and lifted his first and so far only trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour at the inaugural Split Open in Croatia in early October.
“The matches here helped me a lot to continue believing in myself (he defeated Jaume Munar in the quarterfinals). It helped me mentally to keep improving and to know that if I play well, I can beat anyone.”
Later in the evening and under the lights on Court 10, Martin snapped a five-match winning streak of Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong thanks to a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory in the stage of the final four. The No. 3 seed broke serve five times and won two points more than his 20-year-old opponent to prevail after two hours and 17 minutes.
Cerundolo and Martin will meet for the first time. The 31-year-old Bratislava native vies for his 13th Challenger title, his first since 2019 Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Highlights match del duelo europeo de semifinal @AndrejMartinSVK vs Jesper De Jong #ChallengerdeGuayaquil Copa @BancoGuayaquil presentado por @CNT_EC @AndresGomezGogo @LAMorejon pic.twitter.com/OLUXg4SjW4
— Challenger de Guayaquil (@challengye05) November 22, 2020
Top seeded South Americans take doubles title
In other action, Luiz David Martinez from Venezuela and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves of Brazil captured the doubles title. The top seeds fought past the all-Spanish combination of Sergio Martos Gomes and Jaume Munar 6-0, 4-6, 10-3. The encounter lasted one hour and 10 minutes.
David Martinez and Rodrigues Alves split $3,100 in prize money and earn 80 ATP Ranking points.
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
