MUNICH, April 7, 2021 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
M25 Biel SUI – Tim van Rijthoven crowned champion in Switzerland
The first edition of the ITF World Tennis Tour M25 Biel, held at the Swiss Tennis headquarters, concluded with the title win of Tim van Rijthoven.
The No. 8 seeded Dutch stopped the run of Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen, who was ranked World No. 6 as a junior, in the semi-finals in two sets.
Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic, who started the tournament on position five, defeated Swiss Davis-Cup competitor Sandro Ehrat in the stage of the final four in straight sets.
Rozendaal-born van Rijthoven capitalized on five of his 11 break-point chances without losing a service game in a one-sided title match, to prevail 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes. The 23-year-old lifted his eighth career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
Alexander Erler and Maximilian Neuchrist from Austria clinched the doubles-title, beating Swiss tandem Jakub Paul and Yannik Steinegger in the championship match 6-3, 4-6, 10-2.
Tournament director Damjan Mettler from Swiss Tennis said about the premiere of the tournament in Biel: “The level of tennis here was very high. We had the advantage, that a lot of good players were already competing in Switzerland at the Challenger tournament in Lugano, so some of them also entered our tournament. Many players and coaches praised the good organization of being almost at ATP level. Thanks to all volunteers that made this event possible.”
M15 Villa Maria ARG – Nicolas Kicker returns to winners’ circle
Nicolas Kicker clinched the the trophy of the M15 Villa Maria tournament, hosted by Sport Social Club Villa Maria in Cordoba.
The former World No. 78, who was banned from tennis due to match fixing offences for two years and eight months, battled past the tournament’s second favourite Hernan Casanova in the all-Argentinian semi-finals in straight sets.
Top seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli booked the spot in the all-Argentinian final with a three-set victory against his No. 7 seed Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kicker won 82 per cent of his first-service points and broke his opponent for two times without dropping a service game in the title match to secure a 6-3, 6-4 win after one hour and 43 minutes. The Merlo native, who started the tournament in the qualifying competition, celebrated his 11th singles title on the ITF World Tennis Tour in addition to his three ATP Challenger titles. He has won all of his titles on clay.
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M15 New Delhi IND – Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha seals home win
Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha triumphed at the M15 New Delhi tournament, held at the R K Khanna Tennis Stadium.
The 25-year-old Indian received a walkover in the semi-finals from Czech teenager Dalibor Svrcina, who was ranked World No. 8 as a junior.
Last week’s Pune-champion Oliver Crawford from the United States, who entered the tournament on position four, took the last step to the final by beating Irish No. 2 seed Simon Carr in straight sets.
Unseeded Kaliyanda Poonacha converted all of his three break-point chances and lost one service game in the championship match to prevail 6-3, 7-6 after about two hours. Following his maiden title win in Indonesia 2018, the Neyveli native lifted his second singles trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
M15 Monastir TUN – Aziz Dougaz wins on home soil
The Magic Hotel Tours tournament, hosted by Hotel Skanes Family in Monastir, concluded with the triumph of 24-year-old Aziz Dougaz from La Marsa.
The Tunisian top seed stopped the good run of Italian qualifier Luca Potenza in the semi-finals in straight sets.
No. 8 seed Franco Agamenone from Italy booked the spot in the final by beating Brazilian qualifier Igor Marcondes in two sets.
In the title match, left-handed Dougaz won 92 per cent of his first-service points to seal a 6-3, 6-4 victory after one hour and 22 minutes. The former college player for the Florida State University celebrated his sixth career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour, his fifth on Tunisian soil.
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M15 Sharm El Sheikh EGY – Petros Chrysochos dominates in Egypt
Petros Chrysochos emerged victorious at the M15 Sharm El Sheikh tournament, held at Soho Square, without losing a set the entire week.
The 24-year-old Cypriot eased past Italian No. 2 seed Alessandro Bega in the stage of the last four.
Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci continued his great run, defeating Ryan Nijboer from the Netherlands in the semi-finals in straight sets.
Larnaka-born Chrysochos won 85 per cent of his first-service points in the championship match to secure a 6-0, 6-2 win in 57 minutes. The No. 3 seed, who played college tennis for the Wake Forest University, lifted his ninth singles trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
M15 Antalya TUR – Seong-Chan Hong triumphs on clay
No. 8 seed Seong-Chan Hong from the Republic of Korea is the champion of the MTA Open Series, which was hosted by the Club Megasaray in Belek.
The former junior’s World No. 2 knocked off the tournament’s top favourite Benjamin Hassan from Germany in the stage of the final four in three sets.
Uzbek No. 7 seed Sanyar Fayziev made the last step to the final with a straight-set win against No. 5 seeded Pol Martin Tiffon from Spain.
Twenty-three-year-old Hong converted five of his 11 break-point chances in the title match by dropping one service game to claim a 6-1, 6-3 victory after one hour and 35 minutes. Following 10 singles trophies on hard court, the Gangwonto native celebrated his first title on clay court and his 11th career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
