YOKKAICHI/STARNBERG, December 4, 2023
Zizou Bergs from Belgium claimed the title of the third edition of the Yokkaichi Challenger 2023. The No. 4 seed of the $130,000 ATP Challenger Tour hard-court tournament held at the Yokkaichi Tennis Center in Japan defeated third-seeded US-American Michael Mmoh 6-2, 7-6(2) in Sunday’s singles final.
Bergs battled his way to the championship match through the top half of the draw with wins over Altug Celikbilek of Turkey, home favourites Kaichi Uchida and James Trotter as well as fifth seed Marc Polmans of Australia.
The World No. 153 withstood six aces and broke Mmoh’s serve four times to prevail after two hours and three minutes.
ベルグス選手 スピーチ（前半）#四日市チャレンジャー pic.twitter.com/xEeS6WZldE
— Riku_Rina (@ota726leo) December 3, 2023
“It’s only my second time in Japan and I really love being here. I really like the food and it’s great to meet many nice people. Their respect and warmth is something incredible and something they can be proud of. And they love tennis. That’s great for us,” Bergs said during the on-court ceremony.
By winning his seventh ATP Challenger Tour career title, his third of the season following his triumphs in Tallahasse, United States and Drummondville, Canada, the 24-year-old earned $17,650 in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points.
