OEIRAS/STARNBERG, May 18, 2024
Portuguese youngster Jaime Faria continued his fine run of form this year and capped a dream week on home soil by winning his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 20-year-old lifted the trophy of the Oeiras Open 4 held at the Centro De Ténis Do Jamor.
Faria, who entered the main draw of the €74,825 clay-court tournament with a wild card, outlasted Elias Ymer of Sweden 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in Saturday’s final. Earlier in the week, Faria beat No. 8 seed Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan, Brazilian Gustavo Heide, Dennis Novak of Austria and sixth-seeded Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga en route to the championship match.
The World No. 233 from Lisbon came back from being 4-1 down in the final set, broke Ymer’s serve five times and won one point more than his opponent to secure victory in two hours and 37 minutes.
Delighting the home crowd 👏 🇵🇹
20-year-old Jaime Faria claims his maiden Challenger title, battling past Elias Ymer 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in Oeiras!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/wOvWaNrKE6
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 18, 2024
“I am very happy. It was an unbelievable week. I felt like I had many lives throughout the tournament,” Faria said.
“Four weeks ago, I felt bitter and like I had disappointed everyone, especially myself, when I lost in the semifinal, also on a Saturday. But I wanted to come out on top and I did. I learned to manage different emotions, and it is very gratifying to win here at home, on this very special court, which is the most iconic in Portuguese tennis. It’s unbelievable,” added Faria, who became the 12th Portuguese player in history to win an ATP Challenger Tour singles tournament.
Following four consecutive title wins on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Portugal this year, Faria clinched his maiden Challenger crown. He earned €10,200 in prize money as well as 75 ATP Ranking points.
