TURIN/STARNBERG, May 19, 2024

Francesco Passaro has clinched the title of the second edition of the Piemonte Open Intesa Sanpaolo in Turin. The 23-year-old wild card entry emerged victorious from the all-Italian singles final with Lorenzo Musetti, top seed of the ATP Challenger Tour 175 clay-court event, winning 6-3, 7-5.

Passaro struck five aces and won 69 per cent of his first-service points to seal victory in one hour and 38 minutes.

🙅‍♂️

The moment Francesco Passaro denied No.1 seed Musetti to take home the Turin trophy#ATPChallenger | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/biJQaRBS3U

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 19, 2024

“One word to describe my week? Incredible,” Passaro said in the press conference. “I have never expected to win. I am truly happy to have found my tennis again and with the attitude I’ve had in the last two weeks in Rome and Turin, where I played many matches.

“Today my plan was very clear: try to play aggressive tennis to dominate the rallies. Lorenzo defends very well, reaches every ball, and is very good at breaking the rhythm with variations. I knew I had to try to make an impact with my first shots to put him under pressure. I’m happy I quickly regained control in the second set after a slight lapse in concentration at the beginning.”

Thanks to his success at the Piemonte Open, and the points from the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, where he reached the third round, Passaro will climb over 100 positions in the ATP rankings to around World No. 130, not far from his career-high of 108.

The Perugia native celebrated his second career title on the ATP Challenger Tour following his maiden triumph on home soil in Trieste two years ago. He earned €30,330 in prize money as well as 175 ATP Ranking points.

SUNDAY RESULTS

Singles – Final
Francesco Passaro (Ita) b. Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) 6-3 7-5

Doubles Final
 Heliovaara/Patten (Fin/Gbr) b. Mies/Skupski (Ger/Gbr) 6-3 6-3