‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, June 18, 2017
Gilles Muller defeated Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6 for his second ATP World Tour singles title in Sunday’s final of the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
In a match without any break points, the fourth seed from Luxembourg fired 22 aces, winning 94 per cent of his first service points to prevail after one hour and 32 minutes.
👌🏻| Hij doet het in stijl! #Muller🇱🇺 serveert de partij uit met een ace! #RicohOpen pic.twitter.com/M2iQcqt6z6
— Ricoh Open🎾 (@RicohOpen) 18. Juni 2017
The final between 38-year-old Karlovic and 34-year-old Muller was the oldest ATP World Tour final since Hong Kong in 1977, when 42-year-old Ken Rosewall defeated 30-year-old Ilie Nastase.
“I think we should make a suggestion to the ATP that we just start with the tie-break next time! It’s always tough to play Ivo and I’m glad I could beat him. I had many friends and a lot of family coming, so it’s been a great week here,” told Muller, who is one of two players to reach a final on all three surfaces this year, joining Stuttgart winner Lucas Pouille.
Karlovic was appearing in his first ATP World Tour singles final since winning this past August in Los Cabos. The third seed said afterwards:
“It’s been an excellent week. I’m really happy. Gilles had an unbelievable week and it’s nice he could win on Father’s Day!”
Kubot/Melo Clinch Doubles Title
On Saturday, top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo defeated second favourites Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram in the doubles final 6-3, 6-4.
Kubot and Melo have three ATP World Tour doubles titles in 2017 after also winning Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Miami.
“We’ve had a really good year. It’s another title for us, so we’re very happy with the way we’re playing. It’s a little bit more pressure as the top seeds, but as you could see at Roland Garros, the top two seeds lost in the first round. Everybody is playing good now,” told Kubot.
Klaasen and Ram drop to 2-1 in ATP World Tour doubles finals this year after prevailing in Delray Beach and Indian Wells.
