ST. PETERSBURG, September 24, 2017
Damir Dzumhur clinched his maiden ATP World Tour with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback victory over third seed Fabio Fognini of Italy in Sunday’s final of the St. Petersburg Open.
The 25-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina won 54 per cent of the total points played and broke serve four times to prevail after one hour and 53 minutes.
“I was very nervous today, even though it was my second final. I was very nervous at the start,” said Dzumhur, who has become the first ATP champion of his country. “I couldn’t find my best rhythm, couldn’t find my best game. But the experience of playing one final already helped me a lot and in the end I won. In the end I found my game and played good. It was the best day of my life.”
After Peter Gojowczyk’s victory at the Moselle Open in Metz, Dzumhur is the seventh first-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season. The Sarajevon native has gone 15-3 in tour-level matches since 31 July in a career-best run that will see him move to around No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to break the Top 50.
Fognini had been bidding to win his second ATP World Tour of the season, following victory on clay in Gstaad in July. The 30-year-old Italian drops to a 5-9 record in finals, having also finished runner-up in the 2012 edition of the St. Petersburg Open.
Jebavy/Middelkoop Win Doubles Title
Earlier in the day, Roman Jebavy from the Czech Republic and Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop defeated Julio Peralta of Chile and Horacio Zeballos from Argentina 6-4, 6-4. The final lasted 62 minutes.
“Last Saturday, I played Davis Cup against Matwe and then Monday morning we flew here. We played our best and did really well. This is just a great tournament. I hope to be back next year,” said Jebavy, who clinched his second ATP World Tour title after lifting the Istanbul trophy with Czech countryman Jiri Vesely in May.
“We always wanted to play together but it was about finding the right moment. We first played in Gstaad a few months ago and then decided to play here and it was an excellent choice. We had great energy and I think that gave us this result,” Middelkoop said and added:
“My mom is Russian and my grandmother is Russian. I was raised Russian and I lived there for a year. I have a nice feeling playing here. St. Petersburg is my second city and to bring my grandmother to the middle of the centre court and see everyone cheering for her is an emotional moment.”
