DJERBA, May 7, 2018

Andres Artunedo Martinavarro of Spain is the champion of last week’s $15,000 Djerba Open, the 17th ITF Pro Circuit men’s event held on Tunisian soil this season. The top seed battled past third favourite Maxime Tchoutakian of France 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Sunday’s final at the Jerba Sun Club.

Artunedo Marinavarro struck seven aces, winning 73 per cent of his first service points. The 24-year-old broke his opponent five times to prevail after two hours and 14 minutes.

“It was a very tough match. I think that Maxime played very well at the beginning of the match,” Artunedo Martinavarro told. “It was very hard for me but I tried to stay calm and confindet. Little by little I started to play better and eventually won the match.”

By lifting his 11th ITF Pro Circuit trophy, his second of the season, the Spaniard takes away $1,944 in prize money as well as 18 ATP Ranking points.

Saraiva/Verbeek go back-to-back

Bernardo Saraiva and Sem Verbeek (photo: Manaa Mohamed Aziz)

On Saturday, Bernardo Saraiva of Portugal and Sem Verbeek from the Netherlands claimed the doubles title. The top seeds defeated Ignacio Carou of Argentina and Diego Hidalgo from Ecuador 7-5, 6-3. The final lasted one hour and 21 minutes.

“We are very happy to win this tournament. Winning two times in a row was our goal,” the champions were pleased.

“There were huge moments, where the match was tricky but we were able to bounce back and stay stronger together.”