ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour Round-Up CW 22

Jules Okala

MUNICH, May 5, 2019 (by Dietmar Kaspar)

M25 Bacau ROU – Jules Okala celebrates another title on clay

Jules Okala is the champion of the Trofeul Municipiului Bacau 2019, which was held at Sport Club Municipal Bacau.

The top half of the draw was dominated by the 21-year-old French without losing a set. In the semi-finals, he knocked off top seeded Juan Pablo Varillas from Peru.

Unseeded Manuel Pena Lopez from Argentina took the last step to the final in beating Dragos Nicolae Madaras from Sweden in a tough three-set battle.

Breaking his contemporary opponent for eight times by dropping seven service games in the title match, No. 8 seeded Okala secured a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory after two hours and 33 minutes. The French clay-court specialist lifted his fourth trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

During the ceremony, Okala paid tribute to Pena Lopez: „I will send congratulations to Manuel, because it was the toughest match of my tournament“.

He also praised the organizers and his coach: „I feel really good here, everybody is so nice here, so that’s why i came back. Thanks to my new coach. We worked really hard, that’s why i won today because of him and our hard work.

The doubles competition was dominated by the tandem Juan Pablo Varillas from Peru and Alejandro Tabilo from Chile without dropping a set during the competition. In the title match, they defeated singles runner-up Manuel Pena Lopez with his partner Alexander Merino from Peru by two tiebreak-sets.

M25 Kiseljak BIH – In-form Francisco Cerundolo captures his fourth season title

ITF entry Francisco Cerundolo got the trophy of the Kiseljak Open 2019, hosted at TC Ecliptic.

The 20-year-old Argentinian rallied past unseeded Martins Podzus from Latvia in the stage of final four in straight sets.

Final-opponent Christopher O’Connell from Australia, who entered the tournament on position 7, defeated Argentine No. 3 seed Gonzalo Villanueva in the semi-finals in three sets.

Outpointing his 25-year-old rival with 85-80, Buenos Aires native Cerundolo got the final win with 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 after one hour and 36 minutes to celebrate his sixth career trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

M25 Most CZE – Clay-court specialist Maxime Chazal clinches his second title of the season

Maxime Chazal prevailed at the Most Open 2019, which was held at TK Most, to lift his 11th clay-court trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour. 

En route to the final, the 26-year-old New Caledonian, who is representing France, defeated top seeded Czech Vaclav Safranek in the stage of the final eight, followed by the win against German No. 3 seed Julian Lenz in a tough three-set battle.

28-year-old Jan Satral from the Czech Republic took the last step to title match in beating Colin Sinclair from Northern Mariana Islands in three sets.

Lasting three hours and 30 minutes, Chazal made five points more than his No. 2 seeded rival by the score of 128-123, to clinch an epic 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory. 

M25 Gyula HUN – Evgenij Tiurnev gets his first title of the season 

The Gyula Open 2019, held at Tenisz Szabadido Sport Klub Gyula, concluded with Evgenij Tjurnev, winning the title.

On the way to the final, the 22-year-old Russian knocked off No.5 seeded Danylo Kalenichenko from Ukraine in the semi-finals in a three-set encounter.

No. 2 seeded Markus Eriksson from Sweden battled past Italian No. 3 seed Fabrizio Ornago in the stage of the final four in two clear sets.

Breaking his 29-year old rival for three times without dropping a service game, Tiurnev earned the final win with 6-3, 6-3 to lift his 11th trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour. 

M25 Nonthaburi THA – Sidharth Rawat celebrates his maiden title on the ITF Pro Circuit

Sidharth Rawat got the crown of the ITF Mens Circuit 2 tournament, which was hosted at the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand in Nonthaburi to lift his first singles trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

In the stage of the final four, the 26-year-old Indian rallied past 20-year-old Taiwan born Yu Hsiou Hsu, who is representing Chinese Taipei and was previously ranked ITF No. 5 as a junior, in straight sets.

20-year-old Rio Noguchi, who entered the competition on No. 5, defeated Australian teenager Alexander Crnokrak in two sets.

Serving seven aces without losing a service game in the title match, No. 3 seeded Rawat secured a 7-5, 6-0 victory after 89 minutes.

M25 Luzhou CHN – Veteran Yan Bay claims another home title

The 2019 Luzhou Open, hosted at Luzhou Olympic Sports Park Tennis Center, were dominated by No. 2 seeded Yan Bay without losing a set during the competition.

The 30-year-old Chinese, who was previously ranked ITF No. 10 as a junior, met his No. 3 seeded compatriot Yecong He in the title match.

Converting three of his four break point chances without facing a break point, Shanghai resident Yan sealed a 6-3, 6-2 victory against his 25-year-old opponent, to lift his 16th singles trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour. All of them won on Asian soil, most of them in China.

M15 Heraklion GRE – Michail Pervolarakis captures his second Heraklion-title this month 

Michail Pervolarakis triumphed at the 14th Lyttos ITF World Tour, which was hosted at Lyttos Beach Tennis Academy in Heraklion. After his maiden title in Heraklios three weeks ago, he lifted his second trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

The 22-year-old Limassol native, who is representing Greece, defeated his unseeded compatriot Markos Kalovelonis in the semi-finals in two sets.

Teenaged runner-up Aidan McHugh from Great Britain, who was ranked No. 8 in ITF Juniors last year, took the last step to the final in beating top seeded Finnish young gun Emil Ruusuvuori in straight sets.

Breaking the service of his 18-year old opponent from Glasgow for five times by dropping two service games, No. 7 seeded Pervolarakis clinched a 6-1, 6-4 win after one hour and 48 minutes.

M15 Reggio Emilia ITA – Pietro Rondoni secures another home win

Pietro Rondoni is the champion of the 21° Torneo B. Camparini-Camparini Gioielli Cup, held at Circolo Tennis Reggio.

The 25-year-old Italian, who entered the competition on position three, knocked off his No. 5 seeded countryman Lorenzo Frigerio in the stage of the final four in three sets.

In the title match, the Vercelli resident faced his 20-year-old compatriot Andrea Guerrieri, who entered the tournament by wildcard.

Capitalizing on five of his eight break point chances by dropping three service games, Rondoni rallied past his left handed rival with 6-4, 6-4 to lift his fifth trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour, all of them won on Italian clay-court.

M15 Cancun MEX – Jordi Arconada claims his second Cancun title of the season 

The Cancun Tennis Cup, which was hosted at the Cancun Tennis Academy, concluded with the victory of Jordi Arconada. 

The 22-year-old Buenos Aires native, who is representing the United States, took the last step to the final in beating Colombian No. 2 seed Alejandro Gomez in three sets.

Unseeded Runner-up Brandon Walkin from Australia benefited from the retirement of top seeded Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first set of the semi-final.

Winning 80 per cent of his points on first service, No. 4 seeded Arconada sealed a 7-5, 6-4 victory ageinst his 24-year-old rival in one hour and 45 minutes to celebrate his second title in Cancun this season and his second overall title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

M15 Karuizawa JPN – Yuki Mochizuki seals home win

Japanese No. 2 seed Yuki Mochizuki triumphed at the Porsche Karuizawa Open 2019, held at Karuizawa-kai Tennis Club Resort. 

In the all-Japanese semi-finals, the 21-year-old Osaka native battled past No. 3 seeded Sora Fukuda in a tough three-set clash.

Left handed qualifier Ko Suzuki, who defeated top seeded Spaniard Jordi Samper-Montana in the second round, made the last step to the title match in beating No. 5 seeded Soichiro Moritani in straight sets.

Mochizuki outpointed his 27-year-old opponent 93-75, to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory. After one hour and 37 minutes, he lifted his third singles trophy on the ITF  World Tennis Tour.

M15 Singapore SGP – Harry Bourchier captures his third title of the season 

Australian Harry Bourchier got the crown of the M15 ITF Men tournament in Singapore, which was hosted at Kallang Tennis Centre.

The top seed battled past No. 4 seeded Hong Kit Wong from Hong Kong in the semi-finals in two sets, to face 28-year-old US-American Maksim Tikhomirov in the final.

In the title match, 23-year-old Bourchier struck 7 aces in 82 minutes to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win against his No. 7 seeded opponent. After his back-to-back titles from Mornington in March, the Tasmanian celebrated his third career trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

M15 Majadahonda ESP – Favourite Pol Toledo Bague gets another trophy on clay 

Top seed Pol Toledo Bague dominated the VI Torneo Internacional de Majadahonda, held at Club International de Tenis in Mardrid, without losing a set during the competition.

After beating Bolivian No. 7 seed Federico Zeballos in two clear sets in the semis, the 24-year-old Spaniard had to compete against left handed teenager Facundo Diaz Acosta from Argentina in the final.

18-year-old Diaz Acosta, who was ranked No. 6 in ITF Juniors last year, rallied past unseeded Spanish Albert Roglan in the stage of the final four in three sets.