FERGANA, June 25, 2019

Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland clinched his maiden title on the ATP Challenger, winning the 20th edition of the $54,160 Fergana Challenger held on hard courts at the Istiklol Tenis Club on Sunday. The 20-year-old celebrated a 6-3, 6-2 win over 12th seed Roberto Cid Subervi from the Dominican Republic in the singles final.

Ruusuvuori saved all three break points he faced, converting three of his own 12 chances to prevail after one hour and 20 minutes.

The #NextGenATP star is just the fourth player from Finland to win a title in the last 30 years, and the first since Jarkko Nieminen lifted the trophy in Helsinki 2013.

“It feels amazing. I didn’t expect it to go this well, but everything worked from the first match and I’m just really happy to win my first title,” Ruusuvuori told the ATP Challenger website. In his only 10th appearance at ATP Challenger level, he took away from Uzbekistan $7,200 in prize money as well as 80 ATP-Ranking points.

“It’s of course very challenging mentally, especially the last few matches. There’s a lot of pressure and nerves, but you just have to keep focusing on your game and play your best.”