IASI, September 19, 2020
The top two seeds of the Concord Iasi Open fell in Saturday’s semi-finals, as Mathias Bourgue from France and Carlos Taberner of Spain advanced to the championship match of the €88,520 ATP Challenger clay-court event.
Bourgue knocked off the tournament’s No. 1 Pablo Andujar of Spain, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The 26-year-old from Avignon capitalized on four of his 14 break point chances to secure victory in two hours and 45 minutes.
Over on Court 5, Taberner emerged victorious from the all-Spanish clash with No. 2 seed Jaume Munar. The 23-year-old from Valencia also had to go the distance to celebrate a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(2) win after almost three hours of play. Taberner won 54 per cent of the total points played to reach his first Challenger final since 2017.
Taberner, who finished runner-up to Maximilian Marterer in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Cedrik-Marcel Stebe at the Sibiu Open that year, is seeking his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour. Bourgue lifted two trophies on home soil at 2015 Blois and 2017 Cherbourg. The pair will meet for the first time.
Later in the day, Rafael Matos and Joao Menezes of Brazil took the doubles title. The South Americans beat the No. 3 seeds Treat Huey from the Philippines and Nathaniel Lammons from the United States 6-2, 6-2. The final lasted 58 minutes.
