BENGALURU/STARNBERG, February 12, 2022
Qualifier Borna Gojo of Croatia rallied brilliantly from a set down to put up a fantastic display in the last two sets against Frenchman Alexandre Muller and stormed into the singles final of the $53,120 Bengaluru Open, where he will clash with Chinese Taipei’s Chun-hsin Tseng for the title. The latter scripted a 7-5, 6-4 victory over sixth seed Enzo Couacaud of France after being 2-5 down in the first set to reach Sunday’s championship match.
The Gojo-Muller encounter proved to a perfect match as both players held their serves until the ninth game where Gojo lost his service and eventually the set. The second set also followed a similar pattern until the World No. 288 from Split broke his opponent’s serve to go 5-3 up and held his serve to make his way back into the match. The momentum helped him so much that he did not give a semblance of a chance for his rival to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
Taiwan’s Chun-hsin Tseng upsets his sixth seeded French opponent @lacouac 7-5, 6-4 in a striking game of tennis to cruise into the finals of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger! Keep an eye on this space for more updates. pic.twitter.com/0ASIJboVtL
— Bengaluru Tennis Open (@BlrTennisOpen) February 12, 2022
In the other semi-final, after Couacaud had held his serve, the opponents broke each other’s serve in the next three games as the Taipei player was down 2-5. Once he got into the rhythm, Tseng never looked back winning five games in a row to capture the first set 7-5.
In the second set, both players tested each other with World No. 190 Tseng finding the break he was looking for in the fifth game to wrap up the set and match in one hour and 45 minutes.
Taiwan’s Chun-hsin Tseng upsets his sixth seeded French opponent @lacouac 7-5, 6-4 in a striking game of tennis to cruise into the finals of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger! Keep an eye on this space for more updates. pic.twitter.com/0ASIJboVtL
— Bengaluru Tennis Open (@BlrTennisOpen) February 12, 2022
Gojo, who won the only previous meeting with Tseng at the Nur-Sultan Challenger in Kazakhstan in July last year, is seeking his first trophy on the Pro Circuit. Twenty-year-old Tseng could capture his second ATP Challenger career crown following his maiden triumph at the Maia Open in Portugal in December last season.
Myneni/Ramanathan triumph on home soil
Later in the day, Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan elevated the mood of the weekend crowd by lifting the doubles title of the ATP Challenger hard-court tournament after dominating their French rivals Hugo Grenier and Alexandre Muller in the final played at the KSLTA Stadium.
Banking on the support of the local crowd, the Indian pair won in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 after only 45 minutes. This was Myneni’s ninth ATP Challenger doubles title while Ramanathan registered a third victory in as many weeks with his victory today. The pair split $3,100 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
The Indian duo of @SakethMyneni and @ramkumar1994 lift the doubles title of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger after an invincible 6-3, 6-2 victory against Frenchmen @hugogrenier96 and @Alex2Mumu. Stay tuned for more action coming your way! pic.twitter.com/wJ1wRTKpQ6
— Bengaluru Tennis Open (@BlrTennisOpen) February 12, 2022
