LUGANO/STARNBERG, April 2, 2022
Youth triumphs over experience – this was the outcome of Saturday’s semi-finals at the €45,730 Challenger Banca stato Città di Lugano. First up on Centrale at the Padiglione Conza was Swiss wild card entry Leandro Riedi, who upset No. 4 seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3).
The 20-year-old withstood 11 aces and won one point more than the five-time Grand-Slam doubles champion to secure victory in two hours and 29 minutes. Riedi, who captured the 2020 Australian Open boys’ doubles title alongside Nicholas David Ionel, will appear in his first title match on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Later in the afternoon, Italian teenager Luca Nardi defeated 31-year-old German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-1, 6-1. The 18-year-old alternate struck six aces, saved all three break points he faced and capitalized on five of his own eight break-point chances to prevail after one hour and two minutes.
Nardi is seeking his second ATP Challenger career title following his maiden triumph on home soil at the Città di Forli 1 in the opening week of the season. Nardi and Riedi will meet for the first time.
Masur/Bemelmans triumph in doubles
In the doubles final, however, the veterans had the better ending. Ruben Bemelmans from Belgium and Daniel Masur of Germany took the title by beating Swiss young guns Jerome Kym and Leandro Riedi 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-7 after one hour and 30 minutes.
Bemelmans and Masur claimed their sixth Challenger career team title, their third of the season. The pair split split €2,670 in prize money and pocketed 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
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