VERONA/STARNBERG, July 17, 2022
Italian teenager Francesco Maestrelli has captured his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour by winning the €45,730 Internazionali Di Tennis Verona. The 19-year-old qualifier capped his dream week in Sunday’s singles final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over top seed Pedro Cachin of Argentina.
In front of packed stands and under the lights on Center Court at the Circolo Tennis Scaligero, Maestrelli sent down six aces and won 70 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after two hours and two minutes.
It’s a full house in Verona 🏟️#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/yXH0oA8KiE
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 17, 2022
“If it’s a dream don’t wake me up,” Maestrelli said. “During the match I looked at the corner where my grandparents were and I found strength in them.”
The World No. 337 from Pisa beat Italy’s Daniel Capecchi, Alexey Vatutin of Russia, French veteran Gilles Simon, his compatriots Riccardo Bonadio and Flavio Cobolli as well as Austrian alternate Sebastian Ofner en route to the championship match.
Following two triumphs on the ITF World Tennis Tour, Maestrelli lifted his first Challenger trophy and pocketed €6,190 in prize money as well as valuable 80 ATP Ranking points.
Martinez/Vavassori triumph in doubles
On Saturday, Luis David Martinez from Venezuela and Italian Andrea Vavassori captured the doubles title. The top seeds battled past Argentine Juan Ignacio Galarza and Tomas Lipovsek Puches of Slovenia 7-6(4), 3-6, 12-10 in one hour and 41 minutes.
By winning their first team title, Martinez and Vavassori split €2,670 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
