BRATISLAVA/STARNBERG, November 13, 2022
Marton Fucsovics has clinched his first title in four years by lifting the trophy of the Peugeot Slovak Open 2022 held at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava. The 30-year-old Hungarian defeated his compatriot Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday’s singles final.
Fucsovics, No. 2 seed of the €67,960 ATP Challenger Tour hard-court event, advanced to the championship match with wins over local wild card entry Lukas Pokorny, Germans Yannick Hanfmann and Maximilian Marterer as well as fourth favourite Tomas Machac from the Czech Republic.
Fucsovics struck four aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to seal victory in one hour and 16 minutes.
Sealed with a 🚀 forehand!
🇭🇺 Marton Fucsovics 👏#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/nIUlc9YcGk
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 13, 2022
“I am very happy for winning the trophy again after four years. I played very well all week. My goal was to end the year in the Top 100, what I achieved thanks to this title. After a bad season, it’s a great finish,” said Fucsovics.
His duel against Marozsan was the first Hungarian duel in a final on the ATP Challenger Tour. “It was a strange situation for me. I don’t even remember the last time I played a professional match against a compatriot. It’s definitely been more than five years. I’m glad that I managed it today and stayed focused. Fabian has an excellent future ahead of him. If he continues like this, I think he will soon be in the Top 100. He is very hardworking and humble. He is a great example for the younger generation. I congratulate him on his participation in the finals,” the World No. 109 added after his fourth appearance in Bratislava.
“I really like the surface in the NTC Arena. The hotel is very close to the arena and food in restaurant was delicious. The advantage is that I drove my own car to the tournament in Bratislava, which was really nice because. Mostly I have to take the flights. Everything worked perfectly this week,” said Fucsovics.
By winning his fifth ATP Challenger career trophy, his first trophy since his triumph at the Geneva Open in May 2018, Fucsovics earned €9,200 in prize money as well as 90 ATP Ranking points.
