LYON/WASHINGTON, June 18, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
Although the ATP Challenger Tour’s Open Sopra Steria de Lyon dates back just seven years to 2016, it has become rich in history in a short period of time while taking place at scenic Tennis Club de Lyon in France’s third-largest metropolis.
Current ATP World No. 11 Felix Auger-Aliassime made history at the Lyon Challenger 100 event in 2018 when, at age 17 and ranked No. 172, he became the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour to successfully defend a title. Corentin Moutet is also a two-time champion of the clay-court event, winning in 2019 and 2022.
Lyon is one of a handful of cities that hosts both tour-level and Challenger tournaments. On Sunday, fans came out on a sunny but windy (30-degree Celsius) afternoon and filled the Court Sopra Steria seats to capacity to watch World No. 156 Felipe Meligeni Alves of Brazil battle 195th-ranked Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland in Sunday’s singles final. And what a battle it turned out to be in their first career meeting.
Pure emotion 🫶
The moment @FelipeMeligeni captured the third #ATPChallenger title of his career pic.twitter.com/zL2lSjHKOc
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 18, 2023
Meligeni Alves pulled out a hard-fought title victory over Ritschard simply by being the steadier player in a decisive, third-set tiebreaker. He saved a match point at 6-7 and went on to capture his first ATP Challenger crown of the season with a 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7) triumph in two hours and 26 minutes. It was his third career Challenger title.
The 25-year-old Brazilian struck five aces, won 65 percent of his first-serve points and saved four of nine break points. Although he was outpointed 98-96 by Ritschard, he converted three of eight break points. After being broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the final set, then denied by the 29-year-old Ritschard on his first match point at 6-5 in the tie-break, Meligeni Alves saved a match point of his own three points late after striking a backhand down-the-line winner that renewed his sense of confidence.
Finally, Meligeni Alves won on his second match-point opportunity after Ritschard hit a forehand long that abruptly ended a three-shot rally. He immediately fell to the ground in celebration.
While each competitor was appearing in his first ATP Challenger final of the season, the eighth-seeded Meligeni Alves arrived having gone 8-2 in his previous 10 matches on clay. In each of his four matches in Lyon, he had gone the distance – including a come-from-behind 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over Alejandro Moro Canas of Spain in Saturday’s semifinal round. So, it should come as no surprise that he would be pushed to three sets against Ritschard, who played three-setters in all but one of his matches this week. The Swiss right-hander advanced to the final with a comeback win over popular French wild card Gabriel Debru, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.
Never give up 💪@FelipeMeligeni saves a match point to clinch his first #ATPChallenger title of the year! pic.twitter.com/ZHwZuBXTYz
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 18, 2023
“Im so happy with the title, my first title of the season,” Meligeni Alves said in an Instagram video after lifting the Lyon trophy. “I really needed this. It was a magical week in Lyon; all my matches went three sets.”
Meligeni Alves has shown some nice form lately on clay with a semifinal run at Oeiras, Portugal last month and by reaching the third round of Roland Garros qualifying. In all matches this year, Meligeni Alves is a respectable 21-17. By winning at Lyon, he earned €16,020 and 100 ATP Rankings points.
Meanwhile, Ritschard, who earned the runner-up prize of €9,415 and 60 points, took his loss in stride. He said: “It wasn’t enough today. I lost, but I had a lot fun this week. Hopefully, I can win the title next year.”
Now, as Meligeni Alves remains in France to play in the Internationaux de Tennis de Blois on clay, he will move up to a new career-high ranking of No. 129, surpassing his previous high of No. 137 achieved in July last year after winning his last title in Iasi, Romania.
“Today was really special. My mentality was really good,” Meligeni Alves said. “Now, it’s time to enjoy and start a new week.”
Guinard and Jacq win first doubles title as team
French wild cards Manuel Guinard and Gregoire Jacq won the Open Sopra Steria de Lyon doubles title Saturday afternoon. They upset No. 2 seeds Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens, both of Germany, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.
Although they were outpointed 66-57 during the 88-minute final, Guinard and Jacq were aided by saving 11 of 14 break points they faced and by winning five of seven deciding points.
“We are super happy,” Guinard exclaimed. “I’m super happy that it’s his first, with me. I don’t even know how to describe the match. We went through so many emotions. We could have doubted, we could have trembled … together, we went looking for [the title].”
Jacq added: “From the beginning, our course of action has been to play for each other. We get along really well and we give off a very good energy on the court.”
In winning their first title together, Guinard and Jacq split first-prize money of €6,845 and earned 100 ATP Rankings points.
