BRAGA/STARNBERG, October 1, 2023

At the age of 30, Spaniard Oriol Roca Batalla experienced a week he will never forget by winning the most significant title of his career at the Braga Open, an ATP Challenger Tour tournament organized by the Portuguese Tennis Federation with the support of the Municipality of Braga, held at the Braga Tennis Club.

In his seventh singles match of the week, which started in the qualifying, the World No. 267 rallied from a set down to overcome Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 after two hours and four minutes in Sunday’s final.

Ajdukovic began the match aggressively, relying on his powerful forehand that Roca Batalla had praised the previous day. He took an early lead by winning the first three games and later secured the first set. However, this strong start only delayed the appearance of his worst enemy: a lack of mental stability and concentration.

After a break in the locker room, Roca Batalla returned to the court refreshed, highly focused, and ready for the fight. Although Ajdukovic managed to react to the early break he suffered in the second set, the second service break affected the Croatian player mentally. He became frustrated, lost concentration, and failed to maintain his lead.

From that point on, Roca Batalla took full control of the match. Despite having fewer options to outmaneuver his opponent, the Spanish player had identified Ajdukovic’s repetitive patterns of play. He remained calm, composed, and methodical, extended the rallies, and pushed Ajdukovic to the brink of desperation.

30-year-old Oriol Roca Batalla has done it!

Playing his 7th singles match of the week, the Spanish qualifier battles from a set down to defeat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and win the maiden @ATPChallenger 🏆 of his career here at the #BragaOpen. pic.twitter.com/NABjlcBCsh

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) October 1, 2023

“He started the match very well and hit a lot of winners from both sides. He also served very well in the beginning, so I knew I had to keep my calm and fight, fight, fight to try to prevent him from maintaining this level throughout the match. I broke his serve and made it 3-1, 3-2, and that’s when I started feeling better with each game, and I noticed he was repeating several patterns, so I understood the path I had to follow, and the result was perfect,” explained Roca Batalla during his press conference.

Struggling to express his emotions after winning the most important title of his career, the Barcelona native stated: “I wasn’t expecting to win here,” even though he always felt comfortable in Braga, “but now that I’m here, there was no better place to do it.”

One week after arriving without high expectations, Roca Batalla bid farewell to the city by claiming his maiden Challenger title. The winner of 21 titles on the ITF Pro Circuit pocketed € 9,880 in prize money as well as 75 ATP Ranking points. Roca Batalla is projected to climb 60 places to the 207th position in the rankings on Monday, getting close to the top 200 and his best career ranking (193rd), achieved in August 2015.