WINNIPEG, July 15, 2024 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
Benjamin Bonzi of France is back in the win column, claiming his first title in over two years on Sunday at the 2024 Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds. The 28-year-old Frenchman defeated Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the championship match to capture the crown at the seventh edition of the event held in the Manitoba capital.
En route to the finals, third-seeded Bonzi escaped a scare when he was forced to save a match point in the second set of his semi-final contest against China’s Bu Yunchaokete, before clawing his way back to win 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0. Again today, the Frenchman dropped the opener but managed to serve his way past his opponent, hitting 10 aces and winning 73 per cent of first-serve points along the way.
Champion in Winnipeg 🏆@BenjaminBonzi claims his first title since 2022 after overcoming Shimabukuro 5-7, 6-1, 6-4!#ATPChallenger | @FFTennis pic.twitter.com/o0fEWBmj5o
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 14, 2024
“After a big wrist injury last year, it’s tough to get the rhythm again and play good tennis. I kind of fell down in the rankings and you have to regain confidence,” Bonzi said. “I was struggling a lot these past months. The game is building again. It’s a pretty solid week with the title. It means a lot.
“I think the mindset [was the key], I was fighting all the matches. You have to fight. That was my best performance for this year.”
With the win, Bonzi jumps up to No. 136 in the world and aims to close in on his career-best ranking of No. 42, which he achieved in 2023 after reaching two ATP Tour finals as well as making a third-round appearance at the Australian Open. He now heads to Granby, Quebec, where he will once again be the tournament’s No. 3 seed.
In the doubles final, the American duo of Christian Harrison and Cannon Kingsley beat the Japanese team of Yuta Shimizu and Kaichi Uchida 6-1, 6-4. It was the first time that Harrison and Kingsley paired up to play together in doubles. Harrison now has four titles on the season, while Kingsley has two.
The 2024 tournament at the National Bank Tennis MB Hub at West St. Paul has officially wrapped up, and the next event part of the National Bank Challenger series is already underway, with qualifying matches currently taking place at Tennis St-Luc in Granby.
