BREST/STARNBERG, October 28, 2024

Otto Virtanen captured the title of the Brest Open Vert. The No. 8 seed of the ATP Challenger Tour event outlasted home favourite Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(6) in Sunday’s singles final.

Virtanen advanced to the championship match with wins over local wild card entries Arthur Gea and Matteo Martineau, as well as Frenchman Luca van Assche and Benjamin Hassan from Lebanon.

The 23-year-old from Finland fired 23 aces in the final and won 73 per cent of his first-service points. Virtanen broke Bonzi’s serve two times to secure victory in two hours and 20 minutes.

Nerves of steel

Otto Virtanen becomes the 10th player in Challenger history, and the first since Bublik in 2019, to win his first six final appearances#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/zktKl2C5Z8

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 27, 2024

“It is always a pleasure to play in venues like these, with so many people and so many children. I love playing in Brest,” said Virtanen, who lifted his sixth ATP Challenger Tour career trophy, his third of the season following his triumphs in Pau, France and Lugano, Switzerland. He earned €16,550 in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points and has cracked the Top 100 for the first time at World No. 96.

More than 20,000 spectators attended the ninth edition of the Brest Open hosted by the Brest Arena. The tournament offered a total prize pool of €120,950.

“We had a great time this year. Despite a few withdrawals at the start of the tournament, we witnessed a fantastic show throughout the week,” tournament director Arnaud Clement said. “Many matches kept us on the edge of our seats, like the entire run of Benjamin Bonzi, a true marathoner in Brest. Otto Virtanen, our champion this year, is a tennis talent who, I’m sure, will quickly rise. My team and I are confident that this tournament will continue to grow in the coming years.”