KITZBÜHEL, July 23, 2016

Paolo Lorenzi is the champion of the 72nd edition of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. The 34-year-old Italian defeated the first Georgian player appearing in an ATP World Tour final Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-4.

Lorenzi sent down four aces, winning 79% of his first service points. He lost his serve twice, but also capitalized on five of his own break point chances to seal victory in one hour and 23 minutes.

By lifting his maiden trophy in Kitzbühel, Lorenzi has become the oldest first time winner on the ATP World Tour. He takes away €82,450 in prize money as well as 250 ATP ranking points.

“It is an amazing feeling. It was a fantastic week. Three years ago, I made my first final and nobody was thinking that I was going to win my first ATP event. This is like a present to me. I have worked hard for that and this is the result,” Lorenzi was happy afterwards.

“I cannot even remember the match point right now. I was totally focused and the good thing is, that it was the first one today,” the Italian smiled and revealed his celebration plans.

“For sure we will have a good party tonight. Maybe in Kitzbühel, maybe back in Italy but I will stay here for at least one beer.”

Paolo Lorenzi

Lorenzi is also the first player to win both ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger title this season.

“When I was starting to play Challengers, I didn’t expect to win there. After you won titles on Challenger level, you want to claim the trophies on ATP Tour level. Maybe the best players in the world can skip the Challenger levels, but for us we have to work hard to get to the top,” the 18-time ATP Challenger champion explained. Lorenzi only won two matches at the Grand Slams in 21 attempts.

“I do not really like the conditions at the Grand Slams but I do not understand why I only won two matches. In Paris I didn’t win one match, although I usually can play well on clay. Maybe I need to change some things there.”

Lorenzi will continue his journey ahead of the Olympics at the ATP Challenger in Biella next week, where he was granted a wild card. He will be the tournament’s top seed, facing Filippo Volandri in the opening round.

“You always try to win. I am happy to go there. Playing in Italy is always great. Of course, it is time to leave the Challenger Tour but I still want to gain some match practice before the Olympics. After the Games, I will continue in the United States with Winston-Salem and the US-Open.”

Earlier the day, top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop claimed the second tour title, winning the doubles final 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 against Dennis Novak and Dominic Thiem in one hour and 10 minutes. The Dutch combination led 8-3 in the final set, but still had to face one match point at 9-8 and eventually capitalized on their first chance to close out the encounter.

Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop

“We had some really tough matches this week, three of them winning in the super tie-break. We learnt how to deal with pressure. We were first seeded and we made it to come through,” Middelkoop told.

“Playing in front of more than 5,000 people was the first time for me,” Koolhof added. “Of course they supported the Austrians but the atmosphere was really good.”

The Dutchmen will stay for a few weeks more in Europe, playing the ATP Challenger in Scheveningen next, before they are going to leave for the US-swing. They will start in Winston-Salem, US-Open and then continue in Asia.

“We are not looking at rankings. It’s only about our level of play. If we continue like this, we will get a higher ranking for sure,” Middelkoop explained.