SEGOVIA, July 30, 2016
Luca Vanni and Illya Marchenko will compete in Sunday’s final of the €64,000 Open Castilla y León ATP Challenger held at Villa de El Espinar.
The Italian veteran defeated fifth seed Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-3. Vanni won 67% of his first service points, lost his serve only once and capitalized on four of his nine own break point opportunities. He advanced to his first final since claiming his lone Challenger title in Portoroz one year ago.
El italiano Luca Vanni el otro finalista del torneo tras ganar a Basic 6.4 6.3 #elespinar2016 pic.twitter.com/vwxXaqBj2D
— Tenis El Espinar (@Tenis_Espinar) 30. Juli 2016
“I started the year with a lot of losses in three sets against good players,” Vanni told. “In April, I started to suffer from mononucleosis and I have felt tired every day for three or four months. Now I can practice again at 100 per cent. I am not at my very best but on a good way.”
Illya Marchenko
Vanni will face the tournament’s number three Marchenko. The 28-year-old from the Ukraine edged past Marton Fucsovics, winning 6-3, 6-4. Marchenko 56% of the total points to claim his ninth consecutive match in one hour and 21 minutes. The world number 72 lifted his fifth ATP Challenger career trophy in Recanati last Sunday.
Vanni and Marchenko will collide for the second time. The Ukrainian emerged victorious from the previous meeting at the 2012 indoor Challenger event in Cherbourg. Marchenko won in straight sets.
Later the afternoon, Purav Raja and Divij Sharan claimed the doubles title, winning the final 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 against Joaquin Munoz-Hernandez and Akira Santillan. The encounter lasted one hour and 16 minutes.
