METZ, September 24, 2017
Peter Gojowczyk celebrated his maiden title on the ATP World Tour with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire in Sunday’s singles final of the Moselle Open in Metz.
The German qualifier was in total control of the encounter, dominating most of the baseline rallies with aggressive groundstrokes. Gojowczyk didn’t face a break point, converting three of his own to prevail after one hour and seven minutes.
Peter Gojowczyk and Benoit Paire
“Peter played unbelievable today. He didn’t miss any shots and was serving like crazy,” Paire had to admit. “I am happy with my week. Reaching the final in front of your home crowd is always nice. I am also happy for him, as he is a good guy and I hope that he could win some more tournaments in the future.”
Gojowczyk is the first qualifier to lift a trophy on the ATP World Tour since Nicolas Mahut won in `s-Hertogenbosch in 2015.
“I am actually speechless right now,” the 28-year-old German said afterwards. “In the beginning I was very focused on my own serve, played aggressively and moved well. That was key today. I didn’t sleep that well ahead of the final today. I was also a bit nervous on court today but now I am here with the title. That’s awesome.”
Gojowczyk, who will reach a new career high World No. 66 next week, will continue his journey in Chengdu, leaving for China on Monday.
“I still have to defend a couple of points until the end of the season, but we will see. Maybe there is a chance to crack the Top 50 this year.”
Frenchmen Prevail In Doubles
Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Earlier in the afternoon, Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin captured the doubles title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Wesley Koolhof from the Netherlands and Artem Sitak of New Zealand. The final lasted one hour and 13 minutes.
“We stayed solid during the key moments of the match, in particular at the beginning of the second set. We returned well and forced them to make some mistakes,” Benneteau was pleased.
“Every match was pretty tough, but we played well for the entire week. We are happy to finish the week with trophy,” Roger-Vasselin added. The pair only dropped one set en-route to the title.
