BRAGA, May 13, 2018

Pedro Sousa clinched the title of the inaugural €43,000 Braga Open held on the clay courts of the Club Ténis Braga. The fourth seed from Portugal fought past #NextGenATP Norwegian and eighth favourite Casper Ruud 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in Sunday’s singles final.

Sousa won 55 per cent of the total points played and recovered from a break down in the final set to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.

“The rain changed a little bit the game, as the balls got heavier and in these conditions it was harder to respond to his shots,” Sousa explained. “I continued to play well and I tried to adapt as good as possible.”

The 29-year-old from Lisbon captured his fourth ATP Challenger career title, his first of the season. Sousa earns €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points. The local favourite enjoyed a lot of support throughout the week.

“It was not just today that there were a lot of spectators watching the matches. They were incredible. It is always special for us to play in front of our home crowd.”

On Saturday, Sander Arends from the Netherlands and Adil Shamasdin of Canada took the doubles trophies. The top seeded duo eased past second favourites Ariel Behar from Uruguay and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela of Mexico 6-2, 6-1. The final lasted only 53 minutes.