VOGAU, August 24, 2020 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
The re-start of the ITF World Tennis Tour following the suspension of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic took place in Austria last week with the second edition of the TC Kern World Tennis Tournament. Manuel Guinard captured the title of the M25 clay-court event. The No. 7 seed of France defeated Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-3, 6-3 in the singles final on a sunny afternoon in Vogau.
To everyone’s surprise, the title bid of the top two seeds ended in the opening round. The tournament’s number one, Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina, fell to big-serving German Tobias Simon in straight sets. Pedja Krstin from Serbia, who entered the competition on position two, had to retire in the second set against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the younger brother of the top seed.
Guinard takes it all
Guinard did not drop a set en-route to the championship match celebrating wins over Argentine teenager Thiago Agustin Tirante, Italy’s Gianlugi Quinzi, Dutch veteran Igor Sijsling and Nino Serdarusic of Croatia.
@manuelguinard en finale du 25000$ de Vogau 💪💪💪
Superbe victoire 6/4 6/3 contre Nino Serdarusic (299 ATP), pourtant très en forme cette semaine.
Allez Manu 👊#teambzh #toutdonner pic.twitter.com/w0WDaTIGoe— Breizh Tennis Pro (@BreizhTennisPro) August 22, 2020
Bulgarian Davis Cup player Kuzmanov took the last step to the final by defeating 2019 Roland Garros juniors champion Holger Vitus Rune of Denmark in straight sets.
World No. 301 Guinard broke his opponent’s serve seven times in the title match to secure victory in one hour and 50 minutes.
On Saturday, Guinard clinched the doubles trophy. Alongside Johannes Haerteis of Germany, the duo fought past the all-Dutch combination of Gijs Brouwer and Jelle Sels, winning 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 in one hour and 28 minutes.
Back on the court
“It was a special week for me, as I have never won both, a doubles as well as a singles title the same week, at a tournament of this category,” Guinard said during Sunday’s on-court trophy ceremony.
“My special thanks go to the sponsors, the organization and all the other persons involved to make the tournament happen in this difficult time. It is very tough and we players appreciated the opportunity to get back on court in this nice atmosphere.”
Guinard, who earned 20 ATP Ranking points, will move on to the Talex Open in Poznan, Poland, where he enters the tournament on position three. He will face a qualifier in the first round of the ITF World Tennis Tour M25 event.
