STARNBERG, December 6, 2020
Home favourite Pedro Sousa captured the title of the Maia Open in Portugal, the last ATP Challenger Tour tournament of the season held on European soil. The No. 2 seed of the €44,820 indoor clay-court event held at the Complexo Municipal de Ténis da Maia fought past Carlos Taberner from Spain 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 in Sunday’s singles final.
In the last Challenger match of the 2020 season, Sousa won 71 per cent of his first-service points and capitalized on six of his 12 break-point opportunities to secure victory in two hours and four minutes.
Pedro Sousa is the champion in Maia!
The last match of the 2020 season goes to the 🇵🇹, taking the 🏆 on home soil. Eighth career title. pic.twitter.com/o198aLpakD
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) December 6, 2020
“I had an excellent first set but I knew the it would become a close match. It is impossible to play a final and think that things are going to be easy. I played well in the third set and I am relieved to have won the match,” said Sousa, quoted by Raquet.com. “I lost my last two finals and I was getting worried. But luckily I managed to withstand the pressure.”
By lifting his eighth Challenger career title, his first since 2018 Meerbusch in Germany, Sousa pocketed €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points. The Lisbon native equals the record of his coach Rui Machado for most Portuguese title wins on the Challenger Circuit.
Portuguese champions/finalists on the ATP Challenger Tour:
8 – Pedro Sousa (8-8 in finals), Rui Machado (8-2)
7 – Gastão Elias (7-10)
6 – Fred Gil (6-1)
5 – João Sousa (5-2), Nuno Marques (5-3)
3 – João Cunha e Silva (3-9)
2 – João Domingues (2-1)
1 – Emanuel Couto (1-1)
0 – Leonardo Tavares (0-2)
