SKOPJE, June 6, 2021
Alexis Gautier captured the singles title of the Skopje Open, an ITF World Tennis Tour M15 event held at the Tennis Klub Jug, situated in the City Park. The No. 6 seed from France defeated Dutchman Ryan Nijboer 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia.
In the pair’s first meeting, Gautier set the tone early breaking his opponent’s serve in the second game. The 24-year-old claimed the first set after about 40 minutes but the momentum shifted when World No. 690 Nijboer started to find his rhythm in the second set and pushed the match the distance.
Gautier, who sent down three aces and won 15 points more than his opponent, was the more solid player, dictated most of the rallies from the baseline in the third set and prevailed after two hours and 16 minutes.
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“I kept doing my thing and stayed positive. I am really happy about this win,” Gautier told Tennis TourTalk about the key to success in the championship match, which took place on the biggest court of the club for the first time this week.
“It was nice to play on Centre Court with a lot of space and in front of many people. It was really fun and great.”
Skopje Open singles final is underway.
Alexis Gautier 🇫🇷 Vs Ryan Nijboer 🇳🇱#ITFWorldTennisTour pic.twitter.com/Ex2y7KSwjv
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) June 6, 2021
World No. 548 Gautier, who lifted his second career trophy on the Pro Circuit following his triumph on home soil in Uriage in July 2019, will stay in Skopje for the upcoming week competing in the second ITF World Tennis Tour tournament. “Then the plan is to play on grass at a 25K in France but it will depend on the outcome next week.”
Main draw action of the Skopje Open 2 will get underway on Tuesday.
