RENNES/STARNBERG, September 17, 2021
Red-hot Benjamin Bonzi of France extended his winning streak on the ATP Challenger Tour to 17 matches at the Open Blot Rennes on Thursday evening. In front of his home crowd at Le Liberté, the No. 3 seed of the €66,640 hard-court tournament edged out Kacper Zuk from Poland 7-6(3), 6-3 to round out the quarterfinal line-up.
The World No. 76 withstood eight aces and broke his opponent’s serve three times to seal victory in one hour and 30 minutes. Bonzi has already clinched five Challenger titles this season, lifting the trophies at his last three appearances on the Circuit in Segovia, Spain as well as on home soil in Saint-Tropez and Cassis.
“We don’t want to stop here. I want to go further. But it’s true that it’s starting to get a little tough. I thank the public for staying tonight, without their support it would have been very complicated,” said Bonzi, who will next take on Briton Liam Broady. The 27-year-old from Stockport fought past No. 7 seeded Frenchman Gregoire Barrere 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-4 after two hours and 10 minutes earlier in the day.
“It’s just fun, playing in front of empty venues was sad. It is a real pleasure here and I hope to continue competing here as long as possible,” said Bonzi and can look forward to playing in front of packed the stands the upcoming days. Organizers of the Open Blot Rennes announced that the final weekend of the tournament will be sold out.
🚨 Programme du jour / Vendredi 17 septembre 🚨
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— Open Blot Rennes (@OpenBlotRennes) September 16, 2021
