BRATISLAVA/STARNBERG, June 13, 2022
Alexander Shevchenko claimed his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour by winning the €67,960 Kooperativa Bratislava Open without dropping a set. The 21-year-old Russian defeated Italy’s Riccardo Bonadio 6-3, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final held at the TK Slovan Bratislava.
Shevchenko battled his way to the championship match with wins in the top half of the draw over Slovakian Filip Horansky, No. 6 seed Dennis Novak of Austria, compatriot Andrey Kuznetsov and third-seeded home favourite Nobert Gombos.
The World No. 237 struck eight aces in the final and converted four of his 12 break-point chances to seal victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
And the singles title goes to… @shevchenkoo_17 ! He beat @rbonny93 in the final 6-3 7-5 🎾🏆🥇
Kooperativa Bratislava Open 2022
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.@ATPChallenger#BratislavaOpen #BratislavaOpen2022#Kooperativa #atp #ATPChallenger #tennis #Bratislava #Slovakia #Slovensko pic.twitter.com/o9wRyWaHVa— Bratislava Open Challenger (@BratislavaOpen) June 12, 2022
Shevchenko, who has lifted four trophies on the ITF World Tennis Tour, pocketed €9,200 in prize money as well as 90 ATP Ranking points.
Indians triumph in doubles
On Saturday, N. Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan captured the doubles title. The fourth-seeded Indians beat the all-Ukrainian duo of Vladyslav Manafov and Oleg Prihodko 7-6(6), 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 22 minutes.
By winning their first Challenger team title, Balaji and Nedunchezhiyan split €3,950 in prize money and earned 90 ATP Doubles Ranking points.