VALENCIA, November 26, 2022
Ukrainian Oleksii Krutykh and French teenager Luca van Assche will compete in Sunday’s singles final of the Copa Faulcombridge Ciudad de Valencia, an ATP Challenger Tour 80 clay-court tournament.
Krutykh rallied past Nikola Milojevic of Serbia 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the stage of the last four on Saturday. The World No. 252 capitalized on five of his nine break-point chances to prevail after two hours and 28 minutes.
Later in the afternoon and under the lights on Center Court of the Club Tenis Valencia, van Assche also came back from a set down to end the run of Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 18-year-old, who captured the 2021 French Open Boys’ Singles title, won 53 per cent of the total points played to seal victory in two hours and 26 minutes.
Krutykh could lift his second Challenger trophy following his maiden triumph at the Prague Open in August this year. Van Assche is bidding for his first Challenger crown. The 22-year-old Kyiv native won the only previous meeting between the two in Braunschweig, Germany this season.
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Krutykh/Roca Batalla triumph in doubles
Krutykh was later back in action winning the doubles title alongside Oriol Roca Batalla of Spain. The pair upset second-seeded Serbian siblings Igor and Matej Sabanov 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour and 25 minutes.
By earning their first team title, Krutykh and Roca Batalla pocketed €3,950 in prize money as well as 90 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
