CHENNAI: Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet put his experience to good use to beat Sweden's Elias Ymer 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the men's singles final of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger held at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambalkkam on Sunday.
Jacquet, ranked No 273 in the world, got off to a good start by breaking Ymer in the very first game of the match and then consolidated his break of his serve. However, Ymer, ranked No 332 in the world, broke his opponent in the eighth game to go level in the first set at 4-4. With both players holding their next two service games with ease, the set headed into a tie-breaker, which Jacquet won easily 7-1.
The Frenchman again broke early in the second set to build a 4-1 lead only to see Ymer fight back to level the set at 4-4. Jacquet was able to then hold his serve and break the Swede in the 10th game to complete the win in one hour and 37 minutes.
This was the second title for Jacquet on the ATP Challenger Tour, while Ymer, a six-time champion on the ATP Challenger Tour, will have to wait for some more time to win his first title on the tour since Pune in November 2018.
"Yeah, I would like to dedicate this title to my grandfather who passed away in December. So it was tough moments and I know he is proud of me now," said Jacquet.
He also played a lot of slices in the match to destabilize his opponent. "Yeah, I played a lot of slices during all the matches because I like to play slices to change the rhythm. I try to destabilize the opponent. So yeah, I did well today," added Jacquet.
Jacquet earned 100 ATP rankings points and $22730 in prize money, while Ymer will take home 50 ATP rankings points and $13350.
The doubles final was held on Saturday with Japanese duo Shintaro Mochizuki and Kaito Uesugi beating the all-Indian duo of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
The Chennai Open is the first in a series of ATP Challenger events to be held in India. The tournaments to follow are scheduled to be held at Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru.
Results: Singles final: Kyrian Jacquet (FRA) bt Elias Ymer (SWE) 7-6 (1), 6-4.