Kyrian Jacquet ensured that it was a rather memorable maiden visit to the SDAT tennis stadium for budding nine-year-old fan Tamara, as the Frenchman beat Swede Elias Ymer 7-6(1), 6-4 in the final to clinch the Chennai Open ATP Challenger title here on Sunday.
Buoyed by the support from his compatriots, he earned $22,730 and 100 ranking points.
Energised by the fervour from the French contingent in the stands, Jacquet put up an inspired performance. He banked on his strengths – slicing often to break his opponent’s rhythm and rushing the net for the winners.
The 23-year-old hit three successive backhand slices in a 17-stroke rally when he was 4-3 up in the first set. He later produced the most spectacular stroke of the match from the net: a mid-air between-the-legs volley.
It helped Jacquet that his opponent was alarmingly error-prone. Jacquet won the first set tie-break 7-1, courtesy of Ymer’s six unforced errors. The champion remarkably played a forehand cross-court pass to Ymer’s drop from the net for his first point. Ymer won his sole point when Jacquet double-faulted.
From there, Ymer made at least thirteen unforced errors, including a double fault, until he was down 1-4 in the second set. He caught up and made it 4-4, before making three unforced mistakes to help his opponent hold serve without losing a point. He saved a match point in the next game but double-faulted immediately after for Jacquet to break serve and win the championship.
“I would like to dedicate this title to my grandfather who passed away in December,” said Jacquet after the summit clash.
The result (singles, final): Kyrian Jacquet (Fra) bt Elias Ymer (Swe) 7-6(1), 6-4.
Published - February 09, 2025 08:02 pm IST
