Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin on Sunday won his second ATP Challenger title after defeating Borna Gojo of Croatia in a pulsating Bengaluru Open 1 men’s singles final in India.
The 20-year-old 2018 French Open and Wimbledon junior champion sailed past Gojo in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 in a matchup that lasted 1 hour, 14 minutes at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Stadium.
The victory is likely to catapult Tseng from his world No. 190 ranking up into the 150s, a new career-high for him.
Photo courtesy of Tseng Yu-te via CNA
Tseng had a shaky start before achieving an all-important break to lead 3-2 and eventually pocket the opening set.
The Taiwanese tennis champion grabbed the first two games in the second set, with a break in the first. Finding his form, Gojo rallied, tying the score 2-2 before finding break points of his own and eventually pushing to lead 5-2.
Tseng made a spectacular comeback from game eight, winning five games in a row to leave an error-prone Gojo no room for recovery.
“It was a little bit up and down. It was difficult to adjust initially and control the ball as it was getting dark and fast,” Tseng said. “I knew he had a good serve, but I had to keep making longer rallies. After 2-5 down, I told myself to relax and keep going.”
Tseng pocketed US$7,200 for his title win and 80 ATP ranking points, while Gojo earned US$4,240 and 50 ranking points.
Tseng enters the Bengaluru Open 2 ATP Challenger singles event seeded eighth. The tournament started yesterday and ends on Sunday.
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