World No. 50 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Sunday overpowered Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in Basel, Switzerland, to claim his first ATP 500 title.
The 21-year-old Frenchman took less than an hour and a half to add the title to the ATP 250 tournament he won in Lyon, France, in the spring. He is lowest-ranked champion in Basel since it became a ATP Tour-level event in 1975.
“It’s amazing to win a tournament like this. A 500 for the first time for me,” said Mpetshi Perricard, who rose to a career-high No. 31 in the new rankings published yesterday. “I just can be happy with myself, with what I did today and the past five days. It’s amazing to win here. It was a tough month for me, but it’s always good when the victories are there.”
Photo: AFP
On the eve of the Paris Masters, where the two finalists are both scheduled to play, 2.03m tall Mpetshi Perricard built his victory on an exceptional service game, hitting 22 aces on Sunday, and 109 across the five matches he played in Basel.
Mpetshi Perricard, who defeated two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime and fourth seed Holger Rune on his run to the final, broke Shelton in his second service game before holding on to take the first set in less than 40 minutes.
The second set was tighter, with each player holding serve before Shelton cracked at 4/4 in the tiebreak.
Mpetshi Perricard easily took the next two points to claim the second trophy of his career.
Both players now head to Paris, where Mpetshi Perricard is to face Frances Tiafoe of the US, ranked 15th in the world, in the first round.
Shelton is to face world No.1 Jannik Sinner if he gets through his first round against French qualifier Corentin Moutet.
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