Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano has won the Gimcheon Challenger title with a win over Teymuraz Gabashvili, 7-5, 6-1.
Fabbiano edged a close first set with a late break, before racing away with the second set as Gabashvili could register just the single hold of serve in match that lasted one hour and twenty-four minutes.
It is Fabbiano’s second Challenger title of the year, the first time he has achieved multiple Challenger titles in the same season. Fabbiano was also successful in Quanzhou where he defeated Matteo Berrettini. He also reached the final in Zhuhai, a title he was attempting to defend from 2016, but lost to Evgeny Donskoy.
Fabbiano cruised through much of the draw, dropping just one set in a run that saw him defeat Duckhee Lee, Blaz Kavcic, and Akira Santillan. The win will see the unseeded Italian climb back into the Top 150. Fabbiano has a career high ranking of No.98, and could look to reach or eclipse that ranking, as he has relatively few points to defend in the coming months.
Reaching the final represents a welcome return to form for Gabashvili, as the Russian has struggled through a rough patch to start 2017. He defeated Konstantin Kravchuk, Omar Jasika, and Vasek Pospisil in a very tough draw to reach the final. Like Fabbiano he dropped just one set en route to the title match.
Britain’s Liam Broady had a strong week, reaching the quarter-finals with a run that included a good win over sixth seed Ruben Bemelmans.
