With 16 ATP titles between them, tennis fans could be forgiven for assuming the match-up between Richard Gasquet and Florian Mayer was yet another ATP final. However, the pair were actually playing in the Szczecin Challenger in Poland.
The pair played a close final with Gasquet emerging the winner 7-6, 7-6. It is the first time that Gasquet has won back-to-back matches at any tour level since reaching the semi-finals at Eastbourne (l.to Monfils.) The Frenchman then endured a rotten summer with opening round losses at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
This tournament has given him more match wins than he had accumulated since Eastbourne, and gives him such much needed confidence. After surviving a tough quarter-final with Guido Andreozziv (winning 4-6, 7-6, 6-4,) Gasquet found another level and did not drop another set in the tournament.
Mayer pulled off an impressive straight sets win against Jerzy Janowicz, before struggling against a resurgent Jurgen Zopp.
The Gasquet-Mayer match-up was the pair’s 8th, and their first since 2013. It was also the first time they had met on the clay.
It was also a great tournament for Jurgen Zopp, as the Estonian reached the semi-finals. The former Top 100 player beat the struggling Casper Ruud in the first round before wins over Yannick Maden and Dustin Brown.
The Szczecin is one of the most high-profile in the Challenger circuit. It belongs in the elite tier of events, offering 125 ATP points to the victor, and nearly £18,000 in prize money.
