Mikhail Youzhny has ended his two-year title drought after defeating Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-3, in the final of the Bauer Watertechnology Cup in Germany.
Youzhny, who was unseeded in the tournament, dropped just one set on route to the title, which was against 7th seed Lucas Vanni in the quarterfinal. Vanni was the only seeded player that the Russian had to play leading into the final compared to Becker, who defeated fifth seed Dustin Brown and second seed Ruben Bemelmans.
During the final clash, which lasted an hour and twenty minutes, Youzhny won 74% of his first serves and 68% of his second. In addition the 33-year-old also converted 3/4 break points.
The victory in Germany is the second Challenger title of Youzhny’s career and his first since the Samarkand Challenger in 2000. The gap between the two tournaments, 15 years and five months, is the longest gap between Challenger titles in history.
The Russian decided to drop down into the Challenger tour after enduring a disappointing season. Leading up to this week’s Challenger tournament, Youzhny has only claimed 9 main draw wins on the ATP Tour. Due to a series of early tournament exits, the 33-year-old has dropped to 153rd in the world, his lowest ranking position since June 2000.
During a recent interview with Russian news agency TASS, the former world No.8 confirmed that he will continue playing in 2016.
“I do not plan to finish my career. There will be more in the next year”. Youzhny said.
The triumph in Germany is Youzhny’s first singles title of any sort since the 2013 Valencia Open.
