He may be a veteran of thirty-four years now, but Julien Benneteau is not winding down his pro tennis career quietly. After an injury disrupted much of his season, a Challenger title at the end of the season on home soil, courtsey of a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev, is very welcome.
Benneteau set the tempo in the opening set, which was dominated by serving at both ends of the court. The wily French veteran broke late in the set after a combined twenty-one aces had made short work of the service games.
Rublev could have been forgiven for wilting away in the second after his indifferent form in 2016, but the young Russian is made of stern stuff these days, and he replied by securing two breaks of serve in the second as Benneteau appeared to tire.
Yet just as he did in the opening round against second seed Mikhail Youzhny, Benneteau roared back in the decider tightening up on serve and breaking for the single break of serve in the final set. Benneteau’s ranking will soar back towards the Top 100 whilst the runner-up run from Rublev will arrest his recent slide towards the No. 200 mark.
Special mention: Benneteau has been in form for a while now, but Rublev needed a good result this week to gain some confidence for the upcoming 2017 season. The young Russian did just that, with a win over top seed Benoit Paire in the semi-finals particularly impressive.
Kobe: Fifth seed Hyeon Chung defeated seventh seed James Duckworth 6-4, 7-6. Special mention sixth seed eighteen year-old Duckhee Lee performed well, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Duckworth. He will move into the Top 150 for the first time.
Ortisei: Twenty-one year-old Stefano Napolitano secured his first Challenger title with a win over Alessandro Giannessi, 6-4, 6-1. Napolitano benefited from some shocks in the draw, such as Kevin Krawietz’s defeat of Evgeny Donskoy, but took some scalps himself, such as fourth seed Mirza Basic. He will move into the Top 200 for the first time
