The 34-year-old left-hander, 65th in the ATP ranking, remained on three consecutive defeats in the final since his only title in 2019 at the grass tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands). Since joining the professional circuit in 2004, the Francilien had even lost nine of his 10 finals.
But after saving four match points in the first round against Winston Salem, Adrian Mannarino did not lose a set and this time did not miss his chance in the final, against the 89th in the world.
“This title is for my whole team as well as for me”, reacted the Frenchman after this success which will allow him to re-enter the World Top 50 (45th) on Monday – his best ranking was 22nd in March 2019.
“My body does not react as well as when I was 20, but I remain operational”, added the one who will start his career at the US Open on Tuesday against the Dutchman Gijs Brouwer, 184th in the world and from qualifications.
If the body of the 30-year-old reacts “less well”, he especially took time on Saturday, by his own admission, to adapt to the much hotter and sunnier conditions than the day before on the North Carolina court.
– “Simply happy” –
“I struggled to see the ball well. It took me a bit of getting used to but I managed not to get angry and to stay focused,” he explained.
After saving two double break points, Mannarino came back to 4-4 in the first set. Same scenario or almost in the decisive game, the Frenchman winning the last six points to glean this first set 7-6, in 1h15 minutes.
Solid on his first serve (83% winning points), Adrian Mannarino then managed to make another break at the perfect time, in the seventh game of the second set.
After missing a first match point at 5-3 on the Serbian’s serve, he finally concluded, all smiles, with a serve and volley sequence, after 1 hour and 44 minutes of play.
“It’s been a great week, with a lot of tough matches,” said his opponent, who will face N.9 seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the US Open.
While it was pointed out to him that he was the oldest player, and the first Frenchman, to win at Winston Salem, Adrian Mannarino, preferred to taste him at the present moment.
“I’m just happy to have won this tournament, it doesn’t matter who won it before and who will win it after. It’s just something I’ve achieved, right now, and I’m very happy about it” , explained the native of Val d’Oise.
For French tennis, which approaches the US Open on tiptoe, this title comes a week after that of Caroline Garcia, 17th player in the world, at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
