Jacquet wins his second Challenger in two weeks

Jacquet wins his second Challenger in two weeks

Kyrian Jacquet did it again within a fortnight. The 23-year-old Frenchman enjoyed the Indian conditions as he won his second successive title, beating second seed Billy Harris 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Dafanews $100,000 Delhi Open Challenger tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Sunday.

It was a better fare than what he had executed in winning the Chennai Open Challenger last week, as Jacquet did not drop a set this week, in winning the fourth singles title of his career. In a fortnight, he has won 10 matches, dropping one set along the way.

Jacquet was easily the better player as he was exquisitely mobile and played every stroke with purpose, retaining an intense approach right through the contest.

He dominated the proceedings after getting off to a jump start with a 3-0 lead. He did seem to be gripped by a small spell of nerves, or perhaps indecisive play, as he failed to convert two set points on his serve in the ninth game. However, he sized the opportunity in the next game, converting the breakpoint.

Interestingly, Jacquet had dropped serve only six times in five matches and had broken serve 20 times.

The battle was on even keel in he second set till 2-2, but Jacquet wound up the proceedings swiftly, by not allowing Billy to convert two game points in the sixth game. In fact, the Frenchman won the last four games to close the entertainment for the sparse gathering.

The champion won 75 ATP points and $14,200, while the runner-up pocketed 44 points and $8,330.