Winston Salem – Final – At 34, Adrian Mannarino wins the 2nd title of his career

A last left-handed sliced ​​serve to get Laslo Djere out of the court, a delicate backhand volley and Adrian Mannarino was able to bring out his best smile. An impeccable final, perfect conclusion to an imperial week and a white game to wrap it all up. Winner of the Serb in two sets (7-6, 6-4) and 1h43 of play on Saturday evening, the Frenchman will be able to savor the second title of his career, a little more than three years after that conquered on the Dutch lawn of s’ Hertogenbosch.

However, this final did not start in the best possible way for the Ile-de-France player, who was broken in his second service game and quickly led 3-1. Difficult, then, not to remember that “Manna” had so far lost 90% of its finals on the circuit. A title, yes, but also nine defeats, the most recent in October 2020 in Noursultan against John Millman. But he quickly erased this late break to pick up at 4-4. From there, he took control of the game and didn’t let go.

Back in the Top 50

Winner of the first set at the end of a decisive game which he dominated (7 points to 1), Adrian Mannarino bided his time during the second act, to seize the service of Djere at his first opportunity, in the seventh game. By converting two of his three break opportunities on Saturday evening, the Frenchman will have shown great efficiency. In a final, it often pays off. His only missed break point? A match point, at 5-3, on Djere’s face-off. No matter. In the process, it was therefore on a white game that he concluded this match and this tournament.

Superb week for Mannarino, who has notably taken out Maxime Cressy and Botic van de Zandschulp in quick succession and has not lost a single set in his last five meetings, after saving … four match points in the first round. His title will allow him to make a nice leap in the ATP ranking: twenty places at once. He will be 45th in the next delivery on Monday. His best ranking for over a year. For French men’s tennis, which is going through a delicate period, it is also a real satisfaction. This is the second title of the year, the first since that of Gaël Monfils during the first tournament of the season, in Adelaide…