Chennai Open: Kyrian Jacquet battles past Ymer to title

Chennai: Soon after winning the Chennai Open Challenger men’s singles title on Sunday, Kyrian Jacquet humbly stated that he had not played his best tennis over the week. However, during the Frenchman’s journey to the crown, he defeated two seeded players and dropped just a single set.

The 23-year-old Jacquet’s level was enough to comfortably beat Elias Ymer of Sweden 7-6(1), 6-4 in the final, a result that handed him the coveted title and 100 ranking points.

At the SDAT Stadium, Jacquet made an early breakthrough, taking a 4-2 lead in the opening set. However, Ymer refused to back down, breaking Jacquet’s serve in the eighth game and pushing the set into a tie-breaker. But the tie-breaker was a one-sided affair, with the Swede making six unforced errors and leaving Jacquet with little to do.

In the second set, Ymer’s unforced errors continued to give Jacquet an advantage and soon, the former was trailing 1-4. Though Ymer fought back, winning three games in a row, he faltered in the end. Inconsistency crept in, and errors began to pile up. Jacquet, maintaining his composure, comfortably cruised to victory with a double fault from Ymer sealing the win.

Jacquet operated with the strategy of using his slices effectively, taking pace off the ball. By doing so, he disrupted Ymer’s rhythm, forcing him to generate more pace on his shots. “I played a lot of slices during all the matches because I like to play slices to change the rhythm. I try to destabilise the opponent. So yeah, I did well today (Sunday),” Jacquet said.

Jacquet had previously mentioned that he believes his tennis is better than what his current ranking reflects. Last year, a string of injuries forced him to be sidelined for eight months, which led to a drop in his ranking. His performance in Chennai showed that he is on the comeback trail, proving his potential. “I play better than my rank, that is for sure. It was very tough last year, and I did all the work that I could to be ready to come here. I am really happy about the week because I was feeling better and better as the days went by. If I continue to play like this, I will go up faster (in the rankings).”

Jacquet will jump above 60 places and get close to the top-200 mark in the ATP singles chart.