Kokkinakis wins Sarasota Challenger, secures Roland Garros entry

Wade Thomas

Thanasi Kokkinakis earned a double prize Sunday when he captured his sixth ATP Challenger Tour trophy and guaranteed his place in next month’s Roland Garros main draw.

The Australian defeated Belgian Zizou Bergs 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open final to claim his first clay-court title since 2021 and return to the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday, the same day of Roland Garros' main draw cutoff.

“The prize was Roland Garros main draw [entry], the Grand Slam where I’ve had my best success,” World No. 94 Kokkinakis told commentator Mike Cation. “I’m just proud of the way I competed and found a way… It wasn’t pretty a lot of the week. Tricky conditions to play here honestly and I just tried to outscrap my opponent.”

^{Thanasi Kokkinakis is crowned champion at the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open. Credit: Cliff Menezes}

The third seed Kokkinakis overcame several obstacles throughout the week, from rain delays, windy conditions and a foot injury to lift the trophy.

“My foot was struggling. I was in the MRI room pretty much the day before I played, I was really struggling," Kokkinakis said. "Then match-by-match it started to feel a little bit better. I was playing with some swelling and just looking after it.”

The 28-year-old will next month make his fifth appearance at Roland Garros, where he has twice reached the third round (2015, 2023).

Bergs, 24, would have made his Top 100 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings had he defeated Kokkinakis in the championship.

In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard claimed his third title at that level and second this season at the Morelos Open presentado por Metaxchange. The 6’8” 20-year-old hammered 118 aces across five matches — including 31 in his semi-final match — and defeated Colombian qualifier Nicolas Mejia 7-5, 7-5 in the title round.

“I’m very happy to get the title, to win a lot of good matches,” said Mpetshi Perricard, who is No. 162 in the PIF ATP Rankings, two spots shy of tying his career high. “I think the big key was being focussed at every moment, staying calm every point and playing my game.”

^{Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard wins the Challenger 75 event in Morelos, Mexico. Credit: Regina Cortina}

Italian Stefano Napolitano returned to the winners’ circle at the II Open Comunidad de Madrid in Spain, where he defeated Swiss Leandro Riedi 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

After suffering a seven year title drought, Napolitano, who turned 29 this past week, has surged to two Challenger titles this season to reach a career-high No. 125.

“I'm happy to take the title home, it was the icing on the cake for a great week,” Napolitano said. “It was my birthday this week and they gave me a cake. Madrid is a place that will stay in my heart. Winning a tournament without losing a set is something that doesn't happen very often.”

^{Stefano Napolitano wins the Madrid Challenger. Credit: Alberto Simón}

Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama won the Vitro Busan Open to claim his sixth Challenger title and first since 2019. The 31-year-old, who has been as high as No. 78 in the PIF ATP Rankings, downed home hope Seongchan Hong 7-6(4), 6-3 in the final, during which Uchiyama saved two set points in the opening set to gain an advantage.

“This is really big for me to stay confident with my career,” Uchiyama said. “I didn’t have a title since 2019, so sometimes I didn’t believe in myself to comeback to this level the last couple years. I had a big problem physically. I think this is my first step to going back to the Top 100.”

^{Yasutaka Uchiyama in action at the Vitro Busan Open. Credit: Seo Jin Hwang}

Slovakian Jozef Kovalik overcame top seed Zsombor Piros 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 to win his second Challenger title of the season at the Split Open in Croatia.

The 31-year-old has won 10 of his past 11 matches at the Challenger level, having also triumphed at last month’s 75 event in Zadar.

KING KOVALIK 👑

Jozef Kovalik claims his eighth career Challenger title by downing No.1 seed Piros in the Split final#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/49MvLiUmo8

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) April 14, 2024