The ATP Lyon Open joined the prestigious ATP 250 Series in 2017 as an outdoor clay court competition. This year, French sensation Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard stole the spotlight, making history as the 2024 champion.
Born on July 8, 2003, Mpetshi Perricard achieved No. 66 on the ATP singles ranking after winning the Lyon trophy, which is a career-high for the young tennis star.
The 2024 edition of the Lyon Open had a significant prize purse of €562,815, of which Mpetshi Perricard went home with €88,125. His victory is even more significant, considering the tournament had a lineup of top seeds, like Ugo Humbert, Alexander Bublik, Adrian Mannarino, Francisco Cerúndolo, and Frances Tiafoe.
A Remarkable Journey To The Lyon Open Final
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard showed his Lyon fans a spectacular performance in every match he played in the tournament. He entered as a wildcard, with his journey beginning in the first round in a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory against Lorenzo Sonego.
Yoshihito Nishioka granted Mpetshi Perricard a walkover victory after he withdrew from the second-round match. This took the Lyon native to the quarterfinals, where he locked horns with Hugo Gaston in a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 three-set encounter.
In the semifinals, he faced the tournament’s second seed, Alexander Bublik, delivering a masterclass performance that secured him a 6-4, 7-5 victory and sent him to the final.
Intense Battle In ATP Lyon Open Final First Set
Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard kicked off the first set, showcasing their serving prowess with three aces each.
Mpetshi Perricard dominated Etcheverry in the first serve, winning 23 first-serve points compared to Etcheverry’s 11. Etcheverry was better at returning first serves compared to Mpetshi Perricard, winning ten compared to Perricard’s eight.
Mpetshi Perricard also held a slight edge over Etcheverry in second serve points won. His aggressive style of play included a barrage of points won at the net and with winners but also a barrage of unforced errors.
Both players exchanged break points, but Mpetshi Perricard scored two crucial break points to win the set. This earned him a 6-4 first set win.
Perricard Clinches Lyon Title in Thrilling Third Set
After falling behind in the Lyon final by losing the opening set, Etcheverry went on to dominate and win the second set 6-1 by dominating Perricard with his brilliant return of serves.
The Lyon final then hit its climax in a captivating third set. Mpetshi Perricard found his serving prowess, which he had lost in the second set, firing six aces to Etcheverry’s one.
Although Etcheverry won 24 first serve points, which compared to Mpetshi Perricard’s 19 were five points more, the slight advantage was offset by Mpetshi Perricard’s dominance on the return which gave him a few crucial points.
The tension in the third set reached a nail-biting fever pitch when both players went into a tie-break with the score deadlocked. Mpetshi Perricard showed nerves of steel, riding through the undulating feelings of being match point up, having it saved, and then having to be the one to save a match point.
He eventually edged out Etcheverry in the tie-break with a scoreline of 9-7 to win his first ATP title.
Note
Yesterday, former world number one Carlos Alcaraz knocked J. J. Wolf out of the French Open in straight sets in his first game upon returning from injury. Andrev Rublev needed four sets to overcome Taro Daniel.
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Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management. He’s also the author of the mystery thriller novel “The Eye of Ra.”
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