Vesely downs Gerasimov to claim Pune title

PUNE, India: Big serving Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic overcame tough resistance from eight seed Egor Gerasimov to claim his second ATP Tour title on Sunday in Pune.

The le -handed Vesely, who was unseeded in India’s only ATP tournament, served out Gerasimov of Belarus 7-6 (7/2), 57, 6-3 in 2 hour and 11 minutes.

Vesely, who saved six match points in the last two matches, fired 26 aces in the title clash to take home a winning prize of 91,625 in the hard court tournament.

“It’s been a very long week, especially the last three days. Three long matches, very close matches. Was just lucky maybe,” Vesely, 26, said a er the win, adding it was a great start to the season.

“It’s only February and already having a title in my pocket is amazing. Hope to keep the momentum and get some good results in the next few weeks.”

He became only the eighth player since 2013 to save match points in two matches on his way to an ATP Tour crown.

Vesely saved two match points in a final set tie-break to reach the semi-finals and advanced to the championship match a er surviving four match points in another tie-break against Ricardas Berankis.

The 27-year-old Gerasimov, with a world ranking of 90, broke his opponent’s serve in the 11th game to claim the second set. — AFP