For some players of the ATP Tour, the year 2017 was a very special one and the pros celebrated their first tournament victory of their career on the Tour. The youngster Andrey Rublev, the German Peter Gojowczyk and many more are among the participants.
The Russian Andrey Rublev is considered a very hot candidate that the 20-year-old will one day become an absolute top star in the tennis circuit. The extrovert player celebrated his first tournament victory in Croatian Umag.
The tournament for Rublev should be over after the qualification. The right-hander lost the Qualifinale and slipped only by the refusal of Borna Coric into the main field after. After his triumph, the Russian said at the ATP:”It’s totally crazy and I can’t even describe it. Especially after this hard week and all the emotions. Now I’m here and it’s fantastic.”
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller had to wait a little longer for his first win in the tournament. But the joy was all the more beautiful. After his first title on the tour, the 33-year-old, together with his wife and two sons, stood on Sydney’s Center Court and raised the trophy,”Everything that happened tonight was like in a movie. I have waited so long for this moment and there is a huge burden on my shoulders”, Muller explained after the victory.
Peter Gojowczyk was also among the ATP title holders. In Metz, a waiting period of eleven years for the German team came to an end and “Gojo” secured the long-awaited triumph in the final against local hero Benoit Paire:”I am absolutely speechless and it’s simply great that I won my first ATP title,”Gojowczyk said after the match ball.
A very special home tournament was the event in Memphis for Ryan Harrison. The American grew up near Memphis and attended the tournament as a child for many years. In the final, Harrison fought off twelve break points against Nikolov Basilashvili and was able to hold an ATP cup in his hands for the first time,”It’s like my hometown here. When I saw who won everything here, it was an incredible feeling,”said the lucky winner.
NextGen star Borna Coric also celebrated his first tournament success after Youngster Rublev. Much to the disappointment of Philipp Kohlschreiber. In the final of Marrakech, Coric fought off five match points and triumphed after a thriller about the Augsburg player,”It’s a great feeling. I have no idea what to expect here, but the hard work of the past few weeks is paying off,”Coric admitted at the award ceremony.
For the Japanese Yuichi Sugita, a dream came true in Antalya. At the beginning of the year, Sugita was ranked 128th on the world ranking list, only a few months later to win his first title on the tour,”This is the most emotional moment of my life. It’s so great, I can’t believe it,” the Japanese said after the final against Adrian Mannarino.