Gasquet Captures Second ATP Title of 2015 at Estoril Open
Manuel Traquete for Tennis Atlantic

The 2015 edition of the Estoril Open concluded, with Richard Gasquet crowned as the champion in his third shot in a Portuguese final, after final losses in 2007 and 2012 to Djokovic and Del Potro. It was Gasquet’s 12th career title out of 24 finals at the ATP level, and it has gotten him closer to getting back into the top 20. It’s also his second title of 2015.

The match was not one of historical significance, Gasquet was as relentlessly consistent as he had been all week, barely giving away any free points, while Kyrgios didn’t serve as well as in his previous matches and was almost invariably the first to make an error in long exchanges. The young Aussie didn’t have a good debut in ATP finals but this will likely only be the first of many for him and he will have plenty of chances to make amends for this result. It was still a fantastic week for Kyrgios, who’s now closing in on a top 32 spot for Roland Garros, which would get him seeded at a Slam for the first time ever.

Both players will now head to Madrid, where tough draws await them, in the first round Kyrgios will get Gimeno-Traver and Gasquet will get Karlovic but should they win that Federer and Berdych (respectively) will be waiting for them. For Kyrgios, playing right after reaching an ATP final is a new challenge as well and we’ll have to see how he responds to it.

Overall, the 2015 edition of the Estoril Open can be considered a success; with a new venue and organization, the tournament still ran pretty smoothly and it saw some fantastic matches during the week, especially the semifinal between Gasquet and Garcia-Lopez. It also saw the first final appearance of a player who could very well end up being great in Nick Kyrgios. The final was a bit disappointing due to how one-sided it was, but the tournament was still a success.

Sunday Results:

Gasquet d. Kyrgios 6-3 6-2
Huey/Lipsky d. Lopez/Marrero 6-1 6-4- the #2 seed team beat the #1 seed team in routine fashion to win the doubles title.