October 4, 2020 - The winner of the premiere edition of the ATP Challenger Split Open is Francisco Cerundolo, who defeated the first-seed Pedro Sousa in the tie break of a tense final.

The Argentine reduced the result, then twice failed to serve for the match in the third set before reaching his first title at a Challenger tournament. Cerundolo finally celebrated in the 13th game of the final (4:6, 6:3, 7:6 (4)). To make the story more intriguing, Cerundolo was the last tennis player to enter the main draw of the tournament directly according to the ranking. As such, he was certainly not among the winners.

Robert Pleško

"I am thrilled. This was an amazing week full of long and difficult matches. I fought in every match, and I believe this will be just the first in a series of my trophies. I hope to play all four Grand Slams next year," said the 22-year-old from Buenos Aires.

Sousa, a Lisbon native who is ten years older than Cerundolo, opened the match better. Sousa led 6-4, 1-0 with a break, but Cerundolo fought back by winning six of the next eight games. There were no breaks by the middle of the deciding set, and then the match began to heat up and reached a climax worthy of a final. Cerundolo served twice for the match, at 5:4 and 6:5, just like in the quarterfinal against Marterer, and again, as then, he did not finish the job.

Still, his more aggressive and risky game eventually paid off. It was 5-2, then 5-4, and Cerundolo managed to keep both of his serves to win in the tie break. He dropped to the ground while the spectators applauded him for the well-deserved title.

Robert Pleško

"I was nervous and tired at the end of the match. I couldn't even think anymore. I am glad that I still got a new opportunity and still won," said Cerundolo, who achieved four victories this week in three sets, which speaks volumes about his mental stability. He showed it the day before in the semifinal against Duja Ajdukovic, played in the stormy southern wind.

"It was impossible to play yesterday. I was hitting in the middle of the court because otherwise, I missed everything. It was a real mental victory," recalled the Argentine who will enter the top 200 on the ATP list for the first time tomorrow. He will receive 6,190 euro for the title in Split, while Sousa will receive 3,650 euro.

The Portuguese entered the final as a favorite, considering that he was the first seed, has more experience, played the final of the ATP tournament in Buenos Aires, and won seven Challengers.

Robert Pleško

"Today, the conditions were perfect, but that didn't help me either," commented Sousa, who is close to returning to the top 100 (he will be 111th from tomorrow).

"I hope to get closer to entering the top 100 and stay there. I like your city, it is beautiful, and the conditions are great, so I would love to come back here," said the 32-year-old Portuguese at the end.

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September 25, 2020 - The ATP Challenger Split Open is nearly here! Qualifications begin on Saturday, September 26, in Firule, and two days later, on Monday, September 28, the main tournament will start, which will last until Sunday, October 4.

On this occasion, a press conference was held today at the Cornaro Hotel in Split, where the director of the tournament, Ismar Moralic, revealed the latest information regarding the list of registered players, but also the name of the famous guest who will visit the tournament:

"We are honored to announce that a Viktor Troicki is coming, Damir Dzumhur will train in Split over the next few days, and the absolute legend Mr. Pat Cash is coming in the coaching role. He was last in Split in 1985 and is really looking forward to returning. I think this is great news for the first edition of the tournament."

The even better news is that the stands will be open to fans. Admittedly, not at full capacity.

"We have received confirmation from the Croatian Institute of Public Health that the number will be limited to 20 percent of the stand's capacity. We wish it were more, but we are happy that people will still attend the matches. We will organize the tournament according to the strict measures of ATP and HZJZ," said Moralic.

The final list of players will be announced later in the day, and the draw for the main tournament is scheduled for Sunday. Some of the registered tennis players are still playing Roland Garros' qualifiers, so that the list will depend on that.

We are waiting for the negative test results of all tennis players, and only then can we publish the final list. The first player below the line is Tommy Robredo, the former fifth-best player in the world. That speaks enough about the quality of the registered players," says Moralic.

There will be 32 tennis players in the main tournament, 16 in the qualifiers, and 16 teams in the doubles competition. Three invitations for the main tournament were given to local players Borna Gojo and Duje Ajdukovic from Split and Nino Serdarusic from Zagreb. The coach of the Croatian Davis Cup national team, Vedran Martic, who spoke on behalf of the Croatian Tennis Association as a tournament partner, said:

"I am a child of Firule, and I am happy that the tournament is being held since many are in trouble and canceling them, that's what Moscow did. We don't have many tournaments in Croatia at the moment, so this is the right step for us, especially since we mostly only had Futures, which is a higher level. In the main event, all players are between 100th and 200th place in the ATP rankings. There will be good matches, and the audience will enjoy it. Let's hope the weather serves us."

Martic pointed out how much the invitations will help Croatian tennis players.

"Gojo and Serdarusic would otherwise have to play qualifiers for a tournament like this, and Ajdukovic would not. Gojo played the Challenger quarterfinals in Romania this week, Duje won Futures last week, Nino is also playing well."

In addition to the Croatian Tennis Federation, full support for the tournament was given by the "Tennis Club Split 1950" in terms of logistics and workforce. Its president Ivica Kekez believes that this Challenger can and must be the beginning of a much bigger story:

"Next year or in two years, depending on the ambitions of the City of Split and the tournament organizers, we can become an ATP tournament similar to Umag. There is no reason not to. We have the infrastructure that we will further upgrade and make a basic arrangement, we are beautifully positioned, and we have the predisposition to become a small Monte Carlo."

Director Moralic also revealed that tickets for the main tournament would cost 20 kuna. From the quarterfinal matches starting on Friday, October 2, their price will increase slightly until the final, costing 50 kuna.

"I believe that it is accessible to everyone, and it will guarantee quality tennis," added Moralic and thanked everyone who made the tournament possible, which was not an easy task in such corona conditions.

"We only received confirmation on August 1 that the season continues. In just seven weeks, we organized the tournament. Thanks to the City of Split, Split-Dalmatia County, the tourist boards of the City of Split and Split-Dalmatia County, TK Split 1950, the Public Institution Sports Facilities... It is no small thing to organize such a large international tournament in such a short time," concluded Moralic.

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September 22, 2020 - Split Open, part of the ATP Challenger Tour, will be held at the Firule tennis center from September 28 to October 4, 2020. For the first time in history, an international world-class tournament from the ATP system will be held continuously in Split.

When Roland Garros begins, an ATP Challenger Tour will be held in the Firule area of Split from September 28 to October 4, 2020. Thus, tennis returns to Split after 22 years, and one of the most deserving people for that is the tournament director Ismar Moralic, a tennis fan who lives in Zagreb.

"The tournament was supposed to be played in April, but due to the coronavirus, we managed to fight for a new tournament. Qualifications for the main tournament begin on September 26. We are glad that the tournament is of exceptional quality, even though it is played in the week of Roland Garros. The last tennis player to enter the main draw is 180th in the rankings. This is a fact that even some tennis tournaments from the main series of $500,000 cannot boast," said Moralic, and then added:

"The tournament is played under extremely strict measures prescribed by the ATP and the Croatian Institute of Public Health. We will strictly adhere to them. We are happy that the spectators will be in the stands, and we will know how many there will be 48 hours before the start of the tournament. Some of the special features of the tournament are the reduced number of people on the court. During the matches, the line umpires will not be until the semifinals. From the semifinals, only three line umpires will be allowed alongside the chief umpire and a smaller number of children to collect. From the first day when this tournament was proposed, the City of Split, the County, the Split Tourist Board, and the Public Institution Sports Facilities stood behind us."

The importance of this tournament for the city of Split was emphasized by the department head for social activities, Mate Omazic.

"At the first idea when Mr. Moralic called us, we reluctantly accepted it to give a boost to tennis. We know that the club has young talents, and they are trying to restore the splendor of Split tennis. I hope this will contribute to the development of the sport. The plan was late April, early May. It is an ideal term, pre-season, we hope that we will have that term from 2021. We expect good tennis," said Omazic.

County head for education, culture, and sports Tomislav Đonlic pointed out his satisfaction that tennis is returning to Firule.

"Firule gave birth to big names in Croatian and international tennis. Goran, as the greatest we all carry in our hearts, but also those before and after him. I am glad that this initiative has not been abandoned. Congratulations to everyone involved in the organization. We hope for this to become a tradition. The county will be there as a partner in the implementation of this project," said Đonlic.

On behalf of the Sports Facilities Sports Institution, Tomislav Borozan pointed out the good cooperation with the Split Tennis Club 1950.

"From the day when the City of Split fully entrusted us with the maintenance of this tennis center, we have taken our work seriously. One tournament like this is an added wind at our backs. Our cooperation with TK Split 1950 is at an excellent level; we are very satisfied. We were sorry that the tournament was postponed, and these days we will work if necessary in three shifts to get everything ready."

On behalf of the Split Tennis Club 1950, President Ivica Kekez spoke about history.

"This year, we are celebrating 70 years of playing tennis in this area. The founders were tennis enthusiasts and devoted their entire lives to working with children. This has resulted in people like Nikola Pilic. I assure you that our coaches, all of them who work with children, can work in any international center. We now have a tournament that is a stimulus for all children to continue to develop and have strong players in the future, which will be good for Croatian sport."

Source: Dalmatinski Portal

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