Canadian Vasek Pospisil was unable to lift the champion trophy at the Koblenz Challenger on Sunday in Germany.
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The veteran lost the flag 6-2 and 7-5 against Russian Roman Safiullin in the final of the event. The representative of the maple leaf was the third seed of this competition, while his rival of the day benefited from the title of second seed.
The winner won with his first service ball and taking advantage of his rival’s second ball. Pospisil was broken four times in five occasions and lacked opportunism.
Indeed, the native of Vernon, British Columbia, converted only one of the seven break points he was offered.
The 113th player on the world board therefore missed the opportunity to get his hands on a 12th career title on the Challenger circuit.
Fernandez advances to Abu Dhabi
Earlier in the day, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez won her first qualifying match for the Abu Dhabi tournament.
The 20-year-old athlete defeated France’s Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The 38th player in the world and second seed in the qualifying event won 62% of the rallies.
Despite his dominance, Fernandez struggled with his serve. She committed eight double faults and hit 57% of her first attempts.
To secure her place in the main draw in Abu Dhabi, Fernandez will need to defeat Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska. This duel is scheduled for Monday.
She won’t be the only Canadian in action that day, as Rebecca Marino also triumphed in her first-round qualifying match.
The 32-year-old Ontarian posted a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan.