But what a crazy week lived the Genevan. After saving match points in the first qualifying round, he won the final against Olivo on Sunday (6-7 6-3 7-5). Bellier thus gains 178 ranks at the ATP.
© Urs Lindt/freshfocus
Antoine Bellier in 2021 during the Challenger tournament in Biel. (SU).
On Sunday, Antoine Bellier (ATP 488) achieved the biggest performance of his professional tennis career, winning his first Challenger tournament. He achieved this feat on the Mexican clay courts of San Luis, a city located at 1860 meters above sea level. These exceptional conditions suited the Geneva player well, who had a crazy week.
Four match points saved
Because before reaching the final, he had started his tournament badly. At the stage of the first qualifying round, he even had to save four match points, in order to beat the Frenchman Calvin Hemery (ATP 350). In the wake of this little miracle, he chained the meetings in three sets. In the quarter-finals, he managed to get rid of the No. 1 seed in the competition, the Slovak Andrej Martin (ATP 133). Then in the semi-final, the 25-year-old left-hander beat a compatriot, Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 140), 2-6 6-3 6-3. The Zurich resident remained on eight successes in a row, and a victory at the Mexico City Challenger last week.
Decision at five games everywhere
Antoine Bellier won the final against Argentinian Renzo Olivo (ATP 192) 6-7 (2/7) 6-3 7-5, after 2h43 of effort. He was absolutely not disunited following the loss of the first set in the decisive game. From then on, he conceded only one break point in the last two sets. It was five games across in the decisive round that everything was decided: the Genevan managed to take the service of the Argentinian thanks to a reflex volley.
After this first Challenger victory, the Swiss tennis player will take a big leap forward in the world rankings. He will gain 178 places to rank 310th at the ATP on Monday. This breakthrough also gives him direct access to the main draw of the Challenger tournament in Aguascalientes, a city in Mexico also located at altitude. Tuesday in the first round, he will face the Uzbek Denis Istomin (ATP 296).
This season, Antoine Bellier is the third Swiss to put his name on the list of winners of a Challenger tournament, after Dominic Stricker in Cleveland and Marc-Andrea Hüsler in Mexico City.