After the difficult months passed last season, in which he even managed to rack up nine consecutive defeats, 29-year-old Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili has returned to the highest levels this year: first, success came in Doha (where, Among other things, he defeated players of the caliber of Roger Federer and Roberto Bautista Agut), then that of Munich, where he beat Thiago Monteiro, Daniel Elahi Galan, Norbert Gombos, Casper Ruud and Jan-Lennard Struff without losing a single set, he is going to lift the fifth ATP trophy of his career.
Basilashvili celebrated in Munich after winning without giving up sets in the tournament
Born in Tbilisi in February 1992, Nikoloz was in the maximum number 16 in the world in 2019. In his career he boasts of the round of 16 reached at the Us Open 2018, when he was stopped by the Spanish Rafael Nadal in the fourth set.
“It was not an easy game and the game was decided by a few points,” explained the Georgian after the new victory in Germany. “It is never easy to play against Struff, a tennis player who fights at all points and has great service.
The conditions in Germany seem to suit my game very well. This is the fifth title of my career and it will give me a lot of confidence for the next tournaments ”. Basilashvili therefore concluded: “I really wanted to win a tournament again.
I’m not looking for a coach at the moment. I just want to keep traveling with my physiotherapist and my physical trainer ”. Nikoloz also won two consecutive editions of the Hamburg ATP 500 and a Beijing trophy in 2018.
His last lost final on the Grand Tour dates back to February 2017, when he was defeated by American Ryan Harrison in the last game of the Memphis match, with a score of 6-1 6-4. Basilashvili, now ranked 31st in the world rankings, is by far Georgia’s best player: he follows Aleksandre Metreveli, 27, currently at 600th in the ATP rankings. Photo credit: ATP Tour
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