#circuito banco brb/engie de tenis profissional - engie open

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Florianopolis Ch F: Enzo Couacaud [7] def. Joao Lucas Reis da Silva 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) Match Stats

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Reis was in control of the first set thanks to his forehands, but Couacaud dug deep starting the second set as he tried to find some loopholes from the baseline. As a result, he was able to break for the second set thanks to his shot winners, as well as turning the tables from being a break down to capitalizing on Reis' unstable moment before dominating the tie-break flow from his anticipatory first strikes. As a result, Couacaud generated 7 break points across the three sets even though both players converted 2 break points each, one of them coming from the third set.

Interestingly, both players had their service game strengths. Aided by his 11 aces, Couacaud won 19% more points from his first serves with 85% winning percentage, which allowed him to avoid trouble at times. Somehow, even though Reis double-faulted once, he still won 16% more of his points from his second serves, which indicated Couacaud might have risked more along the way, but his first serves were reliable enough to counter a lot of moments.

After three finals (and two runner-ups in Noumea and Sao Leopoldo) this year, Couacaud finally won his first Challenger title since the Las Palmas Challenger 2021, where his rank was back to 188 live post-victory. On the other hand, this is the third time Reis became a runner-up of a Challenger (after Ambato 2022 & Coquimbo 2023), but it is a pleasure to see him being confident again after a string of unideal results throughout the past moments. A moment they might have been waiting for in their respective situations.

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The third set kicked off with Couacaud’s failed drop shots that resulted in Reis’ early break before the latter scored a stellar backhand pass moments before he held his serves to 2-0. Couacaud might have held his service game to 2-1 afterward, signifying he still hung on to the pace in this match, and scored a stunning backhand down-the-line winner to secure his one-point lead even though it ended with Reis’ massive hold to 3-1. In addition, the French seventh seed survived a tweener and backhand down-the-line combination that created Reis’ break point in the subsequent game before holding his serves to 3-2, which was proven as another crucial hold considering what happened at the next game.

In the next game, Couacaud successfully forced a deuce while it might have been Reis’ moment to hold, creating his break point through a forehand winner before breaking back to 3-3 thanks to his backhand lob. After six consecutive holds, the tie-breaker became inevitable, where Reis’ third-shot backhand error resulted in Couacaud’s mini-break lead to 2-1 before his consolidation, and the Frenchman had not looked back since. Another +1 forehand error from Reis also did not help, and Couacaud’s preceding backhand then created the match point before it was converted straight away as he served it out, taking the third set 7-6(1) to win his first Challenger title since 2021.

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However, even though Reis tried his best to sustain his position, Couacaud steadily absorbed his pace and became more offensive in the pressure moments. In this sense, Reis’ forehand winner managed to save one of Couacaud’s break points once again before he held to 3-3, but Couacaud still managed to press Reis’ service game further as this match progressed.

Eventually, Couacaud’s pace-absorbing efforts paid off as he equalized the point (while Reis was slated to hold) thanks to his forehand winner. He continued with a smashing finish to the rally to generate his set point, which was immediately converted thanks to Couacaud’s crucial backhand winner. As such, the French seventh seed took the second set 6-4, thus bringing the match to the deciding set.

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Meanwhile, in Florianopolis…

An interesting quest for the title in the Florianopolis Challenger began as Joao Lucas Reis da Silva, who stunned qualifier (who should have been the first seed but forgot to enter the main draw before the deadline) Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals, faced seventh seed Enzo Couacaud, who also knocked out Gianluca Mager 6-2, 6-4 in the previous round the match after. This match turned out to deliver in one way or another, but it all depended on the setup and how they followed things up in between.

To start, Reis had to fumble a break point from his forehand side after it was created due to his backhand error. He then held the said service game, and somehow created his break point in the fourth game thanks to his forehand down-the-line winner. The home hope eventually broke to 3-1, and held his serves to 4-1 to strengthen his position. Ultimately, Reis earned his chance to serve for the first set, where even though he had to survive from Couacaud’s swift backhand return somewhere in the said game, he still managed to take the first set 6-3 to put himself, technically, one set away from his maiden Challenger title.

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Florianopolis Ch D F: Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover def. Lorenzo Joaquin Rodriguez/Franco Roncadelli 6-0, 3-6, [10-4] Match Stats

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Carrying on their fine form from the conclusion of their semifinals (an epic comeback), Cukierman/Sanchez Jover dominated the pressure points of the first set through a balanced play between their baseline groundstrokes and some net, where they mostly dominated the pace. Despite the follow-up rushes in the second set, they still managed to recover in the match tie-break, as they utilized the open court to fire the timely volley to widen the gap. They had not looked back since, which was also helpful for them to create 8 break points before the match tie-break thanks to the solid play although Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli converted 40% of their break points.

Interestingly, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover had a better serving performance thanks to their dominant showing in the first set. Although Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli scored an ace, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover still managed to win 67% points from their first serves, 19% more than Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli to get them out of most troubles. However, despite whatever happened in the second set, they still appeared consistent in their second serves with a 62% winning percentage than Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli's 50%, showing their first serves were rather more vulnerable than the second, especially under pressure.

While this marked Cukierman/Sanchez Jover's maiden Challenger title as a pair, it is Cukierman's second Challenger doubles title after the Mallorca Challenger (with Joshua Paris) last year, thus he is back to 178 in the live doubles rankings. On the other hand, this was also Sanchez Jover's maiden Challenger-level doubles title after previously won 4 ITF doubles title. Definitely a moment (and milestone) to remember, and not the only one.

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The match tie-break kicked off with a forehand error from Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli, which resulted in Cukierman/Sanchez Jover's 1-0 lead before they consolidated to 2-0. Furthermore, Cukierman's working volley also strengthened their position to lead 4-1 in the process, asserting their dominance once again compared to the scrappy but competitive semifinal match tie-break.

Somehow, even though the gap got minimized at one point, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover emboldened their lead through Sanchez Jover's comfortable angle from the backhand side to lead 8-3, paving their way to the title much deeper. After successfully serving it out in the fourteenth point, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover won the match tie-break 10-4 to secure their maiden Challenger title as a pair, second title for Cukierman and a first for Sanchez Jover in Challenger-level doubles.

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📸 ATP official website

Cukierman/Sanchez Jover had fair chances in the second set, as they smashed their way to create their earliest break point back in the third game, but it ended up to be a massive hold for Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli to 2-1 thanks to their forehand. Almost similarly, two games later, there was a forehand winner from the former pair that caused the deciding point (which was also their break point), to no avail as the latter held their serves to 3-3.

The said service game hold played an important role in their first-strike anticipation, where Cukierman erred his forehand before his backhands let him down several points later for Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli's break of serve (4-3). After consolidating their serves to 5-3, their first strikes struck again that resulted in Cukierman/Sanchez Jover's erratic service game, where the latter pair broke for the second set 6-3 to force the match tie-break.

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📸 ATP official website

Only less than an hour (or even 30 minutes) after their semifinal victory against fourth seed Gonzalo Villanueva/Adam Taylor 5-7, 7-6(8), [10-7], Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover took the court again for their doubles final in the Florianopolis Challenger as they faced Lorenzo Joaquin Rodriguez/Franco Roncadelli, who yesterday defeated Liam Draxl/Alexander Weis 7-6(3), 6-3 in the preceding timeslot yesterday. While this might have been expected to be a delivering match, this turned out to be a chaotic showing with their pressure points handling being tested along with their balance.

After Cukierman/Sanchez Jover held their serves to 1-0, their confident start continued as Sanchez Jover's preceding backhand also went after Lorenzo's forehand error to set up the one-point lead before in an almost similar manner, the former pair broke to 2-0 over a volley error from the latter pair before they consolidated the lead to 3-0.

The lead continued with their first strikes, which resulted in frequent errors from Lorenzo/F. Roncadelli. This created Cukierman/Sanchez Jover's break points, where even though it was fumbled to force a deciding point, a successful volley from Sanchez Jover after Cukierman's forehands secured the said break to 4-0. It did not stop there as they held their serves to 5-0, where an erratic service game resulted in Cukierman/Sanchez Jover successfully served the first-set bagel (6-0) as an assertion to their dominance.

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Florianopolis Ch D SF: Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover def. Gonzalo Villanueva/Adam Taylor [4] 5-7, 7-6(8), [10-7] Match Stats

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This match turned out to come down to their most important points, particularly taking into account how both pairs responded when each of them had a crucial moment. In this case, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover was unable to serve for the first set, but they dug deep until they denied G. Villanueva/A. Taylor the opportunity to serve for the match and consolidating the lead in the match tie-break to complete the comeback using their depth and balance starting from the baseline. As a result, they had 11 break points overnight even though G. Villanueva/A. Taylor tried to maximize their chances through their 71% break point conversion rate (out of their 7 break points).

Interestingly, both pairs had their own service game strengths coming to this match. Cukierman/Sanchez Jover scored an ace, which helped them winning 63% of their first serve points, 5% more than G. Villanueva/A. Taylor, which often got them out of trouble. However, it also was the reason behind their unclutchness on serve in the most important moments, where their second serve turned out to stand out instead by winning 6% more points than Cukierman/Sanchez Jover, who double-faulted quadruple times that faded their second serve winning points to 48%.

Eventually, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover won the title (upcoming match report) against Franco Roncadelli/Lorenzo Joaquin Rodriguez 6-0, 3-6, [10-4], after the latter pair yesterday defeated Liam Draxl/Alexander Weis 7-6(3), 6-3 in the semifinals. They ended up keeping on rolling despite whatever chaos happening in the second set, creating another breakthrough chapter in their doubles adventure.

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📸 🎥 ATP official website

The match tie-break became its own rollercoaster as Cukierman/Sanchez Jover had a slow start since they were 0-1 behind due to their forehand error. However, after hanging on for several points, they managed to recover the deficit from Sanchez Jover's working volley to equalize the point (3-3), but it might have seemed to be over as soon as another forehand error hit, thus G. Villanueva/A. Taylor ended up being up a mini-break to 5-3.

Although there was a point where Cukierman/Sanchez Jover was trailing 4-7, they managed to initially minimize the gap before a forehand pass from Sanchez Jover finally equalized the point to 7-7 after a preceding unforced error before they strengthened their lead from Cukierman's forehand (8-7). Since then, the unseeded pair had not looked back, winning the match tie-break 10-7 to secure their spot in the finals.

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📸 ATP official website

After being suspended overnight due to rain...

Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover continued the first set by holding their serves to 4-4 before they broke to 5-4, but they were unable to serve for the first set as they got broken to 5-5 by fourth seed Gonzalo Villanueva/Adam Taylor instead. The latter then held their serves to 6-5, but they ended up breaking for the first set 7-5.

Cukierman/Sanchez Jover then started the second set by breaking early to 2-0, but they could not sustain the moment until they got broken back, eventually being equalized to 2-2. It took several consecutive holds before anticipation played a big role as it created fourth seeds' break point before Sanchez Jover's double fault resulted in G. Villanueva/A. Taylor's break of serve to 5-3. This earned them the chance to serve for the match, but it was foiled as a result of Cukierman/Sanchez Jover's retaliatory first strikes, where their swift returns allowed them to break back 5-4 as the fourth seeds could not serve it out.

Three consecutive games later, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover scored a timely forehand for an equalizer moments before Cukierman's double fault resulted in the deciding point, which also served as G. Villanueva/A. Taylor's earliest match point, where the former pair held to force the second set tie-breaker (6-6). There, even though they started by being down a mini-break to 1-0 thanks to G. Villanueva/A. Taylor's volley, they managed to recover the deficit until saving a match point made by the fourth seeds out of a cross-court forehand winner through a functional serve+1 (7-7). It took three points later before a smash from Carlos Sanchez Jover created his and Cukierman's latest set point (9-8), which was immediately converted to bring the match to the deciding set as they took the second set 7-6(8).

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The doubles action in the Florianopolis Challenger then wrapped up with Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover, who previously stunned second seeds Kelsey Stevenson/Scott Duncan 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, taking on fourth seeds Gonzalo Villanueva/Adam Taylor, who previously defeated another home pair in Luis Britto/Pablo Andre Saraiva dos Santos 6-3, 3-6, [10-6] in a tight battle. Somehow, this match turned out to deliver some momentum swings in its beginning.

Cukierman/Sanchez Jover started the match aggressively by going after A. Taylor's volley side, which conceded he and G. Villanueva the first two points of the match. Even though they recovered from the deficit, the first strike from the former pair to G. Villanueva's +1 forehand error secured their break point before it was converted (1-0) thanks to Cukierman's forehand return ace, which turned out to be in. They then held their serves to 2-0 and were almost dominating the flow as they notably had a break point, but G. Villanueva/A. Taylor held to 2-1 afterward.

Three games later, the fourth seeds started to strike back from their rallying, where Sanchez Jover's forehand error created their break point before Cukierman's +1 failed volley caused the break-back to 3-3. However, it started raining (heavily) after G. Villanueva/A. Taylor held to 4-3, prompting a suspension to this match as the sole remaining Challenger-level match of that night (local time).

This match will continue at 10am local time tomorrow (local time) due to overnight rain, followed by the final around 2 hours later.

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Florianopolis Ch QF: Gianluca Mager def. Daniel Cukierman 7-6(2), 6-1 Match Stats

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Cukierman almost had his moment after absorbing enough pace as he had the opportunity to serve for the first set after a cross-court forehand winner, but G. Mager used his experience well to navigate the more important moments and stayed consistent on his range from there. Through his aggression, he did not only bother Cukierman as he tried to set up the first set, but his consistency helped him to stay in his rhythm toward the end. This way, he was able to create 12 break points even though both players converted 33% of their chances to break, with Cukierman's sole break of serve came at the end of the first set, but it was insufficient for him to dig deeper and maximize his chances.

Furthermore, G. Mager had a more solid service game than Cukierman as he dominated the second set. In this regard, the former successfully scored 7 aces, which helped him having an outstanding first serve winning percentage by 20% with 78% compared to Cukierman's 58%. Besides, even if G. Mager double-faulted thrice, he still managed to win 57% of his second serve points than Cukierman's 38%, considering the latter faded due to the shot rushes in the second set.

In the semifinals, G. Mager will face seventh seed Enzo Couacaud, who straightforwardly defeated fourth seed Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-2, 6-1 at the almost same time. Getting Roman out of range through his fine play, this would be a good test to G. Mager's power and pacing, where their aggression and point construction capabilities will be tested. Should be an interesting watch, especially with both players trying to rediscover their form! On the other hand, the maiden semifinal will come for Cukierman as he strives to keep trying the Challenger-level tournaments for the year, also contesting his doubles semifinal with Carlos Sanchez Jover later on. Big things ahead as maybe, age is just a number!

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The second set became a one-way traffic as soon as G. Mager found his range in even bigger moments, likely as Cukierman could not move on from the conclusion of the first set. After two consecutive holds, he fired a lob too far to start the second set before double-faulting somewhere, which was taken advantage of by G. Mager thanks to his forehand winner. Even if Cukierman tried to save the said break points, he still got broken to 2-1 due to his cross-court backhand error as G. Mager tried to redirect from the baseline. The latter then held his serves to 3-1.

G. Mager's dominance kept continuing in the next few games as Cukierman had an erroneous service game to start the next one, where G. Mager's forehand down-the-line finish to Cukierman's forehand error created his first break point of the fifth game. Even though it was fumbled, the former created another break point thanks to his forehand down-the-line winner before doubling the break to 4-1, smoothly holding his serves with a working volley (5-1). However, another series of errors resulted in G. Mager having several match points, which was converted thanks to his powerful, swift forehand return to serve the second-set breadstick (6-1), securing his second Challenger-level semifinal appearance for this year.

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📸 ATP official website

The action in the Florianopolis Challenger singles quarterfinals continued with qualifier Daniel Cukierman, who advanced by defeating his fellow qualifier Mateo Barreiros Reyes 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in a rematch of their Sao Leopoldo Challenger first qualifying round encounter, and Gianluca Mager, who advanced after Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida retired at 6-4, 1-5 in the second round. The first set turned out to be competitive between both players, where those who remained stable and maintained their range (and maximized their chances) ended up to prevail in this match.

G. Mager already started offensively by his flat forehand/shank response to Cukierman's preceding forehand down-the-line shot, where the point turned out not ending with the latter before holding his serves to 1-0. Cukierman tried to overcome a nervy start through saving 2 break points before his service game hold to 1-1. Several games later, Cukierman had to face another break point thanks to G. Mager's forehand winner, but he found his range in time to hold his serves to 2-2.

However, Cukierman's ability to maintain the bigger moments were tested in the last few games of the first set. While capitalizing on G. Mager's unideal start, which was marked by his unforced errors and a double fault several points in, Cukierman successfully broke thanks to his cross-court forehand winner as he tried to redirect from the angles (6-5). He earned his chance to serve for the first set, but had 3 of his set points foiled, one of which due to G. Mager's preceding backhand to Cukierman's forehand error. To add, Cukierman fired a forehand too long for G. Mager's latest break point, which was converted due to a failed volley (6-6). The tie-breaker then became inevitable, where after a smash from the Italian, he took command of the flow, benefitting from Cukierman's cross-court forehand error several points later to also widen the gap before taking the first set 7-6(2).

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Florianopolis Ch D QF: Daniel Cukierman/Carlos Sanchez Jover def. Kelsey Stevenson/Scott Duncan [2] 6-4, 6-4 Match Stats

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Cukierman/Sanchez Jover already put pressure on K. Stevenson/S. Duncan right from the start of the match, firing their forehands while trying to get the second seeds out of their range. This way, they generated their break point as early as possible, making the latter hit one extra shot that turned out to be misfired, as well as utilizing the open court to land shot winners. Even though their range also posed some risks, one of those caused the sole break from K. Stevenson/S. Duncan in the second set that accounted for their 33% break point conversion rate (out of 3 chances), Cukierman/Sanchez Jover kept dictating the flow that helped them to create 12 break points despite the 25% break point conversion rate, which also contained them forcing the crucial deciding points early on.

In addition, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover had stronger service game despite just conceding one service game in the second set. Even though neither pair could score an ace, Cukierman/Sanchez Jover managed to win 10% more points on their first serve with a 70% percentage, which overcame the pressure on their serves. On the other hand, both pairs double-faulted once but K. Stevenson/S. Duncan's second serves appeared more vulnerable since they only won 41% of their second serve points, considering their shot rushes in some crucial momenre, while Cukierman/Sanchez Jover won 3% more points from their second serves than their first since they had troubles landing some first serves in toward the end of the match, but still kept their serves consistent to stay in control.

In tomorrow's semifinals, which will be a big day for Cukierman alongside his singles quarterfinal, he and Sanchez Jover will face fourth seeds Gonzalo Villanueva/Adam Taylor, who earlier defeated Luis Britto/Paulo Andre Saraiva dos Santos 6-3, 3-6, [10-6] in a more competitive showing. Maintaining the pace as displayed tonight would be an important aspect while utilizing the open court necessary to stand out in the match. This could be tricky with the depth and court coverage, but everything is still possible.