It was 9.07 pm when the hope of having at least one Italian in the final of the ASPRIA Tennis Cup – BCS Trophy (€74,825, clay) vanished . After the last smash, almost liberating, the Argentine Federico Agustin Gomez knelt on the clay of the Center Court to celebrate his first final in a Challenger tournament. Gomez stole the goal from Samuel Vincent Ruggeri , also chasing a similar achievement. In a match that started very late due to the length of the previous one, Gomez started tense, tense, almost ragged. An attentive Vincent Ruggeri stimulated him from the backhand side, collecting many points. In fact, the Argentine is a rather asymmetrical player: he has a very powerful forehand, while his two-handed backhand can get into difficulty. Vincent Ruggeri quickly went up 4-0, but at that point the giant from Merlo (he is 191 cm tall and weighs 95 kg) took the measure of the match.
GRADUATED IN THE UNITED STATES
It wasn’t enough to recover the first set, but the match changed direction from the first points of the second. Gomez confirmed that he is in great shape, relying on a very powerful serve (which in its movements recalls that of his compatriot Agustin Calleri, former top-20 ATP player) and surprising mobility for a player of his size. Vincent Ruggeri was a bit overwhelmed by the wave, which however could have stopped at 3-1 in the second, when Gomez suffered a classic twist to his right ankle while chasing a drop shot. The scare lasted a few dozen seconds, because then he started playing great again . No drop, on the contrary, a clear predominance until 5-1 in the third, when perhaps a bit of fear of winning took over. The Bergamo player fought as best he could, he got closer to 5-3, but the distance was now too much. It ended 3-6 6-3 6-3 and in the final there will be the Argentine boy, graduated in Sports Administration in Louisiana. For this reason he turned professional only in 2021, at 25 years old. Today he is number 284 ATP, but he will still go up and can be even more dangerous on the hard courts, frequented for years at the time of the NCAA Championship. In the meantime he is enjoying an unprecedented result (after starting from the qualifications) and will certainly not start as an underdog against Filip Cristian Jianu, who in the first semifinal had blocked Enrico Dalla Valle’s dream.
ASPRIA TENNIS CUP – BCS TROPHY (€74,825, clay)
Semifinals Singles
Filip Cristian Jianu (ROM) b. Enrico Dalla Valle (ITA) 6-3 0-6 7-5
Federico Agustin Gomez (ARG) b. Samuel Vincent Ruggeri (ITA) 3-6 6-3 6-3
Semifinali Doppio
Petr Nouza-Patrik Rikl (CZE-CZE) b. Theo Arribage-Denys Molchanov (FRA-UCR) 7-5 7-6(6)
Andre Begemann-Jonathan Eysseric (GER-FRA) b. Ivan Sabanov-Matej Sabanov (SRB-SRB) 7-5 6-4
