The Portuguese Gonçalo Falcão was crowned, this Saturday, vice-champion of pairs at the Loulé Open, while Pedro Araújo was stopped in the semi-finals of singles and ended the best week of his career.
The 11th Loulé Open, which this year has $25 in prize money, ends this Sunday.
Playing alongside Slovenian Tomas Lipovsek Puches, with whom he defended the status of fourth seed, Gonçalo Falcão could not have the weapons to pass Australian Rickey Hijikata (who last week played the singles final in Setúbal) and Dutchman Mick Veldheer, who won by 6-2 and 6-3 in just 55 minutes.
Saturday's win allowed 20-year-old Hijikata to make his debut to win doubles tournaments on the international circuit, while 25-year-old Veldheer celebrated for the third time in his career and second in 2021, but first in $25 tournaments. .
Before the doubles final, the squad for the singles final was defined, with the German Lucas Gerch and the Japanese Kaichi Uchida meeting in Sunday's decision.
Number 485 on the ATP rankings, Lucas Gerch was the first to advance by defeating Maximilian Neuchrist (676th) 6-3 7-5 in a match where the German's powerful first serve (“fired” 10 aces) was the word -key to counter the dangerous right hand of the most experienced Austrian opponent.
Afterwards, Kaichi Uchida (369th) put an end to Pedro Araújo's historic week (798th).
At just 19 years old, the young Portuguese man reached the semi-finals of a singles tournament for the first time, a week after having played in the first doubles final (in Setúbal, alongside Fábio Coelho), and after defeating Sebastian Fanselow , Laurent Lokoli and Arthur Cazaux were held back by their peers partner this week — fell into the semi-finals — by losing 6-4 6-3.
Despite the defeat, Pedro Araújo has reason to leave the Loulé Open satisfied, as the semi-finals (and the respective six points he won) will allow him to reach a new career maximum in the ATP rankings on the 25th of October, having projected to debut in the top 750 of the world table.
Regarding the finalists, Lucas Gerch guaranteed his first presence in the finals of the international circuit since he was runner-up in Santa Margherita di Pula (Italy) in September 2019, more than two years ago. When it comes to titles, you have to go back to July of that same year to reach the German's second and final achievement, which took place at the $25 + Hospitality ITF in Kassel, Germany.
Kaichi Uchida, in turn, is looking for the eighth title of his career and will compete in the second final of the season in Algarve tournaments. In March, the Japanese tennis player was crowned champion of Vale do Lobo's $25 ITF by winning a final lasting more than three and a half hours with Sebastian Fanselow.
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