By Chris Oddo | Saturday, January 17, 2015
21-year-old qualifier Jiri Vesely captured his first ATP title in Auckland with a straight-sets victory over France's Adrian Mannarino.
Photo Source: Getty
21-year-old rising star Jiri Vesely nabbed his maiden title at the Heineken Open on Saturday, taking down France’s Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 6-2 in 67 minutes.
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Vesely, who had upset world No. 13 Ernests Gulbis and world No 16 Kevin Anderson after qualifying for the main draw, becomes the first Czech winner in Auckland in 19 years (Jiri Novak).
The 6’6” southpaw hammered 11 aces and saved two of three break points to stay on top of first-time finalist Mannarino.
Vesely joined a special group of players born in the 1990’s to have captured ATP title. There are now six.
“It feels amazing to be part of the ATP champions,” Vesely said, according to ATPworldtour.com. “It’s not something that everyone is [able] to achieve, so I’m very grateful for that.”
Vesely will open his Australian Open against the weekend’s other title winner, Viktor Troicki, in a highly anticipated first-round match.