By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday November 11, 2023
The Frenchman will make his Top-20 debut after notching his third title of the season at Sofia.
Photo Source: TTV
Adrian Mannarino has been nothing short of spectacular in 2023. At the age of 35 he has now won three titles – the most by any Frenchman since 2017 – and will climb to a new career-high ranking of 20 in Monday’s ATP ranking after taking out Jack Draper in a tense three set battle in Saturday’s Sofia Open final, 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3.
“It’s definitely the best way to finish the year,” Mannarino said after racking up his fifth career title overall. “It’s been a great year and I’m a little bit exhausted but it’s pretty motivating when you are doing well – I was feeling great on court and I’m happy with the result.”
Mannarino converted both his break points and saved three of six against Draper, including two as he rallied from 15-40 down in the final game of the final, winning the last four points of the match to close out the victory in two hours and 17 minutes.
“I got a little lucky at the end, it could have gone both ways, I don’t know what made the difference today – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and I was just luckier today,” he said.
Mannarino, who also won titles in Astana and Newport this season, improves to 40-24 overall.
Draper, the youngest British man to reach an ATP final since Andy Murray in 2009, drops to 19-11 overall on the season – he was bidding to become the ATP’s seventh first-time champion in 2023.