ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR KNOKKE – XAVIER MALISSE CLINCHES OPTIMA OPEN CROWN ON DEBUT . THE X – MAN WINS !

Written by: Staff on 18th August 2014

ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR KNOKKE - XAVIER MALISSE CLINCHES OPTIMA OPEN CROWN ON DEBUT . THE X - MAN WINS !

epa03106462 Xavier Malisse of Belgium hits a return against Robby Ginepri of the US during the first round of the SAP Open tennis at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, USA, 14 February 2012. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

EDITORS Note : the team here @10sballs.com are thrilled for our longtime buddy the X -Man .

We know he really worked hard to get in condition to make this beautiful win. ( we saw photos from Bradenton ) We just wished he would come back to the big show. Congrats !

OPTIMA OPEN

ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR

14-17 AUGUST, 2014

KNOKKE, BELGIUM

XAVIER MALISSE CLINCHES OPTIMA OPEN TENNIS CROWN

Belgian Xavier Malisse defeated Fabrice Santoro in the final of the Optima Open in Knokke-Heist to lift his debut ATP Champions Tour title.

The players took to the court in challenging conditions at Knokke-Heist’s Royal Zoute Tennis Club on Belgium’s North Sea coast. Following a break for rain at 2-2 in the first set, Malisse came back to the court firing on all cylinders and took swift control of the match. Santoro’s usual lightness of touch and swiftness around the court were nullified by the damp conditions and he was seldom able to penetrate his opponent’s back court game. Malisse took the first set 6-2 in little over 20 minutes, and despite the strong winds and cold temperatures the Belgian’s hot streak continued throughout the second set. Two breaks of serve in the second set were enough to see the crowd favourite safely to a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

‘This feels great actually,’ said Malisse. ‘I’m very happy to win, and just to play Fabrice because he is a fun guy to play. It’s very different to being on the ATP Tour but I have really enjoyed my time here this week and seeing all the guys again. I am so grateful to the crowd who stayed to watch us and cheer for us today because it’s not the nicest weather to sit and watch tennis.’

Santoro was magnanimous in defeat, accepting that he lost to a better player on the day.

‘I was so happy to make the final I can accept losing to someone like Xavier,’ he said. ‘He is younger than me and more talented than me so it’s no surprise for me not to win. I just hope we were able to entertain the crowd a bit on this rainy day.’

The Champions Tour now turns its attention to Italy, where four legends of the game will be gathering in two cities on the 17th and 18th of October. For more details on the Grande Sfida in Genoa and Milan featuring John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Michael Chang and Goran Ivanisevic click here: http://www.atpchampionstour.com/events/italy.aspx.

To view highlights of the final go to the Optima Open YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/OptimaOpen

For full results for the Optima Open please visit: http://www.atpchampionstour.com/results/results.aspx

ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Video – What makes John McEnroe tick? – http://goo.gl/DZTkEf

Video – Watch Tim Henman and Goran Ivanisevic watch THAT Wimbledon semifinal … together -http://goo.gl/11ti2g

Video – Facing Federer: Mark Philippoussis remembers his 2003 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer – http://goo.gl/vpo60h

Video – What’s in your bag? Tim Henman rummages through the belongings of one of his fellow ATP Champions Tour stars. But whose bag is it? – http://goo.gl/u8al7C

For other video content from the ATP Champion Tour, click here: http://www.atpchampionstour.com/multimedia/video-landing.aspx

For interviews, reports and the latest videos from the ATP Champions Tour, please go to: http://www.atpchampionstour.com

For latest scores, news and gossip, follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/championstennis or visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-ATP-Champions-Tour/111815998829329?v=wall

Topics: 10sballs.com, ATP Champions Tour, Fabrice Santoro, Knokke, Optima Open, Tennis, Tennis News, Xavier Malisse

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

August 18, 2014 at 9:07 am

#ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR #KNOKKE- @xmalissesite CLINCHES OPTIMA OPEN CROWN ON DEBUT. THE X-MAN WINS!- http://t.co/rodkEo26RW #tennis #optimaopen
xmalissesite says:

August 18, 2014 at 9:52 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR #KNOKKE- @xmalissesite CLINCHES OPTIMA OPEN CROWN ON DEBUT. THE X-MAN WINS!- http://t.co/rodkEo26RW #…