Nice (AFP)
Fiona Ferro, 53rd in the world, won the Elite FFT Challenge in Nice on Saturday, the first semi-official tennis tournament since the freeze on the professional circuit in March, while Gilles Simon, 54th in the world, won the men's final.
Ferro, 23, managed the "perf" of the day by winning against French number 1 Kristina Mladenovic (42nd), after the suspense: 3-6, 6-4 and 10-7 in the super tie- break.
Galanterie obliges, this final ladies preceded that of the men between Simon and Pierre-Hugues Herbert (71e). The native of Nice came out with honors against the Alsatian, but with difficulty. He needed two tie-breaks (7/5, 7/3).
The Elite FFT Challenge was set up by the FFT to allow the best Tricolores to find competitive sensations after four months of freezing of the professional circuit due to the pandemic, and with a view to the resumption in August with in particular the American tour and the US Open.
24 players and 12 players are eligible to participate in the Elite Challenge, eligible for the qualifications and the grand slams of the Grand Slam tournaments (with 4 wild-cards for men and 2 for women).
After Nice, the Elite Challenge will move to Cannes (July 13-18) and then to Villeneuve-Loubet (July 20-25). Benoît Paire, Ugo Humbert and Corentin Moutet, absent this week in Nice, should join the ranks.
© 2020 AFP