"He didn't miss much, I had chances. But when he serves like that, it's complicated", regretted Bonzi, Nîmes by birth but installed for three years in Marseille.

The 26-year-old Frenchman, who will be 45th at ATP on Monday, very close to his best ranking (43rd), was finally dominated in two sets 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) after having had three chances to equalize to a set everywhere, at 6-5 on the service of Hurkacz.

But the tall Pole (1.96 m) ruled out these three set points with authority and with great blows from the first balls, before winning the decisive game without trembling.

In the end, the No.1 seed served 19 aces in Sunday's final and won 41 of the 43 points played behind his first ball.

"I have confidence in my service and in my game", then summed up the 11th player in the world, semi-finalist in 2021 at Wimbledon and who for the 30th edition of the Marseille tournament won his sixth title there in seven finals played on the circuit.

"Go Om !"

"Benjamin was playing better and better and I missed a few shots. But I believed in myself, I felt capable of getting back on top and I was ready to play a third set," he added.

Bonzi, already beaten in the final in Pune, India, at the very beginning of the year, therefore remains in search of his first ATP title and had some regrets on Sunday, despite a solid career, marked in particular by a great victory against the Australian Alex De Minaur (23rd player in the world).

Benjamin Bonzi in Marseille on February 25, 2023 © CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

"At the end, I often took the advantage on his second balls. I arrive more often at the exchange and there I feel a little above. I make fewer mistakes than at the first, I am more impactful , more liberated, I use the public a little more. There was room but it didn't turn out for me", he judged at a press conference.

"This final confirms me in my work, in my game ideas. We have to continue, it remains a good experience. I apprehend these tournaments better and better. I make two finals in two months in 2023. The objective is always to win one but there are plenty of positive things", added Bonzi all the same, who had his eyes already turned to the Dubai tournament, but also to ... the classic OM-PSG on Sunday evening.

"As a Marseillais, the day is not over and we still believe in it. Go OM!", He said during the award ceremony.

© 2023 AFP