Brazil’s Hugo Calderano has signalled his intention to add the WTT Contender Lagos to his WTT titles after clinching his second WTT Star Contender title and his sixth WTT Series singles at the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana in Slovenia on Sunday, June 16.
The Thrill from Brazil chalked up an explosive 4-0 victory over French teenage sensation Felix Lebrun (11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9) to clinch the men’s singles title.
The world No. 6 is listed as the top seed for the WTT Contender Lagos held a losing 1:2 record in the rivalry heading into Sunday’s final, and went toe-to-toe with Lebrun in the fast topspin exchanges as spectators at Hala Tivoli settled down for an electric conclusion to the week.
According to WTT, Lebrun has upstaged Calderano in the WTT Star Contender Goa in India earlier this season and the French knew he had all the necessary tools to beat the Brazilian star and looked to bring the heat in game two, launching into the rallies with little to no time between points.
But Calderano was wise to the young Frenchman’s strategy, quickly getting into position to minimize the effect.
Trailing 2-0, Lebrun cut a frustrated figure at the table, lamenting his lack of precision as he struggled to contain his emotions.
But Calderano wasn’t distracted and would go on to add another game to his tally as the margin between the finalists grew to three games.
Presented with a mountain to climb, Lebrun continued to bring the fight in the fourth, but it was too little too late on the day as Calderano capitalised on his healthy lead, hammering away at the ball to the finish line to get the party started.
The win helped the Brazilian to level the head-to-head series against Lebrun at 2:2, and he hoisted both arms in the air after the match, celebrating his triumph which signalled what Lagos fans should expect when Calderano comes calling.
Despite his overwhelming win, Calderano was magnanimous in victory when he said: “He (Lebrun) is an unbelievably strong player right now, very best of the best. Nothing but compliments for him, he is a great athlete, still very young, but I’m sure he will keep improving. Of course, I didn’t expect to win 4-0, I just focused on my game, and on what I had to do. Fortunately, things went my way from the beginning and I’m very happy I was able to perform that well and close the match very quickly.”
Meanwhile, Calderano has not hidden his intention to conquer Lagos amidst the array of stays heading to the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, Lagos from June 19 to 23 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
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