Saturday

Order of Play

Singles final (Not before 1:00 pm CAT)

M. Majchrzak (WC) vs M. Trungelliti -

Doubles final (11:00 am CAT)

P. Isaro (THA)/C. Rungkat (INA)

vs

M. Houkes (NED)/C. Tabur (FRA)

Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak will face Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti in the inaugural Rwanda Challenger 1 singles final on Saturday at Kigali Ecology Tennis Club.

Both players won their respective semi-finals matches in three sets, having had to come from a set down. Both fancy their chances, which can only be good news for the tennis enthusiasts.

Majchrzack, 28, reached the title match after beating Dutchman Max Houkes 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on center court in a match that lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes while Trungelliti beat American Stefan Kozlov 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 58 minutes.

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Majchrzak, who returned to the ATP Tour at the start of 2024 after serving a 13-month suspension for using banned substance, lost the first set 6-4 in 52 minutes before the world number 652 recovered well to take the second set 6-4 in 43 minutes, thanks to his more experienced head that allowed him to adjust his game and interrupt his younger opponent's rhythm.

An intriguing last four clash was decided in the third set, which the Pole won 6-3 after 32 minutes.

Houkes, a 23-year-old seventh seeded for the Rwanda Challenger week 1, was playing his first ATP Challenger semi-final. He had never gone beyond the last eight stage.

Speaking to Times Sport after the match, Majchrzak said, "It was a difficult match, the conditions were tough, my opponent was left-handed which was different from my quarterfinal opponent (Calvin Hemery)."

"He was spinning the ball, using his left serve angles well, I was struggling to find my game, even though I had so many chances to break his serve in the first set, I just didn't convert any of my break points."

"It was very challenging, from the beginning, I was a bit tight, I needed to overcome this feeling, I was really fighting to stay in the match as long as possible, and eventually that feeling went away and I increased my level, started to play better, and in the end I managed to turn around the match."

Asked about his prospect in the final on Friday as he bids for a fifth ATP Challenger title, he said, "I am ready for the final and yes, I want to win."

Houkes, ranked 357 in the world, admitted he lost to a good player, "We both served well in the first set, and I dropped my first serve percentage and he started to serve better. I won the first set (6-4) but he had 8 or 9 breaks, I got a bit lucky so it was close."

"There was only one break in the second and third sets, I had few breaks in the third set which I didn't take and then it was done," the Dutchman admitted.

Meanwhile, world number 533 Trungelliti also had to come from a set down to beat Kozlov in three sets on center court.

Kozlov took the first set 6-3 in 54 minutes as both players broke each other's serve in turns.

Trungelliti tried to fight back on different occasions but the American was just more consistent, but all that changed in the second set as the South American found his game and endurance, winning the second and third sets 6-4, 6-3 respectively.

This is going to be Trungelliti's first appearance in the final for 2024 as he seeks to win third ATP Challenger title.

"It was tough, I lost the first set 6-3, which took almost an hour, and I knew if I wanted to win, it would take another two hours at least, which it was and I had to be calm because he plays slow but long," the Argentine said after the match.

The 34-year-old added that, "And here, with the altitude, it's complicated for the opponent to generate and not mistakes, I think that's what happened in the first set, I was making mistakes mainly because he was pushing me back."

"In the second set, I started to be more patient and also he was getting a little bit tired (because he was playing almost three hours a very single match), I knew at some point, he would probably get tired but it wasn't the case."

Trungelliti, coached by his mother, admitted he was a bit lucky when I when serving at 1-1 in the third set 0-40, "I managed to come back and win the game, from then, I knew was mine."

With early exits for seeds one, two and three, Trungelliti, will be pre-match slight favorite, so does that bring added pressure? "I don't know if the pressure will be on me, but he [Majchrzak] was a top 100 player a few years ago, I know the kind of player he is, and I know he plays good," reacted Trungelliti.

"Pressure is always there because I always want to win, and tomorrow won’t be different. I came here to get the trophy, it has been a while since I won my Challenger tournament, and why not here in Kigali, it will be perfect for me," he stressed.

Trungelliti achieved his best singles rankings of world number 112 in March, 2019. He has reached 28 career singles finals with a record of 11 wins and 17 losses which includes a 2–9 record in ATP Challenger Tour finals.

His opponent, Majchrzak, has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 75 achieved in February 2022 before he was banned for 13 months over doping.

The singles final will be preceded by the final of the doubles between Pruchya Isaro/Christopher Rungkat and Houkes/Clement Tabur.