French tennis player Corentin Denolly has been crowned champion of Rwanda Open M25 Week II after putting up a spirited comeback against American Oliver Crawford during Sunday’s final at Kigali Ecology Tennis Club. Denolly, 26, had to come from a set down to beat Crawford in three sets 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the trophy. READ ALSO: Wenger crashes out as Crawford reaches Rwanda Open M25 final After suffering a shock quarterfinal elimination during Rwanda Open Week I, he decided to stay in Kigali and started preparing for Week II. He reached the final after eliminating Week I winner Damien Wenger in two sets 6-4 6-1 on Thursday. Denolly and Wenger were teammates during men’s doubles, winning together the Week I, but it didn’t stop the Frenchman from sending Wenger home in the semifinal. “It is not easy but it is part of Tennis. It is really sad [to beat Wenger] but he had two good weeks, especially the first week...winning the title,” Denolly said, commenting on what it feels to beat a teammate like Wenger. The two will be happy to share the singles trophies, especially beating the same finalist in Crawford who was regarded as favourite to win either week. Denolly revealed that Wenger gave him some tips to beat Crawford before the final...which, he said, ‘helped me a lot.” “We stayed in the same room in the hotel during our stay. When he was going to leave, I asked him to tell me a few words about Crawford. He just told me to play my game, and it really helped me,” he said. On top of the trophy and 25 points, he was awarded a cash prize of $3,600 while Crawford took home $2,120 and 18 points. Rwanda Open used to bring together tennis players from Rwanda and the region but, after adding it to the ITF World Tennis Tour “Futures” calendar, organisers (Rwanda Tennis Federation) opened doors to professional tennis players from across the globe as per of making it more competitive. A host of professional tennis players have not only shown interest but also confirmed their participation in the competition since it gives points to the ATP ranking as well increased prize money.
