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Istomin and Martic win Inaugural Chicago Titles

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Petra Martic

Istomin and Martic win Inaugural Chicago Titles

By Jonathan Kelley

(September 9, 2018) CHICAGO – There were a lot of similarities between the two winners of Sunday’s singles finals at the first-ever Chicago Oracle Challenger Series. They both were second seeds in their respective tournaments. They both won their first pro tournament of 2018 this week. And they both won their titles without dropping a set.

 

Petra Martic and Denis Istomin each won their first set 6-4 and cruised through a second set (6-1 for Martic, 6-2 for Istomin), using consistency and solid serving to overcome their taller, powerful opponents Mona Barthel and Reilly Opelka in windy conditions.

 

Martic’s title was especially sweet, as it was her first above the ITF level. Although not an official tour-level title, a WTA $125K is the next best thing, and with the points gained this week, she will have achieved her ranking goal for the year: Top 40.

 

Like she did in her semifinal, the Croatian jumped out to a 3-0, two-break lead in the first set. Barthel got a break back with better hitting and a pair of Martic double faults, but Martic maintained her serve the rest of the match. In the second set, she again went up 3-0. This time, she acknowledged, she started thinking about the finish line.

 

“I saw that she was losing her hope and I just thought, ‘Okay, don’t think about the title now, it’s not time for it yet,’” said Martic.  “’Just take it as practice and just keep on going to the end.’ So that’s how I kept calm at match point.”

 

With only 13 points to defend for the rest of the year, and four more tournaments, she as a shot at her “secret wish” – to be ranked at the Australian Open (she’s only 111 points behind the current No. 32 player, Daria Gavrilova).

 

“But I don’t want to put pressure on myself,” Martic explained. “I know it’s possible, especially now with these points. But I just want to enjoy my title. If I make it – great – if not, still a great season.”

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Denis Istomin

For his part, Istomin won his eleventh ATP Challenger singles title, but only his second outside Uzbekistan (the other was in Istanbul in 2011). He also has won five Futures titles – all in Uzbekistan – and two ATP World Tour titles, one in the UK and one in China.

 

Istomin spoke highly of the Chicago tournament.

 

“I really enjoy playing here; it’s a very nice organization here and for their first time it’s a really, really nice tournament,” he said. “I always like to play in the US because I have had so many good tournaments. Two times [I reached] finals and now I won a challenger.”

 

Istomin wasn’t broken at all during the tournament. He faced no break points in the first two rounds, only three break points in each of his two subsequent matches, and none in the final. “I served very well this week,” he said. “But especially in these conditions the last two days, I decided I needed to get more first serves in because it’s not easy to return.” Opelka struggled getting returns in play, while Istomin won 71% of Opelka’s second serves.

 

Istomin’s win must have felt particularly good after a first-round, straight-set exit to Steve Johnson at the US Open. That wasn’t unexpected, however, given that just two days prior Istomin played in and won the men’s singles gold medal match at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

 

That gold medal ranks highly in Istomin’s career. “I think it’s a really nice win for me, especially for my country because I get a wild card to the Tokyo Olympic games. Also to win the Asian championship, it’s a big win, you know? I don’t know how many years I have left, but to have this one in my life, it’s really important.”

 

There was one other similarity between this week’s champions: they both are, unusually, coached by women. Martic is coached by former pro Sandra Zaniewska, who is a year younger than her. “She stopped due to an injury, which I took an opportunity and started working with her,” said Martic. “She knows my game really well and I really trust her and it’s working really good.”

 

For his part, Istomin is coached by his mother, although she didn’t accompany him to Chicago. Istomin noted there are “so many guys who are coached by parents. Some have a father as coach, and I have a mom as coach, but I don’t think it’s unique. Women also can have good advices.”

Jonathan Kelley is in Chicago covering the Oracle Challenger Series tournament for Tennis Panorama News. 

 

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