Canada’s Vasek Pospisil failed to lift the championship trophy at Sunday’s Koblenz Challenger in Germany.
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The veteran lost the flag in the final of the event with 2: 6 and 5: 7 against the Russian Roman Safiullin. The Maple Leaf’s representative was the third seed of this competition, while his rival of the day benefited from the second seed title.
The winner won with his first serve ball and took advantage of his rival’s second ball. Pospisil was broken four times on five occasions and lacked opportunism.
In fact, the Vernon, British Columbia native converted just one of the seven break points he was offered.
The 113th player in the world missed an opportunity to secure a 12th career Challenger Circuit title.
Fernandez advances to Abu Dhabi
Earlier in the day, Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez won her first qualifier for the tournament in Abu Dhabi.
The 20-year-old athlete defeated France’s Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The 38th player in the world and runner-up in the qualifying tournament won 62% of rallies.
Despite his dominance, Fernandez struggled with his serve. She committed eight double faults and hit 57% of her first attempts.
To secure her place in the main draw in Abu Dhabi, Fernandez must defeat Ukraine’s Katarina Zavatska. This duel is scheduled for Monday.
She won’t be the only Canadian in action that day as Rebecca Marino also triumphed in her first round qualifier.
The 32-year-old Ontarian earned a 7-5, 6-3 win over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan.