21.06.2021 12:00:00 | Federico Coria of Argentina became the champion of the 28th MONETA Czech Open challenger in Prostėjov. In the attractive final duel he outplayed Alex Molčan of Slovakia. The Slovak had a better start in the first set: he was leading 4:1 and serving for the first set at 5:3. However, Federico Coria showed more patience at that decisive moment and got the break back.
Molčan at least extended the match to tiebreak in which, however, his opponent dominated. After a series of long rallies the Coria was a step closer to winning the cup.
The Slovak player did not give up after losing the first set. After a short break he came back to the court more concentrated and could keep pace with the favorite for long. However, the Argentinian’s experience was decisive in key moments: he was more accurate in rally-ending shots. His shots were aggressive and long enough. After ninety four minutes, Coria converted his second match point and built up on his brother Guilermo’s success who won the Prostėjov challenger in 2002. “The opponent played really great and you could tell he kept improving. He didn’t give and fought till the end. That’s also why I’m very happy for the victory. It’s been a great week,“ said Coria. What did he have to say about the final match?“The beginning was very nervous, but I gradually developed an efficient strategy against my opponent. I think I managed to get him under pressure and make him make more errors. Maybe I was also a bit more experienced. All in all, I didn’t let go and wrapped the match up. I’m already looking forward to the next year. I will sure want to come back to Prostėjov!“
Molčan quickly recovered from the disappointment over his defeat. “Of course, I wanted to make it all the way to the summit. However, the final is still a very good result. I’ve built on the previous quality results and hope that the form will last as long as possible,“ said Molčan in evaluation of the tournament from his perspective.
And what about Coria’s picture with the cup? “Yes, like I’ve already said, my brother sent me a picture with a cup he won here in 2002. This was surely a great motivation for me. I’m really very happy for the victory and can proclaim that the Coria family loves Prostėjov! Of course, I’ve sent the picture with the cup back to my bother already.“
