First ATP title? It will help us to qualify for Grand Slams, says Nouza and Rikl

Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl celebrate their success in Marrakech, Morocco! The Czech doubles players won their first title on the ATP circuit when they won the overall championship from the position of an unseeded pair without losing a single set! In the final, the Czechs defeated top seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6:3, 6:4.

The Czech duo, who have been working together since last season and managed to conquer five ATP Challenger Tour tournaments last year, have moved up to the next level again! Twenty-six year olds Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl, who narrowly missed out on the ATP tournament in Stockholm last year after a final defeat, claimed the biggest trophy of their careers on Saturday.

The Czech players, who reached the final of the Challenger in Cap Cana in March and tried the clay in Naples, Italy, before the tournament in Marrakech, played excellent tennis this week. They didn't drop a set in four matches and on their way to the final they took on, among others, the top three seeds Alexander Erler and Constantin Frantzen.

In Saturday's battle for the title, Nouza and Rikl were facing the toughest opponents on paper. On the other side of the net were Hugo Nys, the 30th doubles player in the world, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, only five places worse. They have already managed to beat the Czech doubles players this season, by the way, at the indoor tournament in Marseille.

But the Moroccan clay brought a somewhat different picture. Not only was it not a three-set battle this time, but the duel turned into a smooth victory for the Czech pair! Nouza and Rikl did not lose a single serve!

The first set was decided by a break in the second game. Nys and Roger-Vasselin had a break point in the seventh game, but failed to convert it. At the start of the second set, Nouza and Rikl had to deal with two break points from the Monaco-French duo, but again they managed to erase the threats.

In the rest of the match the Czechs presented a very good service and did not offer any more opportunities to their opponents. In the fifth game, they managed to succeed on the return and then finished the match with honest steps.

Both Czechs improved their personal bests in the world rankings with their victory in Marrakech. Rikl moves up to 67th or 68th place (depending on the result of the final in Houston). Nouza will then be ranked 70th in the doubles rankings. 

In addition, the Czechs are defending virtually no points in the next few weeks, so they will be able to work on further improving their ranking, which is essential for easier participation in top-tier tournaments.

Source: tenisovysvet.cz

Players mentioned: Patrik Rikl, Petr Nouza