Benjamin Bonzi eyes maiden ATP title in Tata Open Maharashtra with 'good Indian conditions' as aid

2021 witnessed Benjamin Bonzi in scorching hot form on the Challengers circuit. With a run that began in February of that year, the Frenchman notched up six title wins on the tour, three of which came in consecutive tournaments, making him the first since Mikhail Youzhny in 2016 to emulate this rare feat. His overall tally put his name alongside Facundo Bagnis (2016), Juan Ignacio Chela (2001) and Younes El Aynaoui (1998) as the only players to have lifted six singles trophies in a single season in ATP Challenger history. For Bonzi, the run could have started exactly a year back had he not lost to James Duckworth in straight sets at the 2020 Bengaluru Open final. But with yet another superb run in the country, the world no.60, who admitted "Every time is a good time in India", aims to go a notch higher and grab his maiden ATP title at the Tata Open Maharashtra.

Bonzi defeated Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-0, 6-3 in his opener at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex in Pune before shocking last year's finalist Emil Ruusuvuori, seeded third in the tournament, in the round of 16. Late on Thursday night, the 26-year-old continued his sublime form to take down world no.54 Filip Krajinović 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the quarters. He created more break-point opportunities in the opening set before holding his nerve in the tie-breaker. Bonzi remained the better out of the two in the second set, breaking serve thrice to make the semis at Tata Open.

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"It was a tough match. I had a lot of occasions to break, a lot of break points. It was tough in the first set. I did it with the new balls. Then I had to serve for the set, but he came back and we had a tough tie-break. The same happened in the second set, where there were a lot of long rallies from the baseline. It was tough, but in the end, I won the match and another one tomorrow," he said in an interaction with Hindustan Times after the match.

In 2022, Bonzi had reached his maiden ATP semi-final at the Open 13 in Marseilles before losing to Andrey Rublev. A few months later, he scripted an incredible run to the semis in Mallorca Championships, without dropping a set, but was denied yet again by eventual winner Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"I feel good here with the conditions. This was my first time on the Centre Court. Every time is a good time in India. I was a finalist in Bengaluru three years back, now I am a semi-finalist in this ATP event. That's great," Bonzi said as he aims to become third-time lucky.

"I want to win one tournament this year. I do not know if this is going to be the one. I learned a lot from last year and I am more dangerous this year in those tournaments. Let's keep fighting and for sure it has been a great start to the season."

Bonzi, who has won seven Challengers Trophies in his career, then explained the difference in the level of tennis in ATP tour events.

"Challengers are very tough to win. The big difference with the ATP events is that you could face the best players even in the first round. You cannot get into such tournaments with bad form. You have to play these tournaments with emotion, with confidence and with experience," he said.

Bonzi will next face second seed Botic van de Zandschulp, to whom he has lost twice before - 6-7(6), 6-7(1) at Winston Salem last year and 4-6, 7-5 at a Challenger event in Hamburg in 2020. Showing immense respect for his opponent's abilities, Bonzi expects nothing less than a tough semi-final battle.

"It is great to be in the semis. We know each other very well, we practiced a few times together. Last year he beat me. I know he is a very tough player and plays from the baseline very well. He does everything quite very well. It will be a difficult match but it's a semi-final."

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