Jaume Munar, with the trophy on the Manolo Santana court. JOSELE

Munar and Sherif win Andalucia Open in Marbella

The Balearic Islands tennis player won at Puente Romano on his fourth attempt, while the Egyptian didn't lose a single set all week

PEDRO LUIS ALONSO

Monday, 4 April 2022, 12:00

Fourth time lucky. It's not how the saying usually goes, but it was the case on Sunday for the newly-crowned Andalucia Open winner, Jaume Munar. The tennis player from the Balearic Islands, ranked world number 89, had failed to win on three other occasions he played in finals at the Puente Romano facilities, in Marbella. Menawhile, Egyptian Mayar Sherif (73rd), who came into the tournament as third favourite, took the win and her second career title.

Munar was the clear favourite against Pedro Cachín (228th), who he had beaten in their previous five encounters and losing only one set to the Argentine. Moreover, Cachín wasn't his usual self this past week, as the 26-year-old struggled following an injury-ridden spell which saw him more tired than on previous occasions.

Munar took advantage, moving easily on the Manolo Santana court, winning by 6-2 and 6-2 in just an hour and twenty minutes. The first set was a walk in the park for the Spaniard, though Cachín picked up the pace in the second set and was on course to make a comeback similar to the one in his semi-final, but Munar quickly took back control and won the match.

Hard-fought women's final

In contrast to the men's final, the women's match was much more hard-fought. Sherif ultimately defeated Tamara Korpatsch (117th) by 7-6 and 6-4, in a game that lasted two hours and eight minutes. In Sherif's first six games, she had several break points, with the opening set coming down to an intense tiebreak which the Egyptian won.

Korpatsch didn't back away despite being two break points down in the second set, also denying Sherif the win by taking the set to 5-4, though she would later lose the tournament in the follownig game to give her opponent her second career title.