Milan Challenger: Coria wins, Passaro beaten in the final

Good second for Federico Coria at the Challenger in Milan. After last year’s defeat in the final against Gian Marco Moroni, the Argentine wins the Aspria Tennis Cup by beating another Italian, Francesco Passaro: 7-6 6-4 the final score. The 21-year-old from Perugia has yet to hit his first Challenger title: this year there were three finals and three defeats, again in Italy and against players in the top 100 in the world. The knockout of Milan follows those of Sanremo, against Holger Rune, and Forlì, against Lorenzo Musetti. But the way is right: since the beginning of the year Passaro has climbed the ranking and is now virtually number 219 in the world, with 35 positions gained in Milan.

The match

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The final with Coria ends amidst smiles, with the two players sitting on the same bench chatting before the awards ceremony. “Francesco is my friend, he is a beautiful person”, the words of Coria with the cup in hand. The Argentine – seeded number 1 on the scoreboard – respects the prediction and thanks to this success he gains three positions in the ATP ranking, reaching 67th place. The final was balanced, decided by the tie-break in the first set – Passaro had three unused chances to break his opponent’s serve – and by Coria’s break in the last game of the match. The Argentine returns to win a tournament eight months away from the Challenger of Brasilia, but there is little time to celebrate: tomorrow he will be on the pitch for the first round of Wimbledon against Jiri Vesely, in the second match on field 9.