Adrian Mannarino: A Surprising Run of Success on Different Surfaces

Adrian Mannarino is not just an herbivore. This season, he reached the final of a tournament twice. Both times on grass, in Mallorca and Newport. One lost, one won. Tuesday, in Kazakhstan, he will play a third, but this time on hard court. For the second time in two days, he got rid of an Austrian. After Jurij Rodionov, it was Sebastian Ofner that “Manna” drove crazy, granting himself the right to succeed a certain Novak Djokovic on the list of winners, on condition of not missing the last step against Sebastian Korda.

However, this semi-final went poorly for the Frenchman, who was the first to lose his serve in the 6th game. Ofner had only lost four small points in his first three engagements and seemed to be doing well in his match. But his high-risk game quickly found its limits in the face of Mannarino’s cunning. Not only did the latter break just as sharply, but he also took the Austrian’s throw in for a second consecutive time, before concluding with his serve to take this initial set 6-4.

Two titles, for the first time?

In the second set, the two players held until 2-2 before Adrian Mannarino escaped with two shots of the spoon. A blank break in the 5th game, another in the process then a shutout to finish. The matter did not drag on. With formidable opportunism (four breaks on as many occasions), the French left-hander made all his experience speak against the man who was one of the revelations of the last Roland-Garros (16th finalist after coming out of qualifying).

At 35, Mannarino confirms that he is experiencing his best season, particularly since the start of the summer, where he put together a string of good performances. He will try against Sebastian Korda (who suffered against the young Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in almost three hours of play) to win two tournaments in the same season for the first time. Guaranteed to move up to 27th place in the ATP rankings, he will be 23rd in the event of a final victory. A very small notch from his best ranking. The old “Manna” gets better with age.

2023-10-02 14:34:00
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