Dominican's dominance extends beyond homeland

Dominican Republic’s Nick Hardt tasted victory for the second time in his professional career as he captured the M15 Saarlouis title, his first on a clay court and, most notably, his first outside of his homeland.

The 19-year-old raced through the draw without dropping a set en route to a final which saw him surrender just four games. The result seemed the just rewards for Hardt, who prior to this triumph had seen recent attempts on clay take him as far as the semi- and quarter-finals of M15 Antalya and M25 Pensacola, Florida respectively.

Across the border there was success for Hunter and Yates Johnson (USA), who racked up their third doubles title of 2019 at the M25 Lasne in Belgium. The twins, who are coached by their father, look to be establishing themselves as a formidable pairing with their latest victory taking them up to 10 career titles together.

Back in the twin’s homeland, there was a maiden professional singles title for Alexander Cozbinov (MDA), who was crowned champion of the M15 Pittsburgh. The Moldovan, who looked at ease on the clay as he reached the final with a string of straight sets victories, was made to work in the final by his opponent, Simon Freund of Sweden, and eventually came out victorious in three sets 2-6 6-2 6-1. The two would meet again in the doubles draw in Pittsburgh, with the Swede teaming up with partner Keegan Smith to avenge his singles defeat with a straight sets victory.

From the women’s side, Georgia Andreea Craciun (ROU) achieved the first W25 trophy of her career, scooping the top prize at the Stuttgart-Vaihingen tournament. The Romanian, who had only competed at W25 level three times prior to the event showed a steely resolve to overcome Austria’s Barbara Haas in the semi-final in a thrilling tiebreak before defeating Olga Govortsova of Belarus in the final in straight sets. It was Craciun’s first title in nine months and her first on a clay court since September 2018 when she claimed the title at the W15 Varna in Bulgaria.

One player whose 2019 is going from strength to strength is Luxembourg’s Eleonora Molinaro. She continued her impressive clay court season with the addition of the W25 Denain singles title to her growing collection. The 19-year-old battled impressively on the French clay, rallying to overcome her opponents both in the semi-final and final in closely contested three-set encounters.