Gea shines in Greece with three titles from four straight ITF finals
It barely feels a moment ago that Arthur Gea took his first significant step in professional tennis by winning his maiden title on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
A fortnight on from that milestone in Heraklion on 12 November, the 18-year-old Frenchman now has three titles to his name after a scintillating month on Greek soil.
Gea’s latest triumph – a 7-6(2) 6-3 victory over Britain’s Alastair Gray at M15 Heraklion on Sunday – follows his victory (just seven games into the final) over retiree Jakub Nikod at the same venue a week earlier, seven days after notching his first pro triumph with a 2-6 6-3 6-2 win at M25 Heraklion.
Gea has now won three titles and reached four finals in consecutive weeks in Greece.
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It’s a significant run of form for the teenager following a strong junior career which saw him climb as high as No. 8 in the junior rankings and bookend his 2023 season with a quarter-final run in the boys’ event at the Australian Open and a semi-final finish at the junior US Open.
Gea brought the curtain down on his junior career by competing at the 2023 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in October, which showcases the best junior players from the past twelve months within the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors.
Gea, who is coached by Tarik Benhabiles, a former Top 25 ATP Tour pro who most famously coached Andy Roddick for five years, has made a significant rankings leap of his own as a result of his run of form over the past month.
He cracked the top 500 in the ATP rankings this week at No. 498 – a leap of 338 spots from when he touched down in Greece at the end of October.
Click here for all this week’s men’s results on the ITF World Tennis Tour