Carnac ITF tournament
“He was just too strong. I was helpless. I got cut up even though I didn’t play that badly.” Arthur Nagel may already have great experience, including matches against opponents in the top 150. But the Alsatian was unable to do anything against the enthusiasm of the prodigy born in 2009. Already the author of a performance in the first round against Lucas Poullain (6-2, 6-2), Daniel Jade confirmed throughout the week, notably during a quarter with an astonishing level of play against Mathys Domenc (2-6, 7-6, 6-4) before a half and this uneventful final. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever played so well in my life. I’m very happy with my performance, especially here, where I got my first ATP point. Being able to win the tournament a year later proves my progress,” Jade relished.
Serene from start to finish
In fact, there was no fight between the two men. From the start, Jade set the tone with a sublime lob, an entry break, a crazy success on drop shots, a lightning backhand and forehand and impressive court coverage. Pocketing the first set (6-2), he again took Nagel’s service from the start (2-0) before being untouchable on his throw in (6-2, 6-2). Ten days after a benchmark match in Roland-Garros qualifying against Briton Daniel Evans (former world No. 21), here he is, winner of his first professional title. This is obvious for his coach, Stéphane Huet: “He has been making full progress for several months, playing on par with players in the top 100. There is a form of logic. The idea is to try to quickly climb into the top 500 and look for bigger tournaments to get closer to the top 100 in the future.”
Roland Junior from Sunday
As for Daniel Jade, he doesn’t really have time to savor his coronation. This Sunday morning, he enters the fray at the junior Roland-Garros against the Spaniard Valentin Gonzalez-Galino. “I don’t set limits for myself. I will recover well and try to give everything there in front of the French public. We know it’s special there,” adds the kid from Beirut, who arrived in France at the age of 12 after the devastating explosion in the port of the Lebanese capital in August 2020. On Sunday, it is in another capital that Daniel Jade will try to write a new page in his promising history.
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