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Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil comes up just short of first ATP title

Local tennis pro finishes runner-up at the Sofia Open with a finals loss Saturday
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Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil finished the ATP season with a runner-up result at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria, following a loss in the finals to Italian Jannik Sinner Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (Martin Sidorjak - Czech Republic Photo)

Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil nearly capped off 2020 with his first ATP Tour title, but ultimately finished runner-up at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria this weekend.

Pospisil stood opposite of Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in the finals Saturday morning, and it was Sinner who triumphed over the Canadian in a nail-biting third set.

Sinner started the match strong, capitalizing on his third break point opportunity to win the first set 6-4. Pospisil responded in the second set, winning 6-3 to set up an exciting finish.

The third set went into a tiebreak, where Sinner served confidently en route to a 6-3 lead, setting up match point. He made no mistake on the next rally, winning the tiebreak and grabbing his first ATP title.

Saturday’s match was Pospisil’s third career ATP final and his second in 2020 after he reached the Open Sud de France final in Montpellier in February. It’s been a strong year overall for the 30-year-old, who also reached the round of 16 at the US Open in September.

Sinner has been enjoying a breakout year, becoming the youngest player to reach the French Open quarterfinals since 2011. With Saturday’s win, he also became the youngest ATP champion in 12 years.

Sinner is ranked 44th in the world this week, while Pospisil sits at 74 on the ATP rankings list.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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