Szymkowiak beats Bicknell to win ITF Bermuda Open
Poland’s Kacper Szymkowiak produced a magnificent display of endurance and composure to shock top seed Blaise Bicknell in a pulsating three-set final at the ITF M15 Bermuda Open.
In a captivating title decider at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium, the seventh seed dug deep to edge Jamaica’s tournament favourite 6-4, 6-7, 7-6.
Szymkowiak seized early command from the back of the court, breaking Bicknell midway through the opening set to take it 6-4.
The Jamaican responded with trademark grit, leaning on heavy serving under pressure to force a second-set tiebreak, which he snatched 7-6 to level the contest.
The deciding set became an absorbing war of attrition in front of a packed crowd in Pembroke. With neither player yielding an inch, the championship rested on a final-set tiebreak.
It was Szymkowiak who held his nerve on the crucial points, sealing an extraordinary triumph after nearly three hours of gruelling baseline tennis.
There was further drama in the doubles showpiece as unseeded duo Juan Sebastian Dominguez Collado and Aydan Gomez Osorio completed a dream run by dethroning top seeds Jeffrey Fradkin and Gray Voelzke.
Having already dispatched the second seeds in the semi-finals, Guatemala’s Dominguez Collado and Curaçao’s Gomez Osorio carried that momentum into the final against the American pair.
After taking a tense opening set 7-6 on a tiebreak, the tandem broke clear early in the second, dominating the net to secure a polished 7-6, 6-3 victory and lift the trophy.
