Gille & Vliegen Triumph In Estoril For Second Title Of 2023

Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen captured their second title of the season on Sunday when they defeated Serbians Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 in the Millennium Estoril Open final.

The fourth seeds lost their first set of the tournament in the first round, but rallied to win that match and never looked back. They did not lose a set the rest of the week.

Gille and Vliegen, a longtime duo, have now lifted seven ATP Tour trophies together and are 7-2 in finals as a team. They also triumphed in Pune to begin their 2023 season.

In the semi-finals, the Belgians eliminated defending champions and home favourites Francisco Cabral and Nuno Borges in two tie-breaks. In the final, Gille and Vliegen combined for 10 aces and saved two of the three break points they faced.

Cacic and Kecmanovic were trying to win their first title as a team. Kecmanovic also reached the singles final, in which he fell to Casper Ruud.