Dodig/Roger-Vasselin Target Nitto ATP Finals After Lyon Title Run
Dodig/Roger-Vasselin Target Nitto ATP Finals After Lyon Title Run
Second seeds improve to 15-9 this year
Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin set their sights on a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals after claiming their second team title of the season on Saturday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.
The Croatian-French duo, which owns a 15-9 record as a team, saved all eight break points it faced to beat Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski 6-4, 6-3 after 70 minutes. Dodig and Roger-Vasselin have won two ATP Tour titles in France since their team debut at the Sydney International in January. The second seeds picked up their maiden team trophy at the Open Sud de France (d. Bonzi/Hoang) in February.
“[Our goal for the end of the year], as a team, would be to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals,” said Roger-Vasselin. “That would mean that we are in the top eight teams in the world. This is, for sure, the goal. To be part of this [event], we have to win many more matches and play well in Grand Slams. Roland Garros is right there, so it is important for us to play well and we’ll see at the end. It is definitely one of the biggest goals of the year.”
Dodig and Roger-Vasselin did not drop a set en route to the title in Lyon, which also included a semi-final victory against fourth seeds Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara. Dodig has now won 13 trophies from 27 tour-level finals, while Roger-Vasselin improves to 18-11 in tour-level championship matches.
“From the first match, we started to build a little bit of confidence… from the semi-finals and the final I think we played a great level,” said Dodig. “That was very important for us, to play some matches and to win this tournament is definitely the best possible preparation for us to go to Roland Garros and keep the momentum and confidence.”
Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski were bidding to capture their third trophy in eight ATP Tour finals as a team. The British brothers have reached four tour-level finals this year, following a title run in Budapest (d. Daniell/Koolhof) and runner-up finishes in Delray Beach (l. to Bryan/Bryan) and Houston (l. to S. Gonzalez/Qureshi).
Dodig and Roger-Vasselin receive 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €29,650 in prize money. Skupski and Skupski gain 150 points and split €15,200.