Reportedly, unseeded Joao Sousa hammered fifth seed Julien Benneteau of France by 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the Malaysian Open final on Sunday for his maiden career title. Hence, this is the first ATP victory for Portugal.
In fact, the 24-year-old Sousa came out as a giant killer in the event. Earlier, he had banged top seed plus world No. 4 David Ferrer in the last eight and further fourth seed Juergen Melzer of Austria in the semi-finals on the indoor hard court.
He expressed that he doesn't know what to say right now and it is unbelievable. He added that he had so many breakthroughs this past two weeks as he reached his first final, by squashing a top 10 player and winning the first title. He admitted that it used to be that when one failed to win a title if one is 18, one won't have much chance, but now it is different.
Sousa, who will break into the top 50 when the next ranking list is issued on Monday, explained that the average age of the top 100 is 28, hence there is still hope for him. Specifically, he admires Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and wishes to be up there one day, but still realizes his standard. He doesn't want to think too far.
Particularly, it was an extraordinary turnaround by Sousa, who was noticeably nervous in the opening set and lost his serve in the fourth and eight games to drop out in 36 minutes. Even though his service did not spice up much in the second, Sousa did his best to hold off Benneteau. This included saving the championship ball in the second set to claim a come-from-behind 7-5 victory to level the match. However, failing to convert the break point for victory clearly affected the Frenchman, while his confidence increased. Subsequently, he opened the deciding set by breaking Benneteau comfortably and never looked back.
It was the second consecutive year for the 31-year-old Benneteau, who has lost in the final in Malaysia.
Benneteau admitted that he doesn't think he deserves to lose as he played very well, but Sousa truly had that bit of extra. He conveyed that he is quite upset right now. He had his chances but failed to catch them.
In fact, he is still looking out for his first career singles title following reaching nine finals with matching compatriot Cedric Pioline, who has just won his first title in his 10th final.
Remarkably, Sousa gained US$158,000 & 250 Emirates ATP ranking points, along with the runner-up hauling US$83,240 plus 150 points.
In the doubles final, Eric Butorac of America secured his 2nd Malaysian Open crown when he along with his new partner Raven Klaasen of South Africa hammered the Uruguayan-Argentinian combination of Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos. They were the semi-finalists at the French Open, who scored 6-2, 6-4 in just 56 minutes. Notably, Butorac initially won a title in Bangkok in 2011 along with Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer. The champions won to receive US$48,000, while the runners-up got US$25,200.
