The Russian dedicated his record on the Challenger track. Gakhov is the champion in Girona after the withdrawal of Gastao Elias at the end of the second set (5-7, 6-4 d).
tournament draw
tournament results
Final in the series Girona challenger in front Gakhov only Elias. The Russian was one step away from his first title on the Challenger circuit after a great week. Opposite was the experienced Gastao Elias, who returned to the final after defeating Pedro Martínez in the last match. The two had met in Bangkok in 2019 and the victory went to the Russian on the fast track. The favorite was the Portuguese, but Gakhov had a great opportunity.
Gakhov is the champion of Girona
Gastao Elias took the initiative on the scoreboard. This allowed him to shift the pressure to the other side of the net. The Portuguese was the first to have break options, but he didn’t capitalize on any of the two he had in the fourth game. Both were very successful in the service and there were few break options. At 6-5 the Portuguese secured a draw, although it wasn’t necessary as they were 0-40 after a brilliant display. Gastao Elias took the first round in 49 minutes.
Elias continued with the same strategy and seemed to be the one who was one step above. Once again, he took the lead on the scoreboard. The set was almost traceable to the first round, so again in the fourth game Gakhov had to raise against two break points, but he made it 2-2. Until 4-4, both held their bids and in the ninth game, the Russian reached a break at the first opportunity, which left him with a bid to end the set. He won the tenth game with white to make it 6-4 and the match progressed to a third set, although finally after the withdrawal of his exhausted rival Elias Ivan Gakhov retained his first Challenger title when he dominated in Girona after a great week.
