Brkic/Cabral Ease To Gstaad Title

Despite a straight-sets defeat in their first ATP Tour match together in Stuttgart in June, Tomislav Brkic and Francisco Cabral opted to give their partnership a second chance.

That decision paid off on Sunday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, where the unseeded pairing capped an impressive week at the ATP 250 event in the Swiss Alps with a 6-4, 6-4 championship match victory against Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald.

“It’s just our second tournament together,” said Cabral at the trophy ceremony. “The first one was on grass. It was my first ever grass event and he [Cabral] doesn’t feel that comfortable on grass, so we just decided we needed to give it one more try and we have got better.”

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Brkic and Cabral upset top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez with a Match Tie-break win in the first round in Gstaad and did not drop another set all week. The duo produced a powerful serving performance against Haase and Oswald on Sunday to surge to the title in Switzerland, winning 87 per cent (26/30) of points behind their first delivery in a 71-minute victory.

“In these conditions today, we felt really good this morning on this court, and it felt a little bit different because it was hotter than yesterday,” said Brkic. “We found a rhythm, we were holding our serve well. Especially Francisco was serving unbelievable.”

The triumph represents a second tour-level title for both players. Brkic triumphed in Buenos Aires in 2021 alongside Nikola Cacic, while Cabral won his home tournament in Estoril in April alongside Nuno Borges.

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