Vinciguerra Wins Copenhagen
Unseeded Andreas Vinciguerra, a 19-year-old Swede, overcame his nervousness and beat compatriot Magnus Larsson in straight sets Sunday to get the first victory of his career in the Copenhagen Open.
"I got jelly arms in the tiebreak," Vinciguerra said. "I played really well until 3-0 in the second set, but then I got nervous and he started playing better."
Still, Vinciguerra won 6-3, 7-6 (5).
After the match, Vinciguerra took a boat from Copenhagen to his home in Malmo in southern Sweden to celebrate the victory and watch Italian soccer on television.
"Juventus is my favorite team and the Italian league is the best in the world," said Vinciguerra, whose father is from Sicily.
Vinciguerra, who dropped only one set in five matches in Copenhagen, earned $46,000. He's 11-3 this year and will make a big jump from 49th in the new ATP Tour's Champions Race standings.
The 29-year-old Larsson, who broke a six-year drought on the tour last month with a victory in Memphis, Tenn., was impressed by Vinciguerra.
"Vinci didn't make too many mistakes" said Larsson, the tournament's third seed and ranked 16th in the Champions Race standings before Copenhagen. "He'll be the anchor in Swedish tennis the next 10 years, but he's got to improve his serve and volley."
Vinciguerra, whose biggest weapons include a whipping forehand and fast and strong legs, broke Larsson for the only time in the first set to lead 4-3.
After trading early service breaks, the second set went to a tiebreak, and Vinciguerra raced to a quick 5-1 lead. Then he got nervous. Larsson got back to 5-5 before Vinciguerra managed to win it 7-5 to clinch the match.
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