Argentina’s Trungelliti makes history as oldest first-time ATP Tour finalist

Argentina’s 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti proved tennis dreams do not come with an expiration date when he became the oldest first-time ​tour-level finalist in the Open Era after beating the top ‌seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals in Marrakech on Saturday.

Trungelliti, who came through the tournament’s qualifiers, upset Italy’s defending champion Luciano Darderi 6-4 ​7-6(2) to break the previous record held by Victor Estrella ​Burgos of the Dominican Republic, who reached his first final ⁠aged 34 years in 2015.

Darderi, ranked 19 in the world, ​was only six-years-old when Trungelliti turned pro in 2008. With the victory, ​Trungelliti secured just his second career top-20 win.

“Of course, I believed it, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible,” Trungelliti said ​in the on-court interview.

“I’ve worked a lot, me and my ​team and also my wife, my kid. We all believed in breaking the record ‌basically ⁠and that’s exactly what we have done now.”

The milestone caps a remarkable journey for Trungelliti, who made his first ATP Tour semi-final in 2018 in Umag, Croatia – 402 weeks ago.

Having entered the tournament ​ranked 117 in ​the world, Trungelliti’s ⁠breakthrough week has already guaranteed he will crack the top 100 for the first time. He is ​currently ranked number 75 in the live rankings.

“It’s ​been happening ⁠the whole week, leaving the court with a victory,” added Trungelliti, who has dropped only one set at the tournament. “So hopefully (there) is one ⁠more ​to go.”

He will face Rafael Jodar on ​Sunday after the Spaniard prevented an all-Argentine final with a 6-2 6-1 victory over ​Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

-Reuters

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