Mannarino is now the oldest tennis champion of the tournament at 34 years old. He is also the first Frenchman to win the title.
“I’m just happy I won the tournament, no matter who won before or who’s going to win after,” Mannarino said after his win. “It’s just something that I’ve [accomplished] for now and I’m really happy with that.”
He had a slow start, he said that he had trouble seeing the ball.
“I had some trouble today to see the ball,” the Frenchman said. “The conditions last night, playing at night with the cold weather was so different than playing today with hot weather and clear blue skies.
“So it took me a little bit of time to get used to it but I was able to keep my nerve and just be focused on what I had to do. I was able to break back at 4-3 and then I kept being consistent until the end. I knew that Laslo had a really exhausting week and probably if we were going to have a tough battle I would get the win because physically I was a little bit fresher.”
Match Highlights:
Adding to this wins record, Mannarino is also the second left-handed player to win the title. The first one to do so was Jurgen Melzer back in 2013. Melzer, at 32, was also the oldest player to win the tournament until Mannarino beat that record.
For more lefty pride, Mannarino is also the fourth lefty to win a tour level this season. The others are Rafael Nadal, Cameron Norrie, and Albert Ramos-Vinola.
With this win, Mannarino moves from 65 to 45 in the world rankings.
MANNARINO @AdrianMannarino is the #WSOpen 2022 Champion after defeating Djere 7-6, 6-4 @WSOpen pic.twitter.com/g5j4mYdgyY
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 27, 2022