The boys’ final for the Kungens Kanna became a real nail-biter, to the joy of the spectators. The momentum swang back and forth several times, in the end, giving us the first Spaniard ever to lift this trophy.
Second-seeded Martin Landaluce started the match at a furious pace. He made sure that the balls were new when he served, great precision all round, and used his forehand to manoeuvre Atakan around the court. In the first set, the Turkish player did not manage to keep up, losing it 6-1.
In the second set, Atakan made some quick adjustments that paid off. The exchanges became longer and slower-paced; the points started to roll in his favour. Both players kept their serve game comfortably up to 4-4. After a long game, Martin serving, Atakan finally got his break. He followed up with a strong serve game and managed to make it one set all.
In the decisive set, Atakan continued to play intelligently and with great variety. At 5-2 and 40-15, everyone in the stands believed that the top-seeded Turk would take the win. The match was very tight, and the pressure may have got to Atakan, with a double fault and an easy miss, his match points were wasted. Martin refused to give up, 5-2 quickly turned to 5-5, and the fight was on again. Martin took some more risks, but they paid off. He finished the match in style, like many of his previous winning points: serve – forehand – volley.
– It was an exciting and intense match. Both players showed signs of nervousness but also were smart in bouncing back. Although the game was a bit uneven, it was admirable to see how the players handled the pressure that comes with competitions at this level, comments Tournament Director Joe Beaton.