Cognac Open: Crouin Takes Third Successive Title

World No.41 Victor Crouin claimed a third successive title on the PSA Challenger Tour, after he defeated Lucas Serme in the final of the Cognac Open.

Like all events on the Challenger Tour right now, the tournament was limited to domestic-only entries, meaning only French players, and Japan’s Ryosei Kobayashi, entered into the 16-man draw.

Crouin was the No.2 seed for the tournament, and for the third time in three months, he took on top seed, and World No.36 Lucas Serme, for the title. After wins in Bordeaux and Le Reve Nancy, he got the job done here as well.

The Frenchman made it through to the final thanks to victories over wildcard entrant Baptiste Bouin, No.8 seed Quint Mandil and No.4 seed Kobayashi, before coming up against Serme in the final on Sunday.

After taking a commanding two-game lead, Crouin lost the third game as Serme aimed to fight back. However, the 21-year-old took the fourth to round out the victory, and claim the 11th title of his career.

Results: Cognac Open
Final
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [1] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6

Semi-Finals
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [3] Sebastian Bonmalais (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-5
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [4] Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-8

Quarter-Finals
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [5] Edwin Clain (FRA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-6, 11-5
[3] Sebastian Bonmalais (FRA) bt [7] Manu Paquemar (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
[4] Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) bt [6] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [8] Quint Mandil (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-2

Round One
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Joshua Phinera (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-5
[5] Edwin Clain (FRA) bt Alex Dubarry (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-4
[7] Manu Paquemar (FRA) bt Paul Gonzalez (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-8
[3] Sebastian Bonmalais (FRA) bt Maceo Levy (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-4
[4] Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-1: 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10
[6] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt Adrien Douillard (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-9
[8] Quint Mandil (FRA) bt Rohan Mandil (FRA) 3-0: 12-10, 13-11, 11-8
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [WC] Baptiste Bouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-2