Mannarino Defeated by Svajda in Newport Challenger Final

Adrian Mannarino continues his strong grass-court season. After reaching the third round at Wimbledon, the 37-year-old Frenchman decided to extend his grass-court campaign by entering the Newport Challenger.

Following victories against Uchiyama (6-3, 6-4), Zink (6-3, 7-5), Tomic (4-6, 6-2, 6-1), and his compatriot Ghibaudo (6-2, 7-5), Mannarino advanced to the final, where he faced world No. 229 Zachary Svajda.

The American, for his part, had defeated Vandecasteele (6-2, 6-3), Holt (4-6, 6-0, 6-1), Watanuki (7-5, 6-4), and Spizzirri (6-3, 6-4) en route to the final. The two had previously met last October in the first round of the Shanghai Masters 1000.

Svajda had won that encounter in three sets, but this time, the surface was different. Despite an early break, Mannarino couldn’t maintain his lead long enough.

He faltered at the worst moment, losing his serve at 5-6 to concede the first set. Riding the momentum, the 22-year-old American surged ahead early in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead.

Despite a brief fightback from Mannarino, he once again failed to capitalize and ultimately dropped the last two games (7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour and 27 minutes). The silver lining for Mannarino is his return to the top 100 before he heads to next week’s Los Cabos tournament, where he will face James Duckworth.