Enqvist Storms To No.1 In Paris

Thomas Enqvist beat Michael Chang in straight sets on Sunday to lift his second ATP Champions Tour title at the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy in Paris and move to the top of the South African Airways Tour Rankings.

Enqvist, who was a last-minute replacement in Paris for the injured Mats Wilander, needed just over an hour and a half in front of a packed Centre Court crowd to despatch Chang 6-4, 7-6(5) in the final. The contrast in styles between Enqvist’s heavy flat shots and Chang’s extreme topspin made for an exciting match and some gripping exchanges.

The first set was decided by a solitary break of the Chang serve and in the second set Enqvist looked to be firmly in control, leading with a break of serve at 4-2. But Chang showed the tenacity he is famous for and broke the Enqvist serve to love to force the set into a tie break. The American’s comeback was brief however, as Enqvist upped his game and produced a torrent of winners to clinch the match and the title. The 35-year-old Enqvist was thrilled to have won his second title in Paris.

“This feels really good,” he said. “I came to this event at really short notice and I haven’t played for a while and I just came from 12 days vacation in Italy so I didn’t expect to play that well. But I did and I really enjoyed myself here in Paris. It’s such a nice club and a nice event and I’m obviously happy to be able to win another title.”

Reflecting on the final, Enqvist said it was his aggressive play that won him the match.

“Michael is obviously such a strong competitor and you really need to win the points against him,” he said. "He will not give you anything for free and he likes to get into the longer rallies. I just tried to go for my shots a little bit and take some chances and it worked in the end which was great.”

By winning the title in Paris, Enqvist has increased his unbeaten ATP Champions Tour run to eight matches, a record which he hopes he can maintain at the next event in Chengdu, China in November, where he will play alongside Goran Ivanisevic, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

“Obviously I hope I can keep my run going in Chengdu,” he said. “I just enjoy myself so much when I come to these events and I think that’s the most important thing so I really can’t wait for the next one out in China. Obviously when you’re on the court you want to win but you don’t put the same pressure on yourself and it’s just nice to be able to compete again.”

Stefan Edberg finished in third place in the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy after the Swede beat Cedric Pioline 6-1, 6-3 in the third place play-off match.

The ATP Champions Tour will now move on to Chengdu for the inaugural Chengdu Open (November 5-9), and after that the Tour visits Luxembourg for the Vivium Victory Challenge at the end of November and then culminates in London at the AEGON Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall.