HOT Magazine January 15, 2015 | Page 23

The World Tennis Thailand Championship 2015 started on Wednesday Dec, 31st with two matches. The first was with Ferrer playing against Gasquet. Gasquet had spent time with Rafael Nadal to prepare for the new season but it didn’t help him in Hua Hin as Ferrer won the match in three sets. Next up was Fognini who bested John Isner. Both winners moved up to the semi-finals. New Year’s Day saw both Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer playing at the top of their game but after 3 sets it was Berdych the victor winning 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. Next up was Mios Raonic versus Fabio Fognini with Raonic taking the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. The last day of the tournament’s first match was between Ferrer and Fognini to determine who would take third place. That honor went to David Ferrer beating Fabio of Italy 6-2, 6-0. The final match of the 3 day tournament which determined who was going home with the trophy and the cash was between Berdych and Milos Raonic. The set scores were 7-6, 7-4 & 6-3 with Berdych winning the World Tennis Thailand Championship. The triumph made amends for his loss in the final of the 2013 ATP Thailand Open. The six man Hua Hin event was launched to replace the ATP Thailand Open. “For me it’s not revenge, it’s good to begin the year with a win. I’m pleased with that and I hope I can improve my game. I’m looking forward to the coming season with good results”, Berdych was quoted as saying. The tournament purse was US $100,000 with the winner of each match receiving $10,000 and the champion $40,000. The President of the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand, Khun Suwat Liptapanlop said “I believe from the impressions players and fans have from this event, we will make it the tournament of the country in the future. We shall have this tournament again next year but we may have to change the format to make it even more exciting for the fans”. Dec 15 - Jan 15 , 2015 23