Belgians Sander Gille - Joran Vliegen  lift Doubles Title  at Astana Open

Nur Sultan , November 1 ( Media Release): Top seeded Belgian pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen outplayed second seeds, Australians Max Purcell and Luke Saville, to capture the doubles title at the ATP 250 Astana Open which is being played at the National Tennis Centre in Nur Sultan.

In the finals, the top seeded Belgian pair of  Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen outplayed Australian Open runners up and the second seeds at the Astana Open, Max Purcell and Luke Saville, 7-5, 6-3 in 1hr and 18 minutes. The winning pair served exceptionally well, hitting 11 Aces during the match.

The Belgian duo of Gille and Vliegen did not drop a set on route to their first title of the year today and with it captured 250 ATP points and $6080 for their efforts. In 2019, the Belgian pair had won 3 Tour events in Bastad, Gstaad and Zuhai and had reached the final of Kitzbuhel.

The Second seeded Aussies, who are currently No. 8 in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings, are trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in London and received 150 ATP points and $5040 for reaching the finals.

“It's been a short year with many ups and downs and we are happy with our level and even happier to win our first title of the year". We also served well over the past the last two weeks and today wasn't any different. We were happy to get through all matches in straight sets this week ", said the Belgians at the Post match conference.

On the subject of doubles draws getting tougher, Sander said "Everyone just wants to play because there are not many events and we know the draws are getting tougher but its satisfying to play tough matches and do well and come through as the winners". We have also made some changes to our combination by changing sides earlier this year and we are happy that this change is helping us " the Belgians added.

"Sander and Joran did great job today and congratulations to them for a fabulous week " said Max Purcell and Luke Saville after their loss. We have been on the road for such a long time and the quarantine rules back home have extended our time together on the Tour. We are enjoying it but we are a bit tired now ", they added. “Overall it’s been a great week for us said the Aussie Duo who are now looking forward to making it to the London doubles Masters.

The awards were presented to the winners by the President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation Mr. Bulat Utemuratov and by Tournament Director Atilla Richter following strict Covid protocols.

DOUBLES FINALS

[1] Sander Gille (BEL) / Joran  Vliegen (BEL)  d   

[2]   Max Purcell (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) 7-5,6-3