Bonzi wins at Winnipeg National Bank Challenger

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This article was published 14/07/2024 (543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The long road back from a wrist injury for Benjamin Bonzi has included navigating a few potholes.

So it was fitting for the Frenchman to come through Manitoba to earn a title at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger, a stop on the Association of Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour.

Bonzi was involved in a championship final that included a number of wild momentum swings but outlasted Sho Shimabukuro of Japan in a thrilling three-set marathon, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-4 on Sunday afternoon at the Tennis Manitoba Hub at West St. Paul.

“That was a tough match. I was struggling all week with my serve,” said Bonzi, who still managed to record 10 aces with his powerful but sometimes erratic serve. “I conceded a lot of break points to my opponent, but in the end, I won without my serve, so that’s great. If I can improve the serve, it’s going to be better.

“It’s been a tough year after the wrist injury. You have to build the confidence up again. I know what I’m capable of. Sometimes, it’s pretty tough to make it happen. This week, the best part was on the mental side. I kept focused and tried to fight for every point.”

That fighting spirit was on display throughout the week and provided a pair of exclamation points in both the semifinal and the final.

“I saved a match point in the second set (on Saturday) and today, I was a break down in the final set,” said Bonzi. “The scenario could have made me crazy, but in the end, I stayed in the match and tried to do the best I could. In the end, it’s a title.”

A well earned title.

Bonzi found himself down 3-0 in the opening set, but he rallied back to win the next five games to seemingly take control before Shimabukuro took the next four to capture the opening set.

Bonzi regained his groove in the second set and made short work of Shimabukuro to even the match, setting the stage for an exciting final set.

The back and forth nature of the affair continued as things were tied 4-4, but that’s where Bonzi took control and never turned back.

After holding off a pair of break points in the ninth game of the third set, Bonzi won the game and then broke his opponent to claim the $11,200 first prize.

“I’m not hoping, I am sure this is going to build confidence in my head,” said Bonzi. “I know my game is coming back. I can do pretty good things. But in tennis, you have to play every week. In two days, there is a tournament in Granby (Quebec) and I have to focus on that. I will give myself two hours (to celebrate). I will go to the hotel, pack the luggage and go straight to the airport. That’s tennis life.”

Bonzi endured a significant disruption to his tennis life when he suffered the left wrist injury during a match in Monte Carlo while hitting a two-handed backhand return in April of 2023.

The time away from the court allowed plenty of time for reflection.

“That was pretty hard. At the time I was 42nd on the (ATP) ranking,” said Bonzi. “It was a great beginning of the year for me with two final (appearances) on the ATP Tour. That’s hard, but that’s tennis. Sometimes injuries can stop you. In the first round here, it was my first victory with a two-handed backhand again. This year is my first title after the injury.

“Maybe I am connected to Winnipeg.”

And Manitoba is going to feel connected to Bonzi, as the roughly 400 people in attendance on a sunny afternoon showed appreciation to both him and Shimabukuro for putting on a drama-filled final.

“That was awesome,” said Mark Arndt, who serves as tournament director and is also the executive director of Tennis Manitoba. “It’s bittersweet as well because that (final) is the end of it. But it’s a satisfying feeling to put on this level of entertainment. It is world-class tennis and some of the players that are here will be at the U.S. Open a few weeks from now and trying to qualify.

“(The event) is gaining traction and that’s a great feeling. When he applied for this tournament many years ago, it started as a $15,000 level and built our way up to $80,000. I don’t think there’s a finish line. We always want to get better and hit the next level. That’s what the goal is, to keep on progressing and getting better. With that, we’ll get even better players that we can present to the public in Manitoba. There’s an appetite for it here in Manitoba and the word will spread about how good the level is.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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