"It's a dream come true" says Sousa on winning Pune

The Portuguese World No. 137 defeated Finnish sixth seed Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-1 to seal his first ATP Tour title since 2018.

It's been a long wait for Sousa but it was worth the wait as the Portuguese player explained after the match that winning an ATP event once more was a dream of his. It marked a wonderful return to form for Sousa, who had spoken emotionally about his recent struggles with injury and form after his epic semi-final victory over Elias Ymer.

After this match, he added:

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“[It’s] a great week for me. As I said yesterday, we’ve had a few tough moments in the past two years, and to get the title today is just a dream come true. If you’d asked me six months ago if I would be in a final, I would have said no.”

The match was another epic battle that almost lasted 3 hours and on his opponent and the match in general, Sousa:

“I knew that Emil is a great player so it would be tough to close out the match,” said Sousa after sealing an emotional first title since Estoril in 2018. “He played great tennis at the end of the second set…I knew that I had to be there [in the third set] and get my game into it.”