KINGSTON, Jamaica — Number one seed Valentin Royer of France advanced to the final of the Kingston Open ATP Lawn Tennis Challenger in Kingston, turning back his countryman Clement Chidekh 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Friday at the Liguanea Club.

In the other semifinal, the fourth-seeded Pedro Martinez of Spain defeated sixth-seeded Daniil Glinka of Estonia 7-5, 6-3.

Royer will meet Martinez in the final today starting at 4:00 pm for a chance to win the US$214,000 first prize.

Meanwhile, in the doubles final, the number one seeds Arthur Raymond and Luca Sanchez of France will meet Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) and Max Purcell (Australia).

Jamaica’s Blaise Bicknell and John Chin both crashed out in the round of 32 in the men’s singles. Bicknell, Jamaica’s top player ranked (379) in the world, lost to Max Purcell of Australia, ranked (1046), 4-6, 7-6, 3-6 in a match that lasted just over two hours.

Chin, ranked (1005), lost to Edward Winter of Australia, ranked (355) in the world, 1-6, 1-6.

The ATP Challenger played at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston marked a historic milestone as the first ever in the English-speaking Caribbean, drawing international stars and local favourites together over two weeks.

Howard Walker