Georgian tennis star advances to 90th place in world rankings

Georgia’s number one tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili has been named among the world's best 100 singles players after winning the Hague Open, a prestigious international tennis tournament.

The Georgian star defeated Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia in the final with a score of 6:7, 7:6, 6:3. The match lasted two hours and 18 minutes.

Basilashvili served five aces and five double faults while Kuznetsov served seven aces and four double faults.

By winning Basilashvili received €6,150 (15,168 GEL).

This victory, when combined with his recent success at Wimbledon - the world's most prestigious tennis tournament - saw the Georgian athlete jump 28 places in world rankings to now rank among the world's top 100 singles tennis players for the first time in his career. 

At Wimbledon earlier this month Basilashvili made it into the third round of the tournament when he defeated the world's 16th best player Feliciano Lopez. Basilashvili's overall ranking was expected to rise following this win.

Before the Hague Cup the Georgian tennis star ranked 118^th in the world but after his victory he jumped up to 90^th place.

The Hague Open, also knows as the Sport 1 Open, was part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. Since 1993 the tournament is being held annually in Scheveningen, Netherlands.

In recent months Basilashvili has made an impact in several top tier tennis tournaments, particularly in Wimbledon where he made it into the third round of competition. 

Additionally, on July 19 the Georgian National Tennis Team, which included Basilashvili, was promoted to Group II of the prestigious Davis Cup for the first time in 18 years.