Tennis. Mouilleron-le-Captif (CH) - On Tuesday, September 29, the Vendée Open took place in Mouilleron-le-Captif, a coastal town in the French region of Pays de la Loire. The event featured several notable matches, including a first-round victory for Clément Chidekh over David Goffin and a win for Ugo Blanchet against Norwegian qualifier Viktor Durasovic. The tournament attracted six French players, including Félix Balshaw, who made a strong return after a short break. His match against British player Billy Harris lasted nearly three hours and ended in a dramatic tie-break in the third set, 7-6[6], 3-6, 7-6[3]. Balshaw will now face Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the second seed, in the next round, seeking revenge for a previous loss to his compatriot Yanis Ghazouani-Durand. Alexandre Reco, a French player ranked 882nd, had a strong showing in the qualifiers but was unable to continue in the main draw. Despite defeating two opponents in the qualifiers—Justin Boulais (ranked 411) and Patrick Zahraj (ranked 510)—Reco lost his first-round match to Remy Bertola, the 226th-ranked player, with a score of 6-4, 6-3. The next French player in the spotlight was Lucas Poullain, who faced the top seed, Estonian Mark Lajal. Poullain put up a strong fight, winning the first set in a tie-break and leading 5-2 in the second set before losing five consecutive games. He eventually recovered and won the match 7-6[4], 2-6, 6-3. Clément Chidekh, ranked 7th, faced David Goffin in what seemed like a high-profile match for the French player. However, the match did not last long, as Chidekh secured a decisive victory with a score of 6-1, 6-0. Earlier in the evening, Ugo Blanchet also advanced to the next round, defeating Viktor Durasovic in two sets, 6-3, 6-4. The Vendée Open continues to showcase the talents of both established and emerging players in the world of tennis.