Jack Sock and Steve Johnson made impressive runs to respective finals but came up one hurdle short of titles on Sunday. Sock lost to Tomas Berdych at the If Stockholm Open, while Johnson got outlasted by David Ferrer at the Erste Bank Open.
Fresh off a semifinal rout of Richard Gasquet, Sock appeared to be maintaining momentum en route to what would have been the second ATP winner’s trophy of his career. But after failing to serve out the first set at 5-4, the world No. 32 never recovered.
Berdych used his experience and huge hitting to capture a second consecutive Stockholm title with a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory.
Highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHjL43K5xb0]
“I’ve definitely built up a good history here, which always helps,” said the fifth-ranked Czech, who also triumphed at this event in 2012. “The tournament does a really good job taking care of us, making us feel at home. Sometimes you find a place in the world that suits you well, and it’s the case here. I’m glad to be able to add to my titles here.”
Ferrer added to his career title county with No. 26, making him 26-25 lifetime in ATP finals.
But it was not before a huge struggle against Johnson, who was competing in his first-ever ATP final. The former University of Southern California star came within two points of victory on three different occasions, but Ferrer–and he often does–proved to be too tough. After two hours and 14 minutes, the top-seeded Spaniard got the job done 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
“He just had a bit more experience,” Johnson explained. “I had some looks at 5-4 (in the third set), then at 5-5 he played a couple of incredible shots. I had an awesome week and am super-proud about how I played.”
“It was a very tough match and difficult to beat Steve, who has a good serve and played aggressively throughout the match,” Ferrer reflected. “I waited for my opportunity and my experience counted. He also had his chance to win the tournament. Steve is playing very well; [he beat] a lot of good players this week.”
Ferrer hot shot:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un8M0A8V-1E]
Marin Cilic made it a clean sweep of No. 1 seeds winning titles when he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 at the Kremlin Cup.
Interestingly, it was the second straight Moscow final between Cilic and Bautista Agut and the second one that went 6-4, 6-4 in the Croat’s favor.
Despite the win and the accompanying 250 points, Cilic was eliminated from World Tour Finals contention on Sunday by virtue of Ferrer’s victory in Vienna. Cilic climbed to No. 11 in the race to London and can still snag an alternate spot. Ferrer now has has a 1,220-point lead over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the eighth and final place.
For Ferrer, that is as close to officially clinching as possible without it being a mathematical certainty.
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