Having never previously advanced to an ATP semifinal and never reached a quarterfinal prior to last week, France Tiafoe captured his first career title at the Delray Beach Open on Sunday afternoon. Tiafoe cruised past two-time ATP runner-up Peter Gojowyczk 6-1, 6-4 after one hour and one minute.
The 20-year-old American had no trouble against an opponent who struggled with a hamstring injury throughout the match. Tiafoe double-faulted seven times, but it hardly mattered because he struck 13 aces and won 89 percent of his first-serve points.
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZHfYf-jswk
“I was not expecting this this week, especially with how the year started [slowly],” Tiafoe admitted. “It’s unbelievable. It’s obviously a dream to win your first title. Now I got that off my back so that feels pretty good, so early in my career. It’s an amazing feeling and I just hope I can get many more as I go along.
“If you asked me when I was younger if I was going to be here at 20 years old, winning a title, now being in a position to not only help myself but (also) my family, it’s an unbelievable place to be in and I hope to just go only forward. I’m just happy there’s quite a lot of us (up-and-coming Americans); I feel like I’m not alone in this process at all. And I’m still nowhere near playing [my best]. I feel like there’s so many things I can work on–so many things I can get better (at).”
One year older than Tiafoe, Karen Khachanov continues to get better and better and has climbed to No. 41 in the world thanks to his second career ATP title in Marseille. Khachanov silenced the French crowd by outlasting Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in one hour and 49 minutes.
With Pouille serving to stay in the match at 5-6, 30-40 in the third, Khachanov missed a championship point that he should have converted when he sent an overhead well wide. The Russian, however, capitalized on his next chance thanks to a netted forehand by Pouille.
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueGreamCtwM
“It is the second title in my career, so I am extremely happy,” Khachanov assured. “I just need to keep working and keep going. I felt I was playing good here from the first day. It’s nice to play on a full court in the final and I hope to come back next year.”
“It was a good week,” said Pouille, who joked during the trophy ceremony that Khachanov would not have to pay for their plane flight to Dubai for the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “Karen is a young player who will be top 20 soon. Congrats to him. Overall it was a great match. Another final is always positive. I hope that I can continue to play well in the next few weeks.”
Diego Schwartzman and Fernando Verdasco will also be heading to another tournament next week, as they move from the red clay of Rio de Janeiro to the hard courts of Acapulco. In their Rio final on Sunday, Schwartzman cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph. The Argentine secured his second career title after one hour and 23 minutes, climbing to a best-ever ranking of 18th.
“I never thought before the week that I [was] going to be here with the trophy,” Schwartzman commented. “It’s an amazing week for me. Everything was perfect; every match, every set was perfect for me–playing my best tennis. I am really happy and trying to enjoy (it)…(but) in a few hours I take a plane (to Acapulco).
“For me it was important today to put many balls on the court, trying to be focused on every point. I think [Verdasco] was a little bit tired [at] the end of the second set and for me it was important because I was fresh.”
Highlights:
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congrats to the champs