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Tennis Roundup: Schwartzman wins Rio Open; Khachanov upsets Pouille

February 26, 2018 08:51 IST

Schwartzman beats Verdasco to win Rio Open

Diego Schwartzman

IMAGE: Diego Schwartzman of Argentina receives the trophy from former tennis player Gustavo Kuerten after winning his final match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain. Photograph: Sergio Moraes/Reuters

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman ended a two-year wait for his second ATP tour title as he overpowered an exhausted Fernando Verdasco to win the Rio Open 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday.

 

The world number 23 was in commanding form against an opponent who appeared to run out of puff after reaching both the singles and doubles finals in Rio.

"I was very patient, solid, intense, I knew he was very tired as he had played both singles and doubles," Schwartzman said of his opponent who won the doubles final on Saturday.

"It’s been two years since I’ve won a tournament so I am very happy. It was a perfect week for me."

Schwartzman broke serve three times in the first set as Verdasco produced a string of unforced errors.

Once the Spaniard squandered four break points at 2-2 in the second set, he appeared to wilt under pressure and Schwartzman ran away with the match.

Khachanov upsets Pouille to win Marseille title

Russian Karen Khachanov denied local favourite Lucas Pouille a second title this month when he beat the Frenchman 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the Open 13 final in Marseille on Sunday.

Khachanov fought from 4-2 down in the decider to claim his second ATP title as third seed Pouille lost his chance to complete an indoor double on French soil after his success in Montpelier earlier this month.

World number 47 Khachanov only conceded two points on serve as he opened a 5-4 lead, but Pouille played a perfect 10th game to level for 5-5 by breaking his opponent.

The Russian ninth seed, however, played some neat tennis to break again and take the opening set.

But Pouille upped the pace in the second set to level the tie and did not ease the pressure to move 4-2 up in the decider.

Khachanov, who won his first title in Chengdu in 2016, broke back and made the most of Pouille's late nerves to prevail on his second match point.

Tiafoe beats Gojowczyk in Delray Beach final

American wildcard Frances Tiafoe earned a breakthrough 6-1, 6-4 win over Germany's Peter Gojowczyk at the Delray Beach Open in Florida on Sunday to collect his maiden ATP title.

Tiafoe, 20, becomes the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since Andy Roddick triumphed at Houston in 2002 as a 19-year-old.

"I just can't believe it. A lot's going through my mind," said world number 91 Tiafoe. "If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I was going to win a title at 20 years old, I probably would have laughed. It's unbelievable."

Tiafoe, appearing in his first career tour-level final, charged through the opening set in 25 minutes and held steady in the second before wrapping up the match with a second-serve ace on match point.

The victory capped a remarkable two-week run for Tiafoe, who reached the quarter-finals in New York last week and beat world number 10 Juan Martin del Potro in the second round at Delray Beach.

Source: REUTERS
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