ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, Netherlands
No.3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime won his maiden ATP Tour title on Sunday in impressive fashion, ousting top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Needing one hour and 18 minutes to seal his victory, Auger-Aliassime used his potent return game and reliable serve to offset his experienced opponent. Winning 93 percent of his first serve points, Auger-Aliassime never faced a break point during the two set encounter. Breaking Tsitsipas on three occasions, Auger-Alassime picked up his third victory over the Greek star in eight meetings.
The Canadian will be ranked No. 8 in the world on Monday. He had previous gone 0-8 in Tour finals.
Tsitsipas, who was aiming to win his eighth career title, didn’t face a seeded player until the final. Auger-Aliassime also dismissed defending champion Andrey Rublev in the semifinal round.
*****
Dallas Open—Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Towering American Reilly Opelka won this third career title on Sunday in Dallas, Texas, dispatching countryman Jenson Brooksby 7-6(5), 7-6(3).
Using his powerful serve to great effect, Opelka managed to keep his tricky opponent on his toes for a majority of the one hour and 52 minute match. Winning 82 percent of his first serve points and hitting 16 aces, Opelka withstood two aces from Brooksby.
Improving to No. 20 in the rankings, Opelka also defeated John Isner in the semifinals.
Brooksby, who was looking to claim his first career title, defeated Marcos Grion in the semifnals.
*****
Argentina Open—Buenos Aires, Argentina
Top seed and clay-court specialist Casper Ruud notched his seventh career title on Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dismissing home-country hero Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
In a match featuring two baseline wizards, it was Ruud who established his edge early on and never looked back.
Breaking serve on four occasions, Ruud backed up his serve to the tune of 10 aces and 72 percent of his first serve points won.
The world No. 9 will next see action in Rio De Janeiro next week.
Schwartzman, who is always dynamic on clay, defeated No. 3 seed Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals.
