GARANTI KOZA SOFIA OPEN—SOFIA, BULGARIA
No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov improved to 14-1 in the 2017 season after he defeated No. 2 seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-4 in the Sofia Open final in Bulgaria.
Needing one hour and 39 minutes to seal his victory, Dimitrov slammed 10 aces, won 71 percent of his first serve points and broke serve on five occasions. Improving to 3-0 against Goffin in lifetime meetings, Dimitrov continued his stellar season, which has featured a title in Brisbane and semifinal appearance at the Australian Open.
Goffin, who remains one of the most consistent players on Tour, fell to 2-6 in final appearances.
Dimitrov and Goffin remain good friends off the court, as they recently trained together at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the French Riviera.
*****
OPEN SUD DE FRANCE—MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
Youngster Alexander Zverev won his second ATP World Tour title in Montpellier, France on Sunday after dispatching home-town favourite Richard Gasquet 7-6(4), 6-3. In a match that was dominated by the brute force of Zverev, the 19-year-old closed out the first set in a tiebreaker before cruising to victory in set two. Winning an extremely high percentage of his first serve points at 81, Zverev broke serve on two occasions and improved to 1-0 against Gasquet in career head-to-head meetings.
Alex Zverev returned later in the day to capture the doubles title with his brother Mischa.
Gasquet, who was aiming to win his 15th career final, is currently ranked No. 22 in the world.
*****
ECUADOR OPEN—QUITO, ECUADOR
Two-time defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos won his third consecutive title in Quito, Ecuador on Sunday, dismissing veteran Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-6(6).
In a classic clay-court baseline battle, Estrella Burgos used his slice backhand and topspin forehand to great effect, while using the altitude in Quito to his advantage. Feeling the ball well off of both wings, the 36-year-old from the Dominican Republic broke serve on three occasions and saved a match point in the third set tiebreaker while trailing 5-6. Improving to 15-0 at the event, Estrella Burgos defended his 250 ATP World Tour points from last year and maintained his ranking of No. 156.
Lorenzi, who was in search of his second career title, proved that at 35 he’s still playing some of the best tennis of his career as well.
