ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, Netherlands
Frenchman Gael Monfils notched his eighth ATP Tour title on Sunday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, defeating three-time Major winner Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. In an entertaining encounter featuring two of the game’s best shot-makers, it was Monfils that broke out to a one set lead before Wawrinka mounted a comeback. Not to be outdone, Monfils recaptured his momentum from the first set to seal the match after one hour and 44 minutes.
Breaking serve on four occasions, Monfils evened his head-to-head matches with Wawrinka at 3-all.
Wawrinka, who has steadily improved his form after a knee injury last year, is currently ranked No. 68 in the world.
*****
New York Open—New York, NY, U.S.A
American Reily Opelka won his maiden ATP Tour title on Sunday in Long Island, New York, dismissing Canadian Brayden Schnur 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(7) in an epic encounter. Featuring two of the week’s surprise finalists, Opelka used his massive serve and competent ground game to outlast his inspired opponent. Slamming 43 aces and winning 88 percent of his first serve points, Opelka broke serve on two occasions in the first set before Schnur mounted his impressive comeback.
Schnur, who won a nail-biting second set, nearly capped off his Cinderella week before Opelka closed out an ultra-competitive third set.
Opelka had also defeated top seed and world No. 9 John Isner in the semifinals. The young American dismissed his countryman during the first-round of the Australian Open as well.
Schnur, who had never won a Tour level match prior to this week, defeated the likes of Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson en-route to the finals. He will likely see his ranking hit a career high of No. 108 on Monday.
*****
Argentina Open—Buenos Aires, Argentina
Clay-court specialist Marco Cecchinato spoiled the hopes of hometown favorite and No. 4 seed Diego Schwartzman on Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dispatching the Argentine 6-1, 6-2 to capture his third career title.
Striking four aces and braking serve on four occasions, Cecchinato breezed through the one hour and five minute match in comfortable fashion. Winning 85 percent of his first serve points, Cecchinato took advantage of his visibly tired opponent. Schwartzman to his credit defeated top seed Dominic Thiem in the semifinals on Saturday, with the match taking over two hours and 30 minutes to complete.
Cecchinato is currently ranked No. 18 in the world.
