Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell—Barcelona, Spain
Top seed Rafael Nadal stormed to yet another title in his native Spain on Sunday, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1 to capture his 11th Barcelona Open crown. In match that was dominated by Nadal throughout, the Spaniard won 77 percent of his first serve points and broke serve on five occasions. Saving all of the break points against his serve, Nadal won his 44th straight set on clay and the 77th title of his illustrious career.
Holding on to his No. 1 ranking over Roger Federer, Nadal will next play the event in Madrid, Spain.
Tsitsipas, who was playing in his maiden ATP World Tour final, defeated the likes of Diego Schwartzman, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Dominic Thiem and Pablo Carreno Busta en-route to the finals. The 19-year-old will jump inside the world’s top 50 on Monday via his result this week.
*****
PORSCHE Tennis Grand Prix—Stuttgart, Germany
No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova defeated wildcard American Coco Vandeweghe 7-6(2), 6-4 on Sunday to win the PORSCHE Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Needing nearly two hours to claim the title, Pliskova hit 11 aces, won 73 percent of her first serve points and broke serve on three occasions. Tying her head-to-head with Vandeweghe at 3-all, Pliskova also won her 10th career title.
Vandeweghe, who was in search of her third career title, ended an impressive week of action on her worst surface. The 26-year-old defeated the likes of Sloane Stephens, defending champion Laura Siegemund, world No. 1 Simona Halep and Caroline Garcia en-route to the finals.
Vandeweghe won 60,375 euros for her efforts, while Pliskova took home 113,060 euros and a brand new Porsche for her victory.
*****
Gazprom Hungarian Open—Budapest, Hungary
Lucky loser Marco Cecchinato won his maiden ATP World Tour title on Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, dismissing Australian John Millman 7-5, 6-4. In a match that featured many changes in momentum, Cecchinato remained the steadier of the two throughout the one hour and 47 minute contest, breaking serve on four occasions and never hitting a double fault.
Coming into the event with a 1-6 record on the year, Cecchinato added 250 ATP World Tour points to his total, while taking home 89,435 euros in prize money.
Millman, who was also playing in his first career final, defeated No. 5 seed Aljaz Bedene earlier in the day in a match that was carried over from Saturday.
