Citi Open—Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Top seed Alexander Zverev stormed to his second-straight title in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, defeating Australian Alex De Minaur 6-2, 6-4. Beginning the encounter by hitting thunderous backhands and serves, Zverev broke out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back.
Zverev, who earlier this year won clay-court titles in Munich and Madrid, never appeared in danger of losing the match. Capturing 90 percent of his first serve points and 59 percent of his second serve points, Zverev claimed his ninth career title in one hour and 14 minutes.
De Minaur, who saved four match points against Andrey Rublev in the semifinals, and three match points against Zverev on Sunday, proved throughout the week that he is without a doubt one of the best competitors on Tour.
Zverev will next see action as the defending champion of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada.
*****
Generali Open—Kitzbuhel, Austria
Qualifier Martin Klizan defeated fellow qualifier Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday in Kitzbuhel, Austria to capture his sixth career title and first since 2016 in Hamburg, Germany.
Controlling the match from start to finish, Klizan needed one hour and seven minutes to upended his opponent. Serving three aces and winning 78 percent of his first serve points, Klizan broke serve on four occasions and never lost his own delivery. Improving to 2-1 against Istomin in lifetime meetings, Klizan also improved to 15-6 on the year.
Istomin, who was in search of his third career title, fell to 14-15 on the season.
*****
Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex—Los Cabos, Mexico
Second seed Fabio Fognini dismissed No. 1 seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday evening in Los Cabos, Mexico to claim his eighth career title and first on hard-courts.
Breezing through the competition earlier in the week, Fognini continued the trend against his higher-ranked opponent during the Championship match. Striking two aces and winning 78 percent of his first serve points, Fognini broke serve on four of four occasions and squandered his own delivery on one occasion.
Del Potro, who was looking to take home his 23rd career title, was appearing in his 33rd career title match. The 29-year-old has won two titles in 2018 (Indian Wells and Acapulco), while reaching the finals in Auckland and Los Cabos.
With his victory, Fognini improved to 1-1 against del Potro in lifetime meetings and No. 10 in the race to the London Finale in England. Both players will next see action at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada next week.
